Motorola Moto G37 review: An eye-catching budget phone

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Motorola Moto G37 review: An eye-catching budget phone

 

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Bold design looks and feels great





• Two-day battery life is possible





• Moto’s light Android UI has useful features





• Stereo speakers are a nice addition





• MicroSD support and a headphone jack

Cons

• Interface and apps can feel sluggish





• IP64 means it can’t be submerged





• Limited software support





• Cameras are okay at best

Our Verdict

The Moto G37 gives you a close-to-stock Android experience, stereo speakers, and solid battery life for not a lot of cash. It also boasts a headphone jack and microSD slot for those missing retro features; just don’t expect category-leading performance, support or cameras.

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The Moto G37 carries the weight of Motorola’s most successful smartphone series ever on its shoulders.

Years ago, Moto’s G series of affordable handsets offered the best bang-for-your-buck, but in recent history the low-cost smartphone market has become even more competitive. 

Motorola doesn’t quite have the same advantage as it once did, but its G series remains a solid option for those looking for a reliable, cheap phone. 

While it’s available in the UK and Europe, the G37 model I have for review isn’t on sale in the US. Instead, for its home market, Motorola deals in a different naming construct with slightly adapted models.

The closest comp to the G37 is the $299 Moto G 2026. It comes with the same screen, chipset and RAM, but it gets better front and rear cameras, and faster charging, at the expense of a marginally heavier and thicker design.

The G37 finds itself up against the Oppo A6 Pro 5G, Honor 200, Samsung Galaxy A17, and the seemingly discontinued CMF Phone 2 Pro. I’ve put it to the test to see if it can challenge for the best budget phone title and maintain Motorola’s G series relevance in the affordable phone market.

Design & Build

• Well-built and stylish, albeit affordable design





• Fantastic colour option





• IP64 means it won’t survive submersion in water

My Moto G37 review unit arrived in the Pantone Fuchsia Red finish, which is a wordy way of saying pink. And it’s a striking shade. I audibly exclaimed “wow” when I opened the box, such was the pop of colour. I hadn’t looked at the box to see what colour I’d been sent, so it was a genuine surprise to see this hue in the flesh.

In a sea of generic black, white and grey phones, this splash of pink – sorry, Fuchsia Red – makes the G37 stand out. If you want to make a statement without breaking the bank for a Cosmic Orange fruit, the Moto G37 has you covered.

For those after an understated finish, Moto hasn’t forgotten about you. The G37 is also available in Pantone Impenetrable (that’s black to you and I) and Pantone Nautical Blue, although the latter is on the bolder side too.

While the G37 is one of Motorola’s cheapest smartphones, from the rear you wouldn’t instantly know

John McCann / Foundry

This is a low-cost phone, and the design falls in line with a plastic shell and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i on the front. It should still offer you decent protection from knocks and bumps, and while it lacks the premium finish of pricier handsets, the G37 still feels well made. 

At 191g and 7.8mm thick, it sits nicely in the palm without being overbearing, and the power button on the right falls nicely under the thumb. That’s good, as the fingerprint scanner is located inside this button, so you’ll want easy access to easily unlock the phone.

And in somewhat of a rare move for phones in 2026, the Moto G37 retains a headphone jack, allowing you to plug in wired headphones if you so wish. There is Bluetooth on board for those who want to pair wireless buds or cans instead.

Another nice touch is the inclusion of microSD support, allowing you to expand the 128GB of storage by up to 1TB – handy for those who have large offline picture, music, or video libraries, and for mobile gamers who like playing storage-heavy titles.

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One design feature I was less impressed with was the G37’s IP64 dust and water resistance rating. The ‘6’ score for dust is the industry standard, even on premium devices, but it’s the ‘4’ rating for water which has me a touch disappointed. 

It means it can handle rainfall and the odd splash, but it’s not going to survive if you accidentally submerge it. If you’re someone who often uses their phone in the bath, proceed with caution if you opt for the G37.

While the G37 is one of Motorola’s cheapest smartphones, from the rear you wouldn’t instantly know, as it borrows the same design language as the firm’s flagship Edge series. The result is a quartet of circles on a raised camera island, mirroring the aesthetic of pricier phones.

On closer inspection, you’ll see there’s actually just one rear camera on the G37, alongside a flash and a light sensor in the second and third circular protrusions. The fourth circle is just for show – ugh.

I do like the textured vegan leather finish on the rear of this Fuchsia Red model; it’s soft to the touch and provides additional grip.

Screen & Speakers

• 6.67-inch, 120Hz display





• Resolution only HD+





• Stereo speakers with clever Volume Boost

The Moto G37 comes with a sizable 6.67-inch display, giving you plenty of screen real estate to play with. That means you see more posts at once when scrolling social, you have a bigger screen for watching video on the go, and more space for controls when gaming.

And with support for up to 120Hz refresh rate, scrolling is smooth and gameplay can be fluid – depending on the graphical demands. This isn’t a powerhouse of a smartphone after all.

The IPS LCD display is good enough at the price point of the Moto G37, but it doesn’t have the same depth of colour and vibrancy of pricier OLED screens. It’s perfectly serviceable, and you’re unlikely to have any issues with colours here.

the G37 offers what is now very rare in a headphone jack

John McCann / Foundry

Something you might be less pleased with is the HD+ (1604 x 720) resolution, especially when you consider the similarly priced Oppo A6 Pro 5G, Honor 200, and Galaxy A17 all come with Full HD displays.

If you’re mainly using your phone for messaging, social, emails, web browsing, shopping and the camera, this won’t be much of an issue, but if you like to game or watch video on your phone, you might be best off looking at some of the G37’s competitors.

The Moto G37 does have a higher brightness than the Galaxy A17 5G, with High Brightness Mode able to push the screen up to 1050 nits (vs 800 nits on the Samsung), which helps with viewability in bright light.

A nice inclusion on the G37 is the stereo speakers that gives you more of a surround-sound effect when holding the phone in landscape. There’s Dolby Atmos audio and a Volume Boost feature, which Moto claims can deliver 100% more powerful sound.

You can enable the boost by simply turning the volume up to 100%, and then pressing the volume up button once more to take you to 200%. Audio does increase, but the quality takes a battering, with a tinny sound that can be a bit annoying after a while. 

It’s a useful feature if you want to quickly listen to something in a particularly noisy environment. As mentioned earlier, the G37 offers what is now very rare in a headphone jack.

Specs & Performance

• MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip





• 4GB of RAM





• 128GB of storage (plus microSD up to 1TB)

The Moto G37 comes with MediaTek’s Dimensity 6300 chipset and 4GB of RAM. The Dimensity 6300 is a reasonably affordable chip, but 4GB of RAM on a modern smartphone is pushing the limits of how efficiently Android can perform. And it shows.

I witnessed the G37 struggle in the benchmark tests I ran. All took longer to complete than many phones I’ve tested, and on 3D Mark there were noticeably low frame rates and stuttering visuals.

If you’ve used devices more powerful than the G37, you’ll notice the load time when opening apps or waiting for games to launch. But once you’re into an app, things tend to perform pretty well.

if you’re a big mobile gamer you’ll want to carefully consider your options

John McCann / Foundry

I was able to scroll X, TikTok and Instagram at a reasonable rate, although I did find that if I scrolled too quickly, I’d hit sections that needed a moment to load.

It’s a similar story with gaming. Clash Royale takes a moment to load, but once it’s up and running, I was able to play competitively without feeling like the G37 was letting me down.

Moving onto the more demanding Asphalt Legends, the game ran smoothly on the default graphics setting at 30fps. Bumping things to 60fps brought up a warning that my device wasn’t recommended for this increase. Ignoring the warning, I was still able to play at 60fps without detrimental effects.

John McCann / Foundry

Anything more demanding though – like Call of Duty or Genshin Impact – will struggle on the Moto G37, so if you’re a big mobile gamer you’ll want to carefully consider your options.

The 128GB of storage will be enough for low intensity users, but for those planning on downloading lots of apps and games, and snapping photos and videos, the Moto G37 offers microSD card support for cards up to 1TB in size.

This allows you to drastically increase the storage potential of the phone, but the memory card sits in one of the dual-SIM slots. It means you have to decide between expandable storage or dual-SIM capabilities. 

Motorola Moto G37 benchmarks

Cameras

• 50MP quad-pixel AI main camera





• 2-in-1 Light Sensor





• 8Mp selfie camera

You’d be forgiven for glancing at the rear of the Moto G37 and assuming it packs a flagship rivaling quad-camera setup, such is the design Motorola has opted for on the raised island. 

Unsurprisingly, given the price of the Moto G37, this isn’t the case. Instead, the Moto G37 packs just two sensors, with a main 50MP quad-pixel AI camera joined by a 2-in-1 light sensor. 

So what of the other two circular lenses on the rear of the phone? Well, one houses the LED flash, while the other is merely there for symmetry, and perhaps to fool you or onlookers into thinking it’s more impressive than it actually is.

John McCann / Foundry

In terms of performance, outside in good daylight, the Moto G37 is capable of taking crisp shots that won’t look out of place on your social feeds. There is a bit of lag on the shutter button, so be patient when snapping a photo, hold the phone steady, and don’t pull it away too quickly.

When inside, and especially in lower light, images tend to be a little muddy in terms of quality, as the setup struggles with the available light and adjusting the focus accordingly.

The G37 offers a quick-access 2x zoom which, again in good light outdoors, can deliver reasonable shots that still carry enough detail to be sharable. You can zoom up to 10x, but I found anything over 2x dramatically lost quality, resulting in me avoiding using these deeper zoom levels at all.

There is a night-mode available too, and the camera app will automatically prompt you to enable it when it detects a low-light scene. The difference in image quality between having this mode enabled and disabled is marginal, but I did get slightly better images in terms of clarity and light balance with the mode on.

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  Night mode off

  
  

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  Night mode on

  
  

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  Portrait image using the rear facing camera

  
  

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  Portrait mode with the front facing camera

  
  

As with all phones these days, there’s a portrait mode that does a pretty good job of defining the person in the foreground over the background blur. I did find the G37 seemed to add some beautification to my skin complexion – very nice of it, but it might not be to everyone’s taste.

Meanwhile, on the front you get an 8Mp selfie camera that’s serviceable for the odd snap, and portrait mode is also available here, although its ability to define foreground and background isn’t as sharp as the rear-facing setup.

Battery life & Charging

• 5200mAh battery





• 20W charging





• No wireless charging

The Moto G37 comes with a 5200mAh battery, and Motorola makes some bold claims about its performance. It says the G37 can last “over 63 hours on a single charge” and that you’ll “keep up to 80% battery health even after years of use.”

That’s a larger battery capacity than you’ll get in the Galaxy A17 (5000mAh), but smaller than the Oppo A6 Pro (6500mAh). What it translates to is all-day battery life with moderate to high usage, with roughly 20-30% left in the tank after a 16-hour day off charge (7am-11pm).

On lighter usage days, I was getting into bed with around 60% battery left, and two days of use is certainly possible for the non-power users out there. That’s what I’d expect from a phone with this capacity and power, but you’re not going to get anywhere close to the quoted 63 hours if you use your phone on a daily basis.

The G37 does offer wired reverse charging too, allowing you to top up another device

John McCann / Foundry

When it comes to charging, the Moto G37 offers a speed of 20W wired, which Motorola dubs ‘TurboPower’. In reality, this isn’t particularly quick when compared to the competition – the A17 supports 25W, while the A6 Pro offers a mammoth 80W.

I was able to replenish 10% of the battery (from 0%) in 10 minutes using a 45W GAN plug block, and 30% after 30 minutes. 

The G37 does offer wired reverse charging too, allowing you to top up another device via the phone’s USB-C port, although only at a 6W speed. It’s handy if your friend needs an emergency charge and there’s still plenty of battery left in the G37.

Software & Apps

• Android 16





• Numerous pre-installed apps





• Limited update support

The Moto G37 arrives running the previous version of Google’s operating system, Android 16, with Motorola’s light-touch interface over the top. Android 17 arrived just after the G37 was launched, so it’s not as bad as it might sound.

As it’s a lightweight UI, you get a version of Android that’s pretty close to the stock version – unlike on Samsung or Oppo, where the brands apply their own, heavier interfaces in One UI and ColorOS, respectively.

It means you get a clean experience, although Motorola has piled on a number of pre-installed apps here, including Opera, TikTok, Copilot, Booking.com, LinkedIn, Amazon Music, Facebook and Instagram.

John McCann / Foundry

The good news is you can delete these apps if you don’t want them, or remove them from the home screen if you’d rather they stay out of the way in the app drawer.

And just because it’s light-touch doesn’t mean Motorola doesn’t offer you some unique features. The firm’s clever gesture controls – such as chopping the phone twice to toggle the torch on and off – remain, while the notification cooldown feature reduces ring volume when the phone detects you’re receiving lots of notifications close together.

There are a couple of useful apps included, too. First is Moto Unplugged, which helps you limit app noise and set limits on usage, allowing you to disconnect from your phone for screen-free time. 

Moto Secure, meanwhile, provides useful tools for adding extra layers of security and privacy to your phone, with a simple app that walks you through and clearly explains the various options available.

you might find the software and security aspects of the G37 fall behind the times in the not too distant future

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When it comes to AI, Motorola leaves things to Google with the Gemini AI assistance on the Moto G37. Long press the power key and the assistant will wake up, ready for commands or conversation.

You get other Google-made AI features too, such as Circle to Search, allowing you to search for specific things on screen.

A little disappointingly, Motorola won’t be supporting the Moto G37 for long as it’s committed to just two years of OS updates, and three years (until April 2029) of security updates. Oppo provides a similar schedule for the A6 Pro with two years of OS and four years of security updates. In contrast, Samsung offers six years of both on the Galaxy A17.

It means if you’re looking to buy this phone for the long-term, you might find the software and security aspects of the G37 fall behind the times in the not too distant future. 

Yet, if you’re looking for an almost-stock Android experience, and your budget doesn’t stretch to Google’s A-series, the Moto G37 gets you pretty close in the software department.

Price & Availability

The Moto G37 price is ÂŁ219.99, but at the time of writing, Motorola is offering ÂŁ20 off, taking the price down to a sub-ÂŁ200/ level, making the Moto G37 a seriously affordable phone.

This seems to be the standard price as it’s how much the likes of Argos, EE and Amazon UK are charging without noting the RRP.

In return, you get 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is the only configuration available in the UK. Other regions might see 4G/64GB and 4/256GB models.

In the US the Moto G37 isn’t available. Instead, Motorola has a sibling with similar – but not identical – specs in the Moto G 2026. It starts at $299.99, is slightly thicker and heavier, and offers more powerful front and rear cameras.

Check out our list of the best budget phones to see our current top 10 recommendations for cheap handsets.

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Should you buy the Moto G37?

The Moto G37 continues the series’ trend of delivering a solid smartphone at a reasonable price, although these days the G series doesn’t quite offer the same bang for your buck.

Yet if you’re after a large-screen phone with solid battery life, stereo speakers, a headphone jack and expandable storage, the G37 is one of the very few that offer all this at a sub £220/$300 price.

Add to that the close-to-stock Android experience – something the likes of Samsung, Oppo and Nothing don’t offer with their heavier interface skins – and you could almost consider the Moto G37 as a budget Pixel phone (which Google doesn’t offer).

But the cameras aren’t up to Google Pixel levels of quality, and the MediaTek chipset alongside a lacklustre 4GB of RAM means you’ll have to be patient when loading apps and using the G37.

Keep an eye out for discounts, though, as I’ve already seen the phone go as low as £160 in the UK, and at that price it will feel like more of a steal.

Specs

• Android 16





• 6.67-inch, HD+ (1604 x 720), 264ppi, 120Hz, 1050 nits peak brightness





• Fingerprint scanner





• MediaTek Dimensity 6300





• 4GB





• 128GB (plus microSD up to 1TB)





• Cameras:





• 50Mp main sensor





• 2-in-1 Light Sensor





• 8Mp selfie camera





• Up to 2K @ 60fps rear video





• Stereo speakers





• Dual SIM





• Bluetooth 5.4





• Headphone jack





• 5,200mAh battery





• 166.23 x 76.50 x 7.85 mm





• IP64 certified





• 191g





• Colours: Pantone Impenetrable (Black), Pantone Nautical Blue, Pantone Fuchsia Red (Pink)

Source: Motorola Moto G37 review: An eye-catching budget phone