The $200 Moto G Power (2022) proves 4G phones are still a thing

Have you started thinking about 2022? Well if you're Motorola you definitely have. On Wednesday, the Chicago-based phone maker announced the Moto G Power (2022). It's a follow-up to the Moto G Power (2021) that launched in January. The 2022 version comes with a handful of hardware upgrades and starts at $200 (£150, AU$275). The Moto G Power (2022) will be available in the US and Canada early next year.

As its name suggests the Moto G Power is all about battery life. Motorola claims it will last three days on a single charge. If it's anything like the 2021 version, that seems accurate: The 2021 version scored one of the longest times of any phone we tested this year.

The new Moto G Power has the same 5,000-mAh battery but comes with a 6.5-inch HD+ screen. The screen is a tad smaller than the current Moto G Power. Disappointingly, it still has an HD+ resolution which in 2021 is a mediocre spec at best. However, that lower resolution probably helps keep the battery life going as long as it does. On the flip side, Motorola gave the screen a 90Hz-refresh rate. I'm curious to see what a high refresh rate with 720p looks like in everyday use.

The biggest change is the processor. Motorola is using a MediaTek Helio G37 instead of a Snapdragon chip. The new processor is coupled with 4GB of RAM and runs Android 11 out of the box. Motorola will give the phone one major OS upgrade and offers two years of security updates. The price of the phone is so low you can argue that by the time Android 14 rolls out, you could just get a new phone. But it would be nice to see Motorola offer more longterm software support.
The design of the phone gets an overhaul that includes the most minimal camera bump I've seen on a phone in a long time. The fingerprint reader migrates to the back and thankfully Motorola kept the headphone jack and expandable storage slot. The main camera gets a new 50-megapixel sensor that uses pixel binning to create brighter 12.5-megapixel photos.
Overall the Moto G Power (2022) is a curious revision. There are definitely some welcomed new features, but on the whole this seems like a B-side to 2021's Moto G Power.

Moto G Power (2022) hardware specs:

• 6.5-inch 90Hz 1,600x720-pixel display
• 50-megapixel main camera
• 2-megapixel macro camera
• 2-megapixel depth camera
• 8-megapixel selfie camera
• MediaTek Helio G37 processor
• 5,000-mAh battery
• 10-watt charging
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB or 128GB of storage 
• Support for 512GB of expandable storage
• IP52 rating for water splashes
• Headphone jack
• Rear fingerprint reader

Watch this: Hands-on with Motorola's 2021 budget phone lineup

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