Graphics and Storage Performance

The Moto G5 Plus is a good 42 percent faster than the Moto G5 in GPU tests thanks to its faster Adreno 506 GPU. It also holds a decent 46 percent lead on the Moto G4 Plus, another 1080p handset, while it obliterates older Snapdragon 410 SoCs.

Prospective Moto G5 buyers shouldn't despair, because the S430 is a capable SoC for 1080p displays, unlike older Snapdragon 400-series chips. The Moto G5 is more than three times as fast as Snapdragon 410 handsets in off-screen tests, while it loses to the Moto G4 by approximately six percent on average.

Both phones are capable of playing popular Android games and running the OS without hitches.

NAND performance is another area where the Moto G5 seems to have an edge on the Moto G5 Plus. I received a G5 with 16GB of NAND and 2GB of RAM, while my G5 Plus was a 32GB/4GB model. The G5's 16GB of NAND appeared to be around 28 percent faster than the G5 Plus on average, though both phones performed well in this regard.