5 things you need to know about the Lenovo Moto G6 family

While the Moto brand has been affixed to much fancier phones, the Moto G line has been Lenovo’s (and originally Motorola’s) real standout offering, delivering a quality Android experience for modest cash.

And the Moto G6 looks to be the best edition yet. It’s not just one phone, however: Lenovo just unveiled the Moto G6, larger Moto G6 Plus, and trimmed-down Moto G6 Play, all of which share some elements despite some pretty serious differences between them.

Eyeing a cheaper Android in the near future? If so, you might want to wait for the new Moto – here’s what you need to know about these budget-friendly picks.

1) They’ve got premium gloss

All three of these handsets have a sparkling new design, with the Moto G6 and G6 Plus being the real standouts of the bunch. Last year’s Moto G5 tried to bring in more high-end gloss, but lost points for still feeling cheap. That shouldn’t be a problem here.

The G6 and G6 Plus (shown) have sleeker builds with curved 3D glass on the back, which might attract fingerprints but should still look damn fine while doing so. The G5 Play’s backing glass isn’t quite as distinctively shaped, but for such a cheap phone, at least you’re still getting that gloss.

2) All have taller screens

Extra-tall, 18:9 displays swept through the flagship world last year, and now they’re on the Moto G line as well. All three of the Moto G6 phones have 18:9 displays, albeit with some differences between them.

The base Moto G6 (shown) features a 5.7in LCD display at 1080p, while the Moto G6 Plus bumps up to a 5.9in 1080p screen. The Moto G6 Play has the same size screen as the Moto G6, but this 5.7in display drops down in resolution to 720p. That’s bound to be a bit fuzzy-looking, but again, the Play is all about value – plus the lower resolution ought to boost battery life, too.

Also Read › The Moto G6 does a pretty good flagship smartphone for a much lower price

3) Twin shooters onboard

The Moto G6 and G6 Plus also embrace a fairly recent flagship trend: a pair of back cameras.

Here, you’ll see a 12-megapixel main sensor, which is at f/1.8 aperture on the Moto G6 and f/1.7 with dual-pixel autofocus on the Moto G6 Plus, plus a 5MP secondary sensor to help with depth-related perks. And while the G6 can do 1080p video recording at 60fps, the G6 Plus can also go a notch higher-res with 4K shooting at 30fps.

The Moto G6 Play isn’t quite as well-equipped, naturally. It has a single 13MP back camera at f/2.0, and it’s limited to 1080p shooting at 30fps.

All three phones have a single 8MP selfie camera on the front, and the Moto G6 and G6 Plus both offer facial unlocking along with the fingerprint sensor on the back. The G6 Play doesn’t have the facial security trick, and its fingerprint sensor is on the back instead.

4) Modest power onboard

As you might expect, there are some key differences between the three G6 phones when it comes to power, as well.

The base Moto G6 uses a lower mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chip with an Adreno 506 GPU, along with either 3GB or 4GB RAM based on model. You’ll get a nice step up in performance with the Moto G6 Plus (shown), though, which has a Snapdragon 630 with an Adreno 508 and either 4GB or 6GB RAM.

The Play, meanwhile, drops down to a Snapdragon 427 with an Adreno 308 and 2GB or 3GB RAM. It’s not likely to be a powerhouse for 3D games and smooth multitasking, but it’ll surely handle emails, texting, and streaming video just fine.

And the Play comes out well ahead on battery life: with a huge 4,000mAh pack inside, Lenovo has set the Play up as the entertainment phone of choice for long-lasting video playback. The Moto G6 has a 3,000mAh pack and the Moto G6 Plus bumps up to 3,200mAh to handle the larger screen, but neither is likely to last as long as the Play.

5) Expect them out in May

Despite its flagship-inspired touches, the Moto G6 starts at just £219 – a bit more than the £169 tag of the Moto G5, but potentially worth it. Meanwhile, the Moto G6 Plus will start at £269.

And the Moto G6 Play (shown) will be the most affordable of the bunch, making a few tech concessions to take over the Moto G5’s price point of £169. It won’t feel quite as new or powerful, but the massive battery ought to make it a worthwhile budget option.

Decisions, decisions. You’ll be able to make your choice in the UK come 2 May.

About

Andrew writes features, news stories, reviews, and other pieces, often when the UK home team is off-duty or asleep. I'm based in Chicago with my lovely wife, amazing son, and silly cats, and my writing about games, gadgets, esports, apps, and plenty more has appeared in more than 75 publications since 2006.