Motorola's newest smartphone is the cheapest 5G phone you can buy
Meet the Moto G 5G Plus
If you're looking for a cheap 5G phone to give you that next-gen connectivity, the new Motorola phone fits the bill perfectly.
This is the Moto G 5G Plus, newly launched in the UK and Europe (but with wider availability possibly coming soon - scroll down to find out about US and Australian availability). At £299 (roughly $375, AU$535) for its most affordable variant, it undercuts all its 5G competition, making it the cheapest phone with the next generation of connectivity (although a 5G contract will still often cost you dearly).
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Motorola's Moto G line consists of affordable phones, but the Moto G 5G Plus isn't just a normal Moto G8 Plus with a 5G modem shoved inside - in fact, it's by far the most spec'd-up Moto G phone so far.
The Moto G 5G Plus has a 6.7-inch screen, four rear cameras, two front-facing snappers, an advanced Snapdragon 765G chipset, and the first side-mounted fingerprint sensor that Motorola has used in years.
The phone runs Android 10, and has the company's My UX software we first saw in the Motorola Edge, which lets you customize lots of parts of the phone.
The phone goes on sale in the UK and Europe from mid-July. We've mentioned its price and that's for a version with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, but there's a 128GB/6GB version too for £349 (around $435, AU635).
Moto G 5G Plus in the US and Australia
Regarding a global launch of this cheap Motorola 5G phone, the company told TechRadar:
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"With the exciting release of moto g 5G plus in Europe, Motorola is advancing its mission to deliver 5G for all. In North America, affordable 5G started with moto z4 and 5G moto mod, and continues with edge, launching later this summer. To further our mission, Motorola is committing to launch a sub-$500 5G device in North America this fall."
There's no confirmation this is the Moto G 5G Plus, but it will likely be a phone in the Moto G line since this is the company's affordable brand (along with the Moto E range, which is too low end). Currently the cheapest 5G phone in the states is the Nubia Red Magic 5G at $579, so at $500 or below, this Motorola phone would be the cheapest 5G phone in the US too.
We don't know about the Moto G 5G Plus in Australia just yet, but it's worth pointing out that the company's other 5G phones - the Motorola Edge, Edge Plus and Z4 with Moto Mod - aren't available in the country yet, so we wouldn't hold our breath for this one either.
Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.
He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.