After being subject to its fair share of leaks, Motorola has officially unveiled the G5 and G5 Plus at its press conference during Mobile World Congress. With its predecessors being the best budget smartphones currently available, the newcomers certainly have a lot to live up to.

On paper, that shouldn't be a problem. The G5 and G5 Plus come sporting a new metal design, which should give off a more premium feel, and certainly one that will belie their price tags.

Under the new metal exterior of the G5 is a 1.4GHz Snapdragon 430 processor with 3GB of RAM to keep your apps and games running smoothly. They should be able to run all day too thanks to a 2,800mAh battery. But if you do find yourself running low on power, Motorola's rapid charger will be able to top it up in minutes.

Front and centre is a 5-inch Full HD display that benefits from Motorola's Moto Display function. It shows you notifications without turning the whole screen on to preserve battery power. 

The Moto G5 comes with 16GB of internal storage but you can expand it up to 128GB via microSD card.

As previously leaked, it also comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera with phase detection autofocus that promises sharp and detailed images. On the front you'll find a 5-megapixel wide-angle lens for those all important selfies.

The Motorola Moto G5 will be available from March in Lunar Grey, Fine Gold, or an O2 exclusive Sapphire Blue for £169.

motorola moto g5 and g5 plus arrive to retain the budget smartphone crown image 2
Lenovo / Motorola


The G5 Plus meanwhile takes thing up a notch by offering a faster 2GHz octa-core processor, a higher capacity 3,000mAh battery with TurboPower charging, which Motorola says can give you six hours worth of battery life in 15 minutes, and a slightly larger 5.2-inch Full HD display. 

The Plus gets the added benefit of Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. 

On the back, Motorola has fitted the "most advanced 12-megapixel camera in its class". It features Dual Autofocus Pixels which should improve focusing time due to their being 10x more pixels on the sensor.

The G5 Plus' rear camera also has a large f1.7 aperture to allow more light onto the sensor to improve low-light shots and can record video in 4K at 30fps. The standard G5 only gets Full HD video capture. 

On the front is the same 5-inch wide-angle lens camera as on the G5. 

Both phones come with front-mounted fingerprint scanners, which can be used to navigate through screens, and Google Assistant is on hand to send messages, make calls and carry out everyday tasks by responding to your voice.

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus will also be available from late-April for £259. It will only be available in Lunar Grey and Fine Gold colour finishes.