introduction
The Motorola Moto G9 Power might not be a powerhouse, but it looks like a powerhouse. The Power models were introduced as part of the Moto G7 series, have been upgraded nicely to the Moto G8, and now we’re seeing a more streamlined Moto G9 with one of the largest batteries to date – a massive unit. 6000 mAh!
The Moto G9 Power isn’t your typical upgrade, where you’d see more powerful hardware, better cameras, a nicer screen. No, it’s more of a redesigned version of the Moto G8 Power, where unnecessary features are gone and the focus is on performance and battery life.
You see, this new Moto G9 Power has a larger but lower resolution screen, and the good sharpness has been removed for performance reasons. Motorola kept a similar budget Snapdragon chip, but it’s powerful enough to run games on an HD display, and it’s doing well now.
The G8 Power’s quad camera is gone and we don’t know if we’ll miss it. While this is a pretty versatile setup with main / tele / ultra-wide / macro snappers, the new 64MP primary on the G9 Power should be enough to replace the missing zoom camera (by simply cropping from its center), plus it can take high-resolution panoramic shots – as long as your objects don’t move a lot.
The only thing we have a hard time getting over is removing the stereo speakers. We loved the Moto G8 Power’s speakers, and we already miss them on the G9 Power. This downgrade – we do not get.
In an attempt to compensate for this, the Moto G9 Power comes with two proper upgrades over the Moto G8 Power. You get double the base storage – now up to 128GB, and you get a bigger battery as well – it’s now 6,000mAh (up from 5,000mAh).
Technical specifications of Motorola Moto G9 Power at a glance:
- Body: 172.1 x 76.8 x 9.7mm, 221g; plastic back, plastic frame; Water repellent coating.
- Pin up: 6.80 inch IPS LCD display, 720x1640px resolution, 20.5: 9 aspect ratio, 263ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662 (11 nm): Octa-core (4×2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold and 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver); Adreno 610.
- Memory: 128 GB of RAM 4 GB; microSDXC (uses a shared SIM slot).
- OS / software: Android 10.
- Rear camera: Large (main): 64 MP, f / 1.8, 26mm, 1 / 1.97 “, 0.7 µm, PDAF; Macro: 2 MP, f / 2.4, AF; Depth: 2 MP, f / 2.4.
- Front camera: 16 MP, f / 2.2, 1.0 µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p at 30 / 60fps; Front camera: 1080p at 30 fps.
- Drums: 6000mAh; Fast charge 20W.
- Various: Fingerprint reader (rear mounted); NFC; FM radio; 3.5mm jack socket.
Much like other Moto phones, the Moto G9 Power offers many fan favorite settings, such as water repellent coating on internals, 3.5mm jack, microSD slot, FM radio and NFC. And there’s a supplied 20W charger that should charge the 6,000mAh pretty quickly. I hope!
Unpack the Moto G9 Power
The Moto G9 Power retail box contains a 20W turbo charger, USB-C cable, and clear silicone case for out-of-the-box protection.
We love the way Motorola ships the phone with the case already on the phone – that way it’s safer in transit and ready to tip right away. Yes putting up a case is a minor issue, but we appreciate the extra effort. Oh, and not having a paper compartment for said case probably saved a tree, or two.