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.
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
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | 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.
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.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Moto G5S | Moto G5 |
| Price | TBD | $208.99 |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 2.0 GHzocta-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 ounces | 5.09 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.
