It’s rare to see someone using a smartphone without a case in 2024. We rely on our smartphones every day for a whole host of things from calls to texts to maps to payments, but these glass and metal devices are so fragile that we’re forced to protect them with bulky shock resistant cases to prevent tech disaster when they slip from our grasp.

Few phones are rugged enough to survive a drop onto the concrete, but Motorola has a new budget Android that it reckons might suit those worried of breaking their gadgets. The Moto G75 5G is the first Moto G series phone to be military-grade certified with the catchily-named MIL-STD-810H standard.

That means it should handle drops up to 1.2 metres, as well as “extreme weather conditions, temperatures, and pressure changes”, according to Motorola.

“Fit for all types of vacations and trips, it sports damage-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 5, IP68 underwater protection and guards against dust immersion,” the firm said. “It even features Water Touch technology, so users can easily access their phone after swimming or during a rainstorm.”

You get all of this in a phone with 6.78-inch Full HD+ screen alongside stereo speakers, up to 256GB storage and 8GB RAM, powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset. It also runs Android 14 out of the box and has full IP68 water and dust resistance, as you would expect with such a shock resistant device.

Some corners have been cut to keep the price down to £269.99, such as the use of an LCD rather than OLED screen and a decidedly low-end processor, but Motorola still manages to pack in a 50MP main camera sensor as well as an 8MP ultra-wide and 16MP selfie shooter.

You also get USB-C charging, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and generous 5,000mAh battery. When it comes to spending less on a smartphone, Motorola manages to make its Moto G phones very competitive. The addition of the extra hardiness of the G75 could make it a sensible choice.

The Moto G75 5G will go on sale in mid-October from £269.99. You’ll be able to pick it up from Motorola’s UK website, Amazon and Tesco. It’ll be available in a few colours in vegan leather and matt material options.