2021 Moto G stylus, power and play: big batteries, bigger screens and low prices

Motorola kicks off 2021 with updates for its mid-range Moto G line of phones with new versions of the Moto G Power, Moto G Stylus and Moto G Play that promise low prices and days of battery life at all levels. There’s also a new member of the Motorola One family called the Motorola One 5G Ace, which, at $ 399, takes the crown of Motorola’s cheapest 5G phone to date.

Once again, Motorola is poised to offer an almost dizzying supply of budget phones that range in price from just $ 30 to $ 50. The new Moto G Play will cost $ 169.99; the Moto G Power will offer $ 199.99 (for a 3GB RAM / 32GB storage model) $ 249.99 (for 4GB / 64GB) configurations; the Moto G Stylus will retail for $ 299.99; and the Motorola One 5G Ace will retail for $ 399.99. It’s a strategy that ensures there’s a phone at almost any price point you can imagine, although it’s slightly more difficult to choose between similar devices at similar price points.

Motorola is keeping the same names for its new 2021 lineup – sadly, the days of digitally differentiated Moto G models seem to have come to an end for good with the 2019 Moto G7 lineup. But the new phones offer small and big improvements over theirs. predecessors 2020.

The Moto G Play appears to be the toughest sale of the bunch. While the price tag of $ 169 is intriguing, the paltry 720p resolution – sprawled across a comparatively huge 6.5-inch panel – raises concerns, as does the year-old Snapdragon 460 processor which is significantly less powerful than the one. ‘one of two other new 2021 Moto G phones. This is all the more true as Qualcomm has already announced the Snapdragon 480, which promises to be twice as fast and adds more premium features like 5G to the mix.

There are also some positives. The 2021 G Play has 3GB of RAM (which puts it in a better position in terms of performance than last year’s $ 149 Moto E) and a massive 5,000mAh battery which Motorola says should be good for up to three days on a charge.

The new G Power and G Stylus are not as similar as last year’s models. Where the 2020 models offered the same processor, display and design, the new models are distinctly different phones. The G Power offers a 5,000mAh battery, a 6.6-inch 720p display, and a weaker Snapdragon 662, but the G Stylus claims its higher price tag with a stylus, larger 6.8-inch panel, and higher 1080p resolution, and a more powerful Snapdragon 678 processor. (It takes the battery down a notch, offering only a 4000mAh battery that can last up to two days without a charge.)

The larger G Stylus also offers 4GB of RAM by default (unlike the G Power, which has both 3GB and 4GB models) and has more storage (128GB compared to the G Power’s choice of 32 GB or 64 GB). You also get camera improvements on the G Stylus – while both phones have a 48-megapixel main sensor (which takes 12-megapixel quad-pixel photos), a 2-megapixel macro camera. megapixel and a 2-megapixel depth sensor, the G Stylus also adds an 8-megapixel ultra-wide and a better selfie camera.

Image: Motorola

Finally, there’s the Motorola One 5G Ace, which (as the name suggests) isn’t quite in the same category as the other phones here. At $ 399, it’s Motorola’s cheapest 5G phone to date. And the weaker 750G 5G Snapdragon, downshifted cameras, and slower refresh rate display make the One 5G Ace a more affordable version of the $ 499 Motorola One 5G that the company released last year.

All four new phones will be available unlocked at direct retailers on January 14, with pre-orders starting today. Additionally, several of the new phones will also be released by major carriers in the future: the Moto G Play and Motorola One 5G Ace via AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, while the G Power will be sold only by Verizon. The G Stylus, meanwhile, will completely ignore major US carriers, although Boost Mobile, Cricket, Consumer Cellular, and Republic Wireless offer it.