Moto G4 Plus Review

There was a time when Moto’s name was heralded as the greatest – standing up against mobile giants Nokia, Samsung, and LG during the days of yore for feature phones. In the current race of smartphones, as it seems, Moto is on the race to bring straightforward offerings that breathe form and function in one package. To put it simply, with class. What we have here at the moment is the Moto G4 Plus, a no-frills smartphone that looks to deliver what the iconic American brand does best – the pure, unadulterated Android experience, but with power and class in its own right.

There was a time when Moto’s name was heralded as one of the greats – standing up against other mobile giants Nokia, Samsung, and LG during the days of yore for feature phones. In the current race of smartphones, as it seems, Moto is on the race to bring straightforward offerings that breathe form and function in one package. To put it simply, with class. What we have here at the moment is the Moto G4 Plus, a no-frills smartphone that looks to deliver what the iconic American brand does best – the pure, unadulterated Android experience, but with power and style in its own right.

Specifications

Display	5.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive   touchscreen, 1920 x 1080 resolution
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 617
CPU	Octa-core (4x1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4x1.2 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU	Adreno 405
RAM	2GB/3GB/4GB
ROM	16GB/32GB/64GB
Primary Camera	16 MP, f/2.0, phase detection & laser autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
Secondary Camera	5 MP, f/2.2, auto-HDR
Battery	3,000mAh (non-removable)
OS	Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow), upgradable to 7.0 (Nougat)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, 3G, LTE, Bluetooth 4.1,OTG, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
Sensors	Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity
Weight	155g
Price	~Php12,000

UNBOXING

The Moto G4 Plus comes in a very unassuming packaging, which is quite what the line-up has always been about – modest and straightforward, leaving it to the user-experience to tell the story. The box really isn’t anything out of the ordinary. In fact, what you’ll get are pretty basic like the handset itself, a snazzy wall charger, a USB cable, and some paperwork, and that’s about it.

DESIGN

Forgive us for using the word “straightforward” too much. That’s just the best way to simplify things with the G4 Plus, and it does so without being boring, uninspiring, or cheap. Its removable textured plastic back is easily one of its best assets as it exhumes premium to the touch. The Moto logo, together with the camera lens and flash setup, accentuates it even further that it melds really well overall.

We also don’t have any qualms with its thickness. It is a bit thick coming at 9.8mm, but our preference deems it necessary to have that solid feel. It also helps that the sides are curve to add up to its handling.

With that said, it does seem like it’s design and form for what it is. However, it does have some gripes that we can’t help nitpicking about. The first, its chin is quite big for our liking, and it adds up to the footprint of the G4 Plus. Second, the microphone looks out of place as it sits beside the fingerprint scanner. It does not look good.

DISPLAY

On the front end of things, the 5.5-inch display with Full HD resolution is gorgeous, and we’d dare say the perfect balance for screen size and resolution in this sense. The colors look bright and pop up, and viewing angles are definitely where it should be. Brightness levels are good enough, but you might find it lacking during strong daylight, which doesn’t really happen as much.

PERFORMANCE

Basically, we’re talking about a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chipset with an octa-core CPU, Adreno 405 GPU, with memory and storage options going at 2GB/16GB, 3GB/32GB, and 4GB/64GB variants. What we have at the moment sits in the middle ground territory at 3GB and 32GB. That’s actually above the current midrange standard, and considering the price, it’s well-packed.

Benchmarks

Gaming Experience

The Moto G4 Plus easily shines in the 5.5-inch 1080p category – its hardware can keep the experience rocking in tiptop shape, and benchmark scores are where they should be at. The stock Android ROM helps it even further by keeping the bloat at bay, which should add up to users preferring the vanilla experience.

CAMERA

If there’s another thing we can favor with the G4 Plus, it’s definitely the camera. Its 16MP primary snapper is definitely one of the best in its range, which we can attribute to OmniVision’s OV16860 PureCel Plus-S Sensor. Stills are definitely impressive as the colors are balanced yet rich, while the level of detail are superb.

Professional Mode, also known as manual mode, is also a welcomed addition if you know what you’re doing. Honestly, though, the basic mode is good enough if you only want to do simple controls on photography and let the software do the rest. You can automatically set HDR, and you can adjust exposure values on the fly.

BATTERY LIFE

The G4 Plus also looks to impress when it comes to its battery life. 3000mAh pushing its internals and 5.5-inch Full HD display does well enough when it comes to longevity that you won’t need to charge it as often as you would other phones. However, while its back panel is indeed removable, the battery is non-removable. It’s a non-issue, though, especially if you’re one to use it as it is. Plus, you don’t run the risk of using substandard or fake batteries that are commonly widespread outside official markets. Keeps the warranty in check, too.

PCMark’s work battery life is a great way to simulate daily usage, and it scores wonderfully as the results suggest. 7:40 as rated. On practice, we were able to get around the metro and back for our run on press conferences and gatherings with 3G on and still have some some battery life left. But of course, a friendly reminder to bring a power bank just in case you forget to charge it on your way out.

CONCLUSION

The Moto G4 Plus easily gives you value for your money with its more-than-capable hardware can keep things running butter smooth, and its camera is easily one of the best in its range. It exhumes confidence through its straightforward approach, complete with designs and features suitable for those looking to get a no-frills solution that can get the job done whenever, wherever. Easily, its class defines itself - nothing too fancy, but one of the best in what it does.