Why it matters to you
If the Moto G is too rich for your blood, the Moto C might better fit your budget.
If you thought Motorola’s cheap phones couldn’t get any cheaper, guess again — the Lenovo sub-brand might have a surprise up its sleeve. Motorola is reportedly prepping two new budget handsets, the Moto C and Moto C Plus, that could be the company’s least expensive phone yet.
Here’s everything we know about the Moto C and Moto C Plus.
Design
The Moto C’s final design remains a mystery, but claimed product renders on Chinese social media in mid-April paint a hazy picture at least. The budget handset appears to take a cue from Motorola’s Moto G series, inheriting its large, circular rear camera module, curved edges, and no-frills front cover.
The Moto C seems to be made of a brushed plastic material, and has what appears to be a front-facing camera with an LED flash, three touch-sensitive navigation buttons, large screen bezels, and a six-hole cutout — presumably to accommodate a loudspeaker — around back.
More: Moto G4 review
Also visible are a 3.5mm audio jack at the top, and a volume and power button on the phone’s right edge. What appears to be missing is a fingerprint sensor, but that’s not surprising — the entry-level Moto E didn’t have one, either.
Specs and screen
The Moto C won’t blow anyone away in the specs department, but rumors suggest it’ll be competitive for the money.
According to VentureBeat, the Moto C will come in four flavors: The Moto C 3G, the Moto C 4G, and the Moto C Plus.
The Moto C 3G and 4G sports a 5-inch screen with a FWVGA resolution (854 x 480 pixels), while the Moto C Plus bumps the pixel count to HD (1280 x 720 pixels). All variants of Moto C reportedly pack MediaTek processors, but in degrees: The Moto C has a quad-core 32-bit processor clocked at 1.3GHz; the Moto C 4G has a 64-bit chip clocked at 1.1GHz; and the Moto C Plus sports a 64-bit CPU clocked at 1.3GHz.
The amount of RAM and storage will reportedly vary by region. The Moto C is said to contain 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, while the Moto C Plus packs either 1GB or 2GB of RAM and either 8GB or 16GB of storage. All variants will feature a microSD card slot.
Camera and battery
According to India Today, the Moto C’s cameras will be nothing to scoff at.
The rear shooters are rumored to be 5-megapixel models — fixed-focus on the Moto C 3G and auto-focus with the Moto C 4G. The front camera on the Moto C is 2-megapixels, and the front camera on the Moto C Plus is 8-megapixels.
In what should be welcome news to nighttime photographer’s ears, both appear to have LED flash modules to brighten up dim scenes.
The Moto C is rumored to pack a fairly large battery — 2,350mAh. But the Moto C Plus’s is even bigger at 4,000mAh.
There is no word on whether it supports Motorola’s rapid-charging TurboPower, which can deliver hours of power in just 15 minutes of charging.
Pricing and availability
Perhaps one of the greatest mysteries surrounding the Moto C is its pricing and availability. As of yet, it’s unclear when Motorola will release its new budget smartphone. But if history is any indication, it could be in May — that’s when Motorola released the first-generation Moto E.
Whenever the Moto C debuts, it’s expected to come in a variety of colors. According to prolific leaker Evan Blass, the budget handset will be available in black, gold, and red.
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