Motorola Moto G24 in the test: good camera, 3 years of updates and only 105 euros

Motorola’s entry-level lineup continues to improve. It seems that the manufacturer has paid attention to the points that are important to many customers when it comes to cheap smartphones below 200 euros: a solid smartphone is needed as a powerful overall package that is not over-ambitious, but offers high-quality features at a reasonable price. The Motorola Moto G54 5G (test report), which we were already able to test, had these qualities.

Things are not much different with the Moto G24. The smartphone is positioned below the Moto G34 5G (test report) and currently costs the same 105 EurosBut still offers a fair amount of performance, stylish and high-quality design and many other benefits. However, it is not completely free from flaws, as testing shows.

It’s notable that Motorola has spent the money on IP52 certification – this only certifies protection against light splashes of water and doesn’t allow the device to be submerged in liquids. Perhaps the few euros of per-device license fee would be better spent elsewhere in development.

The Moto G24 does not conform to Motorola’s design philosophy. The smartphone, which was provided to us in the gray version, comes with a simple yet attractive design. The matte, glossy plastic back has no other inscriptions other than the Motorola logo in the center. The edges are gray just like the back. The display edges on the front are quite thin for a modern smartphone, which we are used to in cheaper models.

The camera module at the back merges seamlessly into the plastic cover – we think that’s nice. The smartphone measures 163.5 mm in height and 74.5 mm in width and is therefore compact enough. The thickness is an impressive eight millimetres and, combined with the very low weight of 181 grams, ensures a high-quality feel when using it. There are no flaws in the workmanship either.

In the Moto G24, the manufacturer uses a 6.56-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1612 × 720 pixels. This is a low resolution, which is not uncommon in this price range, but it is still being exceeded more and more often. On such a screen, among other things, the font looks more blurry than on a screen with Full HD resolution. We would have liked a little more here.

A 90Hz refresh rate is now standard and we are glad that Motorola is installing high refresh rate displays in even its cheapest smartphones. Brightness, as is common in this price range too, is around 500 cd/m² – which is bright enough to remain reasonably readable outdoors in sunlight. However, in direct sunlight, you can hardly see anything. Apart from the main data, the display offers good colour reproduction with rich contrast and is perfectly fine overall.

The camera equipment of the Moto G24 is really good for the asking price. A main camera is used that has a resolution of 50 megapixels and an aperture of f/1.8. There is also a 2-megapixel macro camera and autofocus on board, as expected, there is no optical image stabilization. In daylight, the photos taken with the main camera come out really good. Compared to other cameras in this price range, the images of the Moto G24 contain a lot of detail, a balanced, slightly more saturated color representation and an accurate image, especially of the sky – with a little photographic skill you can really get a lot out of it.

There is noticeable noise in darker scenes, but it doesn’t feel as sharp as many other cheap smartphones. However, detail and colour accuracy are often compromised. The front camera takes pictures with a resolution of eight megapixels – there’s nothing to complain about here, it’s definitely enough for a quick selfie or video call. Video recording is possible at a maximum of 1080p at 30 frames per second.

At the heart of the Moto G24 is the Helio G85. The MediaTek processor is a mid-range chip from 2020 manufactured using a 12nm process. This is clearly an old processor. In our opinion, the fact that it will be used in smartphones in 2024 is more or less negligible given the low price. Both in benchmarks and everyday use, the processor proves that it can easily deliver enough performance for an entry-level smartphone. In the PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark, the device scored around 8800 points – this is not a lot, but enough for most tasks.

In everyday life, delays or stuttering are rare, but a slight wait when opening apps is sometimes common. 700 points in the 3DMark Wild Life benchmark is quite weak. This confirms everyday experience that the smartphone is only adequately equipped for simple games and users will have no fun in 3D games due to the rapidly falling frame rate. In addition to the processor, there is eight gigabytes of RAM and 128 GB of integrated storage – it’s a shame that the latter is only a slow eMMC storage.

Otherwise, the Moto G24 is equipped as expected. Wi-Fi 5 (IEEE 802.11ac), Bluetooth 5.0, 4G LTE and GPS with GLONASS are available for communication. Support for 5G networks would have been desirable, but it is currently not part of the standard equipment for such inexpensive smartphones. The USB-C port is a slow USB 2.0 port – but at this price it is absolutely fine. There is a fingerprint reader that is built into the power button and works reliably.

A stereo array is used as the loudspeaker, which provides a high enough sound quality – this also applies to the earphones that are used when making phone calls. We think it’s great that the smartphone has Widevine L1 certification, which makes HD streaming possible.

The operating system used is almost pure Android 14 with the current security patch, which works very well as usual for Motorola. At least three years of security updates are promised as well as version upgrades to Android 15 until January 2027. This is normally remarkable, but even more so with such a low purchase price.

Battery life is not a big highlight of the Moto G24. A 5000 mAh lithium-ion battery is used. In the PCMark battery test, the device achieved about nine hours of playback time. This is quite weak even in this price range. It should be enough for about a day of normal use, but anything more than that is unrealistic without intermediate charging. Recharging is really slow, but (as is often the case with this device) 15 watts is acceptable considering the price.

The Moto G24 is currently available in Matte Charcoal, Pink Lavender, and Ice Green with the only available memory combination of 8/128GB. 105 Euros On Cyberport Available.

It’s good that Motorola does not deviate from its line of entry-level cell phones. The motto of the Moto G24 is still: bring an affordable smartphone to the market that, as a complete overall package, will meet almost all the needs of entry-level customers. Some of the mistakes made by the manufacturer with this specific model – such as the display and battery life – are forgivable. It is a well-equipped, solid cell phone at an extremely affordable price.

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