Motorola Moto E4 Plus, we have tested it

In 2014, the first Motorola Moto E appeared on the market, the most basic range of the brand's phones. A line expressly intended for all those users whose mobile use was limited to the most basic tasks. Robust and durable phones, with entry-level specifications whose selling price did not exceed 100 euros. 3 years later, things have changed. Its successor in this 2017 that is ending, the Motorolo Moto E4 reaches 150 euros and raises its specifications. It has even had an older brother, the Motorola Moto E4 Plus. A phone with more screen, better camera and, above all, a monstrous battery that lasts a couple of days. But let's not anticipate events. Let's see what our experience has been with the Morotola Moto E4 Plus.

Screen and design of the Motorola Moto E4 Plus

Before entering the matter, let's see at what price this terminal is in one of the main online stores. At present, we can find the Motorola E4 Plus on Amazon by [amazon_link asins = 'B072C8DPKW' template = 'PriceLink' store = 'tuexpertocom-21 ′ marketplace =' ES 'link_id =' b4d0c826-d416-11e7-a2e6-4b319ab69558 ′ ]. And we already tell you that for this price, the new Motorola has to fight hand in hand with terminals such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, which in the Spanish store we find 5 euros cheaper and with benefits, in some cases, superior.

Sober and conservative design

The design of the new Motorola Moto E4 Plus maintains the constants of the Motorola line. This is a shiny and elegant terminal, built in aluminum to give a 'Premium' feel . However, on the outside we already find a but: its back cover is removable (and it is very difficult to remove) but the battery is screwed to the chassis. A constant of the brand, which continues to opt for a strange design, instead of housing the card trays on the sides of its equipment. Therefore, we find a terminal whose back can be removed but the battery cannot. Inside we also find another slot for a second SIM or for the microSD card. Supports up to 128GB cards.

A bit heavy, but with reasons

The dimensions of the terminal are 155 x 77.5 x 9.55 millimeters and 198 grams of weight. Yes, it may seem that it is a very heavy terminal, but this has a reason: its gigantic 5,000 mAh battery, surely the great weighty reason why a user could choose to buy this terminal. Despite this, it is not heavy in the hand, and it has a very good grip . In addition, the side buttons are easily accessible: a detail that the brand continues to place the unlock and lock button below the volume.

On the upper front we see the typical speaker slot, just above the Motorola logo and, on both sides, the LED flash and the notification LED. On the lower front, we have the start button that acts as a fingerprint sensor. It is not a physical button: simply, by supporting the finger we will unlock our terminal .

On the rear panel, we find the antenna band at the top, just below the camera sensor, which does not protrude , which is a point in favor of the terminal. Under the sensor, we have a small rounded notch with the brand's logo. A detail, simply, that beautifies the terminal but does not have a specific use.

The terminal is covered with an oleophobic material , which keeps the phone clean of fingerprints. We have to say that it works perfectly. No matter how much we touch the phone, it will remain clean and without visible fingerprints. In addition, we have Gorilla Glass 3 protection that keeps the screen protected against superficial scratches.

HD display for undemanding palates

The Motorola Moto E4 Plus screen enters fully into the section of the home range. If we are demanding with the screen of our terminal, perhaps this Moto E4 Plus is not the best of options. The size is adequate for viewing multimedia content but its resolution may be a bit low. We have 5.5 inches and an HD resolution , resulting in 267 pixels per inch of density. It may be enough for many users, but if you are one of those who use their mobile, mainly to watch videos on YouTube or movies on streaming platforms, there are other options that you could consider, more appropriate.

Despite being an IPS panel, we can configure the color of our screen , increasing the saturation of the colors, resulting a little more vibrant and less flat. Of course, we can not wait for the results of a super AMOLED. The brightness is very good: outdoors you will not have problems to see its content, giving better solutions than terminals of similar price. Mind you, we have had to deal with automatic brightness. In this case it is much better that we adjust it ourselves, as it does not work very effectively.

Motorola Moto E4 Plus

Processor, RAM and storage

Inside this Motorola Moto E4 we see a 4-core Mediatek MT6737 processor at a clock speed of 1.3 GHz . It is accompanied by 3GB of RAM and an internal storage space of 16GB, with the possibility of inserting a microSD card of up to 128GB. Once the data is given, we go with the results.

Low-end performance

Mediatek 4-core processors have always been associated with low-performance terminals. And it is no exception in this Motorola Moto E4 Plus. In daily use and with several applications open, we can find certain delays on the screen , especially when scrolling on websites with a large amount of content. The change between applications and the loading time is not excessive. In that regard, the Motorola team delivers. We have found the delay, for example, when descending through the Google news feed. The movement is not entirely fluid, presenting certain jerks that can be somewhat annoying.

If the user expects to be able to play games that demand important performance from the phone, such as the Asphalt 8: Airborne, he better forget it. The Motorola Moto E4 Plus is perfect for undemanding games , such as some Parcheesi or puzzles with modest graphics. The game simply does not feel fluid and the terminal reaches somewhat high temperatures. Nothing, on the other hand, that we have not felt in other terminals with low-end Mediatek.

The Motorola Moto E4 Plus has good multitasking: 3GB of RAM is more than enough for the terminal to house different applications open in the background without its performance suffering, in theory. But the processor does not accompany, so, the more applications we have open, the more delays or jerks on the screen we will have. The 16GB of storage is already short for most users. It is true that we have applications such as Google Photos, with unlimited space in the cloud and we can insert a card of up to 128GB, but it does not hurt that at this price they would have included 32GB.

Fingerprint sensor

We are going to dedicate a small section to the fingerprint sensor, something that today is important in all the terminals that appear on the market. An added security system that solves its handling on a day-to-day basis and with which we can be more secure. Regarding the Motorola Moto E4 Plus, we can say that its configuration is very simple and fast . We can identify not only our fingerprints but those of a trusted family member. The reader works well, in general: it is not one of the fastest that we have tested but we like the place where it is located: on the front we can unlock it by being located on a surface.

In addition, another of the aspects that we liked the most in this Moto E4 Plus is the sensor configuration. The navigation bar, first of all, is located on the screen itself. In this way, we do not take advantage of all of its 5.5 inches. But we can hide it, placing the movement behind and the invocation of multitasking on the fingerprint sensor itself . With a simple gesture of sliding to the left, we go back on the screen; with another on the right, we open multitasking. A feature that turns out to be extremely comfortable over time.

Good result in cameras with good brightness

Let's go first with the technical aspect. Regarding the main camera we have a 13 megapixel sensor and a focal aperture of 2.0. Of course, we have LED flash, autofocus, HDR mode and the possibility of making panoramas. The camera application does not give for more, it does not have manual camera options, although it includes a simple editing mode.

The main camera of this Moto E4 perfectly complies with what is seen in other similar lenses of entry-level phones: acceptable result in good light conditions and irregular when it comes to night and indoor photos. In these environments, the colors are not very vivid, but tend to reveal themselves as duller and softer than they really are. Outdoors in good light the results are quite acceptable, with realistic colors and good saturation. Too bad, when zooming in, the pixels are too glaring.

Selfie camera with beauty mode that delivers

As for the front camera, we have a 5 megapixel sensor and a focal aperture of 2.2. Of course, as an incentive we will have a front LED flash, something that many will appreciate for their night selfies. As for the photographic result, we can say that it is somewhat poor, limiting its use to social networks. Casual photographs for our own entertainment without much fanfare. In addition, the beauty mode in the selfies can alleviate the lack of light a bit, although we do not abuse it because the softening of the face can be somewhat extreme.

The shot of the photograph is quite fast: once captured we can see it by sliding our finger to our left. However, the system takes a while to process the photo , looking a little pixelated at first. This is a bit annoying: the work doesn't go smoothly, having to wait for the system to complete it. Also, panning is extremely easy to do and the results are quite good.

In short, we have a photographic section that complies with good lighting conditions, whose indoor and nighttime snapshots could be improved and whose front camera, with flash, takes quite worthy selfies. An ideal camera for sharing photos over networks and for users, in short, not very demanding.

Operating system and autonomy

The good thing about the Moto range is that we can enjoy Android Stock with the odd default application, but nothing that will hinder the user experience. One of the pre-installed applications, by the way, is where we find the possibility to hide the navigation barin order to enjoy the screen 100%. Once we hide it, the fingerprint sensor will have several functions: lock and unlock, back button and multitasking. One of the aspects that we liked the most in this mobile is the pure Android experience, without complications or strange or superfluous adjustments. Although it is true that the hiding of the bar and the sensor gestures could have been more intuitive. Nowhere do they tell us that these settings are inside an app and we look for them, logically, in the security section.

A battery that lasts and lasts

For the rest, the system is simple, intuitive and we will not have to make strange adjustments so that the battery lasts longer than desired. Basically, because we find a 5,000 mAh battery. With this battery, we removed the cell phone 100% one Friday morning and it lasted until Sunday night. 48 hours with regular use , yes, without playing or with the Facebook application installed, which we already know drains the battery a lot. Although Motorola claims that the phone has fast charging, 0 to 100% can take more than 3 hours. A figure that may not be uncomfortable if we have the habit of plugging in our terminal at night. In addition, we do not have USB Type C in this terminal so the charge is not as fast as with the MicroUSB connection.

Without a doubt, the battery is the highlight of this Motorola Moto E4 Plus. If what matters most to you in a terminal is its autonomy, this phone can be a great purchase option, as few reach these figures.

Motorola Moto E4 Plus connectivity

Two elements distinguish this Moto E4 Plus from other similar mobiles: its FM radio and its NFC connectivity . With the latter, we can make use of payment through mobile. In addition, with this connection we can transfer photos and files from one device to another, or connect it through the car system. It also has other uses such as automatically connecting to friends' WiFi networks thanks to NFC tags and specific applications. With the FM radio you can listen to national stations without the data being affected: other applications like TuneIn that are used to listen to the radio, pull data. If you are a radio fan, this Moto E4 Plus can be your best ally.

In the rest of the connections that we have in this Motorola E4 Plus we find:

• Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n
• Bluetooth 4.2
• GPS, AGPS, GLONASS
• Micro USB 2.0
• One thing to keep in mind: in this phone we do not have an orientation sensor , so in 360º videos it may not go very fine.

Opinion and conclusions

As we said at the beginning, this Motorola is intended for undemanding users who value a good construction finish and a great battery. For the price at which we can find it today, 170 euros, we can have other options that, although they do not reach 5,000 mAh in the battery, they do offer superior performance. That is already the buyer's decision. We are going to see the worst and the best of this Motorola Moto E4 Plus terminal.

The best

• Design
• Battery
• Pure android
• A camera that meets the daylight

Worst

• Screen for improvement
• Performance somewhat poor
• Orientation sensor missing
• Difficulty removing the back cover

We can buy this phone today on Amazon at a price of [amazon_link asins = 'B072C8DPKW' template = 'PriceLink' store = 'tuexpertocom-21 ′ marketplace =' ES 'link_id =' 8e4e66f7-d434-11e7-89f9-4b6b52236934 ′] in gray and gold colors.