Motorola Moto G (2016) release date, rumours and everything you need to know

Motorola can be a complicated beast these days. For a start it’s owned by Lenovo but still sporting the Motorola Moto naming. Then there are all the models.

At the top end there’s the Motorola Moto X, which comes in X Force, X Play and X Style variants. Then there’s the Moto E at the bottom end, for an affordable offering. Bang in the middle is the Moto G, which was at its third generation in 2015. Now there’s a new fourth gen model expected for 2016.

The rumour mill has churned up to speed and is currently spitting out teasers for the Motorola Moto G for 2016. We’ve compiled everything there is to know so far and will be updating this feature as news comes in, so you know exactly what to expect.

Motorola Moto G (2016): Price and release date

Motorola took the wraps off last year’s Moto G update in July. Rumours for the Moto G (2016) began to appear near the start of 2016.

While the Lenovo owned company may change release schedule to suit the wide array of phones it now offers we’re inclined to expect another July unveil for the Moto G (2016).

Pricing is going to sit the Moto G (2016) between the Moto X and Moto E meaning it should be around the £150 mark, as the current third gen Moto G is priced.

nowhereelse

Motorola Moto G (2016): Design and build

The Motorola Moto G for 2016 has leaked in images shared by nowhereelse (above) showing the handset from the front and the back.

The leaked shots show that the Moto G (2016) will feature a physical square home button on the front. Rumours suggest this will double as a fingerprint reader, making that a first for the Moto G range.

The front appears to have a flat glass display that runs off into the metallic, or at least metallic looking, frame. Gone are the top and bottom silver coloured speaker lines of the previous generation too.

HelloMotoHK

The rear of the handset appears to feature a removable polycarbonate case with rounded edges. Another leak, from Hong Kong (above), shows a keyring holding together a selection of varying rear cases. This would suggest case options for personalisation will be an focus for Moto.

This is all backed up by a render shared by Evan Blass (top) showing the Moto G (2016) in white.

Andro4all

However, a leaked image from Spanish site andro4all shows what it claims is the Moto G for 2016 without a physical home button at all. This photo looks real and the handset even looks very like previous leaks, minus the fingerprint reader. Current theories suggest there will be two variants of the Moto G, one with a fingerprint reader and one without. Other specs are also expected to varying which will be reflected in a price difference. 

Motorola Moto G (2016): Display

The third-gen Moto G for 2015 featured a 5-inch 1280 x 720 resolution display. Now that smartphones with 1080p screens are prevalent, hopes are set on a resolution bump for 2016.

Judging from the leaked photos, the Moto G (2016) may be slightly larger than the 5-inch mark to offer more screen space.

Motorola Moto G (2016): Camera

Motorola packed a hefty 21-megapixel camera into the Moto X for 2015 while the Moto G for 2015 had an 8-megapixel snapper with HDR.

As camera modules drop in price it’s likely the Moto G (2016) will get an upgraded snapper in the rear and hopefully a decent front-facing selfie camera.

Rumours suggest the camera will be the same 16-megapixel module found in the LG G5 meaning and f/1.8 aperture with 28mm equivalent focal length. We’re taking this with a pinch of salt as there’s a chance the rumour mill is touting the Moto X (2016) camera here.

HelloMotoHK

Motorola Moto G (2016): Hardware power and performance

The Moto G (2016) will almost certainly come with 4G connectivity, as the generation before it did. It should also come with better specs than the third-gen 2015 model which topped out with a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 1GB of RAM.

Motorola Moto G (2016): Software

The Motorola Moto G (2016) should come with Google’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, at least.

While Android N is on the way we’d expect this to follow as a software update for the handset later in the year.

Motorola Moto G (2016): First impressions

The Motorola Moto G (2016) should help to enhance the mid range offering from the Lenovo owned company. But with plenty of competition in this area of the market it’s going to be all about the best specs for lowest price.

It will be interesting to see two variants in the mid-range, if they appear. That will put a lot of Motorola Moto options on the market making Lenovo’s phone offerings massive.