8 Best Motorola Phones Ever Made, Starting With The Original Moto G

Motorola was arguably the single most influential brand throughout the early years of cell phones, with its most iconic models cementing their place in pop culture as well as shaping the future of the industry. The flip phone briefly became the must-have accessory for everyone from businesspeople to celebrities, before the rise of the smartphone saw Motorola switch to making value-oriented devices that helped establish the blueprint for the emerging mid-range smartphone segment.

After a few years of mixed fortunes at the hands of various owners, the Motorola brand has returned to form in recent years. Its smartphones often punch above their weight, in some cases serving as compelling alternatives to phones that cost double the price. These eight represent the very best of what the brand has had to offer, from its early years as a technological tastemaker through its second incarnation as one of the best value smartphone makers on the market.

The Razr V3 kickstarted the flip phone trend, although it nearly never got made. It emerged as a skunkworks project with an initial projected sales volume of 800,000 units, but it went on to sell more than 100 million units. It was unlike anything a cell phone maker had produced before — sleek, futuristic, and most importantly, razor-thin for its era. By targeting celebrities as early adopters, Motorola managed to make the Razr the must-have gadget of the time, although the launch of the iPhone in 2007 saw its reign cut short.

Its unique design meant some compromises had to be made to accommodate its hardware, with the thick "chin" at the bottom of the phone housing the antenna to allow the flip screen to be as thin as possible. Its aluminum construction also made it feel more high-end than other phones of the era, with the backlit keyboard giving it a more futuristic feel than anything that had come before it. In some ways, the Razr became the defining image of Motorola for a generation of cell phone buyers, leaving a lasting impression that persisted even after the company made the transition to smartphones.

[Featured image by Dante Alighieri via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0]

The StarTAC was the first ever flip phone, launching in 1996 and helping to popularize cell phone usage across America. It retailed for $1,000 at launch, but it was unlike anything that had come before it — compact, light, and easily portable. Motorola claimed it could be "worn fashionably as an accessory," and it came with a cutting-edge vibration feature that let users take calls without the need for an audible ringtone.

The phone's screen measured just 1.75 inches, while the antenna extended from the back and could be hidden away when not in use. Weighing just 3.1 ounces, it was lighter than any other phone of its kind, meaning it could be attached to belts, placed in a handbag, or kept in your pocket — a revolution at the time. The success of the StarTAC helped to set the blueprint that other cell phone manufacturers followed — that is, until Motorola's own Razr flip phone came along and changed the industry all over again.

After an uninspiring start with the original Moto X, we thought the 2014 version of Motorola's flagship managed to strike just the right balance between hardware, design, and attractive pricing. It addressed many of the criticisms levied at its predecessor, with a more premium metal construction and vastly improved 1080p 5.2-inch AMOLED display. Its software was closer to vanilla Android than many of its competitors, but we appreciated the bloat-free approach.

It also packed plenty of new and improved features including Moto Display and Moto Voice, the latter of which was a modified version of Google's Assistant which allowed users to do everything from post on Facebook to find a YouTube video to watch, all without having to touch their phone at all. Despite several previous attempts, the Moto X (2014) was the phone that proved Motorola could in fact make a capable, desirable flagship phone that could compete with the biggest names in the market, and even outshine them in some aspects. We noted that the phone was, at the time, the most customizable handset on the market, and it was arguably the best-feeling Android in hand too.

The 2019 Razr foldable smartphone brought back one of Motorola's most famous names, but it suffered from its fair share of teething problems in its first generation. In particular, it was outclassed by the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, which launched just a few months after. However, the 2022 Razr is an altogether more competitive smartphone, packing a flagship Snapdragon processor and a sharp OLED screen. It packs the specs we wanted from the first-gen phone, but unfortunately, there's been no sign of a U.S. release so far.

Much like the Moto G200 5G, Motorola has focused on launching the latest-gen Razr in China and Europe, with a representative confirming via a forum post that there are no current plans for an American launch. This is a huge shame, as it means U.S. consumers are missing out on one of the best Motorola phones in recent years. The Razr (2022) takes the iconic design of the original Razr V3 and updates it for the modern smartphone user, albeit without the "chin" of the latest generation. It's also one of the most powerful phones on the market thanks to that Snapdragon processor, and the crease in the screen is barely noticeable. It's cheaper than the Galaxy Z Flip in the markets where it has already launched, retailing for £949 (around $1,195) in the U.K..