Motorola G84 beats Xiaomi for under €200

A €139 phone lasted 43 months and its replacement cost under €200

Calculating the monthly cost of a smartphone is the exercise that separates smart buyers from brand payers. A Samsung M20 bought in June 2020 for €139 lasted three years and seven months, resulting in a cost of €3.23 per month. The top layer of the screen started peeling off—the device lost its water resistance, making every drop a threat—and the owner decided against repair. Requirements for the replacement were specific: 5G, 6 to 8 GB RAM, 128 GB storage, and NFC. The camera didn't matter.

The outcome arrived in January with a Motorola G84 well below €200. In between, there was a week of doubts, comparisons, and one return.

How long should a phone last before retiring it?

There is a school of thought arguing three years is too short and a well-maintained phone should last five or six. The math disagrees. The M20 cost €139, still works, and comes out to €3.23 monthly, the best value-per-month its owner has had. Spending money on a peeling screen, with a processor already struggling with modern app sizes, isn't worth it. Here, obsolescence isn't dictated by the calendar but by software.

Why Xiaomi was rejected: ads and virtual sensors

The main argument against the best-selling brand was software. Xiaomi phones come with custom layers and ads inside native apps, including the photo gallery. Defenders say these ads can be disabled in settings and don't reappear, noting all manufacturers install proprietary software. Switching the ROM to MIUI EU or Lineage remains a specialist fix, unappealing to average buyers.

Another issue weighed heavier: the software-based proximity sensor, which fails to turn off the screen during calls, causing hang-ups or accidental touches. Some describe it as unbearable. In the POCO line, separate from Xiaomi with different components, the X5 uses a real sensor; the X6 Pro returns to virtual. Yet some users claim they haven't seen those ads in years of use.

G84 vs G73: what justifies the €70 difference?

Opposite the G84 appeared the G73, very similar and starting at €185, even €160 with a store's welcome discount. The gap lies in the display: OLED on the G84, IPS on the G73, plus 12 GB RAM versus 8 GB. For typical use, the G73 would have sufficed. Here, the criterion was different: eleven hours of daily work staring at the screen makes image quality a tool, not a luxury. Side by side, the difference is noticeable, even if resolution is identical.

Some argue an IPS has nothing to envy compared to OLED and that the real issue is brightness, crucial for reading outdoors. The same applies to the 120 Hz refresh rate: configurable, with little perceptible difference when forced.

What does the entry-level range offer for €110?

The comparison doesn't end with the two Motorolas. For €110, there are ruggedized devices with over 10,000 mAh battery—double most others—8 GB RAM, 128 GB, and NFC, in exchange for basic screen and camera. At the same price appears a ZTE with 6 GB and 128 GB running Android 12. And a Redmi Note 12 was secured for €139 with barely 4 GB RAM.

Higher up, the POCO F5 sold for €350, antiestéticaturing Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 and over a million points in Antutu, a figure that exposes a 2022 flagship costing double and barely exceeding 1,100,000. Performance per euro has collapsed at the top and skyrocketed in the mid-range.

Seven months later: how is the Motorola G84 doing?

The verdict, half a year in, is positive. The device hasn't shown slowness or lagging issues, RAM is ample for daily use, 5G coverage is solid, it connects well with Android Auto, and its dual speakers made a Bluetooth speaker used in the kitchen obsolete. Storage is generous and photos are good. Aesthetically it wins: squared sides, firm grip, and a gray that shifts to metallic blue depending on light.

Regarding battery, judgment remained mixed. The 120 Hz can be fixed at 60, set to 120, or left to app discretion, and those who tested forcing it noticed little. The reasonable doubt persists about how much that refresh rate consumes over a real day.

With these prices and specs, the question is no longer whether spending €1,000 on a "good" phone is worthwhile, but how many years you must demand from a €160 or €185 device so the math beats that of a €139 unit that already lasted 43 months. No one has put a number yet.