Motorola G86 Power 5G: $499 Fantastic value and almost class-leading everything

The Motorola G86 Power 5G has superior features in its class, offering a decent amount of power, a huge battery, 10-bit pOLED,  and a quality camera. As usual, at $499, Motorola has blitzed this segment.

The g-series is its mid-range. Its cookie-cutter design allows for new models to be rolled out from under $200 to this at $499. Essentially, it’s all about a standard design and changing processors, RAM, storage, camera sensors and battery sizes to produce class-leading phones in every price bracket.

The surprise for me – it’s the first MediaTek SoC phone with good phone reception. Until now, that has been a hallmark of Qualcomm-based phones.

Motorola G86 Power 5G Quick Specs

Screen	6.7” 2712 x 1220, 120Hz, 4500 nits peak, pOLED
Processor	MediaTek Dimensity 7300, 4nm
RAM/Storage	8GB (expandable to a virtual 16GB) 128GB Storage microSD slot
Phone	SIM and eSIM City/suburb/regional/rural phone signal strength.
Camera	Rear dual-camera 50+8 Flicker sensor 32MP selfie
Comms	Wi-Fi 6 BT 5.4 GPS NFC
Battery	6720 mAh battery
Build	IP68, IP69, MIL-STD-810H 1.2m drop Gorilla Glass 7i
Android policy	Android 15 with 1 OS upgrades and 3 years of bi-monthly security patches.

As we often say, we don’t know how Motorola does it, but we are sure glad they do.

Australian Review: Motorola G86 Power 5G 8/128GB, SIM and eSIM, Model XT2525-7

Note: This is not the version that has a MediaTek 7400 processor and no eSIM.

Brand	Motorola
Model	Motorola g86 Power
Model Number	XT2525-7
RAM/Storage Base	8/128GB
Price base	$499
Warranty months	24-month
Teir	mid-range
Website	Product Page
From	Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Officeworks, Bing Lee, Amazon AU, Lenovo
Country of Origin	China
Company	Owned by Lenovo (Est 1984) – a multinational technology company with its primary operational headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina. It is the world’s largest PC maker. It purchased Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014. Most of Lenovo’s smartphone business is now under the Motorola brand, and it has grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
More	CyberShack Phones news and reviews
Test date	August 2025
Ambient temp	2 to 18°
Release	July 2025
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Must have an R-NZ C-Tick. Only approved resellers – any other outlet is likely to be grey market.

Ratings

We use the following ratings for many of the items below. CyberShack regards 70/100 as a pass mark. You can click on most images to enlarge them.

• Fail (below expectations), and we will let you know if this affects its use.
• Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be.
• Pass (meets expectations).
• Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good, but does not quite make it to Exceed
• Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader).

How to make the best use of this deep dive review

We tested over 70 different aspects and uncovered nearly 300 key data points about the device. Overall reviews can reach a few thousand words. So, if you are keen, this is the world’s most comprehensive review!

If you want to see our impressions only, they are listed at the beginning of each table. At the end, you will find CyberShack’s view, competitor analysis, and ratings. Ratings are based on the price bracket and expectations, so a $200 phone may score as well as a $2000 phone—we compare like with like.

First Impression – Pantone Cosmic Sky (Purple)

I want to explain why ‘cookie-cutter’ is good in the mid-range price bracket. All the 2025 G-series look similar. Motorola can mix and match internals and come up with phones at a range of prices—kind of the ‘Camry’ of the smartphone world.

The more you pay, the more you get, and at $499, this is the best.

Screen – Exceed

Motorola G86 Power 5G uses a 10-bit, 1.07 billion colour accurate, pOLED (plastic OLED) screen. It has an amazing 4500 nits peak brightness and can playback HDR10+ (not Dolby Vision).

It has Pulse Width Modulation at higher brightness and DC dimming at lower brightness. It is high enough not to affect PWM-sensitive people.

Size	6.7″
Type	pOLED
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat with centre o-hole
Resolution	2712 x 1220
PPI	446
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	90%
Colours bits	10-bit 1.07 billion colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	Smart and Balanced steps 60/90/120Hz Hyper Smooth 120 Hz Efficiency 60Hz
Response 120Hz	Not disclosed
Nits typical, test	Not disclosed.  Test: 440 nits typical
Nits max, test	Claim Max: 1500 Test: 1410 Claim Peak: 4500 Test: 3850 in 5% window – would be higher in 2%
Contrast	Infinite
sRGB	Not disclosed Test: 94%
DCI-P3	Claim 100% Test: 87.3%
Rec 2020 or other	Natural and saturated plus temperature adjustment
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	1.1
HDR Level	Capable of HDR10+ (not Dolby Vision) playback
SDR Upscale	No
Blue Light control	No
PWM if known	733 Hz with an amplitude depth of 10% Brightness is controlled with DC dimming at lower levels. PWM-sensitive users should not be affected.
Daylight readable	Yes
Always on Display	Yes
Edge display	No
Accessibility	Usual Android features
DRM	L1 for FHD HDR playback
Gaming	GtG <2ms and a decent SoC means it will play most games at medium frame rates.
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass 7i, Mohs hardness 6, 1.2m drop resistant
Comment	Excellent 10-bit/1.07 billion colour screen with accurate colours, no banding and way better than the 8-bit screens used by Samsung, Google and Apple.

Processor – Pass+

It uses a low-energy 4nm processor, roughly equivalent to a Qualcomm SD6 Gen 3 – a good mid-range processor for everyday use. It saves cost by using 128GB storage and having a dedicated micro-SD slot instead.

It is not an ‘AI’ phone, but the dedicated NPU helps in photography and some phone services. It does not have Google Circle to Search or Moto AI features.

Type	MediaTek Dimensity 7300
nm	4nm
Cores	4 x 2.5 GHz & 4 x 2.0 GHz
GPU	Mali-G615 MP2 (1047 MHz)
Modem	MediaTek
AI	MediaTek NPU 550 Geekbench AI CPU: 848/849/1827 GPU: 495/733/606 NNAPI: 520/1259/2563 AI Benchmark: 577 AiTuTu: 98,017 GFLOPS: 14.64 GINOPS: 16.72
AnTuTu	659575
Geekbench 6 Single-core	1055 – Faster than SD860 and slower than an Exynos 2100
Geekbench 6 multi-core	2956 – About the same as Exynos 2100
Like	Benchmarks   Between Exynos 1380 and SD6 Gen 3
GPU Test
Open CL	2598
Like	SD6 Gen 3
Vulcan	2530
RAM, type	8GB LPDDR4X and virtual expansion to 16GB using a slower SSD.
Storage, free, type	128GB uMCP (90GB free)
micro-SD	Dedicated slot to 1TB
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps sustained/peak	906 (Max 1030)
CPDT internal seq. write MBps sustained/peak	340 (Max 408)
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	80/45 as mountable storage
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	26/22 Mountable OTG
Comment	All are fit for purpose and price, and microSD is a nice bonus.

Throttle test – Pass+

Excellent thermal management means the phone does not slow down under load and stays quite cool.

Max GIPS	258568
Average GIPS	243571
Minimum GIPS	218748
% Throttle	11%
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	Excellent thermal management

Comms – Pass

While it is Wi-Fi 6 AX, it behaves like Wi-Fi 5 N with maximum Rx/Tx speeds of 479Mbps. You can expect 1200 and 2400 from other Wi-Fi 6 devices. Technically, it only has 1Tx and 1 Rx antenna and has only implemented 64 QAM. It’s no big deal for typical users, but heavy users (gamers) will need faster Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 6 AX 2.4/5 GHz
Test 2m -dBm, Rx/Tx Mbps	-38/479/479
Test 5m	-47/463 to 479/479
Test 10m	-52/479/384 to 464
BT Type	5.4
GPS single	GPS, Glonass, GALILEO, Beidou, QZSS Accuracy 2m OK for in-car use
USB type	USB-C 2.0 480Mbps
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For	No – Miracast only
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes – combo with Gyro is very sensitive.
Gyro	Yes
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other	SAR Fingerprint ultrasonic under glass
Comment	Very slow Wi-Fi Rx/Tx speeds

4/5G – Surprisingly strong – Pass+

MediaTek had been trying to improve its modems, and this is the first that has found all four towers at usable signal strengths. It means that 4G will be good for city, suburbs, and regional use. It may be OK for rural use too.

SIM	SIM and eSIM
Active	DSDS – dual sim, dual standby (one at a time)
Ringtone	Dual – excellent for travellers
VoLTE	Yes
Wi-Fi calling	Yes
4G Bands	1/2/3/5/7/8/20/26/28/32/38/40/41/42/71
Comment	All Australian 4G bands
5G sub-6Ghz	n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n26/n28/n38/n40/n41/ n71/ n77/n78
Comment	All Australian 5G sub-6 and low bands
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
DL/UL, ms	50/40/32ms above average
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	4G Band 3: -77 to -80. From 10 to 20 pW ‘5G Band 1: -101 and 80fW (not usable)
Tower 2	4G Band 28: -82 to -83. From 5 to 6.3 pW 5G Band 7: -103, 50 fW
Tower 3	4G Band 28: -87, 2pW 5G: not usable
Tower 4	4G Band 28: -100 to -103, 50 to 100 fW (usable) 5G: not usable
Indoor	4G Band 3: -99 to -113, 50fW to 6 fW (you may need to use Wi-Fi calling)
Comment	MediaTek have certainly improved the modem because I don’t recall any MT modems getting more than two towers. It is better than city and the suburbs, so we will add regional use. It’s probably fine for rural use as well.

Battery – Pass+

It uses the new Silicon/Carbon Si/C anode that crams 20-30% more into the same battery size as Li-Po. We don’t have any benchmarks for longevity, but Motorola claims 1000 recharge cycles, which is two to three times what you expect for a $499 phone.

No charger is supplied. You need at least a 10V/3A/30W PD charger and a 3A cable (supplied) for fast charge.

Typical users may get up to two days of use, and heavy users may get 8-10 hours.

mAh	6720 New Silicon/Carbon Si/C anode (not disclosed) Claim: 1000 full recharge cycles Claim: 53 hours
Charger, type, supplied	30W capable 10V/3A/30W or 9V/3A/27W
PD, QC level	PD 2.0 PPS capable
Qi, wattage	No
Reverse Qi or cable	No
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)	Adaptive
Charge % 30mins	42%
Charge 0-100%	1 hour 36 minutes
Charge Qi	N/A
Charge 5V, 2A	<4 hours
Video loop 50%, aeroplane mode	23 hours 37 minutes (This is a legitimate reading – not affected by AI)
PC Mark 3 battery	15 hours 47 minutes Accubattery 17 hours 40 minutes
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	481.7 minutes (8 hours) 4658 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	5 hours Accubattery 4 hours 57 minutes
mA Full load screen on	1350-1500mA
mA Watt idle Screen on	350-400mA
Estimate loss at max screen refresh	Auto mode maximises battery life, so we expect about a 20% penalty should you fix on 120Hz
Estimate typical use	Great battery life and should have 2 days of typical use between charges.
Comment	Si/C is a new form of battery that fits 20% or more into the same space. While 1000 recharge cycles are twice as many as Lithium-Ion or Li-Po, longevity is yet to be proven.

Sound Hardware – Pass

We break sound into sound hardware and sound signature. This is a typical MediaTek SoC setup using its DSP, DAC, Dolby Atmos decoder and stereo amps.

It does the job, is quite loud, and hands-free is adequate. All fit-for-purpose.

Speakers	Top forward, up-firing and bottom down-firing stereo.
Tuning	No
AMP	MediaTek – no specs
Dolby Atmos decode	Dolby Atmos decode to 2.0 speakers.
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	No, but has a USB-C DAC for USB headphones.
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX
Multipoint	Can connect to two devices
Dolby Atmos (DA)	Yes – Spatial, Smart Audio, Music, Movie, Game, Podcast, Custom
EQ	Yes, all DA presets and custom can be altered via an EQ with manual, brilliant treble, bass boost and vocal boost.
Mics	Dual with noise-cancelling
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	80
Media (music)	89
Ring	80
Alarm	80
Notifications	80
Earpiece	67
Hands-free	Dual mics and some noise-cancelling with adequate volume.
BT headphones	Excellent left-right separation and DA make quite a difference with DA content. Also has a 2.0 to spatial sound virtualiser.

Sound Quality – Pass

Few phones get more than a pass because it is impossible to get more fidelity out of the micro speakers.

There is almost no bass, strong mid (clear voice) and low treble and almost no real high treble.

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	A little bit of mid bass starting around 80 Hz
High Bass 100-200Hz	Very slow build to 400 Hz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Very slow build to 400 Hz
Mid 400-1000Hz	Flat to 10 kHz
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat to 10 kHz
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat to 10 kHz
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flat to 10 kHz
High Treble 6-10kHz	Flat to 10 kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Slight dip and flat to 15 kHz, then big dip
Sound Signature type	This is a mid-signature (bass recessed, mid boosted, treble recessed) for a clear voice. It’s not as bad as some Motorolas, as there is a slight amount of bass and some high treble.
Soundstage	As wide as the phone. DA content widens it a little and adds limited 3D spatial height. Well-balanced top and bottom speakers.
Comment	The sound signature is above average, helped by a little high bass and treble.
More reading	How to tell if you have good music – sound signature is the key (AV guide)

Build – Pass+

The build is incredibly good for a $499 phone. It almost earns Exceed as it has IP68, IP69, MIL-STD-8910H, Gorilla Glass 7i, and 1.2m drop resistance. It does not lose points for no charger inbox (any phone should as this is about $30 more).

Size (H X W x D)	161.21 x 74.74 x 8.65 mm
Weight grams	195
Front glass	Gorilla Glass 7i Mohs hardness 6
Rear material	Soft Luxe Texture
Frame	Plastic
IP rating	IP68 1.5m for 30 minutes IP69 MIL-STD-810H Claim: Drop-resistant 1.2m
Colours	Pantone Spellbound Pantone Cosmic Sky
Pen, Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	No
USB cable	USB-A to USB-C 3W capable cable
Buds	No
Bumper cover	Yes – colour matched.
Comment	No charger, but very well made and relatively thin.

OS – Pass

It has Android 15 and one OS update, which is why it passes, as other brands offer more. Three years of security patches is also shorter than the average.

Android	15
Security patch date	1 July
UI	Hello UX     Moto App: Personalise, Display, Gestures, Moto Secure, Play, Tips     Moto Secure     Family Space     Games     Moto Unplugged     Smart Connect (for 8 GB/12 GB)
OS upgrade policy	1 year
Security patch policy	3 years
Bloatware	Pure Android – all Google Apps. You can uninstall Facebook and other bloatware.
Other	Google Apps (necessary) and Moto Apps]
Comment	2+1+3 Warranty/OS upgrade/Security patches are adequate for the price.
Security
Fingerprint sensor location, type	Under Glass optical
Face ID	Yes, 2D only
Other	Lenovo ThinkShield is more for enterprise use.

Motorola G86 Power 5G rear camera – Pass+

It has an entry-level Sony LYTIA LT-600 sensor  (there are the 700, 800 and 900-series above this). It is what we would expect on a phone of this price, and it takes pretty good photos in both day and office light. It does not have HDR for photos or video so can lose details in the shadows or highlights.

The Ultrawide is an 8MP Omnivision Fixed Focus, which doubles as a macro. It is not colour consistent with the primary sensor, but that is not really an issue.

There appears to be a third camera sensor, but it is a flicker sensor that can reduce flickering in photos or videos under artificial light by adjusting the shutter speed.

10X zoom is all digital, and OIS helps stabilise these shots.

It is 4K@30fps capable, but only 1080p@30 has OIS.

Test Photos

Rear camera specs

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	50MP bins to 12.6
Sensor	Sony LYTIA 600 (IMX882)
Focus	All pixel AF in non-HDR mode
f-stop	1.8
um	.8 bins to 1.6
FOV° (stated, actual)	68.5 to 80.8
Stabilisation	OIS
Zoom	10X Zoom Crop factor 5.3x
Rear 2	Ultra-wide/macro
MP	8MP
Sensor	Omnivision OV8D
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.2
um	1.12
FOV (stated, actual)	118°
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Rear 3	Flicker sensor
Video max	4K@30 1080p@30 OIS/EIS
Flash	LED
Auto-HDR	No
	Ultra-Res Night Vision Portrait Panorama Pro Mode Scan Auto Smile Capture Auto Night Vision (for 8GB/12GB) High-res Digital Zoom (Up to 8x) Ultra-Wide Angle Google Lens integration VIDEO Dual Capture Time-lapse (w/ Hyperlapse) Slow motion Audio Zoom Ultra-Wide Angle
QR code reader	Via Google Lens
Night mode	AI
DXO Mark	N/A

Motorola G86 Power 5G selfie camera – Pass+

It has a 32MP GalaxyCore sensor binned to 8MP, which is standard for this price bracket.

Selfies have natural skin tones, but fixed focus means you need to be careful. It can do small group selfies.

Front	Selfie
MP	32MP bins to 8MP
Sensor	GalaxyCore GC32e1
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.2
um	.7 to 1.4
FOV (stated, actual)	77 to 89.7
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	No
Video max	1080p@30fps
Features	Portrait Pro Mode Photo Booth Auto Smile Capture Auto Night Vision (for 8GB/12GB) Gesture Selfie Face Retouch Selfie Photo Mirror
Comment	Natural skin tones under day and office light.

CyberShack’s view: Motorola G86 Power 5G: $499 Fantastic value and almost class-leading everything

If it were not for the low Wi-Fi speed, this would be class-leading in every area. But Wi-Fi speed is largely unimportant as long as it works!

At $499, it has competition from Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy A26. Bang for buck, this is well ahead of the pack. The serious contender is the $449 (on special – WAS $599) OPPO Reno 13 F 5G – the poor bushies’ new friend.

Motorola G86 Power 5G ratings 87/100

Features	85
	It shows what you can do to make a great mid-range phone with plenty of power, a big battery, a decent camera, and surprisingly good phone reception.
Value	90
	At $499, it has competition from Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy A26. Bang for buck, this is well ahead of the pack.
Performance	85
	Good SoC and reasonably low throttling. Excellent phone signal strength.
Ease of Use	85
	A 2-year warranty is good. 1 OS upgrade is OK.
Design	90
	Pantone collaboration means colourful phones. IP68/69 and MIL-STD are excellent
Rating out of 10	87
Final comment	The more I used this, the more I liked it. It has everything Joe and Jane Average need and exceptional phone reception. Well done, Motorola.