Motorola Moto G17 Power vs Moto G Play (2026)

Here we compared two budget smartphones: the 6.72-inch Motorola Moto G17 Power (with MediaTek Helio G81 Extreme) that was released on January 29, 2026, against the Motorola Moto G Play (2026), which is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 6300 and came out 3 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
4 / 64 GB

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Motorola Moto G17 Power
  • Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
  • 50% higher pixel density (392 vs 262 PPI)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.4)
  • Comes with 800 mAh larger battery capacity: 6000 vs 5200 mAh
  • Has 2 SIM card slots
  • Supports higher wattage charging (30W versus 18W)
Reasons to consider the Motorola Moto G Play (2026)
  • 58% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (551K versus 349K)
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Dimensity 6300
  • More recent OS version: Android 16 versus 15
  • 2x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 780 and 393 points
  • Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Motorola Moto G17 Power and Moto G Play (2026) crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
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Value for money (Beta)

To get an accurate value-for-money index, update the default prices with actual prices from your country’s retailers (for the selected memory configs) and press the "Calculate" button.
Currency
8 / 256 GB
VS
4 / 64 GB

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Size 6.72 inches 6.7 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 720 x 1604 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
PPI 392 ppi 262 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max rated brightness 1050 nits 1000 nits
HDR support No No
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Screen-to-body ratio 86.5% 84.8%

Design and build

Height 165.7 mm (6.52 inches) 167.2 mm (6.58 inches)
Width 76 mm (2.99 inches) 76.4 mm (3.01 inches)
Thickness 8.8 mm (0.35 inches) 8.5 mm (0.33 inches)
Weight 198 g (6.98 oz) 202 g (7.13 oz)
Waterproof IP64 -
Rear material Plastic Eco-leather
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors Blue Blue
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-button Yes, in-button
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Chipset specifications of Motorola Moto G17 Power and Motorola Moto G Play (2026)
SoC
Chipset MediaTek Helio G81 Extreme MediaTek Dimensity 6300
Max clock 2000 MHz 2400 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 6 cores at 1.7 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A75
- 6 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A76
L3 cache - 2 MB
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 12 nanometers 6 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Yes Yes
GPU
Graphics Mali-G52 MP2 Mali-G57 MP2
GPU shading units 48 64
GPU clock 820 MHz 1072 MHz
FLOPS ~78.7 GFLOPS ~137.2 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Motorola Moto G17 Power and Motorola Moto G Play (2026)
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Single-core score 393 780
Multi-core score 1302 2067
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
551891
CPU 132552 194234
GPU 34267 61861
Memory 75550 114801
UX 106871 180995
Total score 349240 551891
Samples Less than 3 Less than 3
PCMark 3.0
Web score - 16396
Video editing - 6383
Photo editing - 25556
Data manipulation - 8572
Writing score - 14879

Memory

RAM
RAM size 8 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 1800 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 256 GB 64 GB
Storage type - UFS 2.2
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size - Up to 1024 GB

Software

Operating system Android 15 Android 16
ROM - Hello UI

Battery

Capacity 6000 mAh 5200 mAh
Max charge power 30 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Bypass charging No -
Fast charging Yes Yes

Main camera

Matrix 50 megapixels 32 megapixels
Image resolution 8192 x 6144 -
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K video recording No No
4K video recording No No
1080p video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 30FPS
Lenses 1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 5 MP
1) Standard: 32 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 50 MP 32 MP
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm -
Sensor size 1/2.0" (≈ 0.5 inch) -
Pixel size 0.8 micron -
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 5 MP -
Aperture f/2.2 -
Focal length 19 mm -
Sensor size 1/5.0" (≈ 0.2 inch) -
Pixel size 1.12 micron -
Stabilization Digital -

Selfie camera

Megapixels 32 megapixels 8 megapixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 22 mm -
Sensor size 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) -
Pixel size 0.7 micron -
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.4 5.2
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
DisplayPort No No
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Galileo
NFC* Depends on the region Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 2 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby -
eSIM support* No Yes
Hybrid slot No No
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack Yes Yes
FM radio - No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes

Other

Category Budget Budget
Announced January 2026 November 2025
Release date January 2026 November 2025
Launch price (MSRP) - $149
Sensors - Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

If the display and camera are more important to you, then choose the Motorola Moto G17 Power. But if the performance, gaming, and software are more of a priority – go for the Motorola Moto G Play (2026).

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