The Moto G 5G (2023) is a budget 5G phone from Motorola for the US market. Motorola announced it on May 2, 2023, next to the Moto G Stylus (2023). It went on sale unlocked on May 25, 2023. The only version, 4 GB + 128 GB, cost $249.99. The phone has since been discontinued, and the Moto G 5G (2024) replaced it.
Design and display
The phone has a flat plastic body with a PMMA back and a plastic frame. It measures 163.94 x 74.98 x 8.39 mm and weighs 189 g. Motorola sold it in two colors, Ink Blue and Harbor Gray. The body has a water-repellent design, but it carries no official IP rating.
The front holds a 6.5-inch LCD with HD+ resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels. That works out to 269 pixels per inch. The panel refreshes at up to 120Hz, up from 90Hz on the 2022 model. A fingerprint reader sits on the side, and face unlock uses the front camera.
Performance
Inside is the Snapdragon 480+, an 8 nm chip. Its Kryo 460 CPU cores run at up to 2.2 GHz, next to an Adreno 619 GPU. It replaces the MediaTek Dimensity 700 of the previous model. The phone pairs it with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. A microSD slot adds up to 1 TB more. In Geekbench 6, retail units typically score about 731 single-core and 1,711 multi-core.
Cameras
The rear has two cameras. The main camera uses a 48 MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture, Quad Pixel binning and phase-detection autofocus. There is no optical stabilization. A 2 MP macro camera handles close-ups. There is no ultrawide lens.
Video tops out at 1080p at 30 fps on the main camera. The 8 MP front camera also records 1080p video at 30 fps.
Battery and charging
The 5,000 mAh battery is rated by Motorola for up to two days of use. Wired charging runs at up to 15W, an increase from 10W on the 2022 model. There is no wireless charging. The phone uses a USB-C 2.0 port.
Software and updates
The phone launched with Android 13 and Motorola’s My UX interface. It also has stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 5.1. Wi-Fi 5 is supported, and it has a single nano-SIM slot. There is no NFC, so tap-to-pay with Google Wallet does not work.
Should you buy the Moto G 5G (2023)?
The Moto G 5G (2023) suits buyers who want cheap 5G, a large battery and expandable storage. The 120Hz screen, stereo speakers and headphone jack also count in its favor. On the other hand, the display is only HD+. The camera also lacks an ultrawide lens, and there is no NFC. It is no longer produced, so new units are hard to find. The Moto G 5G (2024) is its direct successor.
