Motorola is doubling down on big batteries and tight budgets with the new Moto G17 and Moto G17 Power, two entry-level phones built around MediaTek’s Helio G81 Extreme platform and camera hardware that would have been midrange not long ago. The pair slot in below the flashier Moto G77 and G67, but they push battery capacity up to 6,000 mAh while keeping prices in classic G‑series territory.
The Moto G17 is already on sale in the UK for £149.99, while the Moto G17 Power targets users who value endurance above all else, particularly in markets where charging on the go is not guaranteed. Together they show how far budget phones have come, with high refresh displays, 50 MP cameras and vegan leather finishes now part of the baseline rather than the exception.
Design, displays and where these phones fit in the G‑series
Motorola is positioning the Moto G17 duo as the practical siblings to the more premium Moto G77 and G67, which arrive with larger 6.78-inch AMOLED panels and higher end finishes. By contrast, the Moto G17 and Moto G17 Power share a slightly smaller 6.72-inch display that still aims to feel modern, pairing a fast refresh rate with a tall aspect ratio that keeps the phones manageable in one hand. The company has already outlined how the Moto G77 and Moto G67 use those 6.78-inch AMOLED screens to anchor the top of the range, while the new pair sit just below them in price and ambition, but not in basic usability, which is why the 6.72-inch size is a crucial bridge between compact and big-screen devices for this family of phones, as detailed in the broader G‑series launch.
Both new handsets lean on a vegan leather back that is designed to feel more expensive than their price tags suggest, while also improving grip and hiding fingerprints. The rear finish wraps around a camera island that houses a 50 MP main sensor and is paired with an IP64 rating and a side mounted fingerprint scanner, details that are shared across the Moto G17 and Moto G17 Power and that help them stand out in a crowded budget field. Those touches, including the vegan leather and IP64 protection, are spelled out in the official specification breakdown for the pair.
Helio G81 Extreme performance and camera hardware
At the heart of both phones sits MediaTek’s Helio G81 Extreme, a chipset tuned for entry-level gaming and social media workloads rather than raw benchmark dominance. Motorola describes how, behind the scenes, the moto g17 power and moto g17 are engineered around this Helio G81 Extr platform to keep pace with editing, posting and browsing without interruption, a claim that reflects the company’s focus on sustained performance rather than short bursts of speed. That positioning is laid out in the official product overview, which frames the Helio G81 Extreme as the backbone of the experience.
The camera setup is equally ambitious for the price, with both phones built around a Sony 50 MP main sensor that is paired with additional lenses for depth and macro work. On the front, users get a 32 M selfie camera that targets content creators who rely on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, a notable upgrade over the 8 MP or 13 MP sensors that still appear in many budget rivals. The combination of a Sony 50 MP main Camera and Big Batteries is highlighted in launch coverage of the Moto g17 and g17 Power, while the 32 M front camera is called out in early hands on reports that emphasize how much sharper selfies and video calls look compared with older G‑series models, as seen in the detailed camera breakdown.
Battery life, charging speeds and the G17 vs G17 Power split
The headline difference between the two phones is battery capacity, and it is here that the Moto G17 Power earns its name. The Motorola Moto G17 Power packs a 6,000 m battery with 30 W charging support, a combination that should comfortably deliver two days of mixed use for most people and still refill quickly when it finally runs low. That figure is confirmed in the detailed spec sheet for The Motorola Moto G17 Power, which spells out the 6,000 m cell and 30 W charging as the core of the Power variant’s appeal, alongside 8 GB RAM and 256 GB of storage for users who want more room for apps and media, as laid out in the official battery and storage listing.
The standard Moto G17, by contrast, is tuned for lighter users who still want strong endurance but are willing to trade some capacity and charging speed for a lower price. Reporting on the European launch notes that the key difference between the Moto g17 and g17 Power lies in battery capacity, with The Moto g17 Power stepping up to a 6,000 mAh pack and faster charging while the regular model sticks with a smaller 5,200 mAh battery and 18 W charging that still outpaces many entry-level rivals. That split is spelled out in coverage of the Moto g17 Power Launched in Europe, which underlines how the two phones share most other hardware but diverge sharply on endurance, as detailed in the comparative battery comparison.
Pricing, regional launches and who Motorola is targeting
Motorola is clearly aiming these phones at value conscious buyers, and the early pricing confirms that strategy. The Moto G17 is available in the UK for £149.99 with 4 GB RAM and 128 GB of storage through Motorola’s official website, a figure that puts it squarely in competition with devices like the Samsung Galaxy A15 and Xiaomi Redmi 13C. That price and configuration are laid out in the initial pricing breakdown, which also notes that other European markets will follow with local announcements. In Malaysia, the Moto G17 Power Price in Malaysia & Specs listing confirms that the Moto G17 Power is powered by a Mediatek Helio G81 Extreme (12 nm), underscoring that the same core silicon is being used across regions even as local pricing and bundles vary, as detailed in the regional Specs sheet.
Rollout is staggered but broad, with Motorola Brasil already confirming that Motorola Brasil has launched the new Moto G17 as a smartphone designed for content creators, highlighting a 32 M front camera and positioning it as a tool for social media heavy users. In Europe, launch coverage notes that the phones feature a 6.72-inch display and will arrive first in select EMEA markets, while a separate report on the wider G‑series refresh explains that Motorola has announced the arrival of the Moto G77, Moto G67, Moto G17 and Moto G17 Power as a four device push into the budget segment. Those details are laid out in the Brazilian announcement, the EMEA focused Details on the Moto G17 series, and the broader budget phones overview that situates the G17 pair within Motorola’s global strategy.
How the G17 pair compares inside Motorola’s own lineup
To understand the Moto G17 and Moto G17 Power, it helps to see them alongside the Moto G77 and Moto G67 that launched at the same time. Both of those higher tier models feature 6.78-inch AMOLED displays, which are 10 bit panels with 120 Hz refresh rates, and they lean on tougher glass and an IP64 rating to justify their higher prices. Coverage of the Moto g77 and g67 Announced with MediaTek chipsets and 5,200 mAh battery spells out how Both handsets feature 6.78-inch AMOLED displays and how They, the Moto g77 and Moto g67, use those panels to anchor the top of the range, as detailed in the AMOLED focused launch coverage.
