Moto G4 Play Review: What Are The Pros And Cons?

Moto G4 Play Review

Recently, Motorola announced the $149 Moto G4 Play in the U.S. — which is the lowest price of an unlocked smartphone in the U.S. that I know of. And you can buy it for even cheaper on Amazon.com if you can tolerate ads on the lock screen and you are an Amazon Prime member. The price of the G4 Play on Amazon Prime is $99.99. This device further proves that Motorola’s strength is its ability to offer high-end hardware at a low cost. Thanks to Motorola’s marketing team, I was able to get my hands on the Moto G4 Play and put together this review.

Design

The Moto G4 Play has a thin frame at 9.9mm and the weight is 4.83 ounces (0.31 pounds). At the top-front of the G4 Play is a front-facing speaker. And at the bottom is the micro USB charger port. The 3.5mm headphone jack is at the top of the G4 Play.

On the back of the G4 Play is a plastic cover and it can be peeled from the bottom. The edges of the G4 Play are rounded, making it easier to grip in the palm of your hand. The Moto G4 is available in two colors: black and white.

What features seem to be missing from the G4 Play? The G4 Play does not have a fingerprint sensor like the G4 Plus does. And the G4 Play is not as durable as devices like the Galaxy S7 and the iPhone 7 because it does not come with an IP rating. And it does not have near field communications (NFC). However, the G4 Play does have water repellent nano-coating so it is protected from splashes and rain.

Pro: The Moto G4 is lightweight and packed with solid hardware.

Con: Missing features like NFC are kind of a bummer.

Display

The display on the G4 Play has lower specifications than the Moto G4 and G4 Plus. Those devices have a 5.5-inch full HD display (1920 x 1080 pixels) at 401ppi whereas the G4 Play has a 5” HD (720 x 1280 pixels) at 294ppi. That means the display of the G4 Play is the same size as the third generation Moto G.

Pro: By making the display smaller in the G4 Play, it makes the device easier to grip.

Con: Unfortunately, the display has a lower resolution — which makes it less sharp than the other G4 devices.

User Interface

Another advantage of the Moto G4 Play is the user interface. The user interface of the Moto G4 Play lacks nagware, thus making it faster than other Android devices. This makes the navigation much faster to use. Out of the box, the G4 Play ships with a stock-like version of the Google Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) operating system.

Plus there aren’t many preinstalled applications that ship with the G4 Play. Some of the stock apps that come with the G4 Play includes Google, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Drive, Google Hangouts, Google Calendar and Google Photos.

Pro: The lack of clutter in the operating system makes the G4 Play much more intuitive than other Android devices.

Con: The lack of bells and whistles makes it less appealing to consumers that want higher end smartphones. For example, you won’t be able to record in 4K using the G4 Play nor does it have a fingerprint sensor.

Processor

The G4 Play has a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor paired with an Adreno 306 GPU. Unfortunately, this processor was not upgraded from the third-generation Moto G. This processor was announced in December 2013 and it was specifically designed for lower cost devices in developing countries. Even though it is an outdated processor, it does a great job at handling productivity apps. However, you will notice games having lagging issues.

Pro: The Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor is sufficient for handling productive tasks using the G4 Play.

Con: It is unfortunate that the G4 Play has an outdated processor instead of a new one.

RAM

The Moto G4 Play comes with 2GB of RAM. This is 2GB less than the 4GB RAM in the 64GB version of the G4 Plus. And the 2GB of RAM specification is also comparable to the 16GB version of the Moto G (3rd generation), which also has 2GB of RAM.

Pro: 2GB is a solid amount of RAM especially for a device that has a starting price of $99.

Con: Even though the amount of RAM integrated in the device is substantial, the CPU is what drives the speed and that is slightly outdated.

Camera

The Moto G4 Play has an 8-megapixel rear f/2.2 camera with an LED flash and autofocus. On the front of the G4 Play is a 5-megapixel camera, which is pretty solid for taking selfies. As a comparison, the G4 has a 13-megapixel camera and the G4 Plus has a 16-megapixel camera. Plus the G4 Play camera supports HDR so that helps balance the exposure of the photos that you take with it. The cameras can record in 1080p and 720p.

Pro: Having 8 megapixels on the back and 5 megapixels on the front with a starting price of $99 is a solid offering.

Con: The camera on the Moto G4 Play tends to struggle in low light conditions and the video recordings can be a bit shaky.

Battery

Packed inside of the Moto G4 Play is a 2,800 mAh battery, which gives it enough juice to last the whole day without having to recharge. This is up from 2470 mAh in the Moto G (third generation). The battery is removable so you can keep a spare battery around as a backup. According to TechRadar, it takes about 2 hours to fully charge the device from 0 to 100%.

Pro: The 2,800 mAh battery ensures that you could have as much as a day or a day and a half of phone usage available.

Con: The charger that comes with the G4 Play embedded so you can detach the USB cable and connect it to your computer. I would recommend buying a separate Quick Charge 2.0 charger instead of using the one that comes in the box.

Storage

There are two storage tier options for the Moto G4 Play: 16GB and 32GB. However, there is support for up to an additional 128GB of storage using a microSD card.

Pro: The ability to expand up to 128GB using a microSD card is convenient. This means you can save a ton of music, photos and video files on the device with the additional storage. Plus Google offers unlimited photo storage through Google Photos, which is seamlessly integrated into the Moto G4 Play.

Con: The internal storage options seem to be on the lower end of the scale for smartphones for what you would expect in 2016. Storage tiers offered by other smartphones generally start at 32GB and then go as high as 256GB.

Overall Impression

If you are looking for a smartphone at a low cost, then the Moto G4 Play pros outweigh the cons. With a starting price of $99.99 unlocked and support for all four major U.S. carriers, it seems tough for other manufacturers to beat the Moto G4.

There are some minor differences that the lower cost G4 Play has from the G4 and G4 Plus. For example, the G4 Play does not support the karate chop shortcut motion for turning on the flashlight. But if you manage what to expect from a smartphone due to the low cost, then you will likely be satisfied. I actually recommend this device for someone that is on a budget, someone that is getting a smartphone for the first time or someone that is switching from a feature phone for the first time.