The Moto G 5G 2024 is a surprisingly good phone despite its low price. For $200, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything better. Motorola’s software features also make it feel superior to many other phones in this price range. The performance and camera aren’t impressive, but it’s fine for daily use unless you do a lot of multitasking.
for
- The back is significantly upgraded with vegan leather
- All-day battery life with 18W wired charging
- NFC and 3.5mm jack
- very affordable price
against
- Visibility of outdoor displays may be improved
- Not suitable for games
- weak camera
- macro camera is useless
- performance is slow
- No IP rating
If you multitask or watch videos, consider upgrading to Moto G Power 5G 2024. The high-resolution display makes videos look great, and 8GB of RAM (twice as much as the Moto G 5G) ensures multitasking works as expected. The pale lilac vegan leather back looks and feels great. Additionally, wireless charging, 30W charging, and efficient processor further enhance the experience.
for
- The vegan leather back feels comfortable
- Great overall performance with 8GB RAM
- All-day battery life with 30W wired charging
- Wireless charging (rare at this price)
- NFC and 3.5mm jack
- very affordable price
against
- Poor visibility of outdoor displays
- Game performance is weak
- So-so image output from the primary and ultra-wide cameras
- No IP rating
- 30W charger is not included in the box
This year, Motorola finally started simplifying its confusing Moto G smartphone lineup. The Moto G 5G ($199) and Moto G Power ($299) sit between the Moto G Play ($149) and Moto G Stylus ($399) for buyers looking for a new smartphone in 2024. We offer attractive budget-friendly options.
But is it really worth spending the extra $100 on the Moto G Power 2024, or should you save your cash and buy the Moto G 5G 2024 instead? Moto G 5G 2024 Review and Moto G Power 5G Our 2024 review covers each option in detail, but we’ll also give you an overview of what’s the difference between the two and why you should consider one over the other. .
Moto G Power 5G 2024 and Moto G 5G 2024: Design and display
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The Moto G 5G 2024 and Moto G Power 5G 2024 both feature vegan leather exteriors. This is what I admired about Motorola when the phone debuted. Vegan leather is made from a durable polyurethane resin that is manufactured to look and feel similar to animal leather, so it has a much better feel than a flat plastic back.
Both phones are scratch resistant and I wasn’t able to leave any noticeable marks on them with my fingernails or car keys, so they’re actually quite durable. Additionally, both phones are water-repellent, so neither is suitable for baths, but fine for rainstorms.
Motorola offers the Moto G Power 5G 2024 in a pretty attractive pale lilac colorway, but the Moto G 5G 2024 only comes in ‘Sage Green’. I’m using quotation marks here because I was actually surprised to see this called sage green. In reality, I think it looks more navy blue. It’s not a bad color, but it’s certainly not as interesting as pale lilac.
Additionally, both phones feature some prominent bezels on the front, along with plastic frames and buttons. It would be hard to tell the difference between the two from the photo below.
The real difference comes when you use two phones side by side. You’ll immediately notice how crisp and crisp the Moto G Power 5G’s display is. That’s because it has 1,431,360 more pixels than the Moto G 5G’s display. This is more than twice his pixel density. If you’re looking to watch HD video on your phone, the Moto G Power 5G’s display will look much better.
On the bright side, if you opt for the cheaper Moto G 5G 2024, you still get a nice-looking, smooth 120Hz display.
It’s also worth noting that neither phone uses PWM dimming. This is a good thing for someone who is sensitive to light flickering and will prefer these phones over his Samsung phone of the same price.
Moto G Power 5G 2024 vs. Moto G 5G 2024: Performance and specs
Due to the display’s much higher pixel density, Motorola had to equip the Moto G Power 5G 2024 with a more powerful processor compared to the Moto G 5G 2024. But surprisingly, it’s only about 10% faster in benchmark applications.
Unfortunately, games don’t run very well on either phone, and popular games like Honkai: Star Rail and Fortnite prove to be basically impossible to play here. You can run them, but they won’t provide a smooth experience on either phone.
Category | Moto G 5G 2024 | Moto G Power 5G 2024 |
---|---|---|
OS | android 14 | android 14 |
screen | 6.6-inch HD+ (1612 x 720), LCD, 269 ppi, 120Hz refresh rate | 6.7-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080), LCD, 120Hz refresh rate |
chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 1st generation | MediaTek Dimencity 7020 |
storage | 128GB, expandable | 128GB, expandable |
memory | 4GB | 8GB |
rear camera 1 | 50MP, f/1.8, 1.28μm (via quad pixel binning) | 50MP wide angle, f/1.8, 1.22μm (via pixel binning) |
rear camera 2 | 2MP macro, f/2.4, 1.75µm | 8MP ultrawide, f/2.2, 1.12µm |
front camera | 8MP, f/2.0, 1.12μm | 16MP, f/2.4, 1.0μm |
audio | Dual stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, 3.5mm headphone jack | Dual stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, 3.5mm headphone jack |
water resistance | water repellent | water repellent |
battery charging | 5,000mAh, 18W wired charging | 5,000mAh, 30W wired charging, 15W wireless charging |
Connectivity | 5G, Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi 5, FM radio | 5G, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 5, FM radio |
NFC | ✅ | ✅ |
safety | Fingerprint sensor (side mount), facial recognition (single camera) | Fingerprint sensor (side mount), facial recognition (single camera) |
size | Height 164.39 x Width 74.96 x Thinness 8.23 mm | 167.22×76.44×8.50mm |
weight | 194g | 201g |
color | sage green | midnight black, pale lilac |
Software updates | One-time upgrade to Android 15, 3 years of security updates | One-time upgrade to Android 15, 3 years of security updates |
Thankfully, most other applications work fine on both devices. In the past, we’ve seen Motorola devices struggle to offer smooth performance on high refresh rate displays, but both the Moto G 5G and Moto G Power 5G smartphones offer support for popular apps. It maintains a consistent refresh rate while using it. In other words, all the most basic tasks work fine on both phones.
However, if you need to switch between multiple apps every time you pick up your phone, it’s best to stick with the Moto G Power 5G. This is because the amount of RAM onboard the Moto G 5G has been doubled, giving you a generous 8GB of RAM. The 4GB RAM of Moto G 5G 2024 is very small in 2024 where just one app can cost several gigs.
Motorola offers a “RAM Boost” feature that turns on immediately, but we recommend turning it off no matter which phone you use. Although it is advertised as essentially increasing RAM and improving performance, we found that the opposite is actually true. Apps became unstable regularly and enabling this feature made it difficult to switch between apps on my phone.
Moto G Power 5G 2024 vs. Moto G 5G 2024: Camera
If the camera is the most important part of your smartphone, we recommend not buying it which one of these phones. Check out these great deals on the Google Pixel 6a instead. This phone often sells for under $299 and offers a significantly better camera than what Motorola offers here.
However, if you want to stick with Motorola, the Moto G Power 5G offers a better experience overall. The main cameras on the Moto G 5G and Moto G Power 5G take similar quality photos, but it’s the other two cameras that are actually upgraded.
Motorola has fitted the Moto G 5G 2024 with a useless 2MP “macro camera” that takes truly terrible photos in any light. On the other hand, the Moto G Power 5G 2024 has an 8MP ultrawide camera, which is really not bad.
Similarly, the front camera of Moto G 5G 2024 takes very soft photos even in broad daylight. Moto G Power 5G 2024’s front camera has twice the resolution, so every shot looks sharp.
Moto G Power 5G 2024 vs Moto G 5G 2024: which one should you buy?
The processor in the Moto G Power 5G 2024 is only slightly better than that in the Moto G 5G 2024, but the rest of the package is a pretty noticeable upgrade. The display resolution is more than double, and Motorola has also doubled the phone’s RAM. In other words, multitasking is significantly better on the Moto G Power than on the Moto G 5G.
Not only that, the Moto G 5G’s macro camera is completely useless, but the Moto G Power replaces that camera with a much more useful 8MP ultrawide camera. Plus, selfies look better on the G Power thanks to an upgraded front-facing sensor.
So, if you just want a basic phone with a great design and the ability to easily browse social networks and communicate with friends, the Moto G 5G 2024 is a great choice. Otherwise, Moto G Power 5G 2024 does everything better.
If you’re a good multitasker or someone who likes watching movies on your phone, the Moto G Power 5G 2024 may be worth the $100 upgrade over the Moto G 5G 2024.Additionally, this phone includes wireless charging capabilities and a beautiful pale lilac color to complement the new vegan l
Moto G 5G 2024 is a great option for people who are on a budget but don’t multitask much. This phone looks and feels great, with all-day battery life with fast charging, NFC, and software features you’ll love.