Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus are midrange and metal

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 26 February 2017

Motorola today unveiled the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus, iterating on its best-selling midrange phone line with new features including a metal build and Google Assistant.

Both phones now use glass and metal builds (stepping up from the predominantly plastic design of their predecessors), but only the smaller 5-inch Moto G5 still has a removable battery; the larger 5.2-inch G5 Plus won't let you rip out its juice box.

This time around, both the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus offer a front-facing fingerprint reader, and fast-charging (which is said to offer six hours of battery life in 15 minutes). The Moto G5 Plus is slightly smaller than last year's Moto G4 Plus, down from 5.5-inches to 5.2-inches.

Key specifications for the Moto G5 include a 5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 430 processor, 16GB of expandable storage, 2GB of RAM, a 2800mAh battery, and a 13MP rear-facing camera.

Key specifications for the Moto G5 Plus include a 5.2-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 625 processor, 16GB or 32GB of expandable storage, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, a 3000mAh battery , and a 12MP dual-pixel rear-facing camera.

Only the Moto G4 Plus made it to Australia last year, fingers crossed we see both this time around. Both phones will be available globally from March, starting at €199 for the Moto G5 and €279 for the Moto G5 Plus. We're still waiting on concrete Australian availability and pricing.

Motorola Australia contributed funding toward WhistleOut's trip to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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