Quick Summary
Motorola has revealed the Moto G35 and G55 entry-level smartphones that will be available in September.
They start at less than £200 and will be ranged by most of the big networks in the UK and Europe.
When the Moto G was first announced in 2013, it was a breakthrough moment for Android. It saw Motorola – then under the control of Google – hitting one of the early promises for Android, creating one of the best affordable smartphones. The icing on the cake was the fact that it was basically pure Android, with no skin.
Motorola tried a number of different things with its phone UI, including the likes of Moto Blur, but in its 2024 guise, Motorola offers one of the cleanest Android experiences outside of Google's Pixel.
The Moto G is now a series rather than a single phone and offers great value for money, with the Moto G55 and Moto G35 updating previous iterations of these devices for more affordable goodness.
One of the great things about these new models is that they offer something that has often been the preserve of premium phones. Both these models offer a vegan leather finish, resulting in a phone that looks premium, even though it’s for the price conscious.
Best of all, those vegan leather finishes are in bright and vibrant colours. Motorola isn’t messing around: if you’re getting a leather-backed phone, you want to be noticed, so the G35 comes in an awesome Sage Green which is beautifully vibrant, while the G55 comes in Twilight Purple – and they look sensational.
The bad news is that if you pick up the Midnight Black option then it’s a plastic finish which doesn’t look anywhere near as good.
Outside of the finish, the Moto G models are built to hit low prices. The Moto G55 sits in the middle of the Moto G family, with a 6.49-inch display, MediaTek Dimensity 7025 processor and a 5000mAh battery, with support for 30W charging.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
There’s a 50-megapixel main camera, supported by an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera on the back.
The Motorola G35 sits around the entry-level of Motorola’s G series phones and here you get a Unisoc T760 processor, a 6.72-inch display, while there’s a 5000mAh battery with 18W charging. Again there’s a pairing of a 50-megapixel main camera and 8-megapixel ultrawide camera on the rear of the phone.
These phones are admittedly built for the affordable end of the smartphone market, so they won’t compete with the best phones by any measure, but if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a phone, you can at least get one that looks great, thanks to that vegan leather finish.
The Motorola Moto G55 will be available for £199.99 in the UK, €249 in Europe, and released in early September.
The Moto G35 will cost you £149.99 / €199 and is coming later the same month.
Sadly, we've been told that there are no plans to launch the phones in the US.
Chris has been writing about consumer tech for over 15 years. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Pocket-lint, he's covered just about every product launched, witnessed the birth of Android, the evolution of 5G, and the drive towards electric cars. You name it and Chris has written about it, driven it or reviewed it. Now working as a freelance technology expert, Chris' experience sees him covering all aspects of smartphones, smart homes and anything else connected. Chris has been published in titles as diverse as Computer Active and Autocar, and regularly appears on BBC News, BBC Radio, Sky, Monocle and Times Radio. He was once even on The Apprentice... but we don't talk about that.
-
OMEGA launches new James Bond-inspired Seamaster Diver in bronze gold
OMEGA’s new Seamaster Diver 300M is a Bond fan’s dream
By Bethan Girdler-Maslen Published
-
Samsung's banking on yesteryear tech to win the chipmaking fight – I hope it wins
It's a different kind of retro tech
By Sam Cross Published
-
New Motorola flip phone shows off the 2025 Pantone colour of the year
And we love it
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Motorola free upgrade to add feature Samsung Galaxy owners have enjoyed for months
There's a really useful feature coming to your Moto phone
By Chris Hall Published
-
Motorola's next Razr foldable could come with a neat new tech idea
Or perhaps we should say a future Razr...
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Motorola ThinkPhone 25 really means business – tough as nails and fully juiced
Also as secure as they come
By Rik Henderson Published
-
Motorola set to launch a surprise extra flip phone
Could we see a cheaper Moto flip phone before the year is out?
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Can’t wait for the Pixel 9a? The Moto Edge 50 or Edge 50 Neo could be the phones for you
Moto's new mid-range phones offer compelling specs for the price
By Chris Hall Published
-
Motorola Razr 50 Ultra completely revealed in leaked marketing video – a big change is coming
There could be a significant upgrade coming to the Moto Razr 50 Ultra
By Chris Hall Published
-
Motorola Razr 50 Ultra will launch globally much sooner than expected – brace yourself
Hello Moto!
By Rik Henderson Published