The 19 April launch of the Moto G6, G6 Plus and G6 Play came as no great surprise, but also sharing that launch event was an updated Moto E line. Three new models – of which only the standard and Plus versions will be available in the UK – go on sale in June.
When is the Moto E5 release date?
Announced on 19 April 2018, the Moto E5 and E5 Plus will go on sale in early June. A third handset, the Moto E5 Play, will also be available in the US (though the standard Moto E5 will not be available).
The Moto E5 will come in Flash Grey and Fine Gold, while there are additional Mineral Blue and Black options for the Moto E5 Plus.
How much does the Moto E5 cost?
What’s new in the Moto E5?
These are some of the cheapest Android phones sold by Motorola, and yet the Moto E5 Plus looks just like the Moto G6 Play. It has an acrylic rear while the standard Moto E5 is plastic, and both sport fancy new 18:9 displays – albeit with HD+ resolutions.
The Plus model is quite a bit bigger and heavier than the Moto E5, and this is down to two key things: one, it has a 6in IPS display to the E5’s 5.7in panel; and two, it has a crazily high-capacity 5000mAh battery. But even the standard model fares pretty well in the battery stakes, with a G6 Play-matching 4000mAh battery.
Both support TurboPower fast charging (10W), but being budget phones they charge over old Micro-USB ports.
Beside their lower-resolution screens, the Moto E family also stands apart from the new Moto G phones in terms of camera performance. While the Moto G6 and G6 Plus both feature dual-cameras, the Moto E5 is a single-lens camera family. You get 13Mp on the standard and 12Mp on the Plus, though the Plus is the better camera with a laser autofocus and larger pixels, useful in low light.
Performance has also come down a notch – but not a great deal. There’s a quad-core Snapdragon 425 inside both Moto E5 and E5 Plus, which is integrated with Adreno 308 graphics. Meanwhile the G6 Play is fitted with a Snapdragon 430, and the standard G6 a Snapdragon 450.
Memory and storage is also reduced, with 2GB and 16GB in the standard, and up to 3GB and 32GB in the Plus. Both phones will accept microSD cards up to 128GB in capacity.
Sadly, while these new budget phones look very modern, Motorola has confirmed they will never be updated beyond Android Oreo.
Moto E5 specifications
| Moto E5 | Moto E5 Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £119 | £149 |
| Availability | June 2018 | June 2018 |
| Display | 5.7in HD+ (1440×720, 18:9) IPS LCD, Gorilla Glass 3 | 6in HD+ (1440×720, 18:9), Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Operating system | Android 8.0 Oreo | Android 8.0 Oreo |
| Processor | 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 425, quad-core | Qualcomm Snapdragon 425, quad-core |
| Graphics | Adreno 308 | Adreno 308 |
| Memory | 2GB | 2GB/3GB |
| Storage | 16GB | 16GB/32GB |
| MicroSD support | Up to 128GB | Up to 128GB |
| Primary camera | 13Mp, f/2.0, 1.12um pixels, PDAF | 12Mp, f/2.0, 1.25um pixels, Laser autofocus |
| Selfie camera | 5Mp, LED flash | 8Mp, f/2.2, 1.12um pixels, LED flash |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, rear | Yes, rear |
| Connectivity | 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS | 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS |
| Audio | Mono speaker, 3.5mm jack | Mono speaker, 3.5mm jack |
| Battery | 4000mAh | 5000mAh |
| Charging tech | TurboPower (10W), Micro-USB | TurboPower (10W), Micro-USB |
| Dimensions | 154.4×72.2×8.95mm | 160.9×75.3×9.35mm |
| Weight | 174g | 197g |
Author: Marie Black, Global Director of Content Operations, Foundry
Marie is Global Director of Content Operations at Foundry. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she’s worked in tech media for 20 years. These days she is focused on refining editorial processes and workflows, and on our evergreen, transactional and custom content strategy.
Recent stories by Marie Black:
- Best eSIMs 2026: Top eSIM plans for travel, business & home use
- Is WhatsApp down? How to check and fix WhatsApp
- Pay £1 for mobile data on your next trip abroad
