Motorola Moto G55 review: Excellent value (on the surface)

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

Excellent battery life
Large 120Hz screen
Premium vegan leather finish

Cons

Performance issues
Some lackluster cameras
Two years of OS upgrades

Our Verdict

The Moto G55 offers great value for money, balancing style and battery efficiency. But limitations in camera quality and performance with occasional stuttering, make me question if this budget device is worth the trade-offs you get.

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The Moto G55 appears to redefine expectations for budget smartphones, combining a premium design with capable hardware at an accessible price point. It’s even got the specs to match, such as a smooth 120Hz display and a robust 5000mAh battery.

The G55 could be punching well above its weight at under £200 and take on the likes of Samsung and Xiaomi, if it wasn’t for lacklustre performance and an absence of flagship camera features. It lets down what would otherwise be an excellent value budget device.

Design & Build

Eco-friendly vegan design
Headphone jack
Premium look and feel

The Moto G55 strikes a balance between modern aesthetics and practical design.

Its vegan leather back not only looks and feels premium (similar to the Edge 50 devices) but also adds grip, ensuring this device doesn’t slip from your hands easily. This material choice, combined with a solid frame, gives the device a reassuring weight and a sense of durability, making it feel more expensive than it is.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

Motorola’s focus on practicality shines through the inclusion of features often missing in more expensive devices, like the 3.5mm headphone jack and a three-piece speaker grill. These thoughtful additions cater to users who value convenience and functionality over cutting-edge trends.

I did want to take this opportunity to talk about the Moto G55’s vibration motor. It’s not typically something I’d mention, but it is particularly bad on this device. The motor is incredibly strong, but in a bad way. It feels and sounds rattly, as if it was ramped up higher than it should go.

The vegan leather back not only looks and feels premium but also adds grip, ensuring this device doesn’t slip from your hands easily.

While the Smoky Green leather option stands out for its unique appearance, the other colour options (Forest Grey and Twilight Purple) offer a more subdued, sophisticated aesthetic if you ask me.

Despite its budget pricing, the G55 does not compromise on build quality or ergonomic comfort, with rounded corners and a clean design that feels great in hand.

Screen & Display

120Hz refresh rate
Full HD+ resolution
IPS LCD panel

The 6.49-inch IPS LCD panel on the Moto G55 delivers an enjoyable viewing experience for its price.

The 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling through social media and browsing feel smooth, while the Full HD+ resolution ensures crisp text and images.

Although it lacks the deep blacks and vivid colours of an OLED display, the IPS tech offers excellent viewing angles and performs admirably under various lighting conditions.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

Compared to its sibling, the Moto G85 (succeeding the G84), the G55’s display may fall slightly short in terms of vibrancy and contrast, but it still holds its own in this price range.

It handles most multimedia tasks well, whether you’re streaming YouTube videos or scrolling through photo galleries. While the thicker bezel including a larger chin remind you of its budget roots, these are minor compromises for an otherwise solid display.

The 6.49-inch IPS LCD panel on the Moto G55 delivers an enjoyable viewing experience for its price.

The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, which adds durability, reducing the risk of scratches and minor drops. Coupled with the strong build of the phone itself, this makes the Moto G55 a reliable choice for users who want a budget device that can withstand everyday wear and tear.

Specs & Performance

MediaTek Dimensity 7025
Smooth for light day-to-day tasks
Can slow down and freeze up

The Moto G55 manages casual games and everyday apps without breaking a sweat for the most part, but I did see the device struggle while doing some normal tasks.

For example, while I was downloading an app, I tried to switch back to the Settings app I had left open.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

The smartphone lagged a while doing so, and noticeably froze up. I have plenty more example, as this was a regular occurrence. This is disappointing, as the device should be able to handle more.

Apps take a hot second to launch, and the phone sometimes struggles to handle transitions between tasks smoothly, especially with the default 120Hz refresh rate enabled. For anyone who does a lot of social media scrolling, browsing, or light productivity tasks, you’ll notice this over time.

It manages casual games and everyday apps without breaking a sweat for the most part, but I did see the device struggle while doing some normal tasks.

The inclusion of 8GB of RAM inside this device seems under-used, struggling to keep multiple apps running in the background without noticeable slowdowns. The phone supports 5G networks which isn’t a given for all phones under £200 and 256GB of storage is impressively large.

Motorola’s device begins to show even more glaring limitations when pushed to its extremes, such as during long gaming sessions or high-definition video playback.

Under the hood, the Moto G55 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7025 chipset, which actually holds its own in performance benchmarks. Scoring 1017 in Geekbench 6 single-core and 2435 in multicore, the G55 competes well against similarly priced rivals like the slightly older Snapdragon 695-powered Redmi Note 12 Pro.

Moto G55 benchmarks

Cameras

50Mp main sensor
8Mp ultrawide
16Mp selfie camera

The Moto G55’s dual-camera setup performs admirably for its price, with the 50Mp main sensor producing sharp, vibrant images in daylight.

However, that’s about all. It struggles in low-light scenarios, where images often lack clarity and detail. Even with a dedicated Night Mode, it struggles to capture enough detail for any decent pictures.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

The 8Mp ultrawide camera, while useful for group shots and landscapes, falls short in sharpness and colour accuracy compared to higher-end models. When using Portrait Mode, the image processing seems to have a hard time with trickier edge detection, and the overall effect is noticeably artificial.

The Moto G55’s cameras perform admirably for its price, with the 50Mp main sensor producing sharp, vibrant images in daylight. However, that’s about all.

On the front, the 16Mp selfie camera is surprisingly capable, capturing well-detailed images with good colour reproduction. Its wide-angle lens ensures group selfies are easy to take, and built-in beautification features allow for some creative adjustments.

While the G55’s camera performance is adequate for everyday photography, it’s not suited for users who prioritize advanced camera capabilities like high zoom levels or professional-grade night shots.

The lack of a night mode means you’re going to struggle taking photos in low-light, and the edge detection in Portrait Mode is less than ideal.

Battery Life & Charging

5000mAh battery
30W TurboPower
Excellent efficiency during video playback and gaming

The Moto G55’s 5000mAh battery is one of its standout features, providing enough juice to easily last a full day of moderate use.

Whether you’re streaming videos, making calls, or browsing the web, the battery shows no signs of faltering.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

In my testing, the device consumed just 4% of its battery during an hour of Netflix playback, demonstrating its efficiency.

For gamers, the device performs well under extended use, with a 30-minute session of some light mobile gaming draining just 5% of the battery.

The Moto G55’s 5000mAh battery is one of its standout features. It can easily last a full day of moderate use.

The 30W TurboPower charging feature is another welcome addition, allowing the device to reach 50% capacity in just over 30 minutes. While it lacks wireless charging, this is an expected drawback in the budget segment, especially with such efficient wired charging speeds.

This combination of longevity and quick charging makes the G55 an ideal companion for users who need a dependable device throughout their day.

Software & Apps

Near-stock Android 14
Useful Moto additions
Two major OS upgrades

The Moto G55 delivers a clean and straightforward software experience with Android 14.

Motorola’s lightweight approach to customizations ensures the interface remains intuitive and uncluttered, with useful additions like Moto Actions for quick gestures and Moto Display for notifications.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

Another downside for me is the sheer volume of pre-installed bloatware. There are over 10 games, social media apps, or content apps installed, and then a further 10 additional apps for Motorola services.

While this may be extremely annoying, most of it can be uninstalled. But still, this is a bad first experience with a smartphone and didn’t used to be the case for Motorola devices.

The promise of two major OS upgrades and three years of security updates is the minimum we’d expect and you can find longer support with certain rivals.

Price & Availability

The Motorola for £199.99 in Forest Grey, Smoky Green, and Twilight Purple.

As well as the official store you can buy it from the likes of , Argos, John Lewis and Very.

In the US, the is a close equivalent.

Despite its affordable pricing, it includes thoughtful extras like a durable vegan leather finish and solid hardware specifications.

Some alternatives at this price include the CMF Phone 1, Samsung Galaxy A15 5G (our A16 5G reivew is coming soon) and Xiaomi Redmi Note 13.

Check our list of the best budget phones for all our current top options.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

Should you buy the Moto G55?

The Motorola Moto G55 proves that budget smartphones don’t have to feel cheap. With a solid build, smooth performance, and reliable battery life, it offers a well-rounded experience at an attractive price.

But its lack of camera capabilities and frequent performance stuttering reveal its limitations. It calls into question if this device is actually good value, even at this price.

If you’ll only be doing very light activities on your phone, you’ll probably get away with using this phone – since the design and battery life are very tempting. If you like to switch between apps regularly, however, I’d advise you to consider an alternative.