Moto G Power (2025) Full Review: A Budget Phone with Surprises and Shortcomings
The Moto G Power (2025) is Motorola’s latest entry into the budget smartphone market, retailing at around $300 as of March 2025. Known for delivering solid mid-range devices, Motorola aims to strike a balance between affordability and functionality with this release. In this in-depth review, we’ll explore its standout features—like IP68/IP69 water resistance, wireless charging, and an ultra-wide camera with autofocus—while also addressing its limitations, such as a lackluster display and underwhelming performance. Whether you’re a budget-conscious buyer or a Motorola fan, this detailed breakdown will help you decide if the Moto G Power (2025) deserves a spot in your pocket.

Design and Build: Eco-Friendly and Durable
The Moto G Power (2025) sports a straightforward yet appealing design. Its flat back is covered in eco-leather, a sustainable material that flows seamlessly over the camera housing, giving it a premium feel despite its budget price tag. Paired with a plastic frame, the phone feels sturdy and solid in hand, though its large 6.8-inch display makes it a bit unwieldy for one-handed use.
What sets this device apart in its class is its ingress protection. Rated IP68 and IP69, it’s not only dustproof and capable of surviving water submersion but also withstands heated water jets—a rare feature for a phone under $300. Motorola even claims it meets military-grade standards for extreme temperatures, adding an extra layer of durability that’s ideal for users in harsh environments.


While the design is practical and robust, the eco-leather back and plastic frame might not appeal to everyone seeking a more premium aesthetic. Still, for a budget phone, the build quality punches above its weight.
Display: Big and Smooth, but Budget Roots Show
The Moto G Power (2025) features a 6.8-inch LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate, making it large and smooth for scrolling and gaming. However, its budget nature shines through here. Unlike pricier OLED panels, this LCD lacks the deep blacks and vibrant contrast you’d expect from higher-end devices. There’s also no HDR video support, which limits its appeal for media enthusiasts.
The screen’s brightness is decent for an LCD, clocking in at 550 nits manually and boosting to nearly 1,000 nits in auto mode under sunlight. However, the backlighting is uneven, and the screen’s reflective surface can make outdoor viewing challenging—a drawback compared to modern OLED displays.

The 120Hz refresh rate is a highlight, offering fluid animations when interacting with the phone. It smartly drops to 60Hz when idle to conserve battery, a practical touch for efficiency. While the display gets the job done for everyday tasks like browsing and streaming, its shortcomings in color depth and outdoor visibility may disappoint users upgrading from older OLED-equipped phones.
Audio: Loud but Imperfect
For audio, the Moto G Power (2025) includes a 3.5mm headphone jack—a welcome feature for wired audio fans—and stereo speakers. These speakers deliver decent loudness, but distortion creeps in at higher volumes, making them less ideal for music or video playback at max settings. If you’re after crisp, high-quality sound, you might want to rely on headphones instead.
Performance: Modest Power for a “Power” Phone
Under the hood, the Moto G Power (2025) runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 6300, an entry-level 5G chipset. In benchmarks, it performs adequately but lags behind competitors in its price range, such as the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G or Google Pixel 7A, which offer more robust processors for just a bit more money. Casual users won’t notice much sluggishness in daily tasks like texting or browsing, but gamers and multitaskers might feel the limitations.
Thermal management is a non-issue, as the modest chipset avoids thermal throttling even during extended use. The phone comes with 128GB of storage (expandable via microSD), which is sufficient for most users, though there’s no option for higher tiers.
While the “Power” in its name might suggest top-tier performance, this phone leans more toward efficiency than raw horsepower. For $300, it’s functional, but power users should look elsewhere.
Software: Clean and Future-Proof
Running Android 15 with Motorola’s Hello UI, the Moto G Power (2025) offers a near-stock Android experience with some handy customizations. The Moto app houses features like gestures, personalization options, and security tools, keeping everything organized. A standout is the Smart Connect Hub (formerly “Ready For”), which lets you connect the phone to PCs, tablets, or displays—a rare perk for a budget device.
Motorola promises two major OS updates and three years of security patches, ensuring the phone stays current through at least 2028. This commitment to software support adds significant value for long-term users.
Battery Life: Decent, Not Exceptional
With a 5,000mAh battery, you’d expect stellar endurance from a phone called “Power.” However, its active use score of 11 hours and 56 minutes falls short of exceptional. It’s solid for a day of moderate use but doesn’t rival battery champs like previous Moto G Power models.
Charging options are a mixed bag. The phone supports 30W wired charging (0-51% in 30 minutes, full charge in under 90 minutes), but no charger is included in the box—a cost-cutting move. More impressively, it offers 15W wireless charging, a rarity in this segment, making it convenient for users with wireless pads.
Cameras: Hits and Misses
The Moto G Power (2025) features a dual-camera setup: a 50MP main sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide with autofocus. Here’s how they perform:
- Main Camera: Daylight shots offer punchy colors, good contrast, and wide dynamic range, but they’re soft with limited fine detail. The 2x cropped zoom is underwhelming, showing upscaling artifacts and little clarity. At night, the default mode struggles with extreme softness and noise, and while Night Mode improves sharpness and reduces noise, jagged edges persist, keeping quality subpar.
- Ultra-Wide Camera: Surprisingly decent in daylight, with vibrant colors and wide dynamic range, though artificial sharpening is noticeable. Autofocus enables macro shots, which are passable in good light. Night performance is poor, with softness and noise dominating even with Night Mode.
- Selfies: The 16MP front camera shines, delivering natural colors, good detail, and decent dynamic range—perfect for social media.
- Video: Limited to 1080p at 30fps, footage from the main camera is soft and noisy, while the ultra-wide is nearly unusable. Electronic stabilization is floaty and introduces occasional distortions.
For a budget phone, the cameras offer some unique features (like ultra-wide autofocus), but they fall short of competitors in overall quality.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- IP68/IP69 and military-grade durability
- 15W wireless charging
- Ultra-wide camera with autofocus
- Clean Android 15 experience with updates
- Affordable at $300
Cons:
- Mediocre LCD display
- Underpowered chipset
- Average battery life
- Subpar camera performance, especially at night
- No charger included
Verdict: Who’s It For?
The Moto G Power (2025) is a solid budget option with some standout features—like advanced water resistance and wireless charging—that you won’t find in many rivals under $300. Its eco-leather design, smooth software, and decent selfies add to its appeal. However, compromises in display quality, processing power, battery life, and camera performance hold it back from being a category leader.
If you’re a casual user who values durability and basic functionality over cutting-edge specs, this phone is worth considering. But if you can stretch your budget slightly, alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G or Google Pixel 7A offer better screens, cameras, and performance.
What do you think of the Moto G Power (2025)? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned for more mobile reviews!