Now Motorola has launched two variants of G4 with slight changes. These include Moto G4 Plus (Review) priced at Rs 13,499 and Moto G4 priced at Rs 12,499. G4 Plus has slightly more features. And this phone is available in two storage and memory variants, while Moto G4 is a basic option and is more affordable. Today in the review of Moto G4, we will know whether the difference in the price of these two smartphones is really justified? And is Moto G4 a profitable deal?
Look and Design
Many big changes have been made in the new Moto G4 compared to the previous G series smartphone, but there is very little difference between Moto G4 and G4 Plus. The size, weight and look of both the smartphones are also the same, due to which it becomes difficult to differentiate between them. But there is no physical home button in Moto G4, due to which it can be identified differently from Moto G4 Plus. A small microphone has definitely been provided just like the Moto G4 Plus.
The Moto G4 Plus didn’t have Motorola’s trademark stereo speaker arrangement due to the fingerprint sensor but Motorola has conveniently designed it into the G4. However, the phone has a single loudspeaker at the top near the earpiece which simply means the phone doesn’t deliver the great sound one would expect.
Everything else on the phone is exactly the same as the G4 Plus. The power and volume buttons are on the right side, the micro-USB port is at the bottom and the 3.5mm socket is at the top. The plastic rear cover is removable but users cannot replace it. The power and volume buttons feel flimsy and are difficult to operate.
The Moto G4 has a 5.5-inch full-HD IPS LCD screen, which is the same as the Moto G4 Plus. The screen occupies 71.2 percent of the front of the phone. The screen is quite bright, the colors are great and the phone can be used well even in sunlight. The black level is good for an IPS LCD screen and Gorilla Glass 3 has been provided to protect it from any kind of scratches and damage. The screen is quite sharp and its density is 401 ppi. The screen is good for a phone of this price.
On buying Moto G4, you will get a charger with quick-charge technology in the box. The turbo charger that comes with G4 is of 14.4 watts instead of 25 watts given with G4 Plus. But this is a modular unit, with which you will also get a USB cable along with the wall charger. Which means that you will not need a separate cable to transfer data with G4 Plus. Earphones also come with the phone but their quality cannot be said to be very good.
Specifications and software
Moto G4 has almost the same specifications as G4 Plus. The major difference between the two phones is the fingerprint sensor and different camera sensors. This phone has Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor and 3000 mAh battery. The phone has 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage (expandable up to 128 GB via microSD card). Moto G is available in only one storage and RAM variant, while G4 Plus also comes in 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage variant at a price of Rs 14,999. If compared to G4 Plus priced at Rs 13,499, you will get fingerprint sensor and slightly less quality camera for less than Rs 1,000.
Moto G4 has 4G support on the primary SIM and supports Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi A/B/G/N. This Moto phone has USB-OTG and FM radio but NFC connectivity is not provided.
The Moto G4 runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with a near-stock user interface that uses Google Now as the default launcher. While many previous Motorola smartphones have had some software pre-installed, the Moto G4 is closer to stock than its predecessors. The phone does not have a gallery app and users are prompted to use Google Photos, which also offers to backup photos in their original resolution for up to two years without using up cloud storage space. Other functions such as SMS, clock, and calendar are also run through Google’s built-in app.
The phone also has the familiar Moto app, which lets you turn on or stop the torch and camera with just a gesture. Apart from this, there is also a Moto Display that adjusts the screen to show you phone notifications in low-power mode.
Camera
The camera of Moto G4 is different from G4 Plus in two ways. While G4 Plus has a 16 megapixel primary camera with laser and phase detection autofocus, G4 has a 13 megapixel camera with simple contrast detection autofocus. The phone has a 5 megapixel front camera. There is dual-LED flash on the rear. The phone can record 1080 pixel video at 30 frames per second while 540 pixel video can be recorded in slow motion at 120 frames per second.
The camera app is the company’s standard Moto Camera and is well designed. The flash, self-timer, HDR and camera switching are easy to toggle in the viewfinder, while the other options let you toggle on various shooting modes like stills, video, panorama, slow-motion video and professional mode. Swiping from left to right brings up the settings menu and you can change the resolution, shutter sound and other settings. It’s a good app that’s pretty easy to use.
When it comes to colours, the images look great. However, there is a lack of detailing, especially in the brighter parts of the images which get oversaturated. The lack of detailing in the images becomes more visible when you zoom in.
Videos are great when shot at 1080p but there is a lack of detail in slow-motion videos. But videos are fine when shot in slow motion mode at 540p. But photos are not very good in low light. Overall, the camera of Moto G4 is decent and you will get much better photos than G4 Plus.
Performance
The Moto G4 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor that was first seen in the HT One A9 (Review). The smartphone is touted as offering better mid-range performance and battery life than Qualcomm’s previous processor. However, it’s nowhere near the powerful Snapdragon 650 processor that powers the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Review), which not only costs less than the Moto G4 but also comes with more RAM and storage.
But apart from that, this mid-range phone is reliable. Sometimes the phone gets a bit hot but overall it works without any major issues. The phone gave good benchmarking figures.
In our video loop test, the battery of Moto G4 lasted us for about 12 hours. The battery of the phone is almost similar to that of G4 Plus. In normal use, after a full charge, we were able to use the phone for a whole day (even on 4G connectivity). The charger that comes with the phone is not as quick as the charger of Moto G4 Plus but this device works well.
Our decision
The Moto G4 is a fantastic phone in every way. It has a good design, looks great and comes with great, up-to-date software. However, it doesn’t have what it takes to stand out in the sub-Rs 15,000 smartphone segment and faces stiff competition from the Moto G4 Plus.
Moto G4 is Rs 1,000 cheaper than Moto G4 Plus (Review). We would recommend you to pay Rs 1,000 more and buy Moto G4 Plus. In this phone, you will get fingerprint sensor, better camera and more powerful charger. And if you can spend a little more money, then you can also get 3 GB / 32 GB storage variant. And if you do not want to increase the budget, then you can buy Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 ( at a lower price.Review) is a much better option.
There is only one reason to buy the Moto G4 and that is if you have a very limited budget and you don’t want to stretch it but the stock Android experience is important to you. But if this is not your requirement then we cannot recommend you to buy the Moto G4.