The Moto G Play and Moto G series have always been about budget phones that offer excellent value for the money, and the Moto G Play (2024) and Moto G 5G (2024) are no different. The two Motorola phones bring solid hardware for their prices, including a smooth screen, a long-lasting battery, and Snapdragon chips for smooth performance. However, deep down, there are many differences that could change your decision.

In this detailed comparison, we’ll dive into all the important aspects you should know to make a better purchase decision.

Moto G Play (2024) vs Moto G 5G (2024): A detailed breakdown

Let’s look at what differentiates these two.

Pricing and availability

The Moto G Play (2024) only comes in a single variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, currently priced at $130.

The Moto G 5G (2024) has a slightly higher price tag of $170. It also has 4GB memory, but the storage is doubled to 128GB. There’s more to this Motorola phone than just bigger storage. We’ll get to them as we go through the remaining sections.

Both Motorola phones come in a single color option — ‘Sapphire Blue’ for Moto G Play and ‘Sage Green’ for Moto G 5G. They are widely available in the US and Canada.

Design and build

Both Motorola phones resemble typical budget phones, featuring thick bezels on all sides. However, it’s good to see hole-punch selfie cameras rather than a waterdrop style that takes more space to fit in the camera.

The rear designs are also similar, except that the Moto G 5G (2024) has an eco-leather back instead of a plastic one on the Moto G Play (2024). This provides better grip and protection against accidental drops, and it’s also less prone to fingerprint smudges.

Display

The Moto G Play has a 6.5-inch LCD screen with 90Hz refresh rate support. The Moto G 5G is narrowingly taller, at 6.6 inches, and offers a higher 120Hz refresh rate. However, both phones have the same HD+ screen resolution.

The Moto G Play does have better screen protection. It’s rocking a Corning Gorilla Glass 3, while the other Motorola phone doesn’t have any.

Performance and software

The Moto G Play (2024) is powered by a Snapdragon 680 chipset. The chipset offers smooth performance with regular day-to-day tasks. However, it lacks a 5G modem, which is why the Moto G Play doesn’t have 5G connectivity.

On the other hand, the Moto G (2024) has a more powerful Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset with an integrated 5G modem.

Here are the benchmark results:

AnTuTu v10 performance

In the AnTuTu benchmark, the Moto G 5G (2024) delivers a 32% overall performance boost compared to the Moto G Play (2024). The biggest leap comes from the GPU, where it scores over 81% higher, suggesting much better performance in gaming and graphics-heavy tasks.

CPU performance is up by 36%, and the UX score is 44% higher, which translates to faster app launches, smoother multitasking, and a more fluid and responsive user experience.

Both Motorola phones offer clean software, but the update policy is a big letdown — just one Android update. This has been one of the weakest areas of Motorola phones, and the company really needs to take care of it.

Geekbench v6 performance

In Geekbench tests, the Moto G 5G (2024) shows a dramatic 98% boost in single-core performance compared to the Moto G Play (2024). This means everyday tasks like app launches, browsing, and UI responsiveness would feel a lot faster.

There’s a 29% improvement in multi-core performance, which helps with heavier workloads like multitasking, background processes, or using more demanding apps.

Camera

The Moto G Play features a single 50MP camera on the back. It produces decent shots in bright conditions with good details and color accuracy. The quality drops dramatically in low light, and photos generally appear blurry.

The 8MP selfie camera does a fairly good job for its price. Sometimes, the images may appear inconsistent because there’s no autofocus. The video quality is particularly exciting from all cameras. Also, there’s no 4K recording.

The Moto G 5G (2024) also has a 50MP primary camera that does an excellent job for its price. It produces natural-looking photos during the day, with good color accuracy, white balance, and dynamic range. The low-light performance is much improved compared to previous generations, with faster capture and better control over noise and dynamic range.

There’s also a 2MP macro camera on the rear side that doesn’t add much value to the device. The shots lack much detail and appear pixelated. The Moto G 5G can record up to 1080p videos from both sides with acceptable quality.

Connectivity

Both phones have all the necessary connectivity options, such as Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, and multiple positioning systems. However, there’s something that creates a significant difference between the two, and that’s 5G support. The Moto G 5G (2024) supports 5G, but the Moto G Play (2024) doesn’t.

Battery and charging

Both Motorola phones have excellent battery life, easily lasting more than a day on regular usage. Battery-conscious users might be able to stretch it to two days on a single charge. By the way, the phones come with a 5,000mAh battery.

The Moto G Play’s charging peaks at 15W, while the Moto G 5G offers a slightly better 18W charging over a USB-C cable. Neither has wireless charging support.

Moto G Play (2024) vs Moto G 5G (2024): Which is a better deal?

The Moto G Play (2024) and Moto G 5G (2024) both deliver impressive value for their price, staying true to Motorola’s goal of offering budget-friendly smartphones with dependable performance. They share many key features like large 5,000mAh batteries, HD+ displays, and clean software — making them both solid picks for casual users.

However, the Moto G 5G (2024) clearly pulls ahead in several important areas. It offers a significantly faster chipset with nearly double the single-core performance and 81% better GPU scores, which translates into smoother multitasking, better gaming, and a longer-lasting experience overall. It also gives you double the storage, a higher 120Hz refresh rate, eco-leather back, improved camera capabilities, and faster 18W charging — all for just $40 more.

If your usage is light and you’re looking for the most affordable option with great battery life and smooth everyday performance, the Moto G Play (2024) won’t disappoint. But for anyone wanting a more future-proof phone with 5G support and meaningful performance upgrades, the Moto G 5G (2024) is the better deal by far.

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The Moto G lineup has been offering really good cheap phones. Those who don’t care about flagship performance and cameras but instead look for reliable hardware and clean software that can get the basic job done, the Moto G models are worth considering.

As we enter the new year, the company unveils the 2025 edition with several upgrades over the last year’s model. The camera module has got bigger, and there are some other notable hardware upgrades as well. Let’s look at the key differences between the two and find out how the two stack up on each other.

Motorola Moto G 5G (2025) vs Moto G 5G (2024)

The design hasn’t changed much except for the camera module. It now takes more space, giving the impression as if there are three camera sensors, but no, there are only two, and the extra circle is for the ambient light sensor. Rest, it has a vegan leather finish and a punch-hole selfie camera, just like the 2024 model. 

In addition to a gray color, the Moto G 5G (2025) comes in a blue option. So, you’ve got a new color option as well. Motorola has slightly increased height and width to accommodate a larger 6.7-inch screen (vs. 6.6-inch on the Moto G 2024). It’s still an IPS LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. The 2025 edition also has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, which is lacking on the Moto G 2024.

While the Moto G 5G (2025) now has added display protection, the Moto G Power 2025, starting at $300, has received some serious durability upgrades that are only seen on flagship phones. You can read more about it here.

Coming back to Moto G 5G (2025), it’s equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 6300 instead of a Snapdragon chip. However, the change will most likely go unnoticed as the two chips have similar performance and efficiency.

What’s more? The selfie camera resolution has been doubled to 16MP. However, the rear cameras are unchanged — a 50MP primary sensor and a 2MP macro shooter. The addition of an ambient light sensor might improve the image quality, but don’t expect a significant jump.

Motorola has also upgraded the stereo speakers by bringing in Dolby Atmos support. So users will enjoy an immersive sound experience. The battery capacity is still 5,000mAh, but it’s already great, lasting more than a day. However, the charging speed has gone up from 18W to 30W.

And yes, it ships with Android 15 out of the box. Motorola promises two Android updates and three years of security updates for this budget phone. So, Moto G 5G (2025) will enjoy Android 17 as well, whereas Android 16 will be the final OS upgrade for the 2024 model.

Motorola Moto G 5G (2025) vs Moto G 5G (2024): Conclusion

Both Moto G 5G (2025) and Moto G 5G (2024) are great budget phones, with the latter being $50 cheaper. Besides a bigger camera module (with the same set of sensors), the 2025 edition brings a slightly larger screen with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, a MediaTek chip (with almost similar performance), and a slightly improved selfie camera.

The audio experience is also improved with Dolby Atmos integration. The charging speed now peaks at 30W. That’s a nice set of upgrades over the 2024 model.

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