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Fast as a motorbike, subtle as a brick: Motorola pushes out new Moto G 5G Plus mid-ranger

First 'affordable' 5G phone for the budget blower brand

Motorola today whipped the sheets off its first mid-tier 5G blower: the Moto G 5G Plus.

Moto G 5G plus

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All things considered, the vendor's presentation - a metaphor using a motorbike to indicate the unit's speediness - was about as subtle as stanza of GCSE English poetry coursework. "As I lay my head to sleep, I pray my GeekBench 5 scores will peak." But what about the phone itself?

At first glance, it looks pretty decent. The display is a spacious 6.7-inch borderless affair, with a 90Hz refresh rate and support for HDR 10. The aspect ratio is a tall 21:9, which should serve well for productivity-oriented tasks like checking emails and reading documents. Embedded within the display are two selfie cameras, with one lens serving as an ultra-wide with a 180-degree field of view. Meanwhile the power button serves as a fingerprint reader, for ambidextrous usage.

Flip the phone over and you'll spot a quad camera system. The primary shooter is a now-ubiquitous 48MP sensor, which uses pixel-binning to improve low-light performance. This is accompanied by an ultra-wide lens, a macro lens, and a depth sensor.

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The Moto G 5G Plus uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765 platform, which supports both sub-6 GHz and mmWave networks (that spooky unlicensed spectrum that will densify carrier networks after 5G SA - multi-gigabit throughput anyone?). The base configuration comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. There's a slightly more generous config above that, with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

On the software front, the phone runs Android 10 topped with Motorola's light-touch My UX skin.

Fast charging is present, with the Moto G 5G Plus supporting up to 20W wired connections. It also comes with a generous 5,000mAh battery, which Motorola reckoned can last two days between charges.

Motorola has priced the base model at €349, which is pretty compelling considering the inclusion of 5G and a speedy Snapdragon 765 chip. It corresponds with the overall temperature of the smartphone market, which is likely to shift away from premium devices as the public struggles with the inevitable economic realities caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The vendor did not have a firm release date, though it said the UK would get the phone later this month.

There is no news yet on a US launch date or the dollar price.

The Register has asked Motorola for a review sample. In the event we get our hands on one soon, we'll let you know how it shapes up. ®

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