Systems and methods are described for operating motion sensors in a power-efficient manner. An example technique described herein includes obtaining, at a motion sensor, first indications of sensed motion of a device associated with the motion sensor; integrating, at the motion sensor, the first indications of the sensed motion to obtain integrated motion information; generating, at the motion sensor, second indications of the integrated motion information; and sampling, at a processor disparate from the motion sensor, selective ones of the second indications. Another example technique includes obtaining a first indication of a motion state anomaly associated with motion of a mobile device and causing a gyroscope associated with the mobile device to transition between a first operating mode and a second operating mode in response to the first indication, where the first operating mode is a reduced-power mode compared to the second operating mode.