Moto G5 Launched at MWC; Features Snapdragon 430 SoC, and Aluminium Unibody

Motorola has finally taken the wraps off its new Moto G5 smartphone at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The upgraded handset features a significantly more premium design, the same clean software, and adds a few more tidbits for taking on the competition. Overall, though, the company has kept changes minimal, and most of the major improvements have been limited for its superior companion, the Moto G5 Plus.

The new Moto G5 abolishes the plastic shell build Motorola has been offering for four years, and instead, brings an aluminum unibody. It comes with a 5-inch Full HD panel up front and uses a water-repellent coating (P2i) for protection against occasional spills and splashes. For the hardware, Moto has decided to go for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 Octa-Core processor which is quite baffling given the Moto G4 is powered by a more capable Qualcomm 617 SoC. Perhaps, it could be for offering a prolonged battery life.

Apart from that, there’s an Adreno 505 GPU, 2/3GB RAM, 16/32GB which is expandable up to 128GB via a MicroSD card, and a 2800mAh removable (yes, you read that right!) battery that also supports quick charging. The circular camera arrangement on the back includes a 13MP shooter with PDAF (Phase Detection AutoFocus), dual-LED flash, and there’s a wide-angle 5MP lens on the front as well.

Also, you get Android Nougat out-of-the-box with all the Moto goodies such as Moto Display, Actions, twist gesture for launching the camera, and more. Additionally, if you want to, you can also disable Android’s on-screen buttons and use swiping gestures on the larger-than-usual fingerprint sensor instead. Swipe left on the fingerprint reader to go back, and swipe right for multitasking view. Lastly, the phone supports 4G LTE, Dual-SIM, and houses a fingerprint reader on the front.

The Moto G5 will be available in two color options – Lunar Gray and Fine Gold in March starting at a price of €199 (~Rs 14000).