The popular Moto E range is about to be updated, with a Plus sized model joining the ranks. We take a look at what you can expect from Motorola’s newest creations.
Motorola looks set to release two new versions of its popular Moto E smartphone very soon. This time around there will be a larger sized model joining the team, as the Moto E Plus makes its debut.
We’ ve gathered together all of the latest news and rumours about the upcoming handsets, so you’ ll know which one is for you.
Interested in other cheap smartphones available in the UK? Take a look at the best budget phones of 2017 .
At the moment, there is no firm release date for the Moto E and Moto E Plus. Previous iterations of this range appeared in May and February, so there’s not much to derive from those patterns.
Motorola already released the Moto G (5th Generation) in March 2017, so we’ d expect the Moto E to follow quite soon.
When more details become available we’ ll update the article to let you know.
See also: Moto G (5th Generation) news
Current rumours suggest that the Moto E will be priced at around €150, which translates to somewhere in the region of £130. This sounds about right, with the current Moto E (3rd Gen) available for £99 on the Motorola UK site.
The Moto E Plus will be a little more expensive at €199 or around £175.
These are still rumours at the moment though, and with the current fluctuations in the financial markets it’s entirely possible that these prices change before release.
There have been a few notable leaks of the features on the new Moto handsets, so we’ ve got a good picture of what to expect when they finally arrive.
@evleaks, someone who has amazing contacts within the industry and manages to scoop most high-profile releases, shared this image on Twitter that confirmed the two models that make up the Moto E range for 2017.
Alongside the traditional 5in model, Motorola is also introducing a 5.5in unit. This will be called the Moto E Plus and come with the same 1280 x 720 resolution display as its smaller sibling.
German site Winfuture.de also released further details of the specs for both handsets, alongside the picture you see in this article.
Internally the two will be very similar with both featuring a 1.3GHz Quad-Core processor made by MediaTek, 2GB of RAM (which is a little low, but understandable on a budget handset) , and 16GB of on-board storage. The latter can also be increased in capacity via a microSD slot, so still plenty of room for your music collection.
The Dimensions of each unit reflects the amount of glass on display, with the Moto E measuring 144.7 x 72.3 x 8.99 mm; 151 grams, and the Moto E Plus coming in at 155.0 x 72.3 x 9.55mm; 198 grams.
Winfuture.de also reports that the Moto E will come with an 8mp main camera, the Plus will receive a more powerful 13mp unit, but a 5mp front camera will be standard on both.
Another difference between the two will be how long they can last on a single charge. While the Moto E receives a mildly respectable 2800mAh battery, the Moto E Plus will have a whopping 5000mAh unit in its chassis. This should make the Plus a favourite for road warriors and those who prefer to spend as much time as possible away from wall sockets as possible.
Android 7.1.1 will be the OS of choice for these new Motos, continuing the trend of Motorola smartphones keeping pace with recent Android releases.
It’s expected that the smaller Moto will wear Gold, Gray, and Blue liveries, with the larger model eschewing the azure tones.
Motorola is yet to confirm these specs, and things could still change before the handsets appear in shops. We’ ll update this article as and when more official details become available, so keep popping back to see when you’ ll be able to get your hands on these popular devices.
Read next: Best Android phones 2017
