The Motorola Moto G23 is a budget 4G phone. Motorola announced it on January 24, 2023, alongside the Moto G13, G53 and G73. It went on sale in Europe the same day. In Germany, the 8 GB / 128 GB version cost €229.99. The phone later reached the UK and Latin America, where a 4 GB / 128 GB version was sold. Motorola no longer lists it on its websites, and the Moto G24 has replaced it.
Design and display
The Moto G23 measures 162.7 x 74.66 x 8.19 mm and weighs about 184 grams. It has an IP52 rating, so it can handle light splashes and dust. The fingerprint reader sits in the power button on the right side. Motorola sold the phone in three colors: Matte Charcoal, Pearl White and Steel Blue. In Peru, the charcoal and blue models were sold under local Spanish color names.
The front has a 6.5-inch IPS LCD with a resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels. That works out to about 270 pixels per inch. The refresh rate goes up to 90 Hz, and the selfie camera sits in a centered punch hole.
Performance
Inside is the MediaTek Helio G85, an octa-core chip built on a 12 nm process. It pairs two Cortex-A75 cores at up to 2.0 GHz with six Cortex-A55 cores. A Mali-G52 MC2 GPU handles graphics. Typical Geekbench 6 scores for this chip are about 410 single-core and 1,430 multi-core.
Memory options are 4 GB or 8 GB of RAM, both with 128 GB of storage. A dedicated microSD slot sits next to the two SIM slots. Connectivity includes NFC, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1 and USB-C. The phone does not support 5G.
Cameras
The rear camera system has three lenses. The main camera uses a 50 MP sensor with Quad Pixel technology and an f/1.8 aperture. A 5 MP ultrawide camera (f/2.2) and a 2 MP macro camera (f/2.4) complete the setup. On the front, a 16 MP camera handles selfies and video calls.
Battery and charging
A 5,000 mAh battery powers the phone. In Europe, Motorola specified 30 W TurboPower wired charging, and a charger came in the box. Motorola’s marketing in Peru listed 33 W TurboPower charging instead.
Software and updates
The Moto G23 launched with Android 13 and Motorola’s My UX interface. Motorola promised one major OS upgrade and later confirmed Android 14 for this model. The phone also has stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Should you buy the Moto G23?
The Moto G23 suits buyers who want a big battery, a 90 Hz screen and expandable storage. The 8 GB of RAM in the European version was generous for its class. However, the screen is only HD+, and there is no 5G. Motorola has also stopped selling the phone, and its OS upgrades ended with Android 14. Buyers who want a new phone can look at the Moto G24, its direct successor.
