Motorola Moto G7 Power review

Design

The Moto G7 Power is an all-plastic smartphone, which in spite of the large battery fitted inside, still looks cool and reasonably thin at that. While Motorola could have just opted for a regular polycarbonate back, it chose to spice it up a bit, for better or worse.

But let's start with the screen. There is a 6.2" IPS LCD screen occupying most of the front. It's a notched one, in line with the 2018 trends, and this way you can have more pixels and less bezels. It's not bezel-less though - there are black chunky bars around the screen, but the panel's curves follow those of the phone, and all these add up for a rather nicely looking faceplate.

The front is protected by a piece of Gorilla Glass 3. It's not the most shatter-proof one, but arguably it should be more scratch-resistant than the newer iterations. Also, cheaper, and that's probably the reason why it's on the Moto G7 phones, even the Play model.

The earpiece is within the notch and it also acts as a loudspeaker. The 8MP selfie snapper is also here and a couple of pretty invisible sensors.

The back panel of the Moto G7 Power is made of plastic with a very glossy finish. It's curved towards the longer sides - an approach that makes any smartphone look thinner than it actually is, and it sure comes in handy for the G7 Power.

The 12MP camera and its LED flash are behind a familiar glass circle, which looks somewhat unreasonably big as there is less stuff on the Power than on the G7 and G7 Plus models.

Below the camera plate is the always-on fingerprint sensor with the Motorola logo painted on it. It's fairly accurate and quite fast.

The frame is also made of plastic with the same glossy finish as the back.

Before you start using the phone it's all peachy, but ten minutes in your hands and the whole G7 Power is one big smudgy mess. It's also slippery, very slippery! And scratches start piling up in mere hours. While we appreciate Moto's effort to make this G7 stand out, we highly recommend using the provided case.

The Moto G7 Power has a triple- or dual-card slot depending on the model you get. The important thing is that the microSD slot is not a hybrid one - it is meant only for a memory card and nothing else.

The G7 Power also features a 3.5mm audio port, in case you were worried Moto could have gone the Apple's way.

Motorola says the G7 Power is splash-resistant. This means it should survive some rain or accidental water spills, but it's not waterproof so don't take it for a dip.

The Moto G7 Power measures 159.4 x 76 x 9.3 mm - that means 2mm taller and 1mm thicker than the vanilla Moto G7, which also packs a 6.2" display. The Power weighs 193g, about 20g heavier - but this is the price you pay for the extra 2,000 mAh battery capacity.

We found the Moto G7 Power to be a reasonably sized and cool-looking smartphone. It's not thick or heavy and will easily fit in any pocket. But it is slippery, and the grip is almost non-existent. On top of that the glossy surface is prone to scratches and if not used with a case, the back could be ruined in a week or two. You should have these in mind if you are considering the Power.