Moto G4 Play is the latest budget offering and was announced couple of weeks back. The new budget device G4 Play is priced Rs 8,999 and comes with 5 inch HD display and is powered by Snapdragon 410 Quad core processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage.
It also comes with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box along with 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 5MP front camera. There is also a 2800mAh battery with rapid charging. So how does the Moto G4 Play perform and is it worth the money? Let’s check it out in this detailed review.
Design and Build:
Design-wise, there aren’t any changes in the new Moto G4 Play and it looks more or less similar to the G4 Plus. While most of the devices in this category have moved to metallic construction, Motorola has retained the plastic finishing. The rear panel has a matte finish with a flat back. There is a chrome accent around the device. The camera unit is a black strip on the rear panel with 8MP camera and LED flash. The top panel has 3.5mm audio jack while the micro USB is at the bottom.
The front panel has 5.0 inches HD display, front-facing camera and the front facing speaker unit. Moto G4 Play retains almost all the design cues of G4 Plus and while the G4 Play isn’t the best-looking phone out there, but build quality is still good.
Display:
Moto G4 Play comes with 5 inch HD display (1280 X 720) with Corning Gorilla glass 3 protection on it. The display quality looks quite good with decent colors and viewing angles. The touch response also looks good. Overall, the display on the Moto G4 Play is quite good and won’t disappoint you.
Software:
One of the best features of having a Motorola device has been the latest software and also future updates. Moto G4 Play comes with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box with stock experience. The UI is exactly the stock Android with no major change. The notification center is also the same implementation.
With Marshmallow, there have been some changes in Android including the option to check memory usage over a period of time. There is also an option to set the display color from the settings. You can also enable the System UI tweaker by pressing and holding the gear icon in the notification panel. This provides an additional option to tweak the quick toggles.
There is also a Moto app which is probably the only app which comes outside of stock Android. The Moto app provides you with some gestures which include switching on flashlight and camera. There is also a display option where you can see the notification when the display is turned off.
Overall, if you like the stock Android experience without any customizations, Moto G4 Play will not disappoint you.
Performance:
Moto G4 Play comes with the tried and tested Snapdragon410 quad core SoC coupled with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. SD 410 is the same chipset which powered the Moto G3 and is clocked at 1.4Ghz. The performance of the device in day to day tasks were quite good and did no exhibit any lags or issue, but when you push it harder with intensive gaming you could see it lag. We tested the phone with graphic rich games and it did show lag in few games. Ideally this device is not suited for heavy gaming considering the budget where it is offered. The heat generated while playing the games was not high and was under control.
The call quality of the phone was quite good and it comes with 4G LTE, dual SIM cards, micro SD card support along with VoLTE. The speaker performance was quite decent from the front facing speaker. The phone misses out on fingerprint scanner which is now becoming a norm even in budget category. The device has close to 12GB of storage available in the first boot and you can expand the storage using micro SD card. Moto G4 Play also comes with water repellent coating which was available in previous generation Moto G phones as well. So even if you use the phone in rains, it wont cause any damage. But the phone is not water resistance nor it has IP rating.
Overall, we found the performance (except gaming) to be quite good in day to day usage.
Camera:
The Moto G4 Play comes with 8MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture and LED flash along with 5MP front camera. Similar to the Moto G4 Plus, the G4 Play also packs a good camera for its price. The camera interface is quite similar to G4 Plus but misses out on few features and is a basic camera. It does come with HDR and Panorama. The 8MP shooter was quite a good performer in day light. The photos came out well with good colors and decent sharpness levels. The close up shots were also impressive with good color quality. Considering the price, we would say Moto has done a good job with the camera. But low light photos were not as impressive as the daylight with noise creeping in. If you are taking photos in extreme low light, you should be using the flash. The front facing camera was also quite good and produces good colors for selfies. Overall, we would say the camera on Moto G4 Play won’t disappoint you. Here are some of the camera samples taken with the device.
Battery Life:
Moto G4 Play comes with a 2800mAh battery with rapid charging support which provides 5 hours of battery life in 15 minutes according to the company. With a 2800mAh battery and smaller HD display to power, the battery performance was good. We tested the battery life of this device by using it as a daily driver and we could get good battery life and most of the times it ended up with slightly more than a day of usage with moderate usage.
For most users, the battery should easily last for a day and with rapid charging, you can quickly charge the device as well.
Verdict:
If you are looking for a budget device with latest Android and stock experience without any bloatware, then Moto G4 Play is the perfect choice with decent performance, good camera and battery life. But when you look at the competition at Rs 8,999 you will find that the Moto G4 Play is slightly overpriced especially with Redmi 3S Prime offering 3GB RAM, Fingerprint scanner, better battery life and also 32GB storage at the same price.
Moto G4 Play might not be the best value for money device, but definitely a good device to consider if you are not into gaming. If you plan to buy, you can get it from here.
Pros:
- Stock Android
- Good Cameras
- Decent Performance
- Water Repellent coating
- Good battery performance
Cons:
- Design and Build
- No fingerprint
- Poor Gaming
- Price
