Motorola Moto G200 5G review

The competition

The Motorola Moto G200 5G is shaping as one of the best deals this season. It has one of the smoothest displays in the industry, one of the fastest chipsets to date, a very solid camera setup and a large battery with fast charging. There's also a fast Android experience and last, but not least, an attractive stand-out design.

Having the Snapdragon 888+ chip within a €450 smartphone is a high bar to meet, let alone beat. Still, let's explore the competition and see where the G200 currently stands on the market.

The first competitor that comes to mind is the wonderful Samsung Galaxy A52s. It is about €100 cheaper already and has a lot going for it. It offers 64MP OIS primary camera, stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack and complete IP67 dust and water resistance over the G200. Meanwhile, the Moto has much faster chipset (SD888+ vs SD778G), less cluttered software and Ready For support. If productivity is what you need the G200 is the one for you, otherwise you may consider this cheaper Galaxy.

The Xiaomi 11T is an intriguing offer with a similar price tag. It has a superb AMOLED with better image quality and Dolby Vision support, a powerful stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support and faster 67W charging. The 11T has a similar camera setup but runs on the inferior Dimensity 1200 5G chipset and boots MIUI, which won't do for the Android purists.

The OnePlus 8T currently costs as much as the Moto G200 and is worth considering. It has a 120Hz Fluid AMOLED and runs on the still capable Snapdragon 865 5G chipset. The phone offers stereo speakers, an optically stabilized main camera, 67W fast charging and the ever-snappy OxygenOS interface. These are enough to win quite a few users, though the extra performance, the faster refresh rate, and the Ready For support could easily tip the scales towards the Moto G200 5G.

The Realme GT 5G also costs about €450 and should be on to your shortlist. It has a 120Hz AMOLED display and runs on the more or less the same Snapdragon 888 5G chip. Its camera is somewhat less capable, but the GT offers stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack and faster charging over the Moto G200. There is no Ready For alternative on the Realme either.

Finally, if you like what Motorola has done with the G200 and you want the same experience but don't need all that power, you may consider the Moto Edge 20, which has an even better 144Hz OLED screen and the same software package with clean Android 11 and Ready For support. The Edge 20, in addition to the identical 108MP primary camera, also offers an 8MP 3x telephoto and a 16MP ultrawide shooter. The selfie camera is better, too, with its 32MP sensor. The Moto Edge 20 is about €100 cheaper than the Moto G200 and if the top-notch Snapdragon 888+ doesn't make more sense than the pretty capable Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset, you may as well save some money.

Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G • Xiaomi 11T • OnePlus 8T • Realme GT 5G • Motorola Edge 20

Our verdict

So, the Motorola Moto G200 5G is a worthy sequel to the G100 as it brings a bunch of major updates to the key hardware components. The G200 is also a more powerful alternative to the Edge 20, and it might have done well under the Edge 30 lineup, too. Product positioning aside, Motorola Moto G200 5G is a brilliant mid-range offer with a top-notch screen and flagship speed, solid camera and no major weaknesses in its performance.

The cost-cutting needed to make the price tag means no stereo speakers, a plastic body (but nicely executed), and no telephoto shooter. Those were things obvious from its specs sheet, though, so if they were deal-breakers you probably wouldn't be here in the first place.

What we are not thrilled about is the promised one major Android version update, meaning the G200 5G will probably not go further than Android 12. And while that might not be a big shortcoming compared to current rivals soon enough phones with Android 12 out of the box and longer support might find it easier to eclipse it.

But right now at €449 or less, the Moto G200 5G is an excellent offer with more power than we could hope for and many value-adding features like the 144Hz refresh rate, Ready For support, unmatched speed (in its price backet), and clean Android experience. And that's why it gets our unreserved recommendation.

Pros

• Solid build, water-repellent design.
• Great LCD screen, 144Hz, HDR10, tiny cutout.
• Solid battery life, fast charging.
• Outstanding performance.
• Reliable primary and ultrawide cameras day and night.
• Good selfies.
• Clean Android, Moto app, Ready For support.

Cons

• No stereo speakers.
• One major Android update is not enough. More so when launching with last year's Android
• Dropped 3.5mm jack and microSD slot from the G100.