To start 2021 with a bang, Motorola has released four new phones ($170 to $400) to reinforce its position in the mid-range and affordable market. Three of them are in the “moto g” series, a core offering for Motorola, while the fourth one is the Motorola One 5G ace, one of the most affordable 5G phones in America.
moto g series
The moto g series revolves around three themes to address the bulk of the market’s needs and wants in the sub-$400 market: maximum affordability (moto g play, $170), long battery life (moto g power, $200), and productivity and performance (moto g stylus, $300).
Going up in price within this line-up gives users a better system and camera performance. We will assess the camera hardware’s ranking soon thanks to our Uber HW Camera camera benchmark, but we recently found that the Motorola Z4 had leading camera hardware in the $500 category at Verizon.
The moto g play is the most affordable model, so it features a selfie camera with a notch, unlike the g power and g stylus with punch-hole cameras that look edgier.
The displays have grown in size, and the moto g stylus’ 6.8-inch screen is a substantial increase over last year’s stylus 6.4-inch model.
We are agreeably surprised by all three phones’ general design as they look better than the average competitor, using design cues and materials that look more “premium.” For example, the moto g power looks like more expensive Motorola phones, and the g stylus has a camera module that is reminiscent of high-end phones.
The phones are powered by increasingly powerful Qualcomm processors, with the Snapdragon 460, 662, and 768. The processor choice ensures a smooth scaling of performance and capabilities as your budget increases. For example, the Snapdragon 768 platform can run advanced 3D games considerably faster than Snapdragon 460.
Motorola One 5G ace
This smartphone has been designed to maximize Motorola’s chances to gain market share in the 5G handset market.
Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750 5G with 4GB-6GB RAM (depending on market) and 64-128GB of storage, this handset offers excellent multimedia and gaming performance for the price.
It also has an interesting camera setup with a relatively healthy Primary camera (48MP, f/1.7) backed by secondary ultrawide and macro cameras. To maximize the selfies’ potential, there is a dedicated Bokeh sensor, in addition to the 16MP selfie camera module.
The $399 5G market is really heating up, and if you plan on keeping your phone for many years, 5G support might be the deciding factor as networks will improve over the next decade.
Conclusion
These phones can be ordered starting on January 14th, and Motorola promises to keep them updated for at least two years.
Overall, we feel like this is a great line-up that should help Motorola increase its market share in the budget segment as they bring outstanding performance and quality for the price from a trusted brand.