Moto G Power 2025 vs. Moto G Power 5G 2024: A welcomed upgrade

Motorola makes some of the most value-for-money Android phones and is always pushing the expectations envelope across price segments. Sure, it has a few misses now and then, but by and large, we have generally gotten good products. Its Moto G series has been globally acclaimed for delivering exceptional value in the budget segment, and that continues with the latest Moto G Power 2025.

Priced the same as the Moto G Power 5G 2024, the new model offers an updated design, better shatter protection for the display, and a truly impressive IP69 rating for ultimate dust and water resistance. This makes it a no-brainer under $300, but the 2024 model is now heavily discounted, which makes it good value too. If you're unable to decide between Moto G Power 202 vs. Moto G Power 5G 2024, we're here to help.

Moto G Power 2025 vs. Moto G Power 5G 2024: Design and display

Motorola has dropped the 5G moniker from the name, so it's just the Moto G Power 2025. It has a similar vegan leather material for the back panel as the previous model, so it should be comfortable to hold, and fingerprints should be a non-issue. It has gotten a bit fatter at 8.7mm and a tad heavier at 208g when compared to the 2024 model. The new rear camera housing with four exposed rings makes it look more premium, as the design is similar to the Moto Edge series.

The two big changes to the design are the addition of Gorilla Glass 5 for the display and the new durability certifications. The display is still an IPS LCD panel but a bit larger at 6.8 inches. You still get the 120Hz refresh rate. We hope Motorola has increased the maximum brightness in the Moto G Power 2025 as the previous model wasn't the easiest to use outdoors, under sunlight.

The big talking point, however, is the IP68/IP69 rating on the 2025 Moto G Power. Till now, we've only seen this on a few flagships like the OnePlus 13, so to have it on a $300 phone is mighty impressive. Motorola has also boosted its durability by padding it with a MIL-STD-810H certification for toughness. The phone is available in Slate Gray and Leaf Green. The latter shade gives the phone a unique look and is something I'd pick if I were using it without a case.

The Moto G Power 5G 2024 is a tiny bit slimmer and lighter and should offer a similar in-hand feel thanks to the vegan leather back. The frame is plastic but it doesn't really feel cheap or poorly put together. One thing we noted in our review is that the rear leather panel is prone to scuffing quite easily, which can make your week-old phone look a few months old if you're not careful.

The display has prominent bezels and a big chin, which screams budget. The 6.7-inch display has a 120Hz refresh rate and a Full HD+ resolution. We found it to be plenty sharp with good color reproduction for both games and regualar app usage. The brightness was the only main sore point here, as it was rather difficult to see outdoors when we reviewed it.

Moto G Power 2025 vs. Moto G Power 5G 2024: Hardware and specs

The Moto G Power 2025 is only available as a single variant with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $299.99. Even though it's sold unlocked, it is compatible with all the major U.S. carriers. Eventually, you should be able to buy it via a carrier, too, at a heavily subsidized price. You don't get a charger in the box (some carriers might bundle one), so you'll have to buy one separately or choose from the best USB-C chargers.

The processor in the Moto G Power 2025 is the MediaTek Dimensity 6300, which feels like a downgrade to the Dimensity 7020, on paper anyway. Both are built on the 6nm process, but the 6300 has a higher maximum CPU clock speed of 2.4GHz, and it uses a different GPU. At the same time, the 7020 has a higher memory bandwidth. We'll know how much of an impact the new chip actually makes once we review the phone, but overall, I wouldn't expect much of a difference in daily usage.

The rest of the specs of the Moto G Power 2025 are similar to last year's model. There's expandable storage, NFC, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and a 5,000mAh battery with 30W wired and 15W wireless charging. The camera setup also seems identical. You get a 50MP main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and an 8MP ultrawide with autofocus, so it can be used as a macro camera. Selfie duties are handled by a 16MP sensor. The image quality of the 2024 Moto G Power was just about average, so I'm keen to know if Motorola has made any improvements here.

The Moto G Power 5G 2024 also launched at the same $299.99 price in 2024 for 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. Motorola is now selling it at a heavily reduced price of $179.99, which makes it much better value compared to its original price.

It's powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7020, which looks a bit better on paper, and it delivers decent performance for casual games. Do anything more intensive, though, like try running any premium Android game, and the phone will start to choke. We found the battery life to be solid, lasting a full day even with heavy use. Lighter users should be able to go two to three days before thinking about charging it.

Connectivity features of the Moto G Power 5G 2024 are similar to the newer model, including the presence of NFC. The cameras are also the same, with a 50MP and 8MP rear sensors and a 16MP sensor in the front. The performance of the two rear cameras is strictly okay and good enough for casual use only.

Moto G Power 2025 vs. Moto G Power 5G 2024: Software

The Moto G Power 2025 launched alongside the Moto G 2025, which also runs Android 15 with Motorola's unobtrusive customizations. The software experience should be very similar which means you can expect the usual Moto Actions gestures like the double-chop to turn on the flashlight, double-twist of your wrist to open the camera, and so on. The Moto G is slated to get two OS updates and three years of security patches, which should also apply to the G Power.

The Moto G Power 5G 2024 ran Android 14 and Motorola has released the Android 15 update changelog for the phone too. However, it's hard to say if it will get anything beyond this. Motorola doesn't have the best track record when it comes to timely OS updates, even for its premium phones, so we'll have to wait and see.

Moto G Power 2025 vs. Moto G Power 5G 2024: Which one should you buy?

If you already have a $300 budget, just get the Moto G Power 2025. It has the best water and dust-proof certification, bar none, in that segment. There's wireless charging, and you get a great-looking phone. It also comes with the latest Android version, two promised OS updates, and it's certified to survive falls and drops.

The only other alternative worth looking at is the CMF Phone 1 by Nothing. For a lower price, you get an AMOLED screen, a customizable back panel, good cameras, and three years of promised updates. Be aware, though, that 5G coverage is a bit spotty in the U.S., and there's no wireless charging, IP rating, or NFC.

The Moto G Power 5G 2024 wasn't easy to recommend at $300, but at its current $180 price, it's one of the best picks under $200. I would argue that it's slightly better value than the new Moto G 2025 since it has an ultrawide camera and wireless charging.