Moto G & G Play (2026) review
Design, build quality, handling
Motorola has had a consistent design language for some time now, and the same is true for the Moto G (2026) and Moto G Play (2026). The design team might switch up the occasional material for the back side, and there are new Pantone colors each year, but other than that, unless you really know what to look for, every Moto G basically looks like the next one.
Moto G (2026)
The rather distinctive and pretty large camera island, with its gentle sloping edges and curves, is here to stay. Even though the Moto G (2026) and even moreso the Moto G Play (2026) effectively only have a single usable rear camera, Motorola persists with this visual illusion of a multi-lens arrangement.
The Pantone colors are, as usual, the stars of the show here. The Moto G (2026) can be had in either Slipstream or Cattleya Orchid. Neither is intrusive, gaudy or too flashy. Either would fit right in a boardroom with ease.
Moto G (2026) • Moto G Play (2026)
The same goes for the singular Pantone Tapestry color the Moto G Play (2026) comes in.
The middle frame is color-matched with the phone's back, and so are the buttons and the camera accent rings. All very nice touches.
Moto G Play (2026)
And speaking of touch, the Moto G line has a bit of a thing with patterns going on this year. While the G Power (2026) has a sort of woven, rubbery design, the vanilla Moto G (2026) has more of a fine leather-like texture. It still feels mostly rubbery to the touch, but it can pass for leather if you are generous or have never seen or felt leather.
Moto G Play (2026)
Joking aside, the finish looks and feels nice and doesn't seem nearly as dirt and lint-attracting as the one on the Moto G Power (2026).
As mentioned, the phone's middle frame is color-matched to the back side. It gives off a rather convincing metallic look, but definitely feels plastic to the touch.
Moto G (2026)
That is not to say that it feels bad or flimsy, though. On the contrary, the Moto G (2026) and G Play (2026) are well-made with practically no flex or hollowness to the chassis. Unfortunately, the impressive ingress protection rating from the Moto G Power (2026) is not found on the regular Moto G (2026) or the Moto G Play (2026). You just get Motorola's own internal promise of a "water-repellent design". The display is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which is pretty retro, but still appreciated.
While on the topic of the middle frame, it houses what we would call a very standard set of controls.
Moto G (2026)
The volume rocker and power button on the right-hand side are both well-positioned height-wise and comfortable to use. They have a reassuring "clicky" feel. The power button also houses a capacitive fingerprint reader. It is both snappy and very reliable, which we have come to expect from such a mature piece of tech.
Moto G (2026)
The opposite side of the frame has the SIM/microSD card slot. There is seemingly no rubber gasket insulating the slot, so no "hidden" ingress protection on this one. The top side has the secondary noise-canceling microphone and nothing else. The bottom is quite busy. The main speaker is here as well as the main microphone. Also, the Type-C port and the 3.5mm audio jack.
Moto G (2026)
There is not much going on from the front side of the Moto G (2026) and Moto G Play (2026). The display bezels, especially the one underneath the flat panel, are frankly too large even for a budget phone. Hence, it should come as no surprise that there was plenty of room to hide away sensors. There is nothing visible except for the punch hole for the selfie camera.
Moto G (2026)
