I’ve at all times had a tumultuous relationship with Motorola. While the corporate primarily focuses on reasonably priced/price range telephones, I nonetheless usually discover myself disillusioned with its U.S. choices. Sure, these kind of telephones aren’t meant to be powerhouses, however they need to at the least be useable if anybody goes to pay any sum of money to purchase one. This is why I at all times course of with warning every time I’m tasked to evaluation a brand new Motorola cellphone, equivalent to the newest Moto G Power 5G.After reviewing the underwhelming Moto G Play (2023), I noticed that a part of my downside with some Motorola units is the dearth of 5G chips. It’s not a lot the 5G that I’m searching for; it is extra in order that these chips simply appear to do a greater job at, nicely… every part. I hoped this concept would show true with the Moto G Power 5G since I had such good experiences with different 5G Motorola telephones just like the Moto G Stylus 5G (2022).The cellphone is powered by a MediaTek chipset, which can deter some as the corporate is normally seen as lesser than Qualcomm (learn: Qualcomm on a price range). Still, MediaTek makes nice chips that supply nice worth for firms trying to decrease prices, particularly with its Dimensity line. This is what permits Motorola to supply the G Power 5G at such a gorgeous worth, regardless of some shortcomings. However, after my expertise with the Moto G Play (2023), the Moto G Power 5G was like a breath of recent air.Today’s finest Motorola Moto G Power 5G offers (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)Moto G Power 5G: Price & availability(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)The Moto G Power 5G was launched on April 5, 2023, and went on sale on April 13. The gadget is offered at Motorola’s web site, Amazon, and Best Buy, the place you should buy the cellphone universally unlocked, beginning at $299.Motorola acknowledged that the gadget can be accessible by carriers equivalent to T-Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, and Xfinity Mobile “in the coming months.”The Moto G Power comes with 6GB RAM and 256GB of storage. There are 4GB/128GB choices listed, which can be accessible later. It is offered in Mineral Black and Pearl White colorways.Moto G Power 5G: What I like(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)Off the bat, the cellphone seems to be beautiful. Motorola tends to alter its design language yearly after which slaps the identical design onto each cellphone in its arsenal. Last 12 months’s design wasn’t something to run house about, however Motorola appears to have discovered a successful formulation for 2023, which you can even see from the brand new Motorola Edge+ (2023). The Moto G Power 5G has a polycarbonate chassis with a pleasant sheen to it with out being too shiny.I acquired the Midnight Black colorway for my evaluation mannequin, and it has a pleasant blue tint to it when in direct daylight. It is a little bit of a fingerprint magnet, however that’s nothing a pleasant case can’t repair. The digital camera housing within the cop nook is rectangular and lets the cameras stand out properly within the added gloss. On the entrance, you’ll discover pretty sizeable bezels across the 6.5-inch show, however that’s to be anticipated at this worth level.(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)Speaking of that show, it’s a Full HD+ panel with a 120H refresh price. It’s not the brightest show round, however I by no means had an excessive amount of bother viewing content material whereas out and about. The sooner refresh price additionally helps make content material look nice, and whereas I discover that scrolling by the app drawer or another areas can generally lag, it isn’t current in lots of different areas, and I hardly appear to note it.Of course, it helps to have a chipset that may (largely) deal with the sooner refresh price. The chipset within the Moto G Play appeared to have numerous bother with the 90Hz show, however the MediaTek Dimensity 930 within the Power 5G feels a bit extra succesful and up for the duty. In truth, it dealt with a lot of what I threw at it fairly nicely.Don’t count on this cellphone to win any benchmarks towards the very best Android telephones, however efficiency held up when opening, utilizing, and switching between apps. Thanks to the SoC and 6GB of RAM, I hardly felt like I used to be utilizing a $300 cellphone in on a regular basis utilization.Swipe to scroll horizontallySpecsCategoryMoto G Power 5GDisplay6.5-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080), LCD, 120Hz refresh rateChipsetMediaTek Dimensity 930Storage256GB, expandableMemory6GBSoftwareAndroid 13, one OS improve, three years of updatesRear Camera 150MP wide-angle, f/1.8, 0.64μm (1.28μm by way of pixel binning)Rear Camera 22MP macro, f/2.4, 1.75μmRear Camera 32MP depth, f/2.4, 1.75μmSelfie Camera16MP, f/2.4, 1.0μmWater ResistanceWater-repellentBattery & Charging5,000mAh, 15W chargingConnectivity5G, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 5, FM RadioNFC❌Dimensions163.06 x 74.8 x 8.45mmWeight185gColorsMineral Black, Pearl WhiteThe chip was capable of deal with gaming pretty nicely, however you’ll have to make some sacrifices. Games like Nier: Reincarnation, Genshin Impact, and Gyee had been playable, however solely on decrease settings (body price, graphics, and so on.). That stated, when you’re trying to do some hardcore gaming on a cellphone, this is not it, and also you’ll in all probability wanna take a look at some devoted gaming Android telephones.(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)The audio was additionally a plus for me, because the Dolby Atmos-tuned stereo audio system made every part I watched or listened to sound a lot fuller and richer. Oddly, that’s greater than I can say for the Galaxy S22, which makes content material sound empty once I activate Dolby, however I digress.The cellphone runs Android 13 out of the field, and apart from Motorola’s minimal enter on the software program, it feels kinda like utilizing a Pixel smartphone. However, it is Motorola’s enter that helps make this a enjoyable cellphone to make use of. The firm usually consists of varied gestures that you would be able to allow for fast entry to options. A chopping movement activates the flashlight, twist your wrist twice to activate the digital camera, and there’s even a Tap Back-like function that allows you to double-tap the again of the cellphone to do… nicely, nearly something you need it to. I discover it extremely helpful to make use of this for screenshots.Motorola’s extremely helpful gestures are right here, they usually’re higher than ever.Double-tapping the ability button additionally allows you to entry shortcuts to user-selected apps, which is my absolute favourite function. Saves me the difficulty of getting to scroll and search the app drawer for my most-used apps. And once I have to, I can at all times entry the app drawer straight from this menu.Peek show is one other favourite and a Motorola staple. It’s in all probability the very best utilization of a lock display I’ve ever used, because it lets me faucet, maintain, or swipe icons to learn, reply, or work together with notifications, all with out unlocking the cellphone. And it fantastically shows album artwork if I’m listening to music.Image 1 of 3(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)As far as battery life goes, I’ve no complaints. Motorola says the cellphone ought to final a couple of day and a half on a single cost. I bought a median of a day and a few change, however that is with the show set to mechanically adapt as much as 120Hz. You can in all probability squeeze extra battery life when you set it to 60Hz if that’s your pace.Then, there are the cameras. Coming into this evaluation, I used to be not anticipating a lot from the Moto G Power 5G’s digital camera system. Motorola is not identified for being among the many finest digital camera telephones on the market, and given the worth level, I attempted to maintain my expectations low.That could have been a profit to Motorola, as I got here out fairly shocked by the digital camera. Granted, I’m not blown away, however I discover the photographs from the first 50MP digital camera to be fairly acceptable. A bit heavy on distinction, reds can come out slightly too crimson, and clouds can usually seem a bit blown out, however that is concerning the stage of high quality I’d count on from a cellphone at this worth, and Motorola (largely) delivered.Image 1 of 16(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)Low-light and nighttime photographs come out a bit noisy, however the devoted Night Mode does a good job of giving some mild to near-pitch-dark conditions.Unfortunately, there isn’t a ultrawide or telephoto lens on the Moto G Power 5G. And whereas I’m not a fan of macro sensors, I managed to get a number of good photographs from the digital camera, so I am unable to complain an excessive amount of. That stated, I’d quite have a single ultrawide digital camera than two depth and macro cameras, however I digress. It’s a $300 cellphone, so sacrifices should be made.Selfies are simply okay.Moto G Power 5G: What I do not like(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)While there’s rather a lot to love concerning the Moto G Power 5G, there are some things I’m not a fan of. First and foremost: there is no NFC. Motorola likes to maintain prices down on its price range Android telephones by omitting this function, which is a bummer for folks like me who depend on Google Wallet to make cell funds or for transportation. On the one hand, I perceive why they do it. But then again, c’mon, y’all.Motorola can also be identified to forego IP scores for water and dirt resistance. Unfortunately, the Moto G Power 5G simply has a “water-repellant design,” which implies it may face up to mild publicity to spills or rain. But for somebody like me who lives in Seattle, Washington, some stage of water resistance is sort of a should.Then there’s the fingerprint sensor. Normally, I haven’t got many points with side-mounted sensors, as they normally work simply tremendous. However, the sensor on the G Power is sort of irritating as a result of it is continuously not recognizing my fingers, even after I re-register all 4 of those I exploit. Fortunately, the cellphone has face unlock, however that is not very safe, and the fingerprint sensor simply hasn’t been very dependable for me.(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)I used to be shocked to see that Motorola upped the charging pace for its price range telephones from 10W to 15W. Unfortunately, that is nonetheless too sluggish to make a lot of a distinction, particularly when charging the cellphone’s 5000mAh battery. Sure, I get a day or so price of battery life, but it surely takes about two hours to totally cost the cellphone from 1%. Ain’t no person bought time for that!And whereas I take pleasure in most of Motorola’s additions with MyUX, there’s additionally a little bit of bloatware, too. The firm has a “MotoHub” that is attempting to be one thing of a Google Discover alternative, but it surely simply feels very busy and form of spammy.The identical goes for the little hubs Motorola sprinkles all through my app drawer. They’re folders of apps that separate a number of the apps I personal into classes for purchasing, leisure, and video games. It’s sort of helpful, I suppose, but it surely additionally spams me with a bunch of apps it needs me to obtain, and I’m simply not .Motorola has some bizarre spammy software program that you would be able to’t appear to do away with.Lastly, Motorola’s monitor document for software program help stays subpar. Fortunately, the cellphone runs Android 13, however Motorola solely guarantees one OS improve, which is a bummer as a result of Android 14 is already in beta. On the intense facet, the corporate guarantees three years of software program updates. Unfortunately, Motorola is not the quickest at issuing updates (the cellphone remains to be on the February 2023 safety patch).Moto G Power 5G: Competition(Image credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)The OnePlus Nord N20 is one among our favourite telephones below $300. It has a fantastic design, good cameras, and a vibrant AMOLED show. It additionally has NFC and is powered by a Snapdragon 695, which has confirmed to be fairly a very good performer for midrange smartphones. Unfortunately, with just one software program replace, the cellphone is not eligible for Android 13, which means you are caught with Android 12. And whereas the show is an AMOLED panel, it solely has a 60Hz refresh price.While we anticipate a Galaxy A24 to hit the market, Samsung’s Galaxy A23 remains to be a superb alternative. It, too, has a Full HD+ show with a 120Hz refresh price and a 5,000mAh battery. It additionally has a 50MP quad-camera setup that features an ultrawide sensor, and Samsung guarantees to help it with as much as 4 years of updates and two OS upgrades, which means Android 14 must be its final main software program change.That stated, the Galaxy A23 5G solely will get you 4GB of RAM and 64GB of inside storage, and you’ll have to go looking far and broad to seek out larger configurations. And the design, whereas good, is a bit dated with the Infinity-V notch the place the selfie digital camera hides.Moto G Power 5G: Should you purchase it?(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)You can purchase this if…You are out there for an reasonably priced 5G smartphone.You need a cellphone that lasts all day.You desire the “stock” Android expertise.You’re a fan of Motorola’s gestures.You should not purchase this if…You want a cellphone with NFC.You like getting (well timed) updates and long-term software program help with a number of OS upgrades.You need a versatile digital camera expertise.When reviewing a cellphone, I usually cannot wait to get again to my each day driver. However, with the Moto G Power 5G, I discovered myself utilizing the cellphone slightly longer than ordinary, as it really works nicely sufficient that I wasn’t precisely pining to get again to my Galaxy flagship.Battery life is sweet, the design is sweet, the digital camera is fairly good, and the software program is usually good. The Moto G Power 5G is an efficient cellphone, and I believe that is saying rather a lot for a $300 smartphone. Yes, I want the cameras had been extra fascinating and tuned only a smidge extra. I want Motorola would give the cellphone multiple OS improve. I actually want charging was sooner to match the battery life.With a reputation like “Moto G Power 5G,” one expects the cellphone to actually be about energy and efficiency. While I’m not fairly certain this cellphone exemplifies “power,” I believe it does a adequate job of providing simply what somebody would need from a cellphone on this worth vary.
The new Moto G Power 5G is a surprisingly first rate cellphone that offers you all you may ask for at this worth level. An honest digital camera, all-day battery, a slick design, and a fluid show flanked by a loud pair of stereo audio system. You will not really feel such as you’re utilizing a $300 cellphone.
Motorola Moto G Power 5G: Price Comparison (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)