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 2025 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's still comfortable to hold, and fingerprints is 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. In our testing, sunlight legibility was just fine and so was the touch response.

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. While it launched at $299.99, it's now officially sold at $199 or even lower with some online retailers. 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. Performance is decent but we did notice some slugishness creeping in now and then.

The rest of the specs of the Moto G Power 2025 are similar to the 2024 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 is also 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 we found that to be true with the 2025 model as well.

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 $129.99, 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 is 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 also applies 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?

The Moto G Power 2025 at its current $200 price point beats the 2024 model hands down in terms of price vs. features. 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.

Motorola has already announced the 2026 Moto G Power which is more or less the same phone as the 2025 model. At $300, it's not the best value as you might as well get the 2025 model for $100 less.

The Moto G Power 5G 2024 wasn't easy to recommend at $300, but at its current $120 price, it's one of the best picks under $200. It's missing many features that the 2025 Moto G Power has but with its price now at an all-time low, it's hard to find a better bargain buy.