Motorola has changed hands more times than a used car in recent years, skipping over to Google and then to Lenovo where it currently resides. With future phones carrying the Moto branding - and a shake-up in 2016 introducing the Moto Z family, it was unclear what the next Moto handset might be, until now. 

Many originally thought the Moto X would be reintroduced, but instead we have been greeted with the next generation of the budget king Moto G. This is everything you need to know about the new Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus.

Moto G5 and G5 Plus: Design

  • Metal builds
  • Similar features to the Moto Z
  • Both have front-mounted fingerprint sensors

The Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus feature a metal build that's a huge leap away from the original Moto G in terms of design. Both devices look almost identical in terms of finish, aside from their physical size and a few minor differences.

The Moto G5 is the smaller of the two devices, as you might have guessed, measuring 144.3 x 73 x 9.5mm, while the G5 Plus is a little larger at 150.2 x 74 x 7.7mm. The G5 is also the lighter of the two handsets, weighing 144.5g compared to the G5 Plus's 155g.

Both have front-mounted fingerprint sensors built into their oval capacitive home button and they both have a large circular camera housing on the rear, which looks very similar to the Moto Z, giving the G range a more premium feel. They also both have a water-repellent coating.

Neither of the handsets have the Moto Z's contact pins though, so we can assume that they won't support Moto Mods. There is a nice curve to the back, as was rumoured, and both devices will come in Lunar Grey and Fine Gold, though the Moto G5 will also be available in an O2-exclusive Sapphire Blue in the UK.

Moto G5 and G5 Plus: Display

  • Both Full HD resolution 
  • Moto G5 to have 5-inch display
  • Moto G5 Plus to have 5.2-inch display

The Motorola Moto G5 has a 5-inch display, while the Moto G5 Plus features a 5.2-inch display. When the Moto G5 Plus device first appeared it was suggested that it would have a 5.5-inch Full HD display but this obviously turned out not to be the case.

Both the Moto G5 and G5 Plus have Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolutions, which means the G5 has a pixel density of 440ppi, while the G5 Plus has a pixel density of 423ppi, making them both sharper and crisper than their predecessors thanks to the size reduction. On paper, the 

The displays are also flat based so there's no 2.5D glass or curved edges or anything, but the G5 Plus is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus: Cameras

  • Same 5MP front camera on both
  • 13MP PDAF rear camera on G5
  • 12MP, f/1.7 rear camera on G5 Plus

As mentioned, around the back the new Moto G handsets appear to be using the same sort of design as the Moto Z for the camera, with a large round bump, housing both the lens and the flash module. 

The G5 has a 13-megapixel phase-detection autofocus camera, with a 5-megapixel front-facing wide-angle lens camera. It features an aperture of f/2.0 on the rear with 1.1µm pixels and an LED flash, while the front has an aperture of f/2.2, 1.4µm pixels and a display flash.

The G5 Plus on the other hand, has a 12-megapixel sensor with Dual Autofocus Pixels, 1.4µm pixels and a colour balancing dual-LED flash. It also has the same 5-megapixel front camera as its smaller brother.

According to Motorola, the Dual Autofocus Pixels should improve focusing time thanks to there being ten times more pixels on the sensor. The company has also claimed the G5 Plus has the "most advanced 12MP camera in its class" and that it will let in 25 per cent more light thanks to its f/1.7 aperture, which is the same as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. 

It is capable of recording 4K video, while the Moto G5's camera only offers Full HD video recording.

Moto G5 and G5 Plus: Hardware and specs

  • Both 3GB of RAM
  • More storage for G5 Plus, but both have microSD
  • Bigger battery and faster processor on G5 Plus

The Moto G5 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset with 3GB RAM, while the Moto G5 Plus has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 635 chip and 3GB of RAM.

In terms of internal storage, the G5 will come with 16GB only, which can be expanded via microSD, while the G5 Plus will offer 32GB as standard, again with microSD expansion available.

There's a fingerprint scanner on the front of both devices as we mentioned previously, which is less like the odd square version that was on the Moto G4 Plus, and more like the iterations we've seen from Samsung or HTC.

There's also a 3.5mm headphone socket on both devices - so it doesn't lose it like the Moto Z - but the Moto G5 and G5 Plus both use Micro-USB, rather than the newer, neater, USB Type-C, which is an odd decision. We're expecting most handsets to shift to USB Type-C in 2017, although keeping the legacy connection could have just been to keep costs down.

The Moto G5 has a 2800mAh battery, which is compatible with Motorola's Rapid Charger, while the G5 Plus has a Plus a 3000mAh battery that offers TurboPower charging. According to Motorola, this feature will deliver six hours of battery life in 15 minutes. The G5 Plus also has NFC on board, which the G5 doesn't.

Moto G5 and G5 Plus: Software

  • Both Android Nougat
  • Both Moto Experiences, but minimal bloatware

The Motorola Moto G5 and G5 Plus both launch on Android Nougat 7.0 with Moto Experiences, including Moto Display and Moto Actions. 

Motorola is known for offering an almost pure Android experience so you can expect very little bloatware on these two devices.

Moto G5 and G5 Plus: Release date and price

  • G5 will cost £169
  • G5 Plus will cost £259

The Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus were both announced during Lenovo's press conference on 26 February, the day before MWC 2017 kicks off.

In terms of price and availability, the G5 will go on sale from March for £169, while the G5 Plus will be available from late-April for £259.