Motorola launched the more affordable variant - the vanilla Moto G 5G - about half a year after the Motorola Moto G 5G Plus. In terms of design and hardware, the newer model is almost similar to its older sibling. There are only a few key components that differentiate the two and allow for a lower price point.
Here we break down in detail the key specifications, design, performance & price point of this budget phone:
1) Specification
2) Design
For a 2020 mid-range handset, the Moto G 5G has a fairly standard design. With a centralized hole-punch front camera, you get a 6.7-inch monitor. There's a plastic mat frame. The back is made of a glossy plastic material and underneath it has an interesting textured rainbow effect. Since there is no metal and glass construction to be found here, the construction standard won't win any awards, but that's not necessarily a bad thing at this price point.
At 9.9 mm and 212 grams, respectively, the thickness and weight figures are appropriate. The Samsung Galaxy M51 manages to fit in a thinner footprint with a larger 7,000mAh battery while keeping the same weight, however, which is a bit of a minus for the Moto G 5G.
The Moto G 5G holds up admirably in terms of ergonomics and in-hand feeling. For ergonomics, the matte finish of the plastic frame allows for grip, and the curved back with slightly rounded sides is useful. On the right side, the power and volume buttons are located, while on the left side, there is a Google Assistant button. All is unremarkable, but not in a bad way.
Just like its style, the Moto G 5G's display is unexciting. With HDR10 support, it has a 6.7-inch LTPS IPS LCD. The HDR10 support is good to see, but in this price segment it is becoming widespread, so in this regard, the phone does not offer anything new. The absence of one of the two key features of the headlining display is seen on the Moto G 5G because, unlike the Galaxy M51 and the Realme 7 Pro, its display is not AMOLED, and unlike the Xiaomi Mi 10i, POCO X3, and others, it does not have a fast refresh rate. So it's 0/2, which, especially at this price point, reflects poorly on Motorola.
With this handset, the lack of a high refresh rate display is possibly the biggest downer. The lack of AMOLED means that contrast levels are only OK, although changes in the viewing angle cause brightness and contrast deterioration. On the other hand, when measured on the scale of other variables such as resolution, brightness (although it does not have high brightness mode), limited color shift through viewing angles, and great color accuracy in natural color mode, the display performs well.
3) Performance
The Moto G 5G is powered by the latest Snapdragon 750G SoC from Qualcomm. It has two newer large cores of ARM Cortex-A77 that merge the six small cores of ARM Cortex-A55, an improvement over the Snapdragon 730G and the Snapdragon 765G, both of which have large cores of Cortex-A76. You get an Adreno 619 in terms of the GPU. The GPU nomenclature of Qualcomm means this is faster than the Snapdragon 730G Adreno 618 and the Snapdragon 690 Adreno 619L, but it will fall short of the Snapdragon 765G Adreno 620, not to mention the flagship GPUs found in the Snapdragon 800 series, such as the Adreno 630 and above.
The Moto G 5G performs better than Snapdragon 730G and Snapdragon 765G devices in terms of CPU efficiency, especially in single-threaded performance, thanks to the 20% improvement in IPC that the Cortex-A77 brings over the Cortex-A76.
On the other hand, the GPU performance is par for the course, but given Qualcomm's unwillingness to power its mid-range SoCs with more powerful GPUs, it is not especially impressive. A POCO F1 from 2018, for instance, will have better GPU performance than the Moto G 5G, and both were released at the same price. So, the market has yet to move forward, at least in GPU results.
The efficiency figures for storage were a lot higher. The phone has UFS 2.1 storage and has been able to post some remarkably high numbers, meaning that storage speed would not be a device efficiency bottleneck.
The Moto G 5G's real-world performance is strong. It doesn't have a high refresh rate monitor, which means, despite having more output to spare, it won't feel as quick and smooth as some rivals. The machine UI was largely free from frame drops that were perceptible. The management of RAM was also very fine, and so were thermals, as they never became a cause of concern. The Moto G 5G is one of the top performers in terms of unlocking speed, as it does not have to deal with the dumb implementation of an optical under-display fingerprint sensor.
Overall, the performance of the Moto G 5G is decent for the price point. In certain ways, it excels and in others it underwhelms.
4) Price
In the U.S., and under the Motorola One G 5G Ace moniker, the Moto G 5G is available. In that market, however, it's a lot more pricey, coming in at $399.99, which still makes it one of the most affordable 5G phones in the U.S.
5) OUR VERDICT: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Moto G 5G tries, on the one hand, to go back to the basics. It succeeds, to a certain degree. The design and the standard of construction are appropriate. Based on conventional criteria, such as brightness, viewing angles, and color accuracy, the show performs well. The CPU and efficiency of the device are fine. The battery life is exceptional. After seeing the bloatware infestation of custom user interfaces such as MIUI and One UI, the presence of stock Android 10 with no additional bloatware and no advertisements is a relief. The phone may also receive an upgrade to Android 11, but that will definitely be the last update as well. During daytime, the camera takes reasonably good images.
The phone does, however, still have quite a few vulnerabilities. Many interested in flashy smartphone design would be disappointed by the absence of a glass back and gradient color choices. For several users, the absence of AMOLED is a turn-off. The lack of a high refresh rate display is even more concerning, as the technology is now featured on even cheaper phones. Even 2018 smartphone flagships can not compete with the performance of the GPU. The camera's image quality indoors is low, and as it destroys detail, the Night Vision mode needs a complete overhaul. The battery life is excellent, but because phones such as the POCO X3, Xiaomi Mi 10i, and the Samsung Galaxy M51 have equally good or even better battery life, it is not a USP in this price segment. Finally, the device upgrade record of Motorola is worse than that of Samsung and Xiaomi. You should expect the update to Android 11 to come in the future at an unknown time, and nothing beyond that.