Through the looking glass: The 3,000mAh battery is noticeably smaller than the 4,000mAh unit included in last year's handset but curiously enough, it is removable. Swappable batteries were once a mainstay in the mobile industry but manufacturers have largely moved to fixed installations. Could the removable battery be making a comeback?

Motorola on Thursday pushed out a refreshed version of its Moto E smartphone boasting an interesting mix of new features at a compelling price.

The Moto E6 starts off on solid footing with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435, an octa-core SoC with twice as many cores as last year's E5, and Adreno 505 graphics. You also get 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage that's expandable via microSD card (up to 256GB capacity cards supported).

The budget Android comes equipped with a 5.5-inch Max Vision HD+ (1,440 x 720 resolution, 296 PPI) IPS LCD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter (also with f/2.0 aperture) and yes, even a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Moto E6 ships running Android 9.0 Pie and tips the scales at 159 grams (5.6 ounces) with the battery installed. A P2i liquid repellent nano coating helps the handset deal with the accidental exposure to moisture although notably, Motorola says the phone isn't waterproof. Other shortcomings include the lack of a fingerprint scanner and the use of microUSB instead USB-C.

Motorola's new Moto E6 is offered in your choice of black or navy blue and is available from today priced at $149.99.