Moto G200 5G could give the Pixel 6 a run for its money

The year is almost over, and we're entering into a season commonly associated with shopping and deals. Most smartphone makers have already shown their hand for 2021, but it seems that Motorola wasn't done yet. Almost at the eleventh hour, it revealed a handful of new phones spanning almost all tiers, and the one, in particular, Moto G200 5G, is almost a better deal compared to the non-Pro Google Pixel 6, depending on certain factors.

Motorola's "G" series has traditionally been associated with the brand's mid-range phones, but it has muddled the waters a bit this year with the launch of the Moto G100. Despite that name, the phone was decked with mostly high-end hardware, at least for early 2021, from the Snapdragon 870 to the 90Hz 6.7-inch screen. The Moto G200 5G continues that new tradition but with better specs more befitting a true 2021 flagship.

That identity comes in the form of the Snapdragon 888+, currently Qualcomm's titleholder as far as premium chipsets go. The screen has been upgraded to a 144Hz 6.8-inch FHD+ LCD screen, a more interesting feature despite the lack of content that will actually take advantage of it. Last but not least, there's the camera upgrade to a 108MP main sensor, joined by an 8MP ultra-wide macro vision camera and a 2MP depth sensor.

There are, however, a few corners that have been cut, probably to hit Motorola's target price for the Moto G200 5G. There's only one memory configuration available of 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, and the front-facing camera has been reduced to only one 16MP sensor. It at least does a bit better than the Pixel 6 in the charging department, supporting 33W quick charging for its 5,000 mAh battery.

Of course, a phone's hardware isn't all that there is to a fine user experience, and the Moto G200 5G naturally misses out on some of the machine learning features flaunted by the Pixel 6. Motorola does have its own custom "My UX" add-ons to the Android experience, including the oddly-named "Ready For" that least you cast your screen to a TV or Windows PC.

Perhaps the most tempting "feature" of the Moto G200 5G is its 450 EUR price tag. That, however, does mean that the phone's availability in the coming weeks will be limited to Europe, with a Latin American launch following soon. Whether Motorola plans to expand that to other markets is still unknown, but it's pushing its equally premium but more expensive Motorola Edge brand to consumers in other markets like the US.