Moto G Phone Guide

Moto G8 vs Moto G8 Power vs Moto G8 Power Lite vs Moto G Power vs Moto G Stylus vs Moto G Pro vs Moto G fast: What are the differences?

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Moto G8 vs Moto G8 Power vs Moto G8 Power Lite vs Moto G Power vs Moto G Stylus vs Moto G Pro vs Moto G fast vs Moto G Play vs Moto G Plus

Now, even Motorola support staff are confused about their current Moto G lineups. You can test this by asking them what the differences are among the Moto G8, Moto G8 Power, Moto G8 Power Lite, Moto G Power, Moto G Stylus, Moto G Pro, Moto G Fast, Moto G Play, and Moto G Plus.

Contents hide
1) The most significant difference is the wallpaper!!
2) Moto G Pro is the dual SIM version of Moto G Stylus.
3) Moto G Pro and Moto G Stylus are Android 10 version of Moto G8 Plus.
4) Moto G Power is the single SIM version of Moto G8 Power without the telephoto lens and TurboPower
5) Moto G8 Power Lite is the “Power” version of Moto G8 Play.
6) Moto G Fast is the stripped-down version of Moto G8.
7) Are you still confused? You are not alone. Here is the summary.
8) What’s the recommended Moto G model among these 9 Moto G phones?

In addition to the two Moto G8 phones released in 2019 (Moto G8 Play and Moto G8 Plus), Motorola released three (3) more Moto G8 phones (Moto G8, Moto G8 Power, and Moto G8 Power Lite) AND four (4) more Moto G phones with the “8” numberings (Moto G Power, Moto G Fast, Moto G Stylus, and Moto G Pro) in the first half of 2020.

It seems Motorola is desperate, and Moto G is the only brand they can milk. Sadly, such chaotic releases are destroying the brand quickly and causing confusion among seasoned Moto G users.

In this post, I will “try” to explain the differences among all these nine (9) current Moto G phones if you are considering a Moto G phone. Moto G model names were explained on this page.

The most significant difference is the wallpaper!!

Ironically, the most obvious difference among these Moto G phones is the wallpaper.

Their sizes are similar, varying from 6.2″ to 6.5″.

Of course, two of them (Moto G Stylus and Moto G Pro) come with a stylus.

Moto G Pro is the dual SIM version of  Moto G Stylus.

Moto G Pro and Moto G Stylus are almost identical with a stylus,  a dedicated micro SD card slot, and Android 10.

The major differences are:

  • Moto G Pro supports two SIM cards (dual standby only, of course). Moto G Stylus supports only one SIM card.
  • Moto G Stylus is mainly sold in the US and North America. Moto G Pro is sold in the international market.

Moto G Pro and Moto G Stylus are Android 10 version of Moto G8 Plus.

Except for the stylus (you’ll seldom use it) and 128GB storage, Moto G Pro and Moto G Stylus are simply Moto G8 Plus with Android 10.

Please note, nowadays, Motorola is very slow in updating Android OS on their phones (if they choose to update). Moto G8 Plus is still on Android 9, and you do not know when (or even whether) you will get Android 10 on Moto G8 Plus.

Of course, the cameras are slightly different.

On Moto G Pro and Moto G Stylus, the 2MP macro camera lens replaces the 5MP depth lens on Moto G8 Plus. The front camera on Moto G Pro and Moto G Stylus is a 16MP; while on Moto G8 Plus, it is 25MP.

Moto G Power is the single SIM version of Moto G8 Power without the telephoto lens and TurboPower

Moto G Power and Moto G8 power are very similar except:

  • Moto G Power supports only one SIM card. Moto G8 Power supports two SIM cards.
  • Moto G Power has a triple camera system (16MP wide, 8MP ultra-wide, and 2MP macro). Moto G8 has a quad-camera system with one additional 8MP telephoto lens.

Moto G Power, Moto G8 Power, and Moto G8 Power Lite are the three phones with a 5000mAh battery. All others have a 4000mAh battery.

Also, the Moto G8 Power is the only one with a telephoto lens.

Moto G8 Power Lite is the “Power” version of Moto G8 Play.

Both Moto G8 Play and Moto G8 Power Lite are at the entry level of Moto G.

They share a low screen resolution (720p), slightly different MediaTek chip (others use Qualcomm chips), micro USB connector (others use USB-C).

The major differences between the Moto G8 Power Lite and Moto G8 Play are:

  • Moto G8 Power Lite has a 5000mAh battery. Moto G8 Play has the standard 4000mAh battery.
  • Moto G8 Power Lite is shipped with Android 10. Moto G8 Play is still on Android 9. It is unclear when or whether Motorola will update Moto G8 Play to Android 10.
  • Moto G8 Power Lite screen is 6.5″ with a 20:9 ratio. Moto G8 Play uses a 6.2″ screen with an aspect ratio of 19:9.
  • Moto G8 Power Lite uses a slightly less powerful chip of Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35. Moto G8 Play uses the more powerful Mediatek MT6771 Helio P70.
  • Moto G8 Power lite has a 16MP main camera with a 2MP macro camera. Moto G8 Play is equipped with a 13MP primary camera and an 8MP ultra-wide camera (for video only).

Moto G Fast is the stripped-down version of Moto G8.

It is unclear why Motorola even launched Moto G Fast as a new phone.

Essentially, the Moto G Fast is identical to the Moto G8, with less storage and RAM. Standard Moto G8 has a 64GB storage and 4GB RAM. Moto G Fast halves the storage (32GB) and reduces the RAM to 3GB.

Other than that, these two phones are identical. Probably Moto G Fast will be mainly sold in the US through carriers.

Are you still confused? You are not alone. Here is the summary.

Yes, it is tough to understand why Motorola is so desperate in miking Moto G branding.

Here is the summary of the significant differences between Moto G8 vs. Moto G8 Power vs. Moto G8 Power Lite vs. Moto G Power vs. Moto G Stylus vs. Moto G Pro vs. Moto G Fast vs. Moto G8 Play vs. Moto G8 Plus:

  1. Android version. Moto G8 Plus, Moto G8 Play, and Moto G8 Power Lite are still on Android 9. All others are on Android 10.
  2. Main camera. Moto G8 Plus, Moto G Stylus, and Moto G Pro have a 48MP primary camera. Except for Moto G8 Play, all others have a 16MP primary camera. Moto G8 Play got a 13MP main camera.
  3. Ultra-wide secondary rear camera. Moto G8 Plus, Moto G Stylus, and Moto G Pro have a 16MP ultra-wide camera. Moto G8 Play has an 8MP ultra-wide camera. But the ultra-wide lens on these four phones is for videos only.  Moto G8, Moto G8 Power, Moto G Power, and Moto G Fast have an 8MP ultra-wide camera for both video and photos.  Only Moto G8 Power Lite does not have an ultra-wide-angle camera.
  4. Telephoto camera. Only the Moto G8 Power has an 8 MP, f/2.2 telephoto camera, which offers 2x optical zoom.
  5. Macro camera. Except for Moto G8 Play and Moto G8 Plus, all other seven (7) phones have a 2MP macro camera lens.
  6. Depth camera/sensor. Moto G8 Plus, Moto G8 Play, and Moto G8 Power Lite have a depth camera.
  7. Front-facing camera. Moto G8 Plus has a 15MP front camera. Moto G8 Power, Moto G8, Moto G Power, Moto G Pro and Moto G Stylus have a 16MP front camera. And 8MP front camera can be found in other models.
  8. USB connector.  Only Moto G8 Play and Moto G8 Power Lite use a micro USB connector. All others use a USB-C connector.
  9. Battery capacity. Moto G8 Power, Moto G8 Power Lite, and Moto G Power have a 5000mAh battery. Others are equipped with a 4000mAh battery. All of them are non-removable.
  10. Screen resolution. Moto G8, Moto G8 Play, Moto G Fast, and Moto G8 Power Lite use a 720p display. Other 5 models have a screen of 1080p resolution.
  11. CPU (chipset).  Moto G8 Play and Moto G8 Power Lite use Mediatek MT6771 Helio P70 and Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35, respectively. All others use Qualcomm Snapdragon 665.
  12. RAM and storage. Moto G Play has 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. Moto G Fast has one configuration of 3GB/32GB. Moto G Pro and Moto G Stylus are equipped with 4GB/128GB.   Moto G Plus,  Moto G8, Moor G Power, Moto G8 Power, and Moto G8 Power Lite have a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Please note, in different regions, the RAM/storage configuration may be slightly different.
  13. WiFi. Moto G Plus, Moto G Pro, Moto G Fast, Moto G Stylus and Moto G Power support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz (dual band) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. The others only support 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. It is unclear why Motorola disables 5G band WiFi on Moto G8 and Moto G8 Power. Otherwise, Moto G8 Power is the top choice among these 9 phones.
  14. Fast charging. Moto G8 Plus, Moto G Pro, and Moto G8 Power support 15W TurboPower charging. All others only support 10W USB fast charging. Of course, there is no wireless charging.
  15. Micro SD card slot.  All these 9 Moto G phones support micro SD card (up to 256 or 512GB). In the single SIM version of these phones, of course, there is a dedicated micro SD card slot. But on the dual SIM versions, only Moto G Pro and Moto G8 Power Lite have a dedicated micro SD card slot. On these two phones, you can use two SIM cards and a micro SD card concurrently. On other dual SIM versions of the Moto G phones, a hybrid SIM card tray is used. Slot 1 is for a nano-SIM card only. Slot 2 can be used for one nano-SIM card or a micro SD card, but not both concurrently. Please refer to this Moto G8 Plus SIM card page (coming soon) for details.
  16. Speakers. Moto G8, Moto G8 Play, Moto G8 Power Lite, and Moto G Fast have an ordinary loudspeaker. Others have stereo speakers.
  17. Stylus. Only Moto G Stylus and Moto G Pro have a stylus.

Of course, there are some other minor differences, for example, screen size, Bluetooth version, frame material and 4K video recording.

Some common features were explained in this post.

What’s the recommended Moto G model among these 9 Moto G phones?

It depends on your needs, your budget, and your location (some models are available in selected regions only).

Overall, among these nine (9) Moto G phones, Moto G8 Power (not Moto G Power) is recommended in 2020 for the following reasons:

  • The practical camera configurations.
  • The 5000mAh battery with TurboPower charging.
  • Android 10. Motorola is no longer a good choice if you want to get timely Android update. Due to severe fragmentation of Moto G models, Motorola now just releases the phone, then forgets about it. Even one major Android update is NOT guaranteed.

The newly added stylus in Moto G Pro and Moto G Stylus is not so useful at this time. There is no flagship app for it.

Of course, if you really need 128GB storage, then you may consider Moto G Pro or Moto G Stylus. In most regions, they are more expensive than Moto G8 Power.

Do you have any questions on the differences Moto G8 vs Moto G8 Power vs Moto G8 Power Lite vs Moto G Power vs Moto G Stylus vs Moto G Pro vs Moto G fast?

If you have questions or want to share your thoughts on Moto G8 vs Moto G8 Power vs Moto G8 Power Lite vs Moto G Power vs Moto G Stylus vs Moto G Pro vs Moto G fast vs Moto G8 Plus vs Moto G8 Play, please let us know them in the comment box below.

The community will try to help you. You may also check the official user manual for Moto G8 Plus and Moto G8 Play.

For more Moto G online manual pages, please check this page.

For detailed step-by-step guides, please check Moto G How-to guides page.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

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  3. Ali says

    Hi! I am looking at buying either a moto g with 5g (Android 11 12 or 13 so a model from 2021 through 2023) or a Samsung Galaxy A 13 or 14 with 5g (same newer Android version ); unlocked. I don’t think any support a native screen cast to tv. I also have a Roku on older but smart tv. Would google Chromecast app and device work ? Also any other thoughts on which phone is better? Thank you!!!

    Reply

  6. Margaret says

    Wow! Thank you ever so much. This is exactly what I needed after spending many hours trying to decide which moto g I want to buy. I took notes while reading through your article.

    Reply

  7. Sam says

    Very helpful, wish I’d found this earlier in my search – even some reviewers get the information wrong but this is spot on. Thanks!

    Reply

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