Moto G4 Plus Hands-on: The mid-range phone to watch

After a confusing unveiling last week, the MobileSyrup team got a chance to go hands-on with Motorola’s latest mid-range smartphone, the Moto G4 Plus.

I suspect the G4 Plus will be a compelling device for those looking to spend a reasonable amount of money on their next smartphone.

While we don’t have exact pricing yet, the Motorola spokesperson that briefed us on the phone said it will cost approximately $400 outright in Canada, and it comes with a number of interesting features for that price.

To start, for far less money than the iPhone 6s Plus, Canadians will be able get a camera that is comparable to the one found on Apple’s latest flagship device, at least according to DxOMark, the website many consider to be the gold standard when it comes to camera reviews.

In the short time I’ve had with it, the G4 Plus’ camera has performed well enough. Notable new features include a new professional mode where the user can adjust settings like ISO, exposure, white balance and shutter speed to get the perfect shot.

The phone also boasts both laser autofocus and PDAF, which, in limited testing, led to the G4 Plus quickly and accurately focusing in on subjects.

The included fingerprint scanner likewise works well. One thing to note about it is that it doesn’t double as a home button; the standard Android software navigation are all present. Motorola said it found in focus testing users asked the company to keep navigation close to stock Android standards.

One potential issue I see coming up is performance. The Moto G4 Plus includes Qualcomm’s modest Snapdragon 617 processor, not one of the two more powerful processors that are also in the 600 family, and while some markets will get a variant that comes with 3G of RAM, in Canada only the 2GB version of the G4 Plus will be available. Based on my experience with the Nexus 5X, 2GB of RAM is not nearly enough to keep things humming along on Marshmallow, but I’ll have to see after I’ve had more time with the phone.

Otherwise, minus some minor changes to Motorola-specific software experiences like Moto Display, this is the same great software experience that on the Moto X Play last year.

The G4 Plus is set to come to Canada this summer. Expect to see the phone at Virgin, Koodo, Telus, Rogers, Wind Mobile and Sasktel.

Likewise, expect to see a full review of the device on MobileSyrup in a week or two. In the meantime, tell us what you think of Motorola’s latest midrange phone in the comment section.

The G4’s more affordable counterpart, the Moto G Play, will be available later this summer, and will retail for between $150 CAD and $200 CAD. The less powerful and smaller device features a display that measures in at 5-inches.

Patrick O’Rourke also contributed to this story.

Related reading: Lenovo’s Moto G4 Plus and G4 Play are coming to Canada this summer