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Motorola Moto G5
Motorola Moto G5
Motorola Moto G5
Motorola Moto G5
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7.6/10
Informr score
The Motorola Moto G5 currently has an Informr score of 7.6 out of 10. This score is based on our evaluation of 25 sources including reviews from users and the web's most trusted critics.

What's good

  • Detailed and crisp display
  • Premium build and feel
  • Great phone for the price
  • Good color reproduction and details in daylight photos
  • Relatively smooth performance

What's bad

  • Display doesn’t have great contrast
  • Low light photos have noise and color degradation

Known for offering premium phones at affordable prices, Lenovo’s Moto G-series is a popular choice for phone buyer’s looking for a good deal.

Does the Moto G5 stick with what’s made the brand so popular?

Reviews are out and we’ve dug through them all to bring you this summary. Let’s see what they’re saying!

The G5 steps away from the standard design choices of its predecessors by adding touches of metal. The back panel is aluminum. But it isn’t a unibody design. In fact, plastic makes up the rest of the phone’s body.

Still, the added heft of the aluminum provides what reviewers consider an excellent feel and premium appearance. With that said, most admit that compared to other phones, the G5’s design “isn’t likely to turn heads…”

The G5’s greatest strength is its 5-inch IPS LCD screen. With its 1080-by-1920 resolution, it offers a pixel density of 441ppi. This means it’s just as sharp as the Google Pixel and iPhone 7 Plus.

Still, the screen has limitations. Experts noticed the screen didn’t offer quite the same depth of color or contrast as more expensive phones. This wasn’t a deal breaker for most reviewers as they only noticed the differences when comparing it side-by-side with other flagship phones.

So how can the Moto G5 be so affordable if it has a great screen and excellent build quality? The answer lies in the internal specs.

It comes with a 1.4GHz octa-core processor and up to 3GB of RAM. While this might sound impressive, the processor itself is weaker than the G4’s older processor. When critics put the G5 through benchmark tests they found it slower than the G4 on paper.

In actual use, however, they did not experience lag. And while there were some frame rate drops when playing graphic-intensive games, overall it performed admirably. PC Advisor adds, “The G5 never feels like it’s under-performing despite its benchmarks.”

The biggest limitation is internal storage. Of the 16GB included, only 10GB of free storage is available for use. Fortunately, there’s a microSD slot for easy expansion.

As for battery life, the 2800mAh battery provided a full day of charge for most critics even with heavy usage.

For you smartphone photographers, the 13MP camera didn’t wow reviewers. But it also didn’t disappoint.

They could capture good details in well-lit situations. Images showed little noise, vivid and accurate colors and excellent contrast. Many even praised the app itself as it is easy to use, focus and allows advanced controls—such as exposure adjustment.

In lower light situations, noise increased and color fidelity dropped. This did not surprise reviewers. Overall, they consider it a decent camera—especially for the price.

Overall, while many didn’t feel the G5 brings anything incredible to the table, reviewers still consider it an excellent value. Techradar states, “… this is still a great buy…” NDTV adds, “… it won’t disappoint you in daily use…”


Android
Operating system
Operating system
Android
1.4 GHz
Processor
Processor
1.4 GHz
5"
Screen Size
Screen Size
5"
13+ MP, f/2
Camera
Camera
13+ MP, f/2
2800 mAh
Battery


What the Critics Are Saying...


Neowin
Neowin

The latest entry in the G-series is good but leaves a lot to be desired. This feels like a half-thought-out G5 Plus and, frankly, it’s a little confusing. On its own, the Moto G5 is an interesting proposal. It tries to be a lot for a lot less, something Moto G has stood for since forever but falls s...

- Gurkaran Singh, Neowin
Recombu
Recombu

There's little to sway us from our initial verdict, even with the newcomers that arrived on the scene since the Moto G5's original launch. It's still a stylish smartphone that's comparatively compact with a great screen, great everyday performance and battery life, and a competent primary camera for...

- Alex Todd, Recombu
TechRadar
TechRadar

With a shiny new metal body, a super-slick fingerprint sensor and decent specs, the Moto G5 offers real value for money. It’s another obvious choice for Android bargain hunters.

- Simon Hill, TechRadar
Pocket-lint
Pocket-lint

With other manufacturers pushing into pricier brackets, the Moto G5 sticks to its £169 guns and delivers a fairly knock-out performance for the price point. It's more sophisticated to look at than its G4 predecessor, will handle all manner of tasks easily, and has a nifty fingerprint scanner t...

- Mike Lowe, Pocket-lint
Ausdroid
Ausdroid

The G5 offers good value, a solid package of features including good camera hardware/software and a fast optimised, often updated implementation of Android 7.0

- Neerav Bhatt, Ausdroid


Prices (Where to Buy)




Common Questions


We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the Motorola Moto G5 user manual here.


Motorola backs up the Moto G5 with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.


If your Moto G5 has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Motorola support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Motorola's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.




Resources


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Quick view

Screen Size
5"

The Motorola Moto G5's screen size is 5 inches with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution.

Processor
1.4 GHz

There is a Qualcomm MSM8937 Snapdragon 430 Octa core 1.4 GHz processor (CPU).

OS

The phone runs on the Android 7.0 Nougat (Update Available: 8.0 Oreo) operating system (OS).

Camera
13+ MP

You can take photos with the phone's onboard 13+ MP, f/2 camera.

There is also a secondary front facing camera with 5+ megapixels resolution.

Storage
16/32 GB

Internal memory is 16/32 GB. An external, MicroSD, MicroSDHC, microSDXC (up to 128 GB) expansion slot is available for increased storage capacity.

Battery
2800mAh

The phone is powered by a Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion), 2800 mAh battery. Motorola's performance ratings are 425 minutes Wi-Fi surfing.

Moto G5 Specs

Overview
Release Date March 11, 2017
Regions Available Canada, United Kingdom
Operating System Android 7.0 Nougat (Update Available: 8.0 Oreo)

Compare Android Smartphones

Processor Qualcomm MSM8937 Snapdragon 430 Octa core 1.4 GHz
Internal Storage 16/32 GB
RAM 3 GB
Hearing Aid Compatible No
TTY/TDD No
Noise Cancellation Yes
SAR Unknown
Manufacturer Warranty 1 Year
Accessories Included AC Charger, Manual
Cellular
Networks
GPRS, EDGE, HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE
Mobile / Cellular Data
4G/LTE
Push-to-talk (PTT) No
Wi-Fi Calling Yes
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) Yes
SIM card size
Nano-SIM
Dual SIM No
Connectivity
USB Micro-USB 2.0
USB OTG Support Yes
GPS Type A-GPS
Infrared No
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth Profiles A2DP, AVRCP, OPP/FTP, HFP, HSP
Bluetooth Audio Codecs SBC
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Mobile Hotspot Yes
Memory Expansion Slot Yes
Expansion Slot Info MicroSD, MicroSDHC, microSDXC (up to 128 GB)
NFC No
Data Tethering Compatibility Yes
Camera
Main Camera
Resolution / Aperture
13+ Megapixels, f/2
Zoom
8x digital
Flash
Yes (LED)
Additional Rear Camera Info
Auto focus, Effects, Geotagging, Panorama, Self-timer, Burst shot, HDR, Slow motion recording
Video Recording Formats
3GP / 3GPP, H.264 / AVC, MPEG-4, WMV
Video Recording Parameters
Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), 30 fps
Front Camera
Resolution / Aperture
5+ Megapixels
Additional Front Camera Info
Wide angle lens
Video Recording Parameters
Display / Screen
Type Color
Technology LCD (IPS)
Colors 16.7 million
Resolution 1080 x 1920 pixels
Pixel Density 441 pixels
Size 5 inches
Secondary Display No
Sensors Ambient Light, Proximity, Motion / Accelerometer, Gyroscope
Multi-Touch Yes
Fingerprint-Resistant Coating No
Additional Display Features Capacitive touch screen
Power & Battery
Battery Type Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion)
Battery Capacity 2800 mAh
Removable Battery Yes
Wireless Charging No
Fast Charging Yes
Video Playback Time Up to 493 minutes
Internet Use (Wi-Fi) Up to 425 minutes
Internet Use (Cellular) Up to 368 minutes
Talk Time Unknown
Standby Time Up to 34 days
Mixed Usage
Physical Characteristics
Design Type Bar
Material Aluminium
Colors Lunar Grey, Fine Gold
Dimensions [H x W x D] 14.4 x 7.3 x 0.9 cm (5.7 x 2.9 x 0.4 in)
Weight 145 grams
Water Resistant / Waterproof Water Resistant
Rugged design No
IP Rating No
Headset Jack 3.5mm
External Speakers Yes
Input / Navigation
Sleep / Wake Key Yes
Home Key No
Input / Keyboard Type Touchscreen
Navigation Type Touchscreen
External Volume Control Yes
Fingerprint Sensor Yes
More
Additional Information Other Names (AKA):

Also available in 2 GB of RAM.

Related Links Manual (PDF)
Motorola Moto G5 Reviews
Where to buy Motorola Moto G5
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