
Motorola Moto G55 smartphone review - Inexpensive doesn't have to be boring
Colorful and bright.
With a new SoC, unusual colors and a bright display without PWM - this is how the Motorola Moto G55 wants to shake up the affordable mid-range this year. We will find out whether it succeeds in our test.Florian Schmitt, 👁 Florian Schmitt, ✓ Brian Burriston (translated by DeepL / Ninh Duy) Published 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 ...
Verdict
The Motorola Moto G55 5G is only boring if you want it to be: In black with a smooth back, it looks dignified and restrained. In pink or green, on the other hand, the faux leather back makes it an eye-catcher. Our test device was very neatly finished and elegantly designed, but also somewhat heavier than comparable phones.
The battery delivers runtimes suitable for everyday use, the SoC is well chosen and usually enables smooth operation. We like the fast fingerprint sensor and the eSIM support, which you can't find even on more expensive devices.
There is a decent update promise and the image quality of the cameras is quite appealing for the price range. Above all, the camera gets through our test course without any major glitches. The PWM-free display is another highlight, especially as it can get quite bright. On the other hand, the color accuracy and response times have to take a back seat.
All in all, the Motorola Moto G55 is an affordable mid-range phone that looks more expensive thanks to its attractive exterior. It hardly makes any real mistakes in the test, but you shouldn't have exaggerated expectations for the price.
Price and availability
The Motorola Moto G55 is available from many retailers. Directly from the manufacturer you can get the phone for around 250 Euros (~$263). At amazon.de you pay about the same amount at the time of testing.
However, there are also significantly cheaper offers where you can save up to 50 Euros (~$53).
Possible competitors in comparison
Image | Model / Review | Price | Weight | Drive | Display |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Motorola Moto G55 MediaTek Dimensity 7025 ⎘ IMG BXM-8-256 ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 256 GB | Amazon: 1. $6.95 Mr.Shield Screen Protector c... 2. $8.99 Moto 48w Car Charger Type C ... 3. $6.99 NECARSIN 3 Pack for Motorola... List Price: 249€ | 179 g | 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.49" 2400x1080 406 PPI IPS | |
CMF Phone 1 MediaTek Dimensity 7300 ⎘ ARM Mali-G615 MP2 ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 256 GB | Amazon: 1. $39.00 CMF Buds Wireless Bluetooth ... 2. $349.00 CMF Phone 1 8+256GB Bundle w... 3. $7.99 Anoowkoa [2 Pack for Nothing... List Price: 269€ | 197 g | 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.67" 2400x1080 395 PPI Super AMOLED | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G MediaTek Dimensity 6080 ⎘ ARM Mali-G57 MP2 ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 256 GB UFS 2.1 | Amazon: $212.00 List Price: 212 Euro | 174.5 g | 256 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.67" 2400x1080 395 PPI AMOLED | |
HMD Fusion Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 613 ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 256 GB UFS 2.1 | Amazon: 1. $7.99 beukei (3 Pack) Designed for... 2. $9.59 Ranyi [5 Pack] Tempered Glas... 3. $11.99 18W USB-C Charger for Nokia ... List Price: 299€ | 202.5 g | 256 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.56" 1612x720 269 PPI IPS | |
Samsung Galaxy A15 5G MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ ⎘ ARM Mali-G57 MP2 ⎘ 4 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 | Amazon: 1. $4.99 Mr.Shield Screen Protector c... 2. $6.99 Supershieldz (2 Pack) Design... 3. $3.99 Bencuku (2 Pack Designed for... List Price: 230€ | 200 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.50" 2340x1080 396 PPI AMOLED |
Note: We have updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7, available here.
Housing and equipment - the choice is yours
The Motorola Moto G55 can be a very dignified companion, in which case you should opt for the black version with a smooth back. Or if you prefer something eye-catching, the phone is also available with a pink or green back and a faux leather finish.
We tested the green faux leather version, which is very neatly finished, sits well in the hand and looks very stylish: Motorola has designed the transition between the camera module and the slightly flatter back with a slight curve, making it much more elegant than some other manufacturers. However, at 202 grams (~7.1 oz), the Moto G55 is relatively heavy despite its rather small screen.
The edges around the screen are OK for such an inexpensive phone, but are significantly wider than on more expensive phones. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. The phone is quite insensitive to pressure and can hardly be twisted. It has IP 54 certification, so dust and splash water should not be a problem for the device. However, the phone must remain on the shore when swimming.
NFC for wireless payment is on board, as is an FM radio receiver: with headphones plugged in, which are used as an antenna, you can listen to the radio even without the Internet.
There is only one nano-SIM slot in the Moto G55, but an eSIM profile can also be stored so that dual-SIM operation is possible. There is also a dedicated microSD slot, which delivers decent transfer performance with our Angelbird V60 reference card, but cannot even come close to utilizing the card's maximum possible data rates.
SD Card Reader - average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Samsung Galaxy A15 5G (Angelbird V60) | |
HMD Fusion (Angelbird V60) | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G (Angelbird AV Pro microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Motorola Moto G55 (Angelbird V60) | |
Average of class Smartphone (7.7 - 77, n=78, last 2 years) | |
CMF Phone 1 (Angelbird AV Pro V60) |
Cross Platform Disk Test (CPDT)
Communication and software - Moto G55 with 5G modem
WiFi 5 is the fastest Wi-Fi standard on board. The Motorola Moto G55 achieves rather mediocre transfer rates of between 210 and 350 MBit/s. This makes it somewhat slower than comparable phones, but still within the expected range. In everyday use, websites load reasonably quickly, but the signal strength decreases quite quickly at a distance from the router.
The Moto G55 is 5G-capable and offers enough frequencies in the 4G and 5G network so that you can often use the mobile Internet even when traveling abroad. However, some frequency bands are missing for worldwide use.
We test the signal strength in random samples and compare it with high-end phones. The Moto G55 performs quite well here for its low price and does not completely lose reception even in difficult situations, such as between tall buildings.
Motorola relies on Android 14 as the basis for its operating system, and the original Android is hardly changed. Most of the manufacturer's own functions are outsourced to separate apps so that they can be updated more easily. There are a few third-party apps that are pre-installed on the phone, but these can be easily uninstalled if you don't like them.
The Moto G55 bears the "Android Enterprise Recommended" seal, which means that the manufacturer is committed to providing updates at least every two months and also guarantees security patches until September 2028. That's quite an achievement in this price range, even if Samsung is still ahead. Motorola is a little more tight-lipped when it comes to new operating system versions, but we expect at least Android 16 for the phone.
Networking | |
Motorola Moto G55 | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
CMF Phone 1 | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
HMD Fusion | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Samsung Galaxy A15 5G | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Sustainability and operation - Fast fingerprint sensor
There is even an estimated lifetime CO2 footprint for the Motorola G55 5G on the Internet, which is easy to find - a rarity for Motorola devices. The manufacturer states 54.2 kg CO2 equivalents here. This is a reasonable figure, which is mainly due to the production of the phone.
The packaging consists partly of recycled fibers and is printed with inks based on soybean oil. It is also plastic-free. There is no information about recycled materials on the product.
Operation of the fast touchscreen, which can display up to 120 images per second, is very reliable and smooth: The SoC is usually powerful enough to enable swift operation.
The fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone or confirming logins in apps is integrated into the standby button on the right-hand side of the casing. Once your fingerprint has been scanned, it is recognized very quickly and reliably and unlocks the phone with almost no waiting time.
Unlocking via facial recognition is also possible, but this works purely on the basis of the image from the front camera and does not require an infrared sensor, making this method somewhat more susceptible to tampering.
Cameras - Good camera equipment
The main camera on the back has a maximum resolution of 50 megapixels, but normally only uses a quarter of the resolution for images. This allows more light intensity and images can be processed faster, but the full resolution can also be used for images if desired.
The camera takes quite decent pictures in daylight, although they lack some detail. Overall, the image quality is on a medium level, but given the relatively low price, you can take decent photos with the main camera.
In low light and high contrasts, bright areas quickly become too bright and not much can be seen in dark areas. However, we like the sharpness in this scenario quite well.
With the main camera, videos can be recorded in 1080p at a maximum of 60 frames per second. The image quality is quite decent and the autofocus also works quickly for the most part.
There is also a wide-angle camera on the back, which can also be used for extreme close-ups. It has a resolution of 8 megapixels and takes rather coarse panoramas in detail, but these are sufficient for snapshots.
There is a 16-megapixel camera on the front for selfies. It takes quite decent selfies, but the background often burns out in bright surroundings.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Main camera PlantMain camera EnvironmentMain camera Low LightWide Angle camera

Display - No PWM flickering
While many competitors now rely on AMOLED screens even in this very affordable price range, Motorola remains true to the IPS display in the Moto G55. At 6.5 inches, the manufacturer has struck a good compromise between the device's manageability and the largest possible screen area.
The maximum brightness, which we determined with a spectrophotometer, is 968 cd/m² and is therefore at a high level. This means that the phone can also be used well outdoors on brighter days and even high contrasts can be displayed, even if there is no official HDR certification.
Anyone who gets a headache from AMOLEDs can also breathe a sigh of relief: according to our measurements, the IPS screen does not suffer from PWM flickering.
We noticed a slight green cast in the color analysis, but overall, colors are displayed accurately enough for everyday use.
|
Brightness Distribution: 83 %
Center on Battery: 968 cd/m²
Contrast: 2420:1 (Black: 0.4 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.98 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.89
ΔE Greyscale 5 | 0.5-98 Ø5.1
99.8% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.289
Motorola Moto G55 IPS, 2400x1080, 6.5" | CMF Phone 1 Super AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.7" | Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.7" | HMD Fusion IPS, 1612x720, 6.6" | Samsung Galaxy A15 5G AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.5" | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Response Times | 96% | 95% | -51% | 95% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 29.5 ? | 1.42 ? 95% | 1.13 ? 96% | 48.1 ? -63% | 1.6 ? 95% |
Response Time Black / White * | 25.6 ? | 1.03 ? 96% | 1.55 ? 94% | 35.7 ? -39% | 1.3 ? 95% |
PWM Frequency | 120 | 120 ? | 90 | ||
Screen | 42% | 34% | -0% | 21% | |
Brightness middle | 968 | 1169 21% | 958 -1% | 554 -43% | 705 -27% |
Brightness | 870 | 1183 36% | 965 11% | 533 -39% | 701 -19% |
Brightness Distribution | 83 | 97 17% | 83 0% | 94 13% | 96 16% |
Black Level * | 0.4 | 0.27 32% | |||
Contrast | 2420 | 2052 -15% | |||
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 2.98 | 1.5 50% | 1.43 52% | 3.28 -10% | 1.88 37% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 8.76 | 2.9 67% | 2.51 71% | 5.97 32% | 4.57 48% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 5 | 1.9 62% | 1.4 72% | 3.6 28% | 1.5 70% |
Gamma | 2.289 96% | 2.22 99% | 2.33 94% | 2.145 103% | 2.116 104% |
CCT | 6509 100% | 6733 97% | 6476 100% | 7322 89% | 6501 100% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 69% /
56% | 65% /
49% | -26% /
-10% | 58% /
39% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
25.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 11.1 ms rise | |
↘ 14.5 ms fall | ||
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 58 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
29.5 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 15.8 ms rise | |
↘ 13.7 ms fall | ||
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 36 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (32.7 ms). |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM not detected | |||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8623 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. |
Performance, emissions and battery life - good power for the price range
The MediaTek Dimensity 7025 is a mid-range SoC that includes a processor with 8 cores and up to 2.5 GHz clock speed. The Motorola Moto G55 5G performs quite well in the benchmarks and usually delivers smooth performance in everyday use with tasks that are not too demanding.
In terms of graphics performance, you also get a little more power here than with some competitors.
Fast UFS 3.1 memory is also installed, and the Moto G55 also scores here with fast data transfers and short loading times.
We measured slightly higher temperatures on the casing after an hour of high load: 45.8 °C (114.44 °F) is not yet critical, but the temperature could rise even further at higher ambient temperatures.
The small speaker on the bottom edge is supported by the earpiece, which is used as a second speaker. This means that slight stereo effects are also possible when the phone is held horizontally. The sound can get quite loud and sounds quite acceptable, but is probably too treble-heavy for real audio enthusiasts.
Headphones and speakers can be connected via the 3.5mm audio port or Bluetooth. This works without any problems and the sound is very clean. Almost all current audio codecs are also available for wireless audio transmission.
we measured a runtime of 15:44 hours in our practical WLAN test. This puts the Moto G55 in the midfield among the comparison devices. With normal use, nothing should stand in the way of a runtime of more than a day in everyday use. The device can be charged with a maximum of 30 watts, but a charger is not included with the phone. It works well with all the chargers we tested and offers maximum charging times of around 1:45 hours when the battery was completely empty.
Geekbench ML | |
0.6 TensorFlow Lite GPU | |
Average of class Smartphone (123 - 1478, n=33, last 2 years) | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G | |
0.6 TensorFlow Lite CPU | |
Average of class Smartphone (246 - 1342, n=34, last 2 years) | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G |
Geekbench AI | |
Single Precision TensorFlow NNAPI 1.1 | |
Average of class Smartphone (122 - 4619, n=45, last 2 years) | |
CMF Phone 1 | |
Motorola Moto G55 | |
Average MediaTek Dimensity 7025 () | |
Half Precision TensorFlow NNAPI 1.1 | |
Average of class Smartphone (122 - 32432, n=45, last 2 years) | |
CMF Phone 1 | |
Motorola Moto G55 | |
Average MediaTek Dimensity 7025 () | |
Quantized TensorFlow NNAPI 1.1 | |
Average of class Smartphone (118 - 44657, n=45, last 2 years) | |
CMF Phone 1 | |
Motorola Moto G55 | |
Average MediaTek Dimensity 7025 () |
Motorola Moto G55 | CMF Phone 1 | Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G | HMD Fusion | Samsung Galaxy A15 5G | Average 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AndroBench 3-5 | 19% | -7% | -8% | -26% | 48% | 64% | |
Sequential Read 256KB | 950.4 | 1024.12 8% | 951.97 0% | 894.5 -6% | 499.6 -47% | 1742 ? 83% | 1936 ? 104% |
Sequential Write 256KB | 815.8 | 535.66 -34% | 503.79 -38% | 778 -5% | 498.1 -39% | 1160 ? 42% | 1553 ? 90% |
Random Read 4KB | 234.6 | 294.28 25% | 243.8 4% | 218.4 -7% | 194 -17% | 286 ? 22% | 279 ? 19% |
Random Write 4KB | 222.4 | 394.59 77% | 240.36 8% | 189.4 -15% | 223.5 0% | 319 ? 43% | 319 ? 43% |
Temperature
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 45.8 °C / 114 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 44.5 °C / 112 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.5 °C / 74 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
Speaker
Motorola Moto G55 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.8% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.4% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (20.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 30% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 61% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 50% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 42% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy A15 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 27.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.7% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.2% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (8.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 43% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 50% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 62% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 32% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Battery life
Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing | |
CMF Phone 1 | |
Average of class Smartphone (476 - 3244, n=199, last 2 years) | |
Samsung Galaxy A15 5G | |
Motorola Moto G55 | |
HMD Fusion | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G |
Pros
Cons
Notebookcheck overall rating
The Motorola Moto G55 5G is a solid and affordable smartphone with decent performance and decent cameras.
Highlights include the PWM-free and, if desired, quite bright screen, support for an eSIM profile and the very chic design, where you can choose between understated and spectacular colors.
Note: We have updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7, available here.
Motorola Moto G55
- 12/14/2024 v8
Florian Schmitt
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was freely purchased by the author at his/her own expense. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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