Motorola Moto G4 Plus, we have tested it

When we talk about Motorola we think of compact phones, of a rather small size and interchangeable covers. Well, with the Motorola Moto G4 Plus , the American company decides to pass the psychological barrier of 5.5 inches to offer us a phone with a fashionable size and effective and surprising features. The Motorola Moto G4 Plus could not come at a better time and the company is still on a roll in terms of sales, and this phone along with its younger brother, the Motorola Moto G4 , have come with the strength to give a good boost to one of the most mythical phone companies on Android.

It is a fact that these are super sales terminals in many European and American countries as well as in areas of economic growth such as India. Perhaps the secret of these sales is about offering  good specifications at an affordable price, and allowing the user to have Android almost naked, without plaguing it with layers of customization as other companies do.

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus has passed through our hands and we are going to discover what is hidden behind this terminal with an eight-core processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 617, 16 megapixel main camera  and a surprising price of only 270 euros.

Let's start with the feature test.

Display and layout

The Moto G have never been flashy phones by design. They are usually quite basic, resistant and functional but considering that they must be adjusted at a fairly low price, it is logical that unnecessary extras and luxuries are not taken into account.

Like previous models, the Motorola Moto G4 Plus  is made mainly of plastic , but of much better quality. The front is simple, concise and functional , without markings and without buttons of any kind . The screen occupies the entire terminal without carrying any frame and we will only find the "home" button that also includes the sensor for reading fingerprints. In addition, in the upper part, embedded in the screen, we will find  an opening with the speakers,  with a very discreet silver mount.

The metal frame that makes up the phone adds a bit of quality and strength. The back panel, which until now was hard and rough in the Moto G family, has been replaced by a plastic with a soft touch texture. The handling is comfortable, despite the 5.5 inches of its screen, it does not slip and fits perfectly in the palm of the hand.

The iconic 'Moto Dimple' (the brand of the house located on the rear panel) is becoming less pronounced model after model. In the Moto X model it was the perfect place to place your finger when holding the phone but now it is practically imperceptible. Above the brand's insignia is the camera and flash, both covered in glass and framed by a silver oval.

As in previous versions, it is possible to customize the Moto G4 Plus from the manufacturer's website using interchangeable covers. In total there are eight colors to choose from ( dark gray, foam (kind of pastel green), white chalk, raspberry, deep navy blue, black, cobalt blue and lava red in addition to the five classic colors, metallic gold, metallic pink. , metallic silver, metallic ocean and metallic dark gray.

At first glance, the Moto G4 Plus and the Moto G4 are identical, the only external difference between them is the fingerprint sensor located at the bottom of the screen, something quite important on the other hand.

As for the screen, we speak of an LCD panel IPS capacitive touchscreen of 5.5 inches with Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels which gives the phone image quality with approving note. Photos, videos and even games are reproduced with impeccable brightness and sharpness . Only downside: it doesn't look good in sunlight, like on an AMOLED screen. On the other hand, one of the main attractions of the Moto G4 Plus  is, as we said, its fingerprint sensor. It is quite fast and accurate, even more than that of some high-end terminals. That said, we must also add that the application of the fingerprint sensor in the G4 Plus is not totally perfect.since, unfortunately, there is no support for NFC so it cannot be used with Android Pay to make payments with the mobile.

16 megapixel photographic equipment

Another key reason to consider before purchasing the Moto G4 Plus over the Moto G 4  is the camera comparison. The main lens is rated at 16 megapixels compared to 13 that we went into on the G4. In addition, the G4 Plus camera uses a combination of phase detection autofocus and laser focus , with adjustment modes that allow us to customize from the ISO value to the white balance.

16 megapixel main camera, with Dual-LED Flash. Laser sensor. Maximum resolution in photos of 4,128 x 3,096 pixels, maximum resolution in Full HD videos (30 frames per second).

If you like photography and understand a little about the subject, the Pro mode will delight users like you. But even if the Pro mode is not used, the extra megapixels give us very surprising results. We can affirm without hesitation that the main camera of the Motorola Moto G4 Plus is one of the best that we have tested in phones of this range. In addition, the camera application is very simple and intuitive when using it. The interface is very simple and in it we find the option to activate the HDR mode and activate the flash (both are activated automatically by default). We also find a clock that activates the self-timer, in addition to the button that allows us to switch to the front 5 megapixel camera.

Automatic settings offer good results in normal lighting conditions. By touching the screen we can adjust the brightness to obtain the best result. Whether it's a close-up or a landscape, the Moto G4 Plus achieves acceptable results, capturing vibrant colors fairly accurately and with an impressive level of detail.

ISO setting in Pro mode

The G4 Plus has both the autofocus to work in good lighting conditions, and the laser autofocus that helps us in low light situations. The low-light performance isn't overwhelming, but it's also not the best we've tested on a smartphone.

Within the configuration we also find the option of panoramic photography that for a long time has been common in all terminals, video and slow motion video.

There is no OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer) in the Moto G4 Plus although for the price of this smartphone we cannot demand it either. Video recording is limited to 1080p at 30 frames per second , so 4K lovers won't find it on this phone.

Pro and Macro mode

The front camera has an f / 2.2 aperture, and it also supports auto-HDR.  The results, even in low light conditions, are quite good, which is why the Moto G4 Plus is a great option for selfie addicts. The higher resolution and all these additional features elevate it above the 13-megapixel camera on its (almost) namesake Moto G4. By this we mean that if you are passionate about photography and you like to take advantage of the mobile camera, it is worth paying the difference of 45 euros that separates both models.

In the portion of the image quality, we can not say much beyond what already indicates the fact that it is a screen with HD resolution of  1920 x 1080 pixels ). Both videos and photographs  are reproduced with a fairly successful quality  offering a variety of  contrasts and colors that are very faithful to reality , without saturating and impoverishing the image excessively. Light leaks, something very recurrent in mobiles with panels of these characteristics, are not a fact in the Motorola Moto G4 Plus.The only problem that we perceive in this regard is that the color temperature is somewhat cold, so that sometimes the results tend to offer a rather bluish hue. This is not seen with the naked eye, but we will have to compare it with the results of other terminals of a similar category.

Let's see some results obtained with the Motorola Moto G4 camera both in automatic and professional mode. We can anticipate that the results obtained are quite good except in situations of little or too much lighting. Maybe the tint is more cold tones but overall the samples have been good.

Sample with and without flash. Auto mode.

Close-up Pro mode. ISO 200.

Macro Mode Pro. ISO 400.

Exterior HDR

Natural light, auto mode.

Auto mode, interior lack of light

 Power, memory and autonomy

Perhaps the technical specifications of this phone are not the best on the market but within its price range they are very competitive. The G4 Plus mounts an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chip, with four cores running at 1.5 GHz and the other four at 1.2 GHz, along with a 550MHz graphics chip, Adreno 405. Its performance is fast, non-stop and has allowed us to have several applications, including games, open at the same time.

When it comes to RAM and storage, things get a bit more complicated because Motorola is offering different configurations. The test unit at hand is  2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, more than enough characteristics for a common user who is not going to give the terminal extreme performance. Maybe it does get a little hot when we play games or shoot video, but nothing that is unbearable.

After running Geekbench 3, the Moto Plus G4 got a single core score of 711 and a multi-core score of 3001. This multi-core score is quite good compared to other handsets, not just from the Motorola family.

Generally speaking, we can say that the Motorola Moto G4 has a good performance, it does not exceed high-end terminals but it remains very well in its range.

In terms of battery we will say that the Moto G4 Plus has a 3,000mAh non-removable battery that may sound like a lot of power but in reality, taking into account the amount of resources it consumes, we can say that the performance is good but not optimal. to 100%. Using games or keeping the screen at maximum brightness , the battery suffers a lot, although, although it is true, using it moderately (calls, instant messaging and some social networks), the phone has endured up to two days with a single Full load.

In addition, the Motorola Moto G4 Plus comes with a turbo charger, which offers us up to six hours of autonomy with only 15 minutes of charging.  Like all turbo chargers it is very fast at the beginning and as the battery charges it slows down.

Multimedia, applications and connectivity

The only music application installed on the terminal is Google's “ Play Music” , which even though it is paid allows us to load our own MP3 files on the G4 Plus and play them . It is an interesting application, and quite intuitive when using it. It has a notification panel with the basic controls and track skipping that allow us to run it from the locked screen. The sound quality and volume of the speaker is quite good, but sometimes the bass sounds a bit distorted at a very high volume. If there is something that is not very positive, it is that the Motorola Moto G4 Plus is that it includes a minijack input to connect headphones but it does not come with some, so we will have to buy them separately. In addition to this musical application that we discussed, we also find an FM radio application but it needs headphones connected to act as an antenna.

In terms of multimedia image, the  5.5-inch screen has a fairly decent size for watching movies, but as we said when talking about its specifications, since it is not AMOLED, it does not receive reflections well, so it would be necessary to be in a place without direct light to enjoy 100% of the image. It loads smoothly in HD quality and colors look perfectly, vivid and sharp. 

In the interface section we will only say that the Motorola Moto G4 Plus  comes standard with the most recent version of Android 6.0.1, Marshmallow  of the Android operating system , and its customization layer does not have manufacturer customizations but we have the possibility to do it our way through the “Moto” app that we can find among the phone applications. This application allows us to customize settings related to the operation of this mobile, and here we explain how it works . The operating system buttons are integrated at the bottom of the screen and are the usual ones: start, back and menu.

As standard applications we find those of Google :  Chrome , Drive , Photos , Gmail , Maps, and Play Music. We also have Instagram, Messenger and Facebook by default.

From the point of view of connectivity, we must emphasize that it is a Dual SIM (dual-standby) phone , as standard, and that as such it connects with the most modern 4G networks in our market, that is,   LTE Cat 4. We find in it a  USB-OTG input , Wi-Fi connection, 802.11ac, lacking  NFC and Bluetooth 4.1.

Availability, price and verdict

What we liked the most about this smartphone is its main camera capable of capturing some great quality photos if we have a little knowledge of photography. It is not very fast, so it may not be ideal for taking snapshots, but it generally gives very good results. On the other hand, the screen of the Moto G4 Plus is a pleasure to use. To read, watch movies or games, it is undoubtedly another of its strengths.

In contrast, what we liked least of the Motorola Moto Plus G4 is still plastic and nothing distinctive design . It is a clear improvement over the previous versions of the series, but it is still a mobile with a very basic design.

The fingerprint sensor works well, but the absence of an NFC antenna limits its possibilities of use and also the fact that it is in the place where the home button is usually located is somewhat annoying. We must also add that the fact that it does not include headphones is not a good detail either.

If we had to look for direct competition for this terminal, we would find it within Lenovo itself. We talk about its little brother, the Motorola Moto G4. Physically they are nearly identical, both in terms of design and specs, with the same 5.5-inch 1080p display, the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor, and the same software, but with other notable differences, including price. And what makes that cost difference exist? Well for starters there is an extra 16 GB of internal storage more in the Moto G4 Plus. The Moto G4 is in a 16 and 32 GB version, but considering that of those 16 GB only 10 GB remain free, we do not recommend it.

The price is also justified in a better camera and the possibility of having a fingerprint sensor. If you don't want to spend more than 225 euros, the Moto G4 is a phone with excellent features but we are in the position to advise you that for a little more money you can get a much more complete terminal.

In general we can say that Lenovo has perfectly followed Motorola's line, offering us a low-mid-range terminal with more than acceptable qualities. Perhaps the difference with the previous models of the Moto G family is not as great as we expected but at the end of the day it is a device with a good value for money.

If you are looking for a phone with a large screen and a good camera, but do not want to leave your salary on a Samsung Galaxy S7 or an iPhone 6S Plus, this phone will surely meet the requirements.

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Design

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Multimedia

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Memory

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Autonomy

+ info

Price: 270 euros