Moto G Pure could be the next great cheap phone in the US

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Motorola’s newest cheap phone brings a big screen at a low price

Moto G Pure
(Image credit: Motorola)

Motorola’s bread and butter are affordable devices with good features, and its next budget phone, The Moto G Pure, could be a high value at a low price of $159 (around £115 / AU$219) unlocked. 

The Moto G Pure packs a 6.5-inch Max Vision HD Plus display, with a teardrop notch at the top for the front-facing 5MP camera. The rear cameras feature a 13MP f/2.2 lens paired with a 2MP depth sensor for portrait effects, and the camera mode includes all of Motorola’s usual camera tricks like Spot Color.

The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio G25 octa-core 2 GHz chipset and 3GB of RAM, with 32GB of storage expandable up to 512GB via microSD card. The phone packs a 4,000mAh battery and an included 10W charger – which is respectable capacity if not a fast recharger. 

The Moto G Pure has an IP52 water and dust resistance rating, comes in a single Deep Indigo color, and like other budget phones, has a fingerprint sensor on the back of the device. The phone is available for preorder, and will go on sale October 14.

Where does the Moto G Pure sit among budget phones?

The Moto G Pure includes some of the best features of the Moto G line, and in the US, it supersedes the Moto G Fast as the brand’s leading budget handset below $200. Depending on how the phone performs, the Moto G Pure could take its place on our best cheap phones list. 

We've yet to learn if the phone will be coming to the UK or Australia, but Motorola's radio silence on the subject suggests this will be an exclusive product for the US.

The Moto G Pure isn’t quite as advanced as other Moto G series handsets – even the Moto G9 Play has a 48MP main shooter and macro lens, has a 5,000mAh battery, and starts at 64GB of storage to boot. 

But that phone costs a little more with a price of £159.99 / AU$299 (roughly $220), and comes with Android 10 in the box. The Moto G Pure is a step down in perks and price, coming in at $159 (around £115 / AU$219) but running Android 11. 

Like most budget phones, the G Pure will only get a single update to Android 12, but at least it’ll get this year’s best upgrades and features.

David Lumb
David Lumb

David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He's most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.