Motorola Launches Another Mid-Range Phone You May Never Be Able To Buy

Motorola has been on a relentless smartphone launch spree of late. Since the beginning of 2022, the company has doubled down on its efforts in the affordable smartphones space, with several interesting mid-range handsets brought to the market. Among the new devices that were launched in the previous months is the Moto G Stylus (2022), Moto G Power (2022), Moto G71 5G, Moto G51 5G, not to mention the affordable Moto G22. And by the looks of it, the Lenovo-owned smartphone brand isn't done yet. Earlier this week, Motorola discreetly launched a new mid-range smartphone, the Motorola G52 5G, in select markets.

At the time of writing, the Moto G52 seems to be exclusively listed in the Netherlands. The company appears to have launched this device without too much fanfare, and that is likely to be the case if a wider European rollout happens in the next few weeks. Before making its official appearance on Motorola's Dutch website, the last few weeks have seen several leaks surrounding the Moto G52.

At first glance, the Moto G52 seems to be a direct successor to the similarly named Moto G51 5G that Motorola launched in November 2021. This family relationship becomes evident when you compare the overall design language of both devices. Things that grab your attention include the identical triple rear camera array and the center-positioned hole punch for the selfie camera. 

The overall silhouette is near identical as well. The Moto G52, in fact, carries forward the same rear camera hardware as the G51 — which includes the 50MP primary camera, 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. There are minor changes to the front camera sensors, with the Moto G51 getting a 13MP camera on the global version (there's a China-specific variant that gets a 16MP camera), while the newer model has a higher resolution 16MP front shooter.

With a 6.8-inch IPS LCD panel, the Moto G51 is a significantly larger phone than the Moto G52, which gets by with a 6.6-inch LCD panel. The G51 also supports a 120Hz refresh rate, which slows down to a still-respectable 90Hz on the G52 5G. As expected, the G52 fares better on the processor front, with the device getting the reasonably powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chipset, compared to the Snapdragon 480 SoC on the G51 5G. The G52 appears to be available in a single variant that ships with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. And yes, the phone does offer a microSD card slot for memory expansion. The G51 also comes in a single 4GB/64GB option, which we find a bit on the lower side.

Even with its larger size, the Moto G51 does not get a battery size advantage, and both the devices get similarly-sized 5,000 mAh cells. There are slight changes to the maximum supported wired charging speeds, too: the Moto G52 features support for 30W charging, and the Moto G51 features 20W fast charging. Both devices also sport side-mounted fingerprint scanners. And lest we forget, the G52 has the advantage of running a newer OS (Android 12) instead of Android 11 found on the G51. With that said, the G51 does have one key advantage over the G52. The former touts itself as a 5G ready device that supports up to 11 5G bands. The Moto G52 lacks a 5G modem and only supports LTE and 3G networks.

As outlined earlier, the Moto G52 — at least for the time being — seems to be on its way to the Netherlands. Wider European and Asian availability should be on the cards. As for the Moto G51, it has only launched in select Asian markets, including India, and carries an approximate price tag of Rs 13,999 (about $180) for the single 4GB/64GB option. With Motorola not having a history of bringing the likes of the Moto G51 and the G71 to the U.S., there is very little chance of the G52 making it to that market, as well.