Cheapest you'll ever find an eSIM capable phone (for now, at least).
Killer deal. I bought one as a gift not long ago and it's been working great.
Great phone from the oldest mobile phone manufacturer. Motorola's quietly stepped up their game recently!
8GB + 256GB which is usually found on higher tier phones.
Also available for the same price at JB Hi-Fi, if that's closer to you.
Oh, I remember that actually, ridiculously cheap deal. I'm pretty confident this is the lowest price it's ever been in NZ though.
Yep - I got one at $219. But if I hadn't and was in the market for one this price is still very good - and probably better for local support (in terms of warranty / returns etc)
Just covering off one un-answered question from the last post:
"Bindiver on 08/12/2025 - 10:15
Hi, thanks for your answers, still waiting for someone to try this phone on 2degrees Volte, did I mention it's free + you get free 15GB of data & calls n txts & it's free to try!!"
I can confirm this phone works with 2 degrees VoLTE.
That chip is slow as, might as well get a used Pixel 7 or something. I bought one a few months ago for $70. Got a Nothing Phone 3a Pro for $350. Plenty of refurbished options for cheap too (my Pixel 9 Pro Fold is refurbished but excellent grade and it's mint). Tons of good phones selling for cheap with much higher specs.
Other than that, Motorola's OS is clean, so if you're into a mostly bloatware free and clean Android experience, this is one of the limited options you can go for. Only other route is Pixel or Nothing OS.
where did you get your refurbished one from?
Green Gadgets. I was a bit uncertain at first, but after doing extensive research, I took the risk.
You can either go direct with them, or go via Dick Smith. A lot of the refurbished phones on Kogan / DickSmith are from Green Gadgets. Delivery only took about 4 days I believe and they ship from Aussie.
The phone I got (Pixel 9 Pro Fold) was of Excellent condition/grade, but when I received it I noticed a few flaws that I wasn't too happy about. After using it for a few days, the phone died on me, it wouldn't turn on. I don't know if this is due to the fact that I was rebooting the phone constantly as I was trying to do a lot of "hacky" stuff with root and hiding root from certain apps, which meant I needed to install and test various different Zygisk and LSPosed modules. Essentially, I had to reboot to apply the changes and I was doing this constantly. In addition, I was constantly re-flashing the official ROM, because I messed up certain partitions on the phone (while testing things). The phone felt really hot at one point and perhaps it overheated and the screen just went completely blank (both inner and outer screens).
I figured it might be a hardware issue, so I contacted them and sent it back. They provided free return packaging and everything, I didn't have to pay anything. I got a new phone (also Excellent grade) about 2 weeks later. This time, the quality is way better than the last one, almost like new. And so far, no issues with it yet.
I only purchased from them once though, but would probably do it again.
Since you mentioned Pixel 9 Pro Fold is from Green Gadget and you mentioned only purchased from them once…
What about the Pixel 7 for $70 & Nothing Phone 3a Pro? Is it from Green Gadgets as well? or which refurbished store?
@ppuck: Pixel 7 and Nothing Phone 3a Pro were from FB Marketplace. I saw some other options on there that were pretty cheap and good value for money. My point is, go shop around and compare the actual value to money, don't just look at something that is cheap on the surface level and immediately assume it's a bargain.
The only thing that puts me off refurbished options is that often you pay for it with a reduced battery capacity depending on the age and use of the device - for me it is the first thing that degrades to a point where it starts me looking for a new device.
@Semifinal: Some of them guarantee a certain battery health %.
It also depends on how old the phone is. If you buy a phone (new or refurbished) that came out 4 years ago, the battery health would most likely have deteriorated anyway.
Depends on your use case as well. If it's a daily phone and you use it heavily, then sure I could see that battery life would be an important factor. But if it's just a spare phone for backup situations, probably not so much. I've replaced batteries in phones before, so I could always renew them I guess.
But anyway, fair point, it's up to you if you want to take the risk.
This.
Don't look at esim and the storage. They mean very little.
Processor and actual RAM should be the first thing you are looking at when buying a phone. Then maybe screen/camera.
If you are desperate for a cheapish new phone for a year or so then maybe.
I disagree.
Understand your requirements, then look at suitable options.
Some people aren't you.
I'd like to move on to an esim phone. Can anyone recommend a mid range one about $500?
It's out of stock in Christchurch :(
I bought one from Kogan .
Its a great phone , if you want a phone & not a gaming device .
Ignore any comments about the chip being old , or the specs etc .
In actual use , it runs perfectly , zero issues, zero lag . Dont compare it to a high spec phone , it isnt .
Screen is good , camera is good in daytime , speakerphone works great , batt life is good , no issues with full screen vids from youtube .
I dropped it face down onto a hard floor , no damage .(Gorilla Glass 7)
Yes the case is plastic , who cares. I have mine inside the case protector it comes with.
It takes both sim & esim .
Its not clean Android, as Motorola used to be. A bit of bloatware I had to uninstall .
Yea moto is fine, i recomend it to friends , i dont game, if i was i would get a proper gaming device instead of a high end phone.
Camera,build quality and ui experience is all that matters these days.
Yep - agree with everything sroby mentions. The only relatively minor downside for me is the LCD screen coming from an OLED panel from my last phone. But for a phone to just get things done it is great value.
This is out of stock at Noel Leeming and JB-Hifi.
Does anybody know of another store that has this phone at a similar price?
https://www.jbhifi.co.nz/products/moto-g56-5g-256gb-black-oy…
JB Hifi shows them in stock.
Perhaps they are discontinued, the G57 is being sold now, maybee why the G56 is so cheap, dumping old stock ?
Dick Smith / Kogan sell the G57 for $289
Interesting - the G57 seems to downgrade some areas (base storage, SD card, e-sim etc):
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=14284&idPhone…
I have ordered one from JB Hifi but they say it is on back order and they may not be able to get them from the suppliers.
Previous G56 post from Kogan