I bought the Moto G4 Plus and here is the review (retail unit). The G4 Plus does come with improved camera, and quality is indeed impressive. This handset is powered by Snapdragon 617 octa core processor available with 2GB RAM / 16GB ROM or 3GB RAM / 32GB ROM. I got the 2GB RAM version for the review.
G4 Plus Unboxing
Inside you will find the handset, travel charger (12V / 2.15A) with attached micro USB cable, user guide / Warranty card in Hindi / English language options and standard quality earphone (not really that good). Sar Value : Head 1.086W/kg and Body 1.48W/kg.
Design, Display and OS
G4 Plus is packed inside a plastic body with metallic finishing on the sides. Build quality and finishing is very good. Like the other Moto G handsets this one is also using a curvy design, though the back is almost flat.
If you have used the Moto G handset before you will not get the same feel when you hold the Moto G4 Plus that’s because of the flat back, the handset however is a little wider. Weight with battery is 154 grams and dimensions are 76.63 x 152.92 x 7.96 (mm).
Power button and volume rocker is on the right side, audio jack on the top and micro USB port at the bottom. Loud Speaker and in-call speaker is on the front top.
There are dual SIM slots plus a separate micro SD card slot. You need two micro SIM’s and in case you are using a nano SIM you can make use of the nano to micro SIM adapter that is already inserted in the SIM slots.
G4 Plus sports a 5.5 inch screen with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution; screen is also protected with corning gorilla glass 3. Viewing angles are very good and so is the touch response and color reproduction.
Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 runs out of the box.
There is no LED notifications and G4 Plus is loaded with following sensors – accelerometer, proximity, light and gyro. Magnetic sensor surprisingly is missing.
Memory and Storage
As mentioned I got this handset with 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. You will get around 10GB free internal storage space and around 1.2GB free RAM on an average. Apps are getting installed on internal storage – there is no option to move to external SD. OTG is supported.
Performance
The Moto G4 Plus is powered by qualcomm snapdragon 617 64 bit octa core processor clocked at 1.5GHz coupled with Adreno 405 GPU. Performance is smooth even when it comes to gaming, but handset heats up with heavy usage. Max battery temperature I encountered was 44 degrees.
G4 Plus Benchmark
- Quadrant – 25167
- Antutu (64 bit) – 43818 | 3D score – 7436
- Nenamark 2 – 59.6fps
- Internal storage Speed – Read (155MB/s), Write (41MB/s)
- Multi Touch – 10 Point
G4 Plus Gaming performance
I tried MC5 and Asphalt 8 both games worked really well check video review for gaming action.
Camera
The handset comes with improved 16MP primary camera on the back with dual tone LED flash and 5MP camera on the front. Rear camera makes use of Laser AF and PDAF, camera quality is excellent, much better when compared with the older Moto G smartphones. Rear camera can shoot FHD videos. There is pro, panorama, slow motion, video and photo modes. There is OIS but better avoid that when shooting videos. Try using the HDR mode for excellent output.
G4 Plus Rear Camera Sample
Front Camera Sample
FHD video sample
Others
Sound output is loud and clear. No issues found with 4G, WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth. I did not find any issues with network signal and quality. There are no dedicated buttons, hence you will get onscreen navigation buttons.
Press power button twice to load camera app from standby mode.
Shake phone when in standby (screen off) to switch on the LED light, shake again to switch off.
The dedicated finger print sensor is on the front, it’s touch ID based – fast and accurate. Press and hold finger print sensor to unlock without pressing any other button.
Battery
There is 3000 mAh non-removable battery with fast charging capabilities. The G4 Plus can charge is less than 1 hour 20 minutes and delivers 4 to 6 hours of backup with moderate to heavy usage. I got an easy over one day of battery backup with mixed usage.
G4 Plus Battery Performance (time / battery % drop / battery temperature)
- Running Benchmark app – 11 minutes / 3% / 40 degrees
- Played MC5 + Asphalt 8 – 19 minutes / 8% / 44 degrees
- FHD video playback with full brightness (WiFi /4G on) – 26 minutes / 7% / 38 degrees
It took me 1 hours 20 minutes to charge the handset using wall charger from 13% to 100%.
Verdict
The Motorola Moto G4 Plus is a powerful handset loaded with good features. Performance is smooth though handset does heats up with heavy usage, but battery temp is well under 48 degrees. Camera is impressive and battery backup is decent.
Over all a very good buy for Rs. 13,499 with 2GB RAM – but do note the handset is missing magnetic sensor, in case you really want it.
Moto G4 Plus is available from Rs. 13,499.