Motorola has proved in the past that they are capable of making decent phones in the Indian smartphones market, and they have done it again.
My Mom's old Moto G 2nd Gen phone suddenly died of unknown reason(s) recently after working great for around 2 years, and I was forced to buy a new smartphone to replace the one that died. After researching for 2 days on which mobile handset to buy, I zeroed in on Moto G4 Plus due to my past experience with Motorola handsets. Amazon's "Same day delivery" ensured I got the delivery by evening the same day I ordered it, and in mint condition.
By now, most of you know the specifications of the Moto G4 Plus phones (2 variants). Hence, I will save you the trouble of going through all of it again.
IN THE BOX CONTENTS:
a) Mobile handset
b) Turbo-power Charger (non-removable cable)
c) Headphones (white colored, not in-ear, with call answer / music play - pause button and Mic.)
d) Product related documents (Warranty information, and read me.)
--- MY REVIEW --
1) APPEARANCE and DESIGN:
Unlike all the fat ladies in the past, Motorola (Lenovo) decided to make this one not fat. It isn't the thinnest mobile out there but a great improvement in Motorola's design area.
The sleek looking curvaceous body gives it the modern look and it may steal your gaze by its spell of beauty; the black beauty that she is. The large, 5.5" display is what gives the phone the Wow factor, in combination with its curvaceous body. I'm sure it looks decent enough in white as well but I can't really comment on it as I don't own it in white.
2) QUALITY
I've been using smart phones long enough to differentiate between cheap junk and good stuff. I've used Samsung, LG, Nokia, and Motorola in the past. I've been using Apple iPhones since they first came to market.
When you hold the device in your hands, it gives you a sense of happiness because of how it feels. It isn't too heavy (155 g); although it looks bulky, and it is actually quite hand(s)full. The back cover is a plastic polymer that lets you open it in confidence that it won't break easily when you try to force it open from the phone. The edge portion has a metallic like casing that shines around the screen when held under light.
Call Quality:
Unlike Moto G2, the call quality on this phone is very good. Loud and clear sound reproduction on call. No problem with the Mic. as well, or there would have been complaints from the other end of the line.
Browsing performance:
One of the best so far! Browsing the Internet on WiFi using the Chrome browser is a breeze. Webpages load in a jiffy and all downloads happen at full throttle. Hopefully, it is the same with packet data (which I haven't tested yet).
3) DISPLAY
Display quality goes two ways - quality of the glass, and image quality. Although I don't know how good and how tough the glass is and whether it breaks when you drop it from a table, I can assure you that the 5.5", IPS, 401 ppi, Full HD, Gorilla glass 3 of the device is a feast for eyes. It is large, bright, vibrant, sharp, and the color reproduction is brilliant, even with the brightness at only around 30%!!
Touch is very responsive and multi-touch works good.
4) CAMERA (Updated review)
These days, smartphones are more cameras than phones. The 16 MP sensor, f/2.0 aperture of the rear camera, and 2000 ISO ensure your images are as clear looking as possible under different lighting conditions while the Laser focus and Phase-detect focus systems make sure the camera focuses the subject in a second! Due to such large aperture, you get lot of Depth in your photos (can actually confuse people to think it was shot on a DSLR camera), and the background blur / bokeh are smooth and fantastic. So far, it has been a pleasure using the camera on this phone. There's also no color banding seen on any of the pics I've clicked so far.
Images shot with the dual-tone flash ON come out warm and sharp; especially if you are doing portraits. Images shot without flash in broad day-light come out great as well. The Wide angle, front facing camera (f/2.2 aperture) images look as if they were shot on a 5 MP camera because they were. HDR offers good dynamic range and has helped me capture great looking images even when they were over-exposed naturally. Panorama and self-timer are both available.
Beside the basic camera features, it comes with "Professional mode" that lets you control the ISO, Exposure, and Focus. This is a welcome introduction to photography enthusiasts who buy this phone.
Image sizes:
12 MP (16:9) image - up to 4.5 MB
16 MP (4:3) image - up to 6 MB
Motorola has nailed the video department on this phone by providing VIDEO STABILIZATION and HDR!! Yes, both are available in the "Video" mode but so far, I did not see anyone mentioning about these extra-ordinary features on the phone in the reviews! These are the features I had only seen / used on a professional DSLR camera / video camera before but having them at our disposal on such low priced device is simply awesome.
Video quality is very satisfying (Full HD, 30 FPS) and the Slow motion video (540p, 120 FPS) is a welcome feature. Although slo-mo video resolution is less, what it delivers is pretty good under good lighting conditions (a bit similar to that of an Apple iPhone's). I wish there was a 720p, 60 FPS mode for shooting videos.
Video Size:
~120 MB for 1 minute's Full HD (30 FPS, 1080p) video recording with the rear camera (without flash).
In short, the CAMERA pretty much rivals any 16 MP point and shoot camera in the market!
5) PERFORMANCE:
Booting isn't very quick and once it reaches the home screen, there are very few - no lags during the normal operations. The only scenario I've experienced lags so far is when I try to preview the pictures I click on the camera. It takes nearly 2 seconds for the image to completely load up for zooming or any other actions after swiping left in the camera mode. May be it has to do with the file size, not sure. Otherwise, the 1.5 GHz Snapdragon 617 Octa-core (ARM A53) processor is doing a neat job in running the stock Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. I'm yet to test the performance of the Adreno 405 GPU extensively because I am not a huge fan of smartphone gaming.
Other than the pre-loaded apps that the device came with (not many), I've only installed the following apps - Facebook, WhatsApp, a Collage maker, ShareIt, and some app I don't remember. All open quickly, run well and have no problems so far.
(Gaming Update)
So far, I am addicted to one game - Shadow Fight. I had completed playing it on my iPhone 5 nearly two years ago but the small screen took away lot of fun. Although this time, the large screen, very responsive touch, a very able processor, more than sufficient RAM, and a graphic processor have all made playing the game such a fantastic experience on Moto G4 Plus. No hangs or lags while opening the game or while playing it even though the phone heats up a lot while playing!
6) WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY:
Both - Bluetooth (v4.1, A2DP, LE) and WiFi perform well but the downside of the WiFi is that it only supports the "a/b/g/n" standards - not the latest "ac" standard. Although Bluetooth connectivity isn't much useful for me, WiFi is a must. So far, the WiFi has worked flawlessly in terms of connectivity (no signal drop) and coverage area, but there's a drawback. Phone heats up a lot when downloading files on WiFi network and even when normal browsing. Browsing / download speeds are at par in accordance with the type of Wireless router / access point used. I use used my phone with a D-Link N-300 WiFi router and a Netgear N-300 WiFi router - no issues with the connectivity what so ever.
7) MEMORY and STORAGE:
16 GB variant of this phone comes with only 2 GB of RAM, out of which around 1.2 GB of RAM is always in use, and almost 10 GB of free space is available for storage. This isn't a huge problem if you aren't a power user or a gamer. The MicroSD card slot offers the option for additional storage of up to 128 GB, which we may need at some point in the future.
8) BIOMETRIC SENSOR (AKA Fingerprint Scanner)
This tiny little addition to the phone could have a huge positive impact on potential buyers in the price range of under 15k. Currently, its operations are limited to only unlocking the lock screen and authenticating Google Playstore purchases, but it does not work as Home button. However, it is the fastest and the most accurate working sensor I have seen yet, as it unlocks your lock-screen in a flash - even when the phone is in sleep! You don't need to press the power button first to unlock the device using the biometric sensor.
9) USER INTERFACE
Personally, this one's a let down. The icons are large and the overall UI feels nothing special. By default, the apps menu scrolls vertically and it doesn't feel right; like in the case of horizontal scrolling. This means we will have to install a 3rd party theme to make it look better and that alone could mess with the device's performance; especially if you install a theme that's buggy.
The "E", or "3G", or "LTE" Data notifications on the notification bar are always displayed even when the packet data is disabled. They simply get highlighted when Enabled. This is misleading, until you get used to it, which shouldn't have been the way it is now in the first place.
10) BATTERY & CHARGING
Slim and non-removable. A 3600 mAh battery would have been PERFECT for this phone in order to better take abuse from all kinds of users and usage. That being said, a full battery charge on this phone will last more than a day if you use it for calls, moderate Internet usage, and music, provided you haven't received a defective phone. It is the Camera that mainly sucks the battery dry quickly on prolonged usage, and downloading files on WiFi over the Internet.
Charging the phone is no longer a frustrating and time consuming process. The Turbo-power charger ensures the phone charges 0-100% in well under 100 minutes! Motorola calls it Turbo-power charging (as it appears on the screen when the charger is connected and plugged in). Also, a mere 15 minutes of charging gives the phone enough juice to last for hours of usage! This is possible because the charger provides the maximum power allowed for the fastest charging time (for instance, the first 15 mins), then dropping down to a lower voltage level after the battery recharges to around 70%. Finally, it reduces the voltage to the lowest level allowed for it to reach 100%. Hence, three different power output ratings mentioned on the charger AKA power adapter.
The charger looks bulky but it only gets a little warm while charging the phone, which is outstanding considering its power ratings!
(BATTERY UPDATE) - I made it a point to check the battery discharge rate while playing a game. Shadow Fight 2 is one of my favourite games that I play on this phone. Phone settings were as follows:
a. Location / GPS = OFF
b. WiFi = ON
c. Bluetooth = OFF
d. Sound Level = 1 (about 10%)
e. Battery Charge level = 98%
f. SIM cards active = 2 (with fluctuating signal strength each)
g. Background Apps = 0
h. App updates in progress = 0
I started playing the game at 12:00 AM and stopped playing it at 12:51 AM. The battery level after I stopped playing the game was at 80%. This indicates that 18% of battery charge discharged in ~52 mins of gaming. However, this does NOT indicate that we can continuously play the game 5 hrs straight. Some phones drain the battery faster as the charge reduces.
11) MUSIC (Speaker and Headphones)
The Mono speaker on the phone is not something with which you can totally enjoy music but it is not too bad either. Lower volume levels manage to churn out an enjoyable quality of music from the phone's speaker, provided you are in a calm environment.
Headphones, on the other hand, do a good job in reproducing music. Although I could not test them on this phone, I did use them with my Apple iPhone 5, on which the output was quite good. Bass, treble, vocals were all audible and effective for what it they are worth. Certainly not the best but not totally useless either. I'll update the review once I listen to music on the new phone.
12) OTHER FEATURES
- Multi-band,
dual Micro-SIM slots incl. are GSM + GSM (4G + 3G). Works with Nano SIM cards with the help of the nano SIM trays provided.
- Water repellent coating on screen.
- Front and Rear Mic. for better sound capturing during video recording. Weirdly, the front microphone is placed right next to the biometric scanner; on the face of the phone.
- 3.5 mm audio jack. If you aren't satisfied with the supplied headphones, you can always buy a better set of headphones, or you may use a different pair of headphones you already have.
- WiFi Direct and Hot-spot
- Double pressing Power button on lock screen opens the Camera app without having to unlock the phone.
- Flipping the phone twice quickly (front to back) when unlocked opens the Camera app.
- Flashlight can be enabled / disabled from the lock screen by swiping down the notification centre.
- A simple nudge to the phone when in standby shows the time and any notifications on the screen with very less power consumption (uses accelerometer to detect the movement of the phone).
- FM Radio with recording.
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CONS:
1) Device heats up a lot around the camera area while using Camera, while downloading files online (WiFi), and while charging. It does cool down fast when left in stand by.
2) Too much RAM usage even in stand-by. Only around 600 MB of usable RAM. Power users and Gamers beware - avoid the 16 GB model if possible!
3) No Stereo speakers (unlike in Moto G2). Earpiece acts as the mono speaker.
4) Maximum volume is not very loud but manageable.
5) Battery drains very quickly during camera and GPS usage.
6) The "Back", "Home", and the "Background apps" functionalities are on the display area above the Biometric scanner, that are on "auto-hide" until you perform some action on the screen. The better placement would have been on either sides of the Biometric scanner.
7) Biometric sensor has limited functionalities. Does not work as Home button.
8) No notification LED anywhere on the phone. Yes, you read it right.
(LED Update) - There is indeed a tiny LED towards the right hand side of the biometric sensor with only ONE PURPOSE - when you switch OFF the phone (or when it is off) and connect the Micro USB cable to charge the phone, it lights up twice briefly to indicate that the connector is working and that's about it! This is almost useless because the phone's screen lights up to indicate the phone charging; with percentage!
Hopefully, new Android updates make the LED more useful actions, such as "notifications".
9) Camera has no 720p, 60 FPS video mode.
10) Not possible to remove Memory Card and SIM cards without removing the back cover.
11) No charge / sync cable because the charger comes with fixed cable.
12) No Magnetic, Temperature, or Barometric sensors.
13) No "NFC" and / or IR Blaster.
14) No "Gallery". Forced to use either "Google Photos", or the pre-loaded "File Manager".
15) Headphones are not "in-ear" type.
16) No Compass.
17) No Power LED / indication on the power adapter / charger to see if it is working. The only way to check is to connect it to the phone.
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VERDICT:
After reading the review, if you are still doubting whether to buy the phone, then stop doubting. It is only slightly over-priced for what it offers but overall it is a satisfactory purchase.
Other reasonable alternatives to this phone are Samsung J7 (acceptable after-sales service) and One Plus X (bad after-sales service in some places), but they are not Motorola (acceptable after-sales service near my place).
CAUTION: Make sure you get a replacement if the heating issue is unacceptable, for it may be a defective piece.
NOTE: Make sure to check the images I've shared with this review. I'll share the images clicked on the phone once I make myself some free time.
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UPDATE (19/Jun/2016)
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I returned the 16 GB variant after a day's usage and have placed an order to the 32 GB variant (One day delivery).
The 16 GB model didn't seem right to me. With the HIGH RAM USAGE even during Stand-by (1.2 GB out of 2 GB), and only ~10 GB of usable Internal storage, it is definitely NOT future proof. This is not something every user should be worried about, as some people use it for calling / browsing / photo / video purposes only. If you aren't going to install a ton of apps, then you have nothing much to worry about. For extended storage, you can always opt to insert a Micro SDHC card up to 128 GB (phone supports Class 10 UHS 1 cards)!
I will update this review again in a couple of days, once I'm done playing with it until my satisfaction.
UPDATE (21/Jun/2016)
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My 32 GB variant of this phone arrived yesterday and it is working great so far. Here are a few RAM and Storage related information I noticed between the two variants, without installing any additional apps other than the ones that are pre-installed on it:
RAM:
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Total RAM - 2.8 GB
RAM used - 773 MB (27% of 2.8 GB)
RAM free - 2.1 GB (enough RAM left for multi-tasking and for gaming)
STORAGE:
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Internal Memory used - 718 MB / 25.38 GB
Memory used by Android - 6.62 GB
Total - 7.32 GB used / 32 GB
The lag when trying to review captured images is almost non-existent now. May be due to more free RAM available for usage.
UPDATE (04/Jul/2016) - Camera problems
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I use a SanDisk Ultra 16 GB Class 10 UHS 1 Micro SDHC memory card in my phone as the primary storage for the Camera app. Any photos and / or videos that I shoot on the phone automatically get saved to the Memory Card.
Two days ago, I was shooting videos of around 5 - 6 minutes each and had a series of problems with the usual Camera app.
a) I could not continue with the recording after I paused the recording as it froze and it did not even let me close the app for nearly 30 seconds. The phone was quite hot at this point, as usual.
b) When I tried to re-open the Camera app, the phone opened the Camera app with only a black screen with no feed from the Camera. It again froze for a few seconds before it allowed me to close the app.
c) When I tried to re-open the Camera app the third time, it blatantly threw the error "Unfortunately the camera has stopped working" or something similar to that. The only option to select was "OK", after which it closed again. This happened thrice in a row.
d) At this point, I restarted the phone and tried to use the camera again. Although it opened, the response was slow and even though it let me click photos, the video recording was cranky. Out of the 5 videos I shot, three fail to open with "Can't play this file" or something similar. The other two videos (shorter ones) have come out great.
I suspect, either the Memory Card is faulty, or it is the heating problem that caused the phone / camera to malfunction. I will update this review once I find the underlying cause of the problem and try to fix it.
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