How good can a $ 300 smartphone really be ? That was the question I had as I took the Moto G Power 5 GiB ( 2024 ) out of its box and began to set it up . In a earth where many flagship smartphones are selling for $ 1,000 or more , what can you get for just $ 300 in 2024 ?
There ’s a fortune to like about the Moto G Power 5G. The battery life is great , the raw aim is a step in the right direction , and Motorola ’s done a respectable job of keep on sports fan - best-loved features while also adding some thing I ’ve been wanting for years . Simultaneously , there are other panorama of the phone that make me want to rip my fuzz out .
On composition , the Moto G Power 5 gee ( 2024 ) look like one of the best $ 300 smartphones you’re able to buy . However , after living with the telephone set for a little over a workweek , it ’s seeming that there are well fashion to spend your money .
What I like about the Moto G Power
We ’ll get to my complaints about the Moto G Power 5 GB ( 2024 ) before long enough , but I first need to address all of the things Motorola got ripe with this phone .
It starts with the design . Just like its predecessor , the new Moto G Power 5 G is made out of charge card . However , it does n’t feel overly cheap . The plastic frame is nice and stalwart , and all of the button have a goodclickwhen pressed .
I particularly care the “ vegan leather ” on the back of the phone . It ’s still just moldable with a leather - similar design and grain , but I think it feels bully . It bring home the bacon first-class grip , it does n’t attract fingerprints , and it give the Moto G Power 5 G an overall more unequalled feel than other phones in this cost range . In addition to the Midnight Blue color of my brushup unit , Motorola also has a Pale Lilac color useable .
The other big win for the Moto G Power 5 G ( 2024 ) is its battery life . Motorola crammed a 5,000 mAh battery inside the phone , and in my testing , it read to an well-fixed two day of use per charge . Even with almost three - and - a - one-half hour of screen metre one day — over an hour of which was spent watching YouTube and another 30 minutes playingMarvel Snap — the Moto G Power still had 53 % barrage left in the storage tank . Use the phone a bit less , and you should be able to lift into daytime three with a little number of battery still remaining . barrage life has always been a strong courting of the Moto G Power serial , and it ’s no different this year .
When you do manage to run out of barrage fire , the charging experience has beenvastlyupgraded compared to previous Moto G theoretical account . Instead of the slow 10W charging speeding from one-time genesis , the Moto G Power 5 G ( 2024 ) now has a maximum wire charging rate of 30W. moreover , if you ca n’t stand wires , the Moto G Power 5 constant of gravitation ( 2024 ) also corroborate 15W Qi wireless charging . Those are all great upgrade !
Battery life has always been a strong suit of the Moto G Power serial , and it ’s no different this year .
And the goodies do n’t stop there . If you run out of the 128 GB of interior storage , you could just pop in a MicroSD circuit card ( up to 1 TB ) to give yourself more space . You also get a 3.5 millimeter headphone seafarer ( remember those ? ) and an NFC chip for contactless payments via Google Wallet — something Motorola usually omits from its Moto G smartphones . tot that together with stereo speakers that fathom shockingly good , and you end up with a long list of positive for the Moto G Power 5 M ( 2024 ) .
Display, performance, and cameras
Compromises have to come somewhere for a $ 300 smartphone , so where do they dwell within the Moto G Power ? In this case , you find the confidence game of the $ 300 cost tag with the display , functioning , and cameras .
lease ’s start with the display . The Moto G Power has a 6.7 - column inch LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and Full HD+ resolution ( specifically , 2400 x 1800 pixels ) . On newspaper , those are great routine . In practice , the Moto G Power ’s showing is … disappointing . Looking at the phone head - on , the blind isfine . textbook is crisp , colors seem good , and the 120Hz refresh charge per unit adds a nice suavity to your scrolling . But that ’s where the positive end .
front at the Moto G Power from even the slightest angle , and the cover looks importantly worse — showcasing harsh brightness and poor color . The screen is also nigh impossible to see outside in unmediated sunlight . It ’s not a bang-up experience .
likewise disappointing is the Moto G Power ’s performance . Powering the phone is a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 octa - kernel chipset paired with 8 GB of RAM . For simple tasks , such as scroll through Threads or watching YouTube picture , the Moto G Power handles thing just all right . Ask anything more of it , though , and the phone struggle .
This is most prominently see when play . Marvel Snap , my go - to mobile game , run ill on the Moto G Power . Animations are sluggish , scrolling through menus can be a stutter - filled sight , and tap a menu push is often meet with a time lag before anything bechance . And this is just when essay to act the game at 60 physical body per second ( fps ) with small graphics ; attempting to apply Medium or High computer graphic pushes it to the verge of unplayable . The Moto G Power will accomplish what you ask of it , but it ’s never specially fast at doing so .
Next , we have the camera . I calculate you could probably suppose where this is going .
On the back of the Moto G Power 5 gee ( 2024 ) , you ’ll bump two cameras : a 50 - megapixel principal tv camera and an 8MP ultrawide camera that also enables a macro shot fashion . On the front is a 16MP selfie tv camera . I recommend Motorola for including a useful lower-ranking camera rather of a standalone macro or depth television camera . Unfortunately , that ’s not enough to save what ’s ultimately a jolly risky overall camera frame-up .
The main camera is the most useable of the sensing element here , but that ’s the most positive thing I can say about it . The first exposure of my heel ( Damon ) is one of the better motion picture I take away , but it ’s not a specially effective one . The Gunter Wilhelm Grass is far too bright and too oversharpened . The particular on Damon ’s head are lenient , there ’s no profundity to the mental image , and the whole thing just sense flat . The colors of the Rueben and fries in the 2nd pic are anemic , there are exposure and bite publication in the picture of my cat , etc . Every photo you take with the Moto G Power 5 G hassomethingwrong with it .
What about the ultrawide camera ? It ’s quite speculative . The 118 - arcdegree field of thought commit you a broad view of your subject , but there ’s nothing ransom about any other aspect of the images . Ultrawide photos lack any meaningful detail , have zero depth or character , and something as simple as a sidewalk ( that ’s very close to the camera in the image above ) bet like a watercolor - yttrium flock .
Even worse are nighttime photos taken with the 50MP primary camera . I do n’t imagine I necessitate to excuse why these are so risky . And just for context , the third pic was of a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in front of me , though you may hardly state .
Did I go into the Moto G Power 5 G ( 2024 ) expecting a masterful camera ? Not at all . But even for a $ 300 smartphone , this is n’t an pleasurable photographic camera experience . It ’ll do for some casual pic you want to share on Instagram or X ( formerly Twitter ) , but that ’s about the extent to which I ’d trust this camera organisation .
What else should you know about the Moto G Power?
We ’ve extend a quite a little of ground at this peak in the review article , but there are a few other things you should acknowledge .
The Moto G Power 5 G ( 2024 ) ship with Android 14 , and like other Motorola sound , the software experience is very similar to that of a Google Pixel headphone . From the big Quick preferences toggles to the Google Discover feed and the gentle - to - navigate preferences app , this is about as “ stock ” as Android get in 2024 . It ’s clean , simple , and my preferent Android UI .
All of the Motorola - sole feature film live in the Moto app , and there ’s a lot to like here . chop the phone to turn on the flashlight or twisting it to reach the camera app are gesture that have existed on Motorola earpiece for long time , and they remain some of the best on Android .
Unfortunately , the Moto G Power also has some unsavory software additions . When dress up the phone , Motorola try on to preinstall a load of apps like LinkedIn , Booking.com , Walmart , Wayfair , Hulu , Netflix , and a assemblage of random mobile games . you’re able to deselect these well enough during the setup process , but if you pretermit this step , you ’ll be nonplus with a boatload of bloatware on the earpiece .
The Moto G Power has some offensive software improver .
And that ’s not all . The default Weather app is best described as “ atrocious . ” It ’s riddled with ads and random newsworthiness article . It also runsterriblyon the Moto G Power — often locking up for multiple minute when all you ’re doing is scrolling .
Similarly , the Moto G Power comes with something called “ Glance ” set up on the lock screen by nonremittal . While localize up the Moto G Power , Glance is draw as a “ unparalleled curl screen door with live entropy and personalized recommendation for each moment . ” In reality , it does nothing but show random articles on your lock screenland .
You cantechnicallyuse the Moto G Power and avoid these preinstalled apps , the terrible Weather app , and the Glance lock chamber screen . However , doing so requires a minute of technical literacy . I know my mom or gran would have no idea how to get rid of these thing . merely put , they ’re tacky , bestow nothing of value , and make the Moto G Power experience cheaper than it already is .
A few terminal tidbits before we wrap things up :
Moto G Power 5G (2024) price and availability
The Moto G Power 5 gm ( 2024 ) will be usable for purchase beginning March 22 , but only if you bribe it through Cricket . It should make it at other carriers at a late particular date , and you could purchase it unbarred beginning March 29 .
There ’s only one version of the Moto G Power available — including 128 GB of storage and 8 GB RAM — and it will set you back $ 300 . It comes in two colors : Midnight Blue and Pale Lilac .
Should you buy the new Moto G Power?
Let ’s return to the interrogative sentence I asked at the top of this revaluation : How good can a $ 300 smartphone really be ? In the case of the Moto G Power 5 G ( 2024 ) , the answer is “ Not very . ” Although there are thing the Moto G Power acquire correct , it ’s entertain back by the things it induce wrong — which terminate up being a pretty lengthy list .
gratefully , the Moto G Power 5 gram ( 2024 ) is n’t a microcosm of budget smartphones in 2024 . If you take a looking at around you — even at other phones from Motorola itself — you could findmuchbetter ways to pass your money .
regard theMotorola Edge ( 2023 ) . Released in October 2023 for $ 600 , the Motorola Edge is better than the Moto G Power 5 G in virtually every way . It has a much higher - quality organic light-emitting diode display , a more capable central processing unit , 68W pumped-up charging , cracking battery living , and a more dependable photographic camera . Today , it iseasily uncommitted for just $ 350 .
If you may stretch your budget a little further , theOnePlus 12Ris one of the most impressive $ 500 smartphones I ’ve ever used . It has a Methedrine and metal intent , an improbably good presentation , a flagship CPU , 80W charging , frightful battery life , and amuchbetter 50MP independent camera . pit , evena lesser - known Android telephone like the Nuu B30 Prolooks like a good deal compared to the Moto G top executive 5G.
Not that long ago , Moto G sound used to represent the salutary of the best when it came to tacky smartphones . They were shining examples that budget phonesreallycould be undecomposed . In 2024 , they ’ve mostly become the opposite : trashy , middling , and forgettable . That ’s what the Moto G Power 5 1000 ( 2024 ) is , and it ’s not a sound you should spend your money on if you do n’t have to .
