Motorola's new Moto G Power 5G 2024 could be the affordable phone to beat

What you need to know

• Motorola has announced two new phones - the Moto G 5G and the Moto G Power 5G.

• The Moto G is set to cost $199, while the Moto G Power costs $299.

• Both devices will be on sale later this month.

Motorola has unveiled two new handsets that look like they could force their way into the conversation of the best cheap Android phones of 2024. The Moto G 5G 2024 and the Moto G Power 5G 2024 both offer pretty impressive specs at very affordable prices. Both devices run Android 14 out of the box and offer improved displays, cameras, and processors compared with their predecessors.

Of the two devices, the Moto G Power 2024 is the slightly more expensive model, with a price tag of $299. For that, you’ll get a 6.7-inch FHD+ LCD display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. That screen is supported by a 5,000mAh battery that supports 30W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, which is fairly impressive for any Android phone under $300.

The phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 processor, which features a 2.2 GHz octa-core CPU. You also get 8GB of RAM that is expandable to 16GB using Motorola’s RAM Boost feature, which borrows from the phone’s 128GB internal storage to provide additional virtual memory. It also supports a microSD expansion of up to 1TB if you need more storage for your photos and everything else.

There are two rear cameras on the G Power 5G 2024 — a 50MP main camera with optical image stabilization and an 8MP ultrawide lens with a 118-degree angle and macro support. On the front is a 16MP selfie camera. Video capture is available in 60 or 30fps on the main rear camera, and 30fps on the wide-angle lens, but limited to FHD.

The Moto G 5G 2024 is slightly smaller and offers a 6.6-inch HD LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It also uses a 5,000mAh battery and supports 18W charging but no wireless charging capability. It is also cheaper at $199, a big drop in price compared to last year’s model, which cost $249.

Rather than the Dimensity chip of the G Power, the new Moto G uses a Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chip with a 2GHz octa-core CPU. The handset has 4GB of RAM, that can also use RAM Boost to double that to 8GB. As with its bigger sibling, the phone comes with 128GB of internal storage, with support for up to a 1TB microSD card.

The cameras are also slightly weaker than on the Moto G Power. The main camera is still 50MP, but the secondary rear camera is a 2MP macro unit with no ultrawide angle. The selfie camera is 8MP.

Motorola does claim that “better light sensitivity” will result in better photos no matter the time of day.

Both devices are described as “water-repellant,” but this isn’t quite the same as having an official IP rating for water resistance, so you'll wanna be careful near water. They each come with an audio jack for wired headphones and Dolby Atmos support when you’re using the phone’s speakers. And unlike last year’s models, both offer NFC, which enables access to Google Wallet for contactless payments, for example.

The Moto G Power 5G 2024 will be available in the US at Cricket from March 22 before becoming available from other carriers at a later (unspecified) date. If you want an unlocked version, you can pick one up from Amazon, Best Buy, or Motorola.com from March 29. You’ll be able to choose from Midnight Blue or Pale Lilac options.

The Moto G 5G 2024 will be available from March 21 at Metro and T-Mobile (again, other carriers will start offering this phone later). Unlocked handsets will become available at Motorola.com, Amazon, and Best Buy from May 2. You can buy the phone in any color you like, as long as it’s Sage Green.