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The best phones under $500
Phone makers are trying to outdo one another by racing to add new, advanced features to their flagships, but these tools are not equally useful. Who really needs Face ID, Animoji or eye-sensing authentication? Some of us just want a good, no-frills phone. Plus, not everyone can or wants to spend almost a thousand dollars on something we'll trade in after two years. For these people, there's a range of options from truly basic sub-$250 phones to more powerful mid-range devices that can be had for less than $500. The latter group is better described as aggressively priced flagships that can serve you almost as well as their costlier counterparts -- and there's now a decent selection to consider.
Motorola's new Mod is a snap-on Polaroid photo printer
Motorola's Mods have been wide-ranging attempts to trick out your smartphone with sizeable gadgets, from a 360-degree camera to a standalone speaker with Amazon Alexa. Their next one might be more appealing to casual Moto Z smartphone owners: A Polaroid-brand printer case for the Moto Z that pumps out photos.
Motorola's newest mod puts an Alexa speaker on your phone
Ever wanted to have an Amazon Echo speaker with you wherever you are, rather than relying on your phone's built-in voice assistant? Motorola is betting you do. As promised, it's releasing an Alexa-powered Moto Mod (the Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa, to be exact) that slaps an Echo-like device on the back of compatible phones like the Moto Z2 Force or Z Play. The key, as you might guess, is that it delivers that across-the-room voice control in a way your phone can't by itself.
Moto G5S Plus goes on sale September 29th for $230
We said the Moto G5 and G5 Plus were "still the best budget phones" when we reviewed them earlier this year, and now Motorola is rolling out the upgraded version of its larger device. The G5S Plus improves on its predecessor with a larger screen (5.5-inches compared to 5.2), a rear camera module with dual 13MP sensors instead of just one, a front-facing camera that's 8MP (up from 5MP) and a new all-metal body that replaces the original's plastic frame that had metal tacked on. Unfortunately, other features like NFC or USB-C are still left out, for the price they're still very good phones. That's why it's so good to hear that these upgrades don't change the price, as the G5S Plus launches at the same $230/$300 mark (for 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage) as the G5 Plus. It's currently available for preorder from Motorola, and starting September 29th will go on sale from Best Buy, B&H, Fry's, Motorola.com, New Egg, Ting and Walmart.com.
Motorola's Moto X4 now works on Google Project Fi
Google's efforts to disrupt the mobile carrier network have certainly proven popular for people who can feasibly use it, but it's no secret that the rollout of Project Fi has been restricted by the narrow choice of handsets available. Now, the search giant has confirmed rumors that the hyped Motorola Moto X4, with Android One, will be the first non-Google phone to join the club.
Moto X4 hands-on: Premium looks and features on a budget
The world may be distracted by the advanced, high-end technology of the Galaxy Note 8 and the highly anticipated iPhone 8, but those devices also tend to come with appropriately hefty prices. For people looking for budget-friendlier options that look just as premium and perform respectably will soon have a new candidate to consider. Here at IFA in Berlin, Moto unveiled the X4 — its latest midrange handset which will retail in Europe for €399 in September (£349 in the UK). It offers dual cameras and an elegant design for the price, and after a brief hands-on with the new handset, I'm pretty taken by how it looks.
The Moto X is finally back, and it brought Alexa with it
It's been years since we got a Moto X, but Lenovo hasn't forgotten about Motorola's one-time flagship. As predicted by leaks, Motorola unveiled the fourth-generation model at IFA in Berlin, and it's... definitely not the Moto X you remember. For one, it's among the few smartphones out there with built-in support for Amazon's Alexa, and it's part of an even more exclusive club of devices that just let you speak to her the way you'd speak to an Echo. Motorola confirmed that it was working on Alexa-capable devices at this year's Mobile World Congress, but we're a little surprised Amazon's assistant first wound up here instead of, say, a fancy Moto Mod.
Motorola designed a phone screen that repairs itself
Motorola doesn't just want to make phone screens that are shatter-resistant... if it has its way, what cracks that do show up could be fixed on the spot. It recently applied for a patent on a phone screen whose shape memory polymer heals damage when you subject it to rapid changes in heat. The phone itself could produce the heat (Motorola even envisions an app that tells the phone where to start repairs), but your body heat, a dock or a plug-in panel might also work.
Moto’s chunky gamepad arrives August 25th
Motorola has announced the release date and price of its gamepad Moto Mod. On sale August 25th, the attachment costs $80 and is only available through Verizon.
Upgraded versions of the Moto G5 line are coming to the US this fall
We've been getting info about Motorola's Moto G5S and G5S Plus phones for a little while, but now we have the official specs and general release dates. First up, the G5S, which has an all-metal body made from a single sheet of aluminum and a 5.2-inch HD display. The phone also comes with a 3,000mAh battery and TurboPower charging that, when your battery is almost tapped, can give you a five hour charge in just 15 minutes. The Moto G5S has a 16-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with an LED flash as well as a 1.4GHz octa-core processor.
Motorola's newest Mod is this $300, 360-degree camera
You didn't think Motorola was just going to announce a new phone, did you? The company also unveiled its latest Moto Mod — a 360-degree camera that magnetically attaches to Moto Z phones — here at an event in New York City. Details are still pretty sparse, but we do know some of the juiciest bits: it'll record video at resolutions up to 4K, not to mention 3D sound for more immersive audio. (In other words, be sure to use headphones when watching the stuff you've recorded with this thing.) Oh, and it'll set you back $300 when it launches alongside the Moto Z2 Force on August 10
Motorola's sleek, sturdy Moto Z2 Force arrives on August 10
So far, Motorola has spent its year churning out reliably good mid-range devices, not to mention a handful of new Moto Mods. Not bad, but now it's finally flagship time. Motorola officially revealed the Moto Z2 Force in New York this morning, and — as expected — it's a surprisingly slim smartphone you'll have a hard time breaking. And here's the best part: it's not just a Verizon exclusive. Motorola says the Z2 Force will be available unlocked and on all five big US carriers starting on August 10.
Moto Z2 Force reportedly has smaller battery than its predecessor
In April, some spec leaks gave us a look at what Motorola's Moto Z Force follow-up had in store. We learned that the Moto Z2 Force would have a 5.5 inch display, a Snapdragon 835 chip upgrade, a dual rear camera system and the return of the audio jack. Today, we get some more details thanks to specs shared with VentureBeat, but it's not all good news.
Police body cams will soon use AI to find missing people
Motorola Solutions -- not to be confused with smartphone maker Motorola -- is adding machine learning to its surveillance equipment used by law enforcement personnel. Cops in Chicago's Waukegan police department are already suiting up with the company's Si500 body cams. But those same cameras could soon pack AI that could help officers identify objects and missing people. A prototype device is in the works with Neurala, a deep learning startup that recently integrated its software with drones to track poachers in Africa.
Moto G5S Plus reportedly has a new design and upgraded cameras
Marketing material for Motorola's upcoming Moto G5S Plus found its way over to VentureBeat and it looks like the model's getting a couple of upgrades. For starters, unlike the G5 and G5 Plus, which have all-plastic frames with a sheet of thin metal glued to their backs, the G5S Plus frame is made from anodized aluminum -- a major departure from the Moto G's roots. The phone's display is also getting bumped up to 5.5 inches.
Motorola may introduce its X4 phone on July 25th
Today, Motorola sent out a press invitation to a launch event on July 25th in New York. The question is, what exactly is it launching?
Upcoming Moto Mod could add a 360-degree camera to your phone
Motorola's Moto Z Mods have quite a bit of promise to turn your phone into pretty much anything, including a gamepad, a walkie-talkie, and even a mobile Alexa station. The company has been pushing these pretty hard lately, holding hackathons that produced some pretty innovative add-ons and promising at least 12 of these new peripherals each year. At a small event in Ghana, West Africa, Motorola showed off a few new Mods, including a 360-degree camera, two Marshall-branded audio Mods and a DirecTV Mod, which seems to come with a Chromecast-like HDMI stick to plug into your HDTV. The presentation also included a DSLR Mod, along with a rotatable, GoPro-style action cam Mod.
The CIA has been rooting around in your WiFi router
A recent Wikileaks document dump revealed that the CIA has been hacking wireless routers. The documents suggest it has been going on for years and as many as 25 devices from 10 different manufacturers were targeted.
The Moto E4 Plus offers a huge battery without a huge price tag
Slowly but surely, Lenovo's Motorola is updating all of its major smartphone lines. We got the refreshed Moto Gs while traipsing around at MWC, the Moto Z2 Play just recently broke cover, and now we have a new pair of low-cost Moto E4s to consider.
Motorola's Z2 Play sacrifices battery life for sleekness
Motorola's first Z-series smartphones were as impressive as they were divisive. Remember, the Z was insanely thin, the Z Force was nearly indestructible and both could be augmented with Moto Mods, but they were among the first devices to completely give up on the headphone jack. Then came the Moto Z Play, which felt like a more sensible spin on the Z formula: It wasn't quite as fast, but it was cheaper, still modular, and ushered in the return of that classic audio port. Is it any surprise that Motorola wanted to build a sequel?