One Of The Best Budget Phones I've Tested Isn't Made By Samsung Or Tcl (and It Lasts For Days)

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Motorola 2026 Moto G Power

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

Motorola's 2026 Moto G Power is disposable for $300.
It's a coagulated fund package pinch a agelong artillery life and a Full HD+ display.
However, it's only a humble upgrade complete nan 2025 model.

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Over nan past respective weeks, I've been testing nan 2026 Moto G Power, nan past of Motorola's 2026 bid -- for now. During CES 2026, nan institution unveiled nan Razr Fold, its first foldable smartphone, truthful location is much to come. But for nan first group, I'd for illustration to deliberation that Motorola saved nan champion for last. It offers nan champion personification acquisition of its generation, and I urge it complete nan others.

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My biggest disapproval of Motorola's 2026 lineup is that it intimately mirrors nan erstwhile generation: galore of these phones consciousness almost identical to their 2025 counterparts. However, moreover though nan 2026 Moto G Power shares a batch of DNA pinch nan 2025 version, it introduces much meaningful upgrades that let it to guidelines retired connected its own.

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Improved features

The biggest upgrades to nan 2026 Moto G Power were made to nan artillery and camera system. It packs a 5,200mAh battery, which is somewhat larger than nan erstwhile generation's 5,000mAh cell. It doesn't look for illustration a large change, but nan other size does amended longevity. As portion of testing, I played a 720p YouTube livestream nonstop, and nan instrumentality lasted a bully 20 hours earlier tapping out. It is imaginable to double that tally clip by activating Maximum Battery Saver.

Also: Why I for illustration this $200 Motorola telephone complete Google and Samsung's cheaper models

What this does is restrict astir of nan device's features, isolated from for basal functions and apps, specified arsenic Phone, Messages, Settings, and nan Google Play Store. A Motorola rep told maine that those 4 apps were "designated arsenic essential", truthful those stay active. It's a instrumentality intended for usage only successful emergencies. Activating it tin widen nan artillery life to complete 40 hours, arsenic was nan lawsuit pinch my reappraisal unit.

The selfie camera has been upgraded to a 32MP lens, delivering sharper photos pinch amended colour accuracy. Like nan remainder of nan 2026 series, nan rear camera connected nan Moto G Power received nan aforesaid colour correction tweaks. Photos taken by nan mobile instrumentality aren't overly saturated. To exemplify my point, I've included a image I took of a group of plush penguins to show nan camera's quality.

Another standout camera characteristic is Night Vision. When nan ray sensor detects a low-light environment, nan telephone provides nan opportunity to activate nan tool, allowing nan lenses to seizure much ray for brighter, higher-quality nighttime photos. You'll request to support your hands dependable to get a clear shot. Fortunately, Optical Image Stabilization keeps nan camera steady, minimizing blur from flimsy manus movements.

Motorola besides told maine that Night Vision captures aggregate frames, "selecting moments of minimal motion." Below is simply a photograph I took of a distant location ray utilizing Night Vision, and I deliberation it turned retired rather well. You tin spot each nan objects beautiful clearly, contempt nan less-than-optimal conditions.

Sleek and durable

Design-wise, nan 2026 Moto G Power is mostly unchanged from nan 2025 model, isolated from nan caller disposable colors. It's a 6.8-inch telephone weighing conscionable complete 200 grams, and it's built to beryllium tough. The surface is made retired of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, which is highly resistant to scratches and tin past drops of up to 3 feet onto asphalt. Motorola's smartphone is besides rated IP69, meaning it tin grip little submersion underwater.

Like nan different models successful nan series, nan backmost is covered successful vegan leather. I'm not judge if Motorola made changes to nan worldly aliases utilized a different one, because nan backmost of nan Moto G Power felt different, rougher, for illustration existent leather. I really for illustration this construction. The different phones had a softer back, almost for illustration cloth. This telephone had a nicer feel.

Also: I tried Motorola's Razr Fold astatine CES 2026, and it's nan company's astir eager telephone yet

Returning to nan display, it operates astatine Full HD+ solution (2388 x 1080 pixels), and it is, acold and away, nan champion surface among nan 2026 trio. It consistently outputs high-res visuals pinch agleam and vibrant colors. On nan different Moto G models, nan surface value was truthful debased that it almost ruins nan camera. Their displays don't do nan photographs they return immoderate justice. Thankfully, that is not an rumor pinch nan Moto G Power.

Under nan hood, nan telephone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset. I'm going to beryllium brutally honorable here: I person thing to opportunity astir nan 6300 that I haven't already said before. It's a decent portion of hardware.

Nearly each Motorola smartphone from nan 2025 and 2026 lines uses this chipset, and it's a coagulated midrange level that's awesome for casual net browsing and ray photography, but struggles nether dense workloads, for illustration mobile gaming. In this instance, nan Full HD+ show does a batch of dense lifting, elevating nan 2026 Moto G Power supra nan rest.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Moto G Power is disposable now for $300 connected nan company's website. You tin take from 2 colors: Evening Blue and Pure Cashmere, which is simply a shiny, pearl-like white.

I've advised readers successful erstwhile reviews to see nan 2025 models if they want a mobile instrumentality akin to nan 2026 type but astatine a little price. In this instance, however, I tin confidently opportunity that this Moto G Power exemplary is amended than its predecessor acknowledgment to nan improvements made to nan artillery and camera.