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The Moto G9 is already official with an incredibly low price and a huge battery

By Adrian Diaconescu

Updated: Sep 02, 2020, 2:33 AM

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Motorola Android

The Moto G9 is already official with an incredibly low price and a huge battery

Motorola has been through a lot in the last decade or so, changing owners a couple of times while constantly longing for the glory days of the original Razr clamshell or even the OG Android-powered Droid smartphone.

But if there's something the now Lenovo-owned brand has consistently pulled off in recent years, that's without a doubt budget-friendly handsets with incredibly large batteries. Trying to capitalize on its greatest strengths, Motorola is spreading the "Power" love to the newest "regular" member of the Moto G family.

Less than six months after the official announcement of the standard Moto G8, it's already time to meet the Moto G9, which pairs an insanely competitive price point with the same huge battery found under the hood of the G8 Power, aka Moto G Power, for one of the most compelling overall value propositions... on the Indian market.

Sleek design, modest screen, triple camera action

There's no question that mid-end and even low-end Android phones have come a long way in the last few years in terms of style and elegance, but like a number of other companies, Motorola can't seem to make up its mind which is the better choice between a waterdrop notch and a hole punch for its non-flagship devices.

The newly unveiled Moto G9 sits in the former camp, adopting a relatively discreet screen cutout and a fairly large chin, unlike the spring 2020-released G8, which comes with a small hole punch at its top left corner and a... similarly wide bottom bezel.

Entirely made from plastic, just like its predecessor, the G9 sports an ever so slightly bigger 6.5-inch "Max Vision" display with a similarly unimpressive resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels producing a modest 269 ppi density. Unsurprisingly, the Moto G9 is also a tad taller than the G8, but not much thicker despite packing a significantly larger battery.

At 200 grams, the G9 is definitely no featherweight, while the triple rear-facing camera system is overhauled to integrate a 48MP primary sensor with 12MP output powered by Quad Pixel technology, as well as a mediocre-sounding 2MP depth lens and an outright useless 2MP macro shooter. In case you're wondering, the Moto G8 employed the same 2MP macro lens alongside a 16MP main cam and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle shooter, so the G9 is gaining some skills thanks to the 48MP upgrade while actually downgrading the secondary camera.

The battery is the key selling point

It's true, the Moto G9 comes with a 5,000mAh cell in tow, up from an already respectable 4,000mAh battery inside the G8 and tied with the cell capacity of this year's G Power and 2019's G7 Power. That makes us wonder if there will even be a G9 Power variant now, but for the time being, we should just be happy the Moto G9 exists.

Its 5,000mAh battery, by the way, is equipped with fast charging technology, and you even get a 20W TurboPower adapter included as standard in the handset's retail box, which is not bad at all for such an affordable device.

Curiously enough, the G9 packs a Snapdragon 662 processor, which is a (small) step back from the 665 chipset powering the G8 and G8 Plus. For what it's worth, there are no changes to report in the memory and storage departments, with the Moto G9 offering 4 gigs of the former and 64 gigs of the latter.

On one of its sides, the phone has a dedicated Google Assistant button, while the fingerprint scanner sits on the back, "hidden" behind the iconic Motorola "batwing" logo. Other features include a water-repellent design, good old fashioned headphone jack, modern USB Type-C port, pre-installed Android 10 software, and a modest-sounding 8MP front-facing camera.

Pricing and availability

Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of official information to share on this front just yet. All we know is that the Moto G9 will go on sale in India on August 31 at a recommended price of 11,499 rupees. That equates to around $155 right now, and knowing Motorola, the handset will be released across various European markets soon at a similarly competitive price.

Also based on recent history, however, we can't be sure the G9 will ever spread its wings to the US, which is bound to sadden a lot of bargain hunters around these parts.

Of course, the Moto G Power, G Stylus, and G Fast are still very appealing, not to mention this is clearly just the beginning of a beautiful Moto G9 family, which will undoubtedly include at least a couple of members headed for North America.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.