Skip to main content

New Moto G 5G Plus does phones in 2020 right, delivering specs and value

Motorola has announced the Moto G 5G Plus, which is shaping up to be one of the best value smartphones we’ve seen this year. In addition to a 5G connection, the phone has a big screen with an all-important 90Hz refresh rate, Motorola’s first dual-lens selfie camera, a quad-lens camera on the back, and a massive battery. All this will cost from 349 euros, or about $395.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

There aren’t many boxes left unticked on paper for the Moto G 5G Plus. The design follows on from the Motorola Edge and Edge Plus, adopting a 21:9 aspect ratio for the 6.7-inch screen, and adds in a 90Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling. It’s a strong feature seen on many much more expensive phones. Interestingly, the dual-lens selfie camera — the first time Motorola has used this type of system — consists of two individual lenses, rather than a single “pill”-shaped cutout.

Recommended Videos

The dual-selfie camera has a 16-megapixel main camera and a second 8-megapixel ultra-wide for group selfies. The quad-lens camera on the back is set inside a square module with a long vertical flash unit next to it. The main sensor has 48-megapixels and is joined by an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, a 5-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 5G processor delivers both the power and the 5G connection to the Moto G 5G Plus. Note that it’s not the Snapdragon 765G used in the Moto Edge, so it doesn’t come with the enhanced graphics ability and higher clock speed. It should be fine for everyday use though, and comes with either 4GB/64GB or 6GB/128GB of memory, depending on the model you buy.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

What else? A massive 5,000mAh battery should see the phone last for at least a full day even with a 5G connection, plus there’s a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a MicroSD card slot, a 15W TurboPower charger, NFC for contactless payments, and Android 10 software. The phone is quite thick at 9mm, but not overly heavy at 188 grams, so expect the body to be made from plastic. Look at the photos and you can see a thick bezel running around the edge of the screen.

Motorola will launch the Moto G 5G Plus in Europe on July 8. It costs 349 euros or around $395 for the 4GB/64GB model, and 399 euros or about $449 for the 6GB/128GB version. The phone won’t come to the U.S., but Motorola tells us it plans to launch a 5G device that will cost less than $500 in North America this fall.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
5G vs. LTE: What’s the difference and why you should care
OnePlus Nord N300 5G speed test.

By now, you’ve almost certainly heard of 5G, the latest chapter in the evolution of wireless technology. Chances are you already have a smartphone and plan that supports 5G; if you don’t, you probably will after your next upgrade.

Although 5G has now effectively reached the mainstream, you may still wonder what the big deal is and how it will improve your life over the 4G/LTE technologies that have been the standard for the past decade. Is it worth upgrading to a 5G phone? Do you need a 5G plan, and if so, what level of 5G service should you choose from among the different flavors?

Read more
2 reasons why you shouldn’t buy a Motorola phone in 2024
Someone holding the Moto G Power 5G (2024) and Moto G Stylus 5G (2024).

A few years ago, buying a Moto G phone was the thing to do if you wanted a quality Android phone on a budget. Starting with the first Moto G from 2013, it's a product line with a lot of history. Much of it is good, but in more recent years, there's been some bad, too.

Motorola's approach to the Moto G has been worrisome, especially in 2024. By March, the company had already announced and released three new Moto G models, none of which were particularly good. From low-quality displays, poor performance, bad cameras, and more, it felt like Motorola had lost its budget phone mojo.

Read more
What is 5G? Speeds, coverage, comparisons, and more
Someone using the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024).

For years, 5G mobile networking has been the golden goose egg that many mobile device manufacturers and carriers have been striving for. And now more than ever, that dream is very much a reality. 5G connectivity can be found on everything from iPhones to Android hardware, and even some third-party mobile devices. But is there really that big of a difference between 5G and 4G/LTE? The simple answer is yes, but nothing’s ever just black and white, especially when we’re talking about consumer tech. 

Not to worry though: We’ve been researching and working with 5G devices for a long time here at Digital Trends. To help you through the weeds on the subject, we’ve put together this 5G guide to give you all the mobile know-how you’ll need. 
What is 5G?

Read more