Motorola adds dual rear cameras to our favorite budget phone

The Moto G5S and Moto G5S Plus are special edition versions of the popular Moto G5 and G5 Plus with better cameras and a larger displays.

Patrick Holland Managing Editor

Patrick Holland has been a phone reviewer for CNET since 2016. He is a former theater director who occasionally makes short films. Patrick has an eye for photography and a passion for everything mobile. He is a colorful raconteur who will guide you through the ever-changing, fast-paced world of phones, especially the iPhone and iOS. He used to co-host CNET's I'm So Obsessed podcast and interviewed guests like Jeff Goldblum, Alfre Woodard, Stephen Merchant, Sam Jay, Edgar Wright and Roy Wood Jr.

Expertise Apple, iPhone, iOS, Android, Samsung, Sony, Google, Motorola, interviews, coffee equipment, cats Credentials

Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.

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Patrick Holland

Aug. 8, 2017 11:00 a.m. PT

motog5splus-nfc-lunargray-explodedcamera — An view of the lens elements that make up the dual rear cameras on the Moto G5S Plus.
Motorola

2017 is turning out to be a great year for budget phones , especially those made by Motorola. On Tuesday, the company announced that it was releasing special editions of the G5 and G5 Plus called the G5S and G5S Plus.

The G5S Plus gets a larger 5.5-inch display (up from 5.2 inches), a new 8-megapixel selfie camera and two 13-megapixel rear cameras. Dual rear cameras pits the G5S Plus against the likes of the Huawei Honor 9.

The G5S gets a larger 5.2-inch display (up from 5 inches), a 3,000mAh battery (instead of 2,800mAh) and a 16-megapixel rear camera.

Both phones will be available later in August in the UK and Europe and will be coming to the US this fall. The Moto G5S starts at €249, which converts to $295, £225 and AU$370 and the G5S Plus will cost €200, which converts to $350, £265 and AU$445.

Check out the specs below.

The Moto G5S Plus, Moto G5S, Moto G5 Plus and Moto G5 (UK models) compared

	Moto G5S Plus	Moto G5S	Moto G5 Plus	Moto G5
Display	5.5-inch 1,920x1,080 pixels	5.2-inch 1,920x1,080 pixels	5.2-inch 1,920x1,080 pixels	5-inch 1,920x1,080 pixels
Processor	2.0GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625	1.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430	2.0GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625	1.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430
Storage	32GB	32GB	32GB	16GB
RAM	3GB	3GB	3GB	2GB, 3GB
Battery	3,000mAh	3,000mAh	3,000mAh	2,800mAh
NFC	Yes	No	Yes	No
Camera (rear)	13-megapixel, 13-megapixel	16-megapixel	12-megapixel	13-megapixel
Camera (front)	8-megapixel	5-megapixel	5-megapixel	5-megapixel
Video	4K	1080p HD	4K	1080p HD