Moto G Play 2024 is here: more modern design, new main camera, and higher performance

What is this? A new Moto G Play? Yes, as is tradition, Motorola is starting the year with a new version of its popular budget Moto G Play series. The new Moto G Play 2024 is official, and it's even a little more affordable than its predecessor!

Everything you need to know about the Motorola Moto G Play 2024

You might think that since Motorola managed to reduce the price, the phone must not offer anything too exciting as an upgrade, but you would be wrong. Well, nothing is “too exciting” per se in this price range, but there are indeed some changes that make sense here.

• A new design worthy of 2024: To begin with, we can confidently say that the design has finally earned the right to be called “modern” with the new Moto G Play 2024 looking sleek and, dare we say, stylish. As you'll see in the design photos below, the phone's back panel and frame feature a matte finish, with the edge slightly angled for comfort.

And you need that extra comfort because we're talking about a heavy body that measures 163.82 x 74.96 x 8.29mm. However, because it's made from plastic, the Moto G Play 2024 Edition remains light for its size, at 185g. Just keep in mind that the edges are quite thick, especially the bottom one, which almost looks like a chin. That said, we're talking about a phone that only costs $149.99, so we can't really be mad or surprised about it.

• New 50 MP main camera: The main camera has been increased from 16MP to 50MP, so we expect more compared to its predecessor. It's always a pleasant surprise to see that the rather useless macro and depth cameras are now gone, which further contributes to the sleek look and, we assume, slightly lower cost.

The selfie camera has also been improved and now measures 8MP instead of 5MP.

• A new chipset: Last but not least, we have a new chipset. This time, Motorola opted for Qualcomm silicon, placing the Snapdragon 680 4G, which is slightly better than the MediaTek Helio G37, powering the Moto G Play from 2023. We're talking 6nm instead of 12nm, taking supporting more RAM and significantly higher games. and processor performance.

In more practical terms, this chip should allow the Moto G Play 2024 to handle games like PUBG Mobile on medium settings with a smooth frame rate. Don't expect games like Genshin Impact or Fortnite, however. Hopefully this new chipset lifts some of the lag issues we encountered with the Moto G Play 2023 during our review.

• Faster loading (sort of): Fortunately, Motorola increased the charging speeds from 10W to 15W, which is a bit more acceptable.

• The bad and the ugly: Unfortunately, just like its predecessor, the Motorola G Play 2024 does not come with the latest Android update (Android 14), but with Android 13. Moreover, as you may have already deduced from the name of the chip, you don't. I won't get 5G connectivity with the new Moto G Play, which could be a deal breaker in 2024.

Some other drawbacks include the extra charger, which comes in the box of the Moto G Play. Now you might think, “How can this be a bad thing? ”, and usually you would be right to ask this question, but in this case, not so much. While the new Moto G Play is capable of 15W wired charging, the charger inside its box is only 10W, which almost feels like an insult.

Then there's the screen, capable of a 90Hz refresh rate. Great! But looking at this spec sheet, we have the impression that this is the same screen as the previous generation, which would mean low brightness and inaccurate colors.

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