Change is in the air. Leaves are turning into lovely shades of yellow and red, the temperature is getting crisper, and nights are getting longer. Fall is officially here, as is the rapidly approaching end of 2024.
This is the time of year when most companies have released all of their big products, and as such, it’s a good time to look back at what worked, what didn’t work, and how that can be used to improve things in the new year. Motorola had a rollercoaster of ups and downs in 2024, and with 2025 rearing its head, there are a few things I think the company needs to focus on for a smoother year ahead.
Keep up the momentum of the Razr series
Let’s start on a positive note. If there’s one thing Motorola nailed in 2024, it’s the Razr lineup. Motorola released two Razrs this year — the Razr 2024 and Razr Plus 2024 — and both are top-notch.
I reviewed this year’s Razr Plus in July, and as I mentioned in that review, it still stands tall as one of the best folding phones I’ve used. Motorola made significant upgrades compared to the 2023 Razr Plus, improving its hinge design, upgrading the cover screen, and drastically enhancing its camera quality. It’s a flagship flip phone in every regard, and at $100 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, it remains the defacto flip phone recommendation of 2024.
Equally impressive is the cheaper Razr 2024. It has a smaller cover screen, downgraded cameras, and a less powerful chip, but they’re very reasonable spec cuts for the $700 price. It’s a fully-featured flip phone in every regard, and if you want to dip your toes into the foldable market without setting your wallet on fire, it’s the best choice out there.
Motorola had a strong Razr lineup in 2023, the 2024 family was even better, and Motorola is set up to keep the momentum going in 2025. Keep what works (which is almost everything), fix the few lingering issues, and Motorola will be set up for another year of foldable success.
Release a consistent Edge flagship
Motorola knows what it’s doing with premium folding phones. What about premium non-folding phones? Not so much.
In April, Motorola announced the Edge 50 Ultra — a flagship smartphone by every measure. It has a unique design, a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, 16GB of RAM with 1TB of storage, and a promising camera setup. The only problem? It’s yet to be released in the U.S.
Motorola did release an Edge phone in the U.S. this year, but it was the mid-tier Motorola Edge 2024 — an offshoot of the Edge 50 Fusion released in other parts of the world. It’s possible Motorola may still bring the Edge 50 Ultra to the U.S. before the end of the year (likely as the Motorola Edge Plus 2024), but there’s no guarantee.
Even if the Edge 50 Ultra does make its way to the States, the timing for flagship launches in the U.S. has zero consistency. Last year, the Edge Plus 2023 was released in the United States in May. The year before that, the Edge Plus 2022 launched in March. We have consistent, steady flagship launch timeframes from Apple, Google, Samsung, and almost every other smartphone brand. If Motorola wants to compete in the flagship space in 2025, it needs to do the same.
Fine-tune the Moto G family
Not to be forgotten, we have the Moto G lineup — the most frustrating of all Motorola’s smartphone families in 2024.
Motorola kicked off its 2024 Moto G handsets on a bad note. I reviewed the Moto G Power 5G 2024 and gave it a 5/10. A few days later, our Christine Romero-Chan reviewed the Moto G 5G 2024 and scored it even lower at 4/10. We never reviewed the Moto G Play 2024, but considering we also gave the 2023 model a 4/10, there’s not much confidence there.
However, fast forward a few months to May, and the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 debuted as a surprisingly great value. I gave that phone a 7/10 with a Recommended Product award, and I stand by that recommendation today. If you’re in the market for a reliable Android phone with a nice design, good display, and long battery life, it’s one of the best options out there for $400.
This year’s Moto G Stylus proves Motorola can create a good budget phone. If that’s the case, the company shouldn’t be releasing other models that are so clearly inferior. Motorola has a track record for releasing a lot of Moto Gs throughout the year and seeing what sticks. I don’t think it’ll happen, but I’d love for the company to focus its efforts on one or two well-crafted handsets instead of multiple duds with maybe one good model.
Commit to longer and faster updates
I’ve beaten on this drum repeatedly, and I won’t stop until Motorola gives me a reason to. In 2025, Motorola needs to step up its software update game. In a world where Samsung and Google are promising six to seven years of software updates for their phones — even for low-end models — Motorola cannot keep releasing flagship phones that only get three years of updates and Moto Gs that receive just one.
Thankfully, it looks like Motorola is taking steps in the right direction. The company released two phones this year — the Motorola Edge 50 Neo and the Moto G75 — both of which are promised five years of Android OS upgrades and security patches. It’s a level of software support we’ve never seen before from the company, and although neither phone is available in the U.S., it’s an encouraging sign of something we may see more of in 2025.
Although it’s good to see Motorola offer longer software updates, the company also needs to improve the speed of those updates. Motorola is notorious for dragging its feet with rolling out updates, and while a burgeoning commitment to long-term support is great, the same needs to happen for the rate at which those go out to people.
Get rid of the ads and bloatware
My final request is one of my most important: Motorola, please ease up on the bloatware.
On almost all of its smartphones released this year, Motorola has included piles of advertisements and pre-installed apps that heavily detract from the user experience. I’m talking about lock screen ads, ad-ridden app folders, and a preinstalled weather app that’s one of the buggiest and advertisement-heavy I’ve ever used.
Motorola used to offer one of the cleanest Android interfaces on the market, but in 2024, all but its most expensive smartphones are riddled with ads and bloat — and I desperately hope this ends in 2025.
Motorola has its work cut out for it
Do I think Motorola will accomplish all of these things next year? Realistically, no. But as a longtime fan of Motorola, I want to see the company at least give it a shot. Motorola got some things right this year, but it also got a lot wrong. There are clear areas to improve, and I hope Motorola sees that as well.
When Motorola is firing on all cylinders, it creates some of the best and most memorable Android smartphones. We saw glimpses of that in 2024, and I’m crossing my fingers we see a lot more of that in 2025.