Motorola Moto G100 Pro VS Motorola Moto G86

Both the Moto G100 Pro and the Moto G86 share the same IP68 waterproof rating, meaning neither has an edge on water and dust protection — both can handle submersion in fresh water and everyday exposure without concern. They also match almost exactly in footprint, with an identical height of 161.2 mm and nearly the same width, so side by side they occupy virtually the same amount of pocket or palm space.

Where the two diverge meaningfully is in thickness and weight. The G86 is 7.8 mm thick and weighs 185 g, while the G100 Pro is 8.65 mm thick and tips the scale at 198 g. That 0.85 mm difference in thickness is noticeable when sliding the phone in and out of a pocket, and a 13 g weight gap — while modest on paper — translates to a perceptibly lighter feel during extended one-handed use or prolonged calls. The volume figures reinforce this: the G86's 93.9 cm³ body is meaningfully more compact than the G100 Pro's 103.7 cm³.

In this design category, the Moto G86 has a clear advantage. It delivers the same IP68 protection and near-identical external dimensions, yet in a slimmer and lighter chassis — a combination that directly improves everyday ergonomics and portability without any trade-off in durability.

At the panel level, these two phones are nearly carbon copies of each other: both sport a 6.67″ OLED/AMOLED display with an identical 1220 x 2712 px resolution, a sharp 446 ppi pixel density, a fluid 120Hz refresh rate, and the same Gorilla Glass 7i protection. HDR10 and HDR10+ support is present on both, rounding out a very competitive baseline display package at this tier.

The single — but significant — differentiator is peak brightness. The G100 Pro tops out at 1000 nits, which is respectable for indoor use and moderately lit environments. The Moto G86, however, reaches a remarkable 4500 nits, a level more commonly associated with flagship-tier displays. In practice, this means the G86 remains comfortably readable in harsh direct sunlight where the G100 Pro may struggle, and HDR content will appear with noticeably more punch and contrast on the G86's screen.

Given that every other display parameter is identical, the Moto G86 wins this category decisively on the strength of its dramatically higher brightness ceiling. For users who frequently use their phone outdoors or consume a lot of HDR video, this is a meaningful real-world advantage that the specs table alone understates.

Under the hood, the Moto G100 Pro and the Moto G86 are built on identical silicon — both run the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset, manufactured on a 4 nm process with the same eight-core CPU configuration, the same Mali G615 MC2 GPU, and the same DDR5 memory interface. Unsurprisingly, their real-world benchmark results are a perfect match: 2932 (multi-core) and 1026 (single-core) on Geekbench 6. For everyday tasks, gaming, and multitasking, these two phones will perform identically.

The only differentiators in this category are RAM and internal storage. The G100 Pro ships with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage, while the G86 offers 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB. The extra RAM on the G100 Pro matters in practice: it allows more apps to remain suspended in the background before the system starts terminating them, which benefits heavy multitaskers who jump between many applications. The doubled storage is equally meaningful for users who accumulate large media libraries, shoot lots of video, or simply prefer not to worry about space management.

Since raw processing power is a dead heat, the Moto G100 Pro takes a clear edge in this category purely on the strength of its superior memory and storage configuration — advantages that translate directly into a more comfortable, future-proof ownership experience for power users.

The camera hardware on these two phones is remarkably similar on paper: both feature a dual-lens rear system led by a 50 MP primary sensor paired with an 8 MP secondary, a 32 MP front camera, and identical 4K at 30fps video recording capability. Phase-detection autofocus, continuous autofocus during video, slow-motion, HDR mode, and a full suite of manual controls are present on both — leaving very little to separate them at a feature checklist level.

Dig into the details, however, and one meaningful difference emerges: the Moto G86 includes optical image stabilization (OIS), while the G100 Pro does not. OIS is a hardware mechanism that physically compensates for hand tremor during shooting, and its impact is most felt in low-light photography — where longer exposures are needed — and during handheld video recording, where it dramatically reduces the jittery, unstabilized look. The absence of OIS on the G100 Pro means it relies solely on software-based stabilization, which is generally less effective, particularly in challenging lighting conditions.

Everything else being equal, the Moto G86 holds a clear advantage in this category thanks to OIS — a hardware feature that consistently elevates photo and video quality in real-world shooting scenarios where steady hands cannot be guaranteed.

This is one of the rare categories where there is simply nothing to separate the two devices. Both the Moto G100 Pro and the Moto G86 run Android 15 and share an identical feature set across every single data point provided — from privacy controls like location and camera/microphone permissions, to productivity tools like split-screen multitasking, Picture-in-Picture, and dynamic theming.

Notably, both phones share the same limitations too: neither receives direct OS updates from Google, and neither supports Wi-Fi password sharing or focus modes. These are consistent omissions across the pair, so no advantage can be assigned to either on that basis.

This category is a complete tie. A buyer choosing between these two phones will get an identical software experience regardless of which model they pick, and the decision should rest entirely on the hardware differences analyzed in the other spec groups.

Charging infrastructure is identical across both phones: each supports 30W fast charging, neither offers wireless charging, and both have sealed, non-removable batteries. On those fronts, users can expect the same replenishment experience whichever model they choose.

The capacity gap, however, is substantial. The G100 Pro packs a 6720 mAh cell versus the G86's 5200 mAh — a difference of 1520 mAh, or roughly 29% more energy. In practical terms, this is the kind of margin that can translate to an additional four to six hours of screen-on time under typical usage, or the difference between comfortably reaching the end of a heavy day and needing a top-up by evening. It is also worth noting that the G100 Pro's larger battery will take longer to fully charge at the same 30W rate, but the endurance payoff is considerable.

The Moto G100 Pro wins this category decisively. For users who prioritize longevity between charges — travelers, heavy users, or anyone without reliable access to power throughout the day — its significantly larger battery is a tangible and meaningful advantage.

Audio is another category where the two phones are mirror images of each other. Both feature stereo speakers and both omit a 3.5 mm headphone jack, meaning wired listening requires an adapter or USB-C headphones on either device.

On the wireless audio front, neither phone supports any high-resolution Bluetooth codec — no aptX, no LDAC, no aptX HD or Adaptive. Users who pair premium wireless headphones capable of high-fidelity audio transmission will be limited to standard Bluetooth codecs on both devices, which caps the audio quality ceiling for that use case equally across the pair.

This category is a complete tie with no differentiator to speak of. Audio quality in practice will come down to speaker tuning and software implementation, neither of which is reflected in the provided specs — so buyers with strong audio priorities should look to other distinguishing factors between these two models.

Across most connectivity fundamentals, these two phones are closely matched: both support 5G, Wi-Fi 6, NFC, GPS with Galileo, and the same dual SIM setup of one physical SIM plus one eSIM. Data speeds, USB-C connectivity, and the full sensor suite — gyroscope, accelerometer, compass — are identical across the pair.

Two differences are worth highlighting. The Moto G86 features Bluetooth 5.3 versus the G100 Pro's 5.2 — a modest generational step that brings minor improvements in connection efficiency and coexistence with other wireless signals, though the practical day-to-day impact is limited. More meaningfully, the G86 includes an external memory slot while the G100 Pro does not. For users who want to expand storage affordably, transfer files via card, or maintain a separate media library, this is a genuinely useful hardware feature — and it partially offsets the G100 Pro's advantage of double the built-in storage noted in the performance category.

On balance, the Moto G86 holds a slight edge here. The combination of a newer Bluetooth version and, more importantly, the presence of an expandable storage slot gives it more flexibility than the G100 Pro, whose locked storage configuration offers no workaround for users who eventually run low on space.

The miscellaneous spec group offers nothing to differentiate the Moto G100 Pro and the Moto G86. Every data point is identical: both have a video light, and neither features a sapphire glass display, a curved screen, or an e-paper panel.

This category is a complete tie. Buyers should weigh the distinctions surfaced in other spec groups — design, display brightness, cameras, battery, and connectivity — to make their decision, as nothing here tips the scales either way.