Motorola announces four new budget phones, including one with a massive battery

Motorola has just unveiled a horde of new Moto G7 smartphones that, on paper at least, have the capabilities to once again dominate the affordable end of the market.

But with four Moto G7 phones to pick from, each with fairly similar-looking designs, determining which is best, or in fact the differences between them, can be tricky. Here to help, we’ve test-driven each of the new Moto G handsets at the Motorola Moto G7 launch in Sao Paulo and provide a breakdown of the key differences below.

Scroll down to find out more about the Moto G7 Plus, Moto G7, Moto G7 Power and Moto G7 Play.

Moto G7 Plus

Key features:

• Screen: 6.2-inch FHD+
• CPU: Snapdragon 636
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB, microSD
• Camera: 16-megapixel, f1.7 with 5-megapixel rear, 12-megapixel front cameras
• Battery: 3000mAh
• OS: Android 9
• Price: £269

Read more: Moto G7 Plus

The Moto G7 Plus is the top-end handset in Motorola’s latest Moto G lineup. The handset has a tweaked design compared to the Moto G6, featuring a mixed metal and Gorilla Glass design that makes it look a little like the Motorola One. Key upgrades on most other affordable phones include a more powerful CPU and improved camera system.

Specifically, the G7 Plus will run using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core CPU and 4GB of RAM. In real-world use this means the G7 Plus should better deal with more stressful tasks, such as rapid photo taking and gaming than the regular G7. The 16-megapixel main and 5-megapixel depth-of-field dual camera on the rear of the device is also a marked step up on what you’d find on most phones at this price.

The f1.7 aperture, smaller 1.22um pixel size and inclusion of OIS (optical image stabilisation) are key selling points that should help video and low-light photos shot on the Moto G7 look better. These are backed up by a basic 12-megapixel front camera.

The G7 Plus ticks most of the right boxes specs-wise, too. It will have 64GB of upgradable storage and run using a near-untouched version of Google’s Android 9 software. The only slight downside is its 3000mAh battery. Motorola claims the appearance of Turbo Power and an included 27 W battery charger will allow you to achieve 12 hours’ use from a 15-minute charge, but the cell is a little smaller than we’d like for on a 6.2-inch phone.

Moto G7

Key features:

• Screen: 6.2-inch FHD+
• CPU: Snapdragon 632
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB, microSD
• Camera: 12-megapixel, f1.8 with 5-megapixel rear, 8-megapixel front cameras
• Battery: 3000mAh
• OS: Android 9
• Price: £239

Read more: Moto G7

The Moto G7 is the middle child in Motorola’s latest affordable lineup, and the one we see being popular with the majority. It sports the same mixed metal and glass design and near-identical specs to the Moto G7 Plus. The most significant differences are the use of the lower-end Snapdragon 632 CPU and downgraded camera setup.

The camera setup combines two lower-end 12-megapixel rear camera sensors with a less impressive f1.8 aperture and 1.2um pixel size. This plus the lack of OIS mean it’s unlikely to perform as well as the G7 Plus in low light; it worked fine in regular light during our opening tests. The 5-megapixel front camera is also a little less sharp than the G7 Plus.

The final compromise is that it comes with a slower 15W Turbo Power charger, which will get you a quoted eight hours of use from a 15-minute charge. Still, considering how good its specs are compared to other affordable phones, on paper at least the Moto G7 offers fantastic value for money and should meet most users’ needs.

Related: Best budget phone

Moto G7 Power

Key features:

• Screen: 6.2-inch HD+
• CPU: Snapdragon 632
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB, microSD
• Camera: 12-megapixel, f2.0 rear, 8-megapixel front
• Battery: 5000mAh
• OS: Android 9
• Price: £179

Read more: Moto G7 Power

In our opinion, this is the most interesting of the four new Moto Gs. It looks and feels like a spiritual successor to the stellar Lenovo P2, which won our hearts when it was briefly released many moons ago.

The phone’s key selling point is its mammoth 5000mAh battery, which according to Motorola will easily blitz through up to 60 hours of “active use”. A Motorola spokesman couldn’t clarify what “active use” actually entailed, but if it gets anywhere near the quoted life then this will be a key selling point for the Moto G7 Power.

Aside from that outstanding battery life, the only spec differences between the G7 Power and the regular Moto G7 are that its 6.2-inch LCD screen has a lower HD+ resolution and the single-lens 12-megapixel rear camera. This means the screen will be noticeably less sharp, and the camera’s portrait shots won’t size up as well next to those taken on its more premium siblings.

Related: Best mid-range phones

Moto G7 Play

Key features:

• Screen: 5.7-inch HD+
• CPU: Snapdragon 632
• RAM: 2GB
• Storage: 32GB, microSD
• Camera: 13-megapixel rear, 8-megapixel front
• Battery: 3000mAh
• OS: Android 9
• Price: £149

The Moto G7 Play is the cheapest option in Motorola’s current lineup. It features a slightly different design to the other three devices, and is primarily made of polycarbonate, not glass.

It also has a smaller 5.7-inch HD+ screen and single 13-megapixel rear camera sensor. The lower-end camera’s f2.0 aperture will be a minor issue that will impact photo quality, but it’s still a cut above what you’ll find on most handsets at this price. Our bigger concern is that it comes with a meagre 2GB of RAM, which will be consumed fairly quickly if you plan to game on the Moto G7 Play – which, let’s face it, is a little ironic.

However, if you’re seriously strapped for cash, or looking for a crash phone that you don’t mind losing at a festival or sacrificing to your kid, the G7 Play looks like a great value option on paper.

Are you tempted by the Moto G7, G7 Plus, G7 Power or G7 Play? Let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.