Motorola’s two new budget phones shouldn’t look this good

While not as flashy as flagship phone announcements, it’s always worth keeping an eye on new phones in the budget range being launched. Motorola was the long-time king of this particular area but was largely unseated by particularly strong efforts from manufacturers like Samsung and OnePlus into the budget market.

So, it might no longer be the sole king, but that doesn’t mean it’s throwing in the towel. Far from it, in fact. Motorola has just announced two new smartphones in the sub-$300 bracket: the Moto G Power 5G (2024) and the Moto G 5G (2024). Here’s everything you need to know.

Moto G Power 5G (2024)

Leading the pack is the Motorola Moto G Power 5G (2024). While far from the technical powerhouses you’ll find at the other end of the price range, Motorola has put up a strong fight and included several great features that we love to see in a $300 smartphone.

We’ll start with the phone’s namesake feature: The battery. The G Power (like the Moto G below) benefits from a huge 5,000mAh battery cell, which, when combined with the lower-powered specs, should mean battery life that’s measured in days, not hours. But that’s not really changed from last year — what has changed is the charging speed. Motorola has gone a little bit mad and has thrown in support for 30W fast charging. That’s faster than the charging rate on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 or Galaxy S24. Heck, it’s even a little bit faster than the Apple iPhone 15 Pro. Motorola also went and threw in 15W wireless charging, too, because why not? You’ll only get 10W from the charger out of the box, but it’s worth investing in a faster charger to get those increased speeds.

Design-wise, these are rarely going to pass as more expensive phones, but they still look pretty good. The new Moto G Power has a vegan leather back, and while the bezels are chunkier than most other phones (with a sizeable chin below the display), they’re still good-looking in their own way. The G Power also comes with the most exclusive of ports: the 3.5mm headphone jack. The display is a 6.7-inch LCD panel with a 2400 x 1080 resolution and a 60-120Hz adaptable refresh rate.

That dynamic refresh rate isn’t likely to be as smooth as more powerful phones, as powering the phone is a Dimensity 7020 processor, and while it’s likely to be capable, it won’t be the match of flagship processors. Still, when paired with 8GB of RAM, it should perform well, especially when used with Motorola’s RAM Boost, which uses up to 8GB of your storage as additional RAM. Speaking of storage, the Moto G Power 5G comes with 128GB, a more than respectable number.

Cameras on cheap phones are hit-and-miss experiences, and we won’t know what the Moto G Power 5G’s camera will be like until we have a chance to play with it. However, a 50-megapixel main lens is certainly a good sign, and it uses Quad Pixel tech to further boost light getting to the camera. It’s joined by an 8MP ultrawide lens, which may or may not be worthwhile. Historically, extra lenses on cheaper phones tend to be a bit of a waste, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The Motorola Moto G Power 5G (2024) will launch with Android 14, but there’s no word on whether it’ll receive any further updates after this. The price is good, though, starting from $300. The Moto G Power 5G (2024) will be available from March 22 at Cricket, with availability coming later elsewhere. You’ll be able to buy it unlocked from March 29.

Moto G 5G (2024)

The Motorola Moto G 5G (2024) is the second of the two new Motorola devices, but don’t make the mistake of thinking this means it’s lesser. Priced at just $200, the Moto G 5G is well-priced and well-placed to take the budget phone market by storm.

In many ways, the Moto G 5G is the Moto G Power above but is toned down slightly. But that’s not a bad thing, as Motorola has simply jettisoned elements that won’t be enormously missed. For instance, the Moto G has the 50MP main lens as its more expensive sibling but without the additional 8MP ultrawide lens. Instead, there’s a 2MP macro lens, which isn’t likely to add much to the experience.

It’s similar-looking to the G Power but slightly smaller, with a 6.6-inch LCD panel and 720p resolution. It has the same 60-120Hz refresh rate, which is a nice addition, as well as Dolby Atmos support and the same vegan leather back panel. It also has a 5,000mAh battery, so expect a similarly long battery life — just without the fast charging capabilities. It still charges at 18W, though, so it’s not exactly slow—it’s just not as fast as the G Power.

It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 and has 4GB of RAM. That’s definitely on the lower side, but you can double that with RAM Boost. It has 128GB of storage, which is very welcome. Android 14 is included as standard, but again, there’s no word on updates.

The specs are clearly lower than those of the Moto G Power 5G (2024), but that’s for a very good reason: price. The Motorola Moto G 5G (2024) starts from just $200 and will be available from March 21 from T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile, with availability at other retailers coming after this date. It’ll also be available to buy unlocked, but not until May 2.