Lenovo's Moto G and Moto G Plus Have Grown in Size and Specs
Moto G
Moto G Plus
This year's fourth generation of the popular Moto G series of affordable smartphones by Lenovo is available in three distinct variants — Moto G, Moto G Plus, and Moto G Play. The first two are the most buzzworthy members of the trio, as they take the lineup upmarket by growing in screen size and specs compared to their predecessors.
The phones that constitute the Moto G series are not the best smartphones Lenovo makes (this honor is reserved for the rather great Moto Z duo), but they are surely the most important ones. Solely responsible for putting the Moto brand back on the smartphone map, Moto G phones have sold in millions since the series' debut a few years ago.
In the Metal
Moto G and Moto G Plus look almost completely identical — only the fingerprint sensor of the latter separates it from its more affordable sibling. With that in mind, thanks to their rounded corners, signature dimple on the back, and chromed earpiece, the newcomers clearly belong to the Moto G family.
It's worth noting that, in the process of getting bigger, the latest Moto G and Moto G Plus have lost a bit of their predecessors' visual allure. The curved back of their predecessors, which invited interaction, has been replaced by a much duller flat solution.
The front-placed fingerprint sensor of the Moto G Plus is one design quirk that we didn't love. Not only is it oddly shaped, but it also doesn't double as a home button like it should. We found ourselves intuitively pressing it on quite a few occasions.
Just like last year's Moto G, users can opt to customize the looks of its successors in Moto Maker. By choosing the color for the device's front, back cover, and camera accents, buyers can truly make it their own. There's even an option to engrave it.
Both smartphones are solidly built, using sturdy polycarbonate and Corning Gorilla Glass 3. They are splash-resistant too — though, unfortunately, not fully waterproof like the third-generation Moto G.
Hardware
This year's Moto G and Moto G Plus share a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chipset, a 5.5-inch Full HD display, and a 3,000 mAh battery. Depending on the model, users can choose between 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of expandable memory, and 2GB or 4GB of RAM. The largest onboard memory and RAM options are solely available for the Moto G Plus.
The display in particular is a massive leap forward for the product family not only in size, but also in resolution. In addition to being plenty sharp, it offers pleasant color reproduction, as well as well sorted contrast and viewing angles.
The Moto G packs a 13MP camera, while the Moto G Plus features a more capable 16MP snapper. Both phones have 5MP snappers for selfies.
The usual set of wireless connectivity options is present in each phone. Both devices are 7.9 millimeters thick and weigh 155 grams.
Performance and Battery Life
Qualcomm's midrange Snapdragon 617 SoC offers plenty of oomph for all common smartphone tasks, so the Moto G and Moto G Plus feel responsive and reasonably snappy on most occasions. Running multiple apps at the same time, however, tends to slow the variants with 2GB of RAM, though this shouldn't come as a surprise — just about any smartphone with less than 3GB of RAM will exhibit the same trait.
The fingerprint sensor of the Moto G Plus unlocks the device instantly as expected. The front facing speaker is also a solid performer.
The battery life of both smartphones is stellar. Both the Moto G and Moto G Plus will easily make it through a full day of normal use. Support for rapid charging, on the other hand, ensures that users can get hours of usage after only a few minutes of charging.
User Interface
Moto G and Moto G Plus run Android Marshmallow out of the box. Just like in the last Moto G iteration, save for a few small tweaks — such as always-on display and a few gesture controls — the interface is almost completely stock. This is good news, as a clutter-free Android experience was one of the main reasons why the Moto G smartphones became so popular.
Having a nearly stock Android build also bodes well for the device's future firmware update prospects. Users of both the Moto G and the Moto G Plus will probably not have to wait long before receiving the freshly launched Android Nougat.
Camera
Unsurprisingly, Moto G and Moto G Plus share the same camera interface. Its layout is sleek and intuitive to use. We were also happy to see that the company's signature wrist gesture for launching the camera app is also on board.
Because of its more capable 16MP camera sensor, the Moto G Plus takes much better pictures than the regular Moto G. The photos have more detail, as well as better dynamic range and color reproduction.
The Moto G on the other hand, captures stellar daylight photos, but struggles quite a bit in less than perfect lighting conditions. Overall, it performed in line with the expectations set by its price tag.
Both devices can capture Full HD video, as well as slow-motion footage. The latter, however, is only available in much lower qHD resolution.
Wrap Up
Moto G and Moto G Plus are the best equipped members of the product family to date. However, the larger screen and the improved specs has arrived at the expense of duller design and lack of waterproofing — two features that were essential to making the previous Moto G a success.
Pricing of the regular Moto G starts at $200 for a variant with 16GB of built-in memory and 2GB of RAM. A version with 32GB of memory costs another $30. Amazon also offers a version of the phone, whose lockscreen displays ads, for $150.
The Moto G Plus on the other hand, costs $250 for a phone with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. A budget of $300, on the other hand, will land you a fully loaded Moto G Plus with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of memory.
Both smartphones are solid entries in their price ranges despite the above shortcomings. However, despite it being the lesser sibling, we still think that the Moto G is the the one to go for. Buyers who don't care about a large display, on the other hand, should consider last year's waterproof Moto G.
In $300 top-spec guise, the Moto G Plus faces seriously polished competitors, headed by the likes of LG Nexus 5, LG G4, and the great Nextbit Robin. The all-metal HTC One A9 is another excellent rival with a similar price tag.
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Photos by Stefan Vazharov
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