In this Motorola Moto G Power 5G (2024) Review article we have covered its specification, pros and cons and a detail analysis.
Motorola Moto G Power 5G (2024 Specs)
| Operating System | Android 14 |
| CPU | MediaTek Dimensity 7020 |
| Dimensions | 6.58 by 3.01 by 0.33 inches |
| Screen Size | 6.7 inches |
| Screen Resolution | 2,400 by 1,080 pixels |
| Camera Resolution (Rear; Front-Facing) | 50MP, 5MP; 16MP |
| Battery Life (As Tested) | 12 hours and 15 minutes |
Pros
- Affordable
- Long battery life
- Capable performance
- Wireless charging
Cons
- Rear panel attracts dust and hair
- Mediocre cameras
- Lots of preinstalled bloatware
The Motorola Moto G Power 5G price at $299.99, maintains its affordability like its previous model while bringing in several notable upgrades. With a faster processor and NFC support, it offers enhanced performance and added convenience. Its large, vibrant screen provides an enjoyable viewing experience, and its battery life surpasses many other phones in this price range. While the OnePlus Nord N30 5G may have a slight edge in camera quality, the Moto G Power stands out as our new top choice for budget-friendly phones. Its superior performance, extended battery life, and wireless charging support make it a winner in our eyes.
Design
The Moto G Power 5G is a bit larger and heavier than last year’s model and the Nord N30. It comes in two stylish colors, Midnight Blue and Pale Lilac, with a vegan leather back that looks great but attracts dust and hair easily. However, it’s easy to clean with just a paper towel, and the textured surface helps with grip.
On the bottom edge, you’ll find a headphone jack, USB-C port, and a speaker grille. The buttons on the side feel solid and click nicely. There’s also a slot for a SIM card or microSD card on the left side.
For security, you can use the fingerprint scanner on the power button or facial recognition with the front camera, both of which work well. While the phone isn’t officially rated against water and dust, Motorola says it can handle accidental spills, splashes, sweat, and light rain.
Overall, despite lacking an official IP rating, the Moto G Power 5G offers reliable performance and sleek design at an affordable price.
Better-Than-Budget Performance
The Moto G Power 5G packs a punch with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, plus you can expand that with a microSD card up to a whopping 1TB. With its MediaTek Dimensity 7020 processor, it runs smoother than ever, even with multiple apps running simultaneously.
In benchmark tests, it shines. On Geekbench 6 CPU test, it scored 889 on the single-core and 2,345 on the multi-core test, a significant improvement over last year’s model. In comparison, the Nord N30 scored lower at 688 and 2,044. While the Google Pixel 7a scored higher with 1,343 and 2,853, it comes with a higher price tag.
While it may not top the Nord N30 in the GFXBench Aztec Ruins gaming test, with 7.2fps compared to 7.8fps, it still delivers a decent gaming experience. And for intense games like Genshin Impact, it handles them well, with only slight stutters during intense combat scenes. It warms up a bit after about 30 minutes of play, but for casual gaming like Alto’s Odyssey, it stays cool.
If gaming is your priority, the $299 Nuu B30 Pro 5G offers fantastic performance for its price.
Dependable Battery Life
To check how long the Moto G Power’s big battery lasts, I played a high-quality video with the screen super bright and connected to Wi-Fi. It stayed on for 12 hours and 15 minutes! That’s longer than the Nord N30, which has the same size battery but lasted only 11 hours and 18 minutes. Surprisingly, the Google Pixel 7a, with a smaller battery, managed an impressive 13 hours and 25 minutes.
The Moto G Power charges up fast with its 30W charger, which is better than the Pixel 7a’s 18W charger. The Nord N30 is super quick, though, with its special 50W charger that comes in the box. But here’s a cool thing: the Moto G Power can charge wirelessly too, up to 15W, which the Nord N30 can’t do.
When I tested how long it takes to fully charge, the Moto G Power took 1 hour and 58 minutes with its fast charger. The Nord N30 was quicker at just 55 minutes, but remember, it can’t do wireless charging.
Motorola moto g power 5g (2024 wireless charging and connection)
The Moto G Power 5G connects to most 5G networks used by major US carriers, except for the very fastest kind. Neither does the Nord N30, but the Pixel 7a does.
You can use either an eSIM or a physical SIM with this phone. I tried it with a physical SIM on Google Fi, which relies on T-Mobile towers. Even though my area’s coverage isn’t great, the Moto G Power still had pretty good speeds: 136Mbps down and 57.2Mbps up. For comparison, an iPhone 14 Pro got 122Mbps down and 34.3Mbps up in the same place.
This phone works with dual-band Wi-Fi 6, although not the newer Wi-Fi 6E. When I connected it to a Wi-Fi 6 router, it got download speeds of 32.3Mbps and upload speeds of 22.9Mbps. The iPhone 14 Pro, which also supports Wi-Fi 6, got 19.7Mbps down and 16.7Mbps up in the same spot. Even at the far end of the router’s range, the Moto G Power still did pretty well, with 25.9Mbps down and 17.7Mbps up. The iPhone 14 Pro couldn’t connect from there.
Call quality on this phone is clear, and it does a good job of blocking out background noise. The earpiece gets pretty loud, reaching 73.9dB, and the speakerphone is even louder at 82.0dB. That should be plenty loud for hearing calls even in noisy places.
With Dolby Atmos support, the speaker does surprisingly well at reproducing bass-heavy music like “Silent Shout” by The Knife. It can even fill a small room with sound when turned up. You can also use Bluetooth 5.3 to connect wireless headphones or speakers, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired headphones.
A nice improvement over the last model is that this one has NFC for mobile payments.
Camera Quality
The Moto G Power comes with a 50MP main camera that has optical image stabilization (OIS) but automatically reduces the photo quality to 12.5MP. It also has an 8MP ultra-wide camera that doubles as a macro camera. The camera app has three modes: macro for close-ups, wide-angle, and regular zoom. Selfies are taken with a 16MP front camera.
Unfortunately, the main camera struggles with detail even in good lighting, resulting in blurry and pixelated images. The wide-angle mode faces similar issues with unnatural colors and pixelation. However, the selfie camera performs decently in most conditions.
When it comes to video, the main camera can shoot in full HD at either 60fps or 30fps. While videos are okay for casual use, they don’t match the quality of higher-end phones.
If photography matters to you and you have a tight budget, consider the Nord N30. But if you can stretch your budget a bit, the Pixel 7a offers better camera quality and software.
Software: More Bloat Than Usual
The Moto G Power 5G comes with Android 14, and while Motorola assures one major Android update and three years of security updates, OnePlus offers a similar deal for the Nord N30, which starts with Android 13 and won’t go beyond Android 14. However, the Pixel 7a stands out for long-term sustainability, as Google guarantees three years of Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates.
On the downside, the Moto G Power 5G has more pre-installed apps than usual for Motorola devices. For example, the default home screen features Google and Motorola app folders, along with extras like Games, Family Space for parental controls, and Moto Unplugged for minimizing distractions. There are also folders for Shopping, Entertainment, and GamesHub with relevant apps and suggestions.
If you’re not a fan of clutter, you’ll be pleased to know that you can remove all of these apps and folders. However, it would be even nicer if they weren’t included in the first place.
Affordable Power and Performance
The 2024 Moto G Power 5G is a fantastic deal at $300. You get smooth performance, a big screen, reliable connections, long battery life, and NFC. While the OnePlus Nord N30 has a better camera, the Moto G Power is quicker, lasts longer on a single charge, and supports wireless charging. That’s why it’s our top pick for affordable Android phones. If you’re really into photography and can spend a bit more, consider the Pixel 7a, another great choice.
