Motorola Moto G 5G vs Moto G Pure

Are you looking for a small, lightweight, budget-friendly phone? Motorola has two reliable mid-rangers, the Moto G 5G and the Moto G Pure, and while they are from the same product line, they differ in some crucial ways. Find out which phone is right your you in this Moto G 5G vs Moto G Pure matchup.

Motorola Moto G 5G vs Moto G Pure: At a glance

Motorola Moto G 5G vs Moto G Pure: Specs

Motorola Moto G 5G vs Moto G Pure: Size comparison

These phones are pretty much the same size, with a 6.5-inch display. The Moto G pure is slightly taller due to some chunkier bezels along the bottom, but it is also the lighter of the two, weighing 188g compared to the Moto G 5G at 204g. Both phones are small, lightweight, and comfortable pocket companions.

Motorola Moto G 5G vs Moto G Pure: Cameras

There’s a pretty drastic difference in cameras between these two phones. The Moto G Pure features the same dual-camera setup as the Moto G Play, with a 13MP primary shooter and an average 2Mp depth sensor. While there are some fun features like the Color Picker and Cutout mode, the pairing doesn’t perform so well in low-light settings.

On the other hand, the Moto G 5G has a 50MP primary shooter that is capable enough for everyday shots in any condition, the same 2MP depth sensor, and adds third 2MP macro camera to the mix. We found the macro camera slightly soft and under-detailed, but it’s better than nothing. It also has the same Color Picker and Cutout modes.

As for the front side, the Moto G 5G sports a 13MP selfie shooter, which is more than twice as many megapixels as the Moto G Pure’s 5MP front-facing camera. Despite some aggressive beauty filters, the former is the stronger selfie camera, but both have a portrait mode to blur the background. The Moto G 5 G’s front camera has a punch hole cutout design, while the Moto G Power has a waterdrop notch that dips down into the display.

Video recording capabilities on both phones are limited to 1080p at 30 fps on the front and back, which is a little disappointing even for budget phones.

Motorola Moto G 5G vs Moto G Pure: Battery and charging

The Moto G 5G has a bigger 5,000mAh battery than the Moto G Pure’s 4,000mAh battery. Both phones should be able to last up to two days before needing a charger, but the Moto G 5G will outrun the Pure if it were a marathon. When it comes to charging, however, both phones are limited to 10W wired charging. That means you’ll be waiting for two hours or more to refill an empty battery, which is slower than we’d like to see.

Motorola Moto G 5G vs Moto G Pure: Price

The Moto G Pure was the first to launch in the fall of 2021 for $159.99. The Moto G 5G quickly followed in early 2022, released for $399.99. The big price difference was justified mainly by the large discrepancy in RAM and storage capacity, the more versatile cameras, and the more powerful processor.

Nowadays, Motorola sells the Moto G 5G for $199.99 (50% off) and the Moto G Pure for $109.99 (31% off), making both phones much closer in price.

Motorola Moto G 5G vs Moto G Pure: Which should you buy?

While the Moto G 5G may not have lived up to its asking price when it first launched, it has since cut its price in half, which makes it a much more attractive option. For an extra $90 bucks, you get twice the RAM, eight times the storage, a third camera with a better primary shooter, and a 30Hz faster refresh rate. The MediaTek Dimensity 700 is also a much more powerful processor due to a smaller size transistor (7 versus 12 nm), delivering a higher GPU frequency (~46%), 10% higher CPU clock speed, and 15% higher memory bandwidth. Plus, you get access to 5G networks and better Bluetooth connectivity.

Although, if you really don’t want to move out of that $100 price range, the Moto G Pure is a dependable daily driver that will get the job done. It packs a nice, large display, and Motorola’s My UX is as light and smooth as they come. You might also consider the Moto G Play for $149.99, which sits in the middle ground price-wise and bumps up to a 5,000mAh battery.

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