Motorola enjoyed massive success with the original Moto G phone. It came along at a time when reasonably priced unlocked phones were virtually non-existent, but the Moto G was soon joined by other low-cost devices. The value proposition has weakened over time as those other low-cost phones crowd the market, but the G-series has largely carried Motorola. The company didn't even bother to launch a full-fledged Moto Z flagship phone in 2018—the Z3 was a Verizon-exclusive phone engineered merely to plug into the still-unreleased 5G mod.

It's time for a new Moto G generation to drag Motorola forward, and there are either three or four of them, depending on where you live: the G7 (above), G7 Power, G7 Play, and G7 Plus. The pricing as crept upward along with some specs, but there are still some curious omissions. With the G7 family, I feel like Motorola is losing its focus on what made the G series so popular in the first place.

Speeds and feeds

Before we get into the specifics, here are all the specs you're dying to know about. Be aware, the G7 Plus is only launching in certain markets. We don't have full specs for this phone, but it seems to be a G7 with a Snapdragon 636 and faster charging.

Moto G7

G7 on the left and G6 on the right.

Specs Display 6.2-inch 2270 x 1080, 19:9 ratio Processor Snapdragon 632 Memory 4GB Storage 64GB with microSD card slot Rear Camera 12+5MP Front Camera 8MP Battery 3,000mAh, 15W charging OS Android 9 Pie Measurements 157 x 75 x 8mm, 172g Price $299.99

Moto G7 Power

Specs Display 6.2-inch 1520 x 720, 19:9 ratio Processor Snapdragon 632 Memory 3GB Storage 32GB with microSD card slot Rear Camera 12MP Front Camera 8MP Battery 5,000mAh, 15W charging OS Android 9 Pie Measurements 159 x 77 x 9.3mm, 198g Price $249.99

Moto G7 Play

Specs Display 5.7-inch 1512 x 720, 19:9 ratio Processor Snapdragon 632 Memory 2GB Storage 32GB with microSD card slot Rear Camera 13MP Front Camera 8MP Battery 3,000mAh, 10W charging OS Android 9 Pie Measurements 148 x 71 x 8.19mm, 151g Price $199.99

Pick your flaw

There are a few things I truly like about the new Moto G phones. They're all shipping with Android 9 Pie, and Motorola's version of the OS is largely inoffensive. I like features like Moto Display and Moto Actions, even though they haven't changed in any appreciable way for years. Moto went with a taller 19:9 screen ratio, which makes the phones easier to hold even when the screen measurements swell to 6.2-inches.

Left to right: G7 Play, G7 Power, G7

Motorola has also used the Snapdragon 632 in all three devices—last year's G-series phones topped out with a Snapdragon 450. The 632 is still a low-power octa-core chip, but it steps up to Qualcomm's modified Kryo 250 cores from the regular A53 in the 450. We've got USB Type-C and a headphone jack on all three phones, too.

It's not all good news, though.

Starting at the low end, the Moto G7 Play has a plastic housing and a 5.7-inch 720p display, which is toward the bottom of what I'd consider acceptable. The G7 Power should be the most interesting of the lot with its 5,000mAh battery. However, Motorola equipped this phone with a 720p display as well. At 6.2-inches, that resolution doesn't seem sufficient. This phone is glass instead of the cheap plastic of the G7 Play, but it's not Gorilla Glass. That's a bit concerning, as it may get scratched or cracked more easily. The band around the edge of the phone is plastic like the Play, but it's painted to look metallic.

The Moto G7 is the "flagship" of the new G-series with its 1080p display and Gorilla Glass chassis. It does look and feel nicer than the other two phones, and the white color is stylish. The edge of the device looks like metal, but it's actually plastic with a metal-like coating that I suspect will be vulnerable to scratching (see above).

The real issue for the G7 is the price tag. At $300, the G7 is going to have trouble competing with Nokia's increasingly appealing mid-range phones. Those devices are Android One, so they get more reliable updates (Moto promises bi-monthly patches for two years and one major OS update). Even last year's Nokia 6.1 is cheaper than the G7 and just as good or better in many ways. Pricing for the other two phones feels inflated as well when we're talking about 720p screens.

Note the rear-facing fingerprint sensor on the G7 (left) vs the G6 (right)

None of these phones have NFC, which is no longer acceptable. I know that G-series phones have traditionally not had NFC, but times have changed, and Moto is charging up to $300 for the G7. At $300, a phone should have NFC. The value just doesn't seem to be there anymore. There are also notches and chins on every one of these phones. That's to be expected with LCDs, but the assymetry still bothers me. The G7's water drop notch is the least offensive, but it still has a logo-emblazoned chin.

I've only been able to use these phones for a short time, so stay tuned for a full review.

Release and availability

Motorola doesn't have a specific release date but says the phones will be available at some point in the spring in the US and Canada. They'll be sold unlocked, of course, but you'll also see some of them on carriers. The phones are launching in Mexico and Brazil today, plus these markets get a G7 Plus. We haven't seen that phone in the flesh because it's not for the US market.

The G7 will show up on Google Fi, and the G7 Power will come to Verizon and T-Mobile. Meanwhile, the G7 Play will pop up on some pre-paid carriers like Boost. The numbers above are the full unlocked price; it's possible carriers will cut you a deal on the phones.