Motorola Moto G86 Power review - budget-friendly Android power with a short life

Verdict

The Moto G86 Power is an impressive budget-friendly handset that has one of the best batteries in a smartphone I've ever tested. With decent performance from an affordable but nice chipset, it only lacks in having a limited amount of major OS updates and the lackluster cameras.

Pros

• Beastly battery
• Nice pOLED display
• Decent performance

Cons

• Only one OS upgrade
• Cameras are boring

The Moto G86 Power is steadfast in its name, recognizing itself as a beast from the title alone. Despite the more affordable chipset, this is a handset that doesn't compromise, offering an absolutely remarkable battery life that outperforms that of some premium devices, as well as a decent AMOLED display to boot. And, while it's not going to pump out the frames that, say, the Samsung S25 would - well, it's still quite impressive.

It easily carves a spot into the best budget gaming phone list, thanks to a wallet-friendly cost that doesn't break the bank, but while it's a great little handset, it doesn't do just enough to earn it top marks. Sure, if you're looking to save money compared to the more expensive options on the best gaming phone list, you're going to be happy, but don't expect perfection, or even close to it.

Specs

Here are the Moto G86 Power's specs:

Clearly, Moto G86 Power's most impressive hardware is the colossal battery capacity, offering 6,720 mAh, and with a not-so-hungry chipset, that translates to days of life, not hours. Arguably, it's the G86 Power's defining trait, offering an immense amount of battery that means enjoying the best mobile games for longer is possible. Sure, it's not going to get you ultra visuals at 60 FPS, but you're getting hours of fun without needing to charge the phone straight away.

Price and availability

As of the writing of this review, the Moto G86 Power isn't available in the US, unless you're willing to pay extra to import the handset. However, if you're not in the US, you can grab the device for just £299.99 in a range of colors - PANTONE Cosmic Sky, PANTONE Spellbound, PANTONE Golden Cypress, and PANTONE Chrysanthemum - with the one I'm reviewing being the Cosmic Sky option.

That's a nice assortment of colors, and it's around the same price tag as the Samsung Galaxy A smartphones. Specifically, it shares the same price as the Samsung Galaxy A26 but with slightly better hardware that makes it more enticing as an option. However, Samsung is more widely available.

Performance and gaming

With 8GB of RAM and the MediaTek Dimensity 7300, it's a decent enough experience gaming on the Moto G86 Power. Sure, don't expect to be playing Genshin Impact for hours at the highest visual settings, but it offers fair performance that will make it easy to game on. Admittedly, playing Destiny Rising was a somewhat jarring experience, considering the auto settings put it down to a PS2-style visual experience, but for the price, I can't complain massively.

I'm not expecting flagship performance here, for obvious reasons, but I am a little disappointed by how jarring some games can be from what I'm used to. They play fine, with the ability to enjoy gacha games like Zenless Zone Zero, but the sluggish framerate mixed with poor visuals isn't ideal. Sure, if you play Candy Crush or you're catching various creatures in Pokémon Go, it's fine. But for those looking to get a premium experience, expect to pay a premium price.

I'm not making it its own section, mainly as I don't think it's really noteworthy enough, but the cameras are just so-so. There's nothing really special about them. The back cameras take nice, lifelike photos that, when zoomed in, begin to fall apart and pixelate quite quickly. Action shots? No, it doesn't stabilize quickly enough for good captures like that. If you're looking for photographer-level hardware, once again, you might want to pay a premium - or opt for a budget phone that puts a hefty focus on cameras.

Battery

Gaming is not where the Moto G86 Power shines. No, that's the battery, which is ridiculously impressive. If you're playing games, expect to keep button-mashing for multiple hours. I actually left the phone alone over the weekend when I wasn't working; while it was in a deserved sleep, it had only dropped to roughly 50%. Sure, that's not screen-on-time, but the fact that it can live for a weekend and still be above half its battery is absolutely wild.

It doesn't have the fastest charging speeds, with 30W 'TurboPower' charging. It'll get you up and running fairly fast in cases where the battery has drained, but considering how many Androids are hitting 65W charging speeds, well, 30W is under half as good. Considering how long it lasts, it's not a huge problem, but it's something that I'm hoping to see improve with the next iteration.

Design

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the Moto G86 Power looks like your run-of-the-mill smartphone, even those flagships from the likes of Samsung, Google, and other Androids. It arrives with a thin case that matches the color scheme of the choice you make, one that has raised edges to help protect it from falls, which is certainly a nice touch, especially with the dotted effect.

It hides a PU/Soft Luxe Texture back that feels nice to touch, but that gathers dust, fluff, and other particles that you wouldn't want sprawled over your phone, so the case is a nice level of protection that, unfortunately, hides a fairly nice back. Sure, it's not glass, but it makes a nice change of pace from the usual chassis.

Despite being fairly bulky and thick, 198g and 8.65mm, respectively, it feels comfortable to hold for long periods, which is certainly useful when paired with the lengthy battery life. The camera array in the back stands out as in-your-face, but the lack of a frame around it makes it less invasive on the eyes compared to other brands (cough, cough, Google).

There's also been an attempt to use a plastic frame that feels and looks almost like glass. It's quite nice to hold, and while it doesn't feel as premium as Apple or Samsung, for the price, it looks a lot prettier than I had expected. The overall design is giving a premium-without-the-price vibe that works wonders, even if it doesn't hold the same quality as luxury brands. Considering the price point, that's perfectly acceptable.

Display and software

Despite being a fairly vibrant pOLED display that looks gorgeous in motion, popping with the bright colors you'd hope to see from this type of panel, the chunky bezel means that there's a 90% screen-to-body ratio, which really dampens how beautiful the display could truly be. However, considering the impressive 2712 x 1220 resolution, I'm willing to let some things slide for the sake of a better experience. Just be wary that the bezel does get frustrating when playing games, as I spent wishing for it to fade into the gameplay as opposed to standing out.

It's a vivid experience that works well whether you're watching videos on YouTube, completing strikes in gacha games like Destiny Rising, or simply doom-scrolling the recent news feed. Motorola does a great job at highlighting this, with a rotating lock screen that pops with color whenever you open it (if you toggle on the option during setup), although turning it off is a bit of a challenge.

Under the screen is a fairly reliable fingerprint scanner, which I used plenty of times to access the phone during my review period with the handset. You've also got Face Unlock, if that's your preferred method of security, but I was personally happy with the Moto G86 Power's fingerprint option as my main point of protection.

Thankfully, it's also got a 120Hz refresh rate, meaning everything when using the device is super smooth and responsive, something that Apple's $800+ base phone doesn't have, let alone the budget-conscious iPhone 16e. It's remarkable how common 120Hz remains on Android handsets, but that's something to talk about another day.

Speaking of Android, it's remarkably easy to set up the Moto G86 Power. After a brief setup experience where you add your WiFi and decide on some preferences (personally, I'm a gesture fan over the classic three-button method), you're quickly sent to the home screen where you can download your favorite games and apps. The Google Play Store remains your main way to access content and start your downloads, but the great thing about Android is the ability to install third-party apps with ease. Although I stuck with the Play Store during my review time.

Should you buy the Moto G86 Power?

If you're looking for one of the most impressive batteries in a handset, arguably, it's going to be hard to find anything like the Moto G86 Power at this price range. With a whopping battery capacity that lasts days with the screen on, there's nothing quite like it.

Despite some issues with those performance-hungry games, the Moto G86 Power can keep up - with a few limits, of course. However, only one major OS upgrade means it doesn't keep that longevity as much as I'd like, and you'll be paying again in a couple of years, while many flagships offer up to seven years of updates.

Motorola is definitely taking some great strides in budget handsets, and I hope that the company can push the battery and the chipset in the next model. So long as it can provide years of OS updates, it'll be worthy of the Power in its name, but right now, it's simply a great phone brought down by the weight of some weird choices.

Alternatives

Samsung A16 5G

Samsung Galaxy phones don't need to be expensive to be great little handsets. The Samsung Galaxy A16 5G offers an impressive 6.7-inch AMOLED display that is vibrant and gorgeous, with six years of security updates keeping this handset running for years.

iPhone 14 (Refurbished)

Despite the fact that the iPhone 14 is a few years old now, it's still an impressive little device for its age. With regular OS updates still on offer, and for the foreseeable future, it's a powerful handset that still runs recent mobile games without much issue.