Moto G5S Plus Now Available: Here's What's New

Motorola's on a roll this year. Just five months after announcing its affordable Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus handsets, the company unveiled two next-gen devices in the Moto G lineup: the G5S and G5S Plus. And one of those phones is now available for order.

Credit: Motorola

(Image credit: Motorola)

Both the G5S and G5S Plus improve upon their predecessors with better cameras, more powerful processors, and beefier batteries, but it's the G5S Plus that should grab your attention, as it's the only model coming to the U.S. Motorola announced the $279 phone is now available for preorders at a reduced price of $229. The phone ships Sept. 29.

So how do the new G5 phones stack up to the early 2017 versions? Let's take a look.

Moto G5S Plus vs Moto G5 Plus

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Moto G5S Plus
Moto G5 Plus
Price
249 EUR (U.S. pricing TBD)
$229 (32GB) or $299 (64GB)
$184.99 or $239.99
(Prime exclusive models)
CPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
Memory
3 GB or 4 GB
2 GB or 4 GB
Storage
32 GB or 64 GB
32 GB or 64 GB
Screen
5.5-inch full HD (1920 x 1080)
5.2-inch full HD (1920 X 1080)
Rear Camera
Dual 13 MP
12 MP
Front Camera
8 MP
5 MP
Battery
3000 mAh
3000 mAh
Size
6.04 x 3 x .37 inches
5.91 X 2.91 x .38 inches
Weight
5.92 ounces
5.46 ounces

The G5S Plus is going all-in with a dual-lens rear camera, complete with an iPhone 7 Plus-like portrait mode for pro-like photos. The dual cameras also have a selective black and white mode and an option to replace the background. The 8 MP front camera has a panoramic mode for capturing more of your background, plus an LED flash.

Other upgrades of note include an aluminum unibody chassis and 3GB of RAM to start, which is better than the G5 Plus' 2GB of RAM.

Availability: You can order an unlocked 32GB G5S Plus now for $229 from Motorola. (The phone's regular price is $279.) The Moto G5S Plus also comes in a 64GB version that normally costs $349, but is available for $299 as part of a current promotion. You can also pay off the phones in monthly installments with financing through Affirm if you order from Motorola.

Image
Moto G5S Plus

On Sept. 29, the phone will be available from other retailers including Best Buy, B&H, Fry's, New Egg and Walmart. Discount carrier Ting will also offer the G5S Plus.

Moto G5S vs Moto G5

The Moto G5S isn't quite as impressive, though it does have a more powerful camera, bigger display and upgraded CPU versus its predecessor. It also packs a bigger battery.

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Moto G5S
Moto G5
Price
TBD
$208.99
CPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 2.0 GHz
octa-core processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 1.4 GHz octa-core processor
Memory
2 GB to 4GB, depending on country
2 GB or 3 GB
Storage
32 GB
16 GB
Screen
5.2-inch full HD
5-inch full HD
Rear Camera
16 MP
13 MP
Front Camera
5 MP
5 MP
Battery
3000 mAh
2800 mAh
Size
5.90 x 2.89 x .37 inches
5.68 x 2.87 x .37 inches
Weight
5.54 ounces5.09 ounces

The new G5S packs a 2-GHz octa-core processor, compared to a 1.4-GHz chip on the older G5. The rear camera is also sharper at 16 MP versus 13 MP. Last but not least is a 3,000 mAh battery, which is an upgrade over the 2,800 battery in the G5.

Motorola heralded the launch of these new devices by claiming that the "Moto G line has always been about finding ways to take the hottest new technology from premium phones and make it available to all." Unfortunately, though the GS5 Plus does feature a fingerprint sensor, its NFC reader won't work in the States.

Editors' Note: This article was originally posted on August 1 when the Moto G5S and G5S Plus were announced. We've updated with pricing and availability information.

Caitlin is a Senior editor for Gizmodo. She has also worked on Tom's Guide, Macworld, PCWorld and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. When she's not testing out the latest devices, you can find her running around the streets of Los Angeles, putting in morning miles or searching for the best tacos.