Motorola Moto The G4 is a great budget smartphone, but pay $50 more and you get an even better model.

Motorola Moto G4 — Reviews

Three years have passed since the original Moto G became the king of budget smartphones on the market. Android based. It offers impressive specs at a low price, and continues to be a top-selling phone in this line of devices. Since then, there have been many changes and Lenovo bought Motorola Mobility from Google, but the Moto G line continues to be a great option for budget smartphone buyers.

A smartphone that can be bought for as little as $200 has changed a lot over the years, and many companies already offer their line of affordable phones. Can the Moto brand continue to be popular under Lenovo's leadership? The Moto G4 is a great example that the G series has no intention of losing its title of best budget smartphone anytime soon.

Size of the new Motorola Moto G4

The size of the Moto G4 immediately catches the eye. It has a 5.5-inch screen, so the device can be categorized as a phablet. Smartphones are getting bigger every day, and Lenovo is keeping up with the trend, so the Lenovo Moto G4 and its improved version, the Moto G4 Plus, impress with their size. Of course, it can be uncomfortable for people with a small palm, but for most, it will not be difficult to hold it in one hand.

The Motorola Moto G4 boasts features that set the bar high for budget phones, but not the design. It still has a rounded body and plastic construction, but now it has a more pleasant appearance, especially at this price.

The G4 is 9.8mm thick, and its rounded gray body blends into a darker plastic back. The speaker on the front is subtly grayed out, while the speaker on the back is located next to the camera.

The standard 3.5mm headphone jack is on the top, while the Micro USB charging port is on the bottom. On the right side there is a power off button, and just below it is a double volume rocker. Well, there is nothing on the left.

There is a small hole on the back of the Moto G4, on the lower left edge, which you can pry up to remove the cover and find 2 slots next to the attached battery: one for the MicroSD card, the other for the Micro SIM.

The gray body color and dark blue back of the phone won't be to everyone's liking, but you can use Moto Maker to choose the exact color of the Moto G4 that you like. You can order the case in silver or choose from eight different colors for the back, including even raspberry pink.

big screen

Of course, it's the 5.5-inch screen that grabs the most attention, which has full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels). The screen gives a clear and bright image, with a density of 401 pixels per inch (PPI). By comparison, the iPhone 6S display PPI is only 326. So a $200 budget phone has a better screen than a $650+ branded smartphone.

This is all the more surprising since cheap devices used to have low resolution and dim screens in the past, but those days are long gone. With the release of the Moto G4, the 720p screen resolution of budget smartphones has become completely obsolete, as Lenovo has chosen a 1080p screen for the Moto G4 and set the bar high.

The large display is ideal for watching movies, games and web browsing. There were no problems with viewing angles, and the adaptive screen brightness makes it possible to read even in sunlight.

Convenient features and smooth operation

Such an impressive wide screen is backed up by a solid set of features. He has a chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 617, which combines eight nuclear processor, which includes quad-core processors with clock frequency 1.5GHz and 1.2GHz, with Adreno 405 GPU. It may seem like 2 GB random access memory not enough, but in practice it is clear that the phone works smoothly and with virtually no delays.

When moving from more powerful smartphone you may notice that many games and applications run a little slower here. There is also sometimes a slight pause when switching from one application to another, and yet not enough to make it difficult to work.

The Moto G4 has no problem running the most popular games, as has been proven in Pokemon GO, Marvel Future Fight, and Ghostbusters: Slime City. While the last two games caused the phone to run a little warm, image lag and other issues were minimal.

When tested with the Geekbench 3 benchmark, the Moto G4 achieved a high multi-core score of 3,041. In comparison, the more expensive Oppo F1 scored 2,621 on the same test.

The Galaxy S7 Edge scored 5,370, but few people really need the performance that the latest flagships offer at a much higher price. And when checking AnTuTu, Moto G4 scored 45,222 points, which is a good result.

Summing up, we can say that the new Motorola Moto G4 cannot be called an ideal option for fans of the latest games with better graphics, but still it does an excellent job with all the needs of most people. This smartphone in many ways surpasses the flagships of two years ago, and this is an excellent result for a budget phone.

No doubt the base model's 16GB of storage is a significant downside, especially since Android alone takes up 5.18GB, but there's a microSD layer that can add up to 256GB more. Alternatively, you can spend an additional $30 to get the 32GB version.

Also, many are upset by the lack of a fingerprint sensor on this smartphone, but the problem can be solved if you spend another $ 50 and buy the Lenovo Moto G4 Plus, which has this scanner.

The phone supports all the latest wireless networks, including Bluetooth 4.1, as well as the latest Wi-Fi and GPS standards. The only downside is that there is no NFC, which means you won't be able to enjoy Android Pay.

Android based Moto apps

Thanks to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, Moto G4 runs very smoothly. We can say that the Android system is perfect for this smartphone, and there are no unnecessary applications. So, if you use Moto G4, you will have all the best that Google has, and no viruses.

You can find all Moto features in the other apps folder. Thanks to them, you can significantly diversify the work and make it even better. For example, you can set notifications to appear when the screen is off, and always be in the know.

Since the Moto G4 is open to work with the most popular mobile operators around the world, it is to be hoped that Lenovo will continue to update its Android version in a timely manner.

Enduring battery

The device is equipped with a 3000 mAh battery, which is enough to live your life and not worry about the phone running out of power in the middle of the day. Adaptive brightness and 1080p resolution help keep power consumption under control despite the large display.

Studies have shown that spending a typical day making calls, messaging, surfing the Internet, and even spending a little time playing simple games, a person will drain the Moto G4 to about 20 percent. However, the game Marvel Future Fight consumed 5 percent of the battery in 10 minutes, which means that all mobile gamers should be careful.

It is worth noting that despite this, the G4 supports fast charging batteries, but you won't get a suitable charger in the box. If you use the charger that comes in the box with this smartphone, you will have to wait about three hours for a full charge. However, if you use a USB hub, the Lenovo Moto G4 battery will be fully charged in about an hour.

Great camera for a budget phone

Inexpensive phones often have bad cameras, but the Moto G4 excels in this aspect as well. Here you can almost instantly turn on the camera and take a picture, although in HDR mode(high dynamic range) you will have to spend more time and keep the device in a stable position.

The Moto G4 has a 13-megapixel F/2.0 aperture main camera and a 5-megapixel F/2.2 aperture front camera. Both cameras have an HDR mode set to auto.

When you open the camera for the first time, you will be prompted to choose whether you want to simply take a photo by tapping the screen or use the camera button. We can recommend using the second option, because this way you can immediately select the desired topic. In addition, you get a circular brightness control that can be easily adjusted, which is especially useful for shooting indoors.

You can also use the dual volume rocker for ease of shooting, which is especially handy when you need to keep the camera steady when shooting in HDR mode. You can also quickly launch the camera simply by twisting your wrist twice, one of the handy supported Moto gestures.

The resulting pictures are good, especially considering that they were taken on budget phone. In order to get especially high-quality photographs, you need to take into account many details known to all photographers, especially since optical stabilization on this smartphone is not, and any movement will lead to a blurry image.

You have to be patient and careful, especially with HDR. But still, this mode increases the brightness and draws attention to every detail, whether it's a landscape or a photo. close-up so it's worth being careful.

You can pre-set your phone for shooting great photos. However, the Moto G4's camera doesn't perform well in low light, and photos from the dual-LED flash come out yellowish and blurry.

There is a professional shooting mode that gives you access to white balance, ISO settings, and more. It is worth noting that the manual mode is a rarity for a budget phone.

You will get a good selfie with the front camera, which also has useful feature timer. The quality is underwhelming, but you can still record 1080p video at 30fps, which is pretty good. In addition, you can shoot in slow motion, and simple tools are available for video editing, which allows you to adjust the speed for different segments.

It's worth noting that the Motorola Moto G4 Plus has an excellent 16-megapixel autofocus camera with laser autofocus, so if you're a professional photographer, it's only worth paying $50 more.

Motorola Moto G4 Warranty Information

The Moto G4 comes with a standard one-year warranty, so any material or workmanship that is found to be defective will be replaced free of charge, but of course this does not cover accidental damage or wear and tear. The Motorola Moto G4 is water resistant, but not completely waterproof, so keep it out of the water.

Outcome

You are unlikely to find best smartphone at this price. The only device that comes close to the Motorola Moto G4 in terms of value for money is Huawei Honor The 5X is an all-metal phone with almost the same features and a fingerprint sensor. However, the 5X has a rather heavy set on top of Android. user interface, plus it has absolutely no water resistance, so it cannot be considered equal to the Moto G4.

Lenovo has built everything that most users need into the G4: a large display, smooth controls, good camera and durable battery.

You could say that the improved camera and fingerprint sensor offered by the G4 Plus cost an extra $50, but then, for example, the OnePlus 3 costs an extra $150. It all comes down to what budget you have.

So, if you are going to spend $200 on a phone, you should take the Lenovo Moto G4. And if you can push your budget up to $400 and really want to play the best games on your smartphone, check out the OnePlus 3 or ZTE Axon 7, which can be considered flagship killers.

The Moto G line continues to push the boundaries of what we should expect from budget Android smartphones. The good news is that the Moto G4 does not have serious drawbacks, but again we remind you, pay extra, and you can buy the Moto G4 Plus, which has even more advantages.

Motorola Moto G4 - video review

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Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen.) is the latest, and undoubtedly the most successful generation of the popular inexpensive smartphone from Motorola. A huge number of satisfied users and the vast majority of positive reviews are direct confirmation of this. In this review, we will consider the most "running" modification of the model - Moto G XT1550.

The appearance and body of the smartphone Motorola Moto G 3gen

The package bundle of the smartphone is as Spartan as possible: the box contains the device itself, a charger with a built-in microUSB cable and paper documentation. The design of the Moto G 3 is fully consistent with the brand's signature features, while at the same time it looks fresh and attractive. There are only two color options for the case - white and black, but for the back cover it is already provided 10 different colors.

The front panel of the smartphone is covered with tempered protective glass Gorilla Glass 3. Below and above the display are grilles of multimedia and conversational speakers. Also, above the display there is a front camera eye and a light sensor. The side frames of the Moto G XT1550 are made of plastic, but due to the fact that they are gray, they are painfully reminiscent of metal. Everything physical buttons gadget displayed on the right side of the case. The on/off button of the smartphone display has a ribbed surface, and the volume rocker is smooth, so you won’t be able to confuse the control buttons by touch.

The back panel of the case has a semicircular shape, due to which the smartphone fits in the palm of your hand like a glove. On it is an unchanged branded plate with the main camera, dual LED flash and the Motorola brand logo. On the top of the case there is a 3.5 mm audio jack and an additional microphone, on the bottom of the case there is a microUSB input. The removable back cover of the device is made of polycarbonate with a silvery white surface. Below it are two slots for SIM cards in MicroSim format and a slot for microSD memory cards up to 32 GB. The lid sits very tightly, making the Moto G 3 gen 2016 look quite monolithic.

The dimensions of the smartphone are quite standard for its class. The length of the apparatus is 142.1 mm, the width is 72.4, and the maximum thickness is 11.6 mm. At the same time, Motorola Moto Ji of the 3rd generation weighs 155 grams. The phone is protected from dust and moisture. IPX7- this means that it will withstand 30 minutes of immersion in water up to one meter deep. Nevertheless, we do not recommend specifically testing the phone in this way - let it remain a pleasant bonus in case of rain or an accidental fall into the water.

Display, specifications and performance of the Motorola Moto G 3rd smartphone

Display Motorola smartphone Moto G 3 gen is made using IPS technology and has a diagonal of five inches. Display resolution is relatively small 1280 by 720 dots(HD), but due to the high pixel density (294 ppi), graininess is not observed. The matrix has wide viewing angles and a good margin of brightness - even in the sun the screen remains readable. The capacitive display sensor supports up to ten simultaneous touches, making it possible to play games that require multi-finger MultiTouch.

The smartphone is powered by quad-core Qualcomm processor MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 with a clock frequency of 1.4 GHz and a Qualcomm Adreno 306 graphics chip. The Moto G XT1550 has 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of built-in memory, which can be expanded using a microSD memory card up to 32 GB. Such a “set” is quite enough for the phone to work comfortably with most applications and smooth operation even of fairly demanding games.

True, only on medium graphics settings. In a performance test in Antutu Benchmark v6.1.4 smartphone scored 32310 points - not the highest among competitors in its price category.

Motorola Moto G gen 3 smartphone cameras

The 3rd generation Motorola Moto G Dual received fairly high-quality cameras that some smartphones from a higher price segment can envy.

The main camera of Moto G 3 has a 13-megapixel module with f/2.0 aperture, autofocus and dual LED flash. At good lighting the camera "gives out" pictures of excellent quality, with fairly natural colors. In the evening, the quality of the photo, of course, "sags", but still remains at a very good level. The number of settings for the main camera is rather modest, but no one forbids using alternative photo and video shooting applications with a wider range of settings. In addition, the main Motorola camera Moto G 3gen performs great in automatic mode- so you are unlikely to need third-party "cameras".

The front camera of the smartphone is 5 megapixel with a fixed focus. The module has an f / 2.0 aperture, and the display can be used as a flash in low light. The quality of pictures and video of the front camera is quite good for both selfies and video conferences. Both Moto cameras G 3rd can shoot Full HD video resolution 1080p. Recorded videos are of excellent quality, the frames do not “sag”, and the picture has practically no defects. The main camera of the smartphone can also shoot in Slow Motion mode.

"Pure" Android and a few nice "chips" Moto G 3gen

Working Moto smartphone G XT1550 on a "clean" version of the operating Android systems 6.0.1 Marshmallow - no additional shell from the manufacturer. Thanks to this, the RAM of the device is maximally unloaded - another plus for the speed of the gadget. Any missing software can always be downloaded from Google Play market.

The device has several interesting features. For example, there is a function to activate the flashlight with a double "shake", with deactivation by the same method. It is also possible to display notifications on the switched off screen of the smartphone, after the user picks it up.
Motorola Moto G 3 battery has a capacity 2470 mAh. It should be enough for 24 hours of average active use of the device.

True, it will take a long time to charge it - about 4 hours. The reason for this is a weak complete charger for 550 mA.

Video review of the smartphone Motorola Moto G 3gen from Allo.ua

Moto G 3rd is not the cheapest, but perfectly balanced smartphone

The Motorola Moto G gen 3 is a perfect example of what a mid-range smartphone should be. Balanced features will help you complete most tasks and run even the latest 3D games, smartphone cameras will take high-quality photos and videos, and the appearance of the device will not leave indifferent even the most demanding users of design. The price of a 3rd generation Motorola Moto G smartphone today is about $230 - many direct competitors, especially Chinese ones, are significantly cheaper, for example, the new budget smartphone Meizu M3s mini. But this is Motorola, and this device fully justifies its price.

While China is fighting for a buyer in the mid- and low-budget segments, Motorola showed its updated Moto G, the cost of which can be interpreted as a budget only with an eye to the brand name and the fact that the device is intended for sale primarily in wealthy Europe and the United States of America . We have prepared for the reader's judgment the first in runet full review Motorola Moto G 3rd gen!

Packaging and equipment

Appearance and ergonomics

I am convinced that it is not enough to create an attractive corporate design of devices, you need to tirelessly follow it and gradually accustom users to it. Few mobile device manufacturers go down this path, but Motorola is trying. Since relaunching the brand in 2013, the company has managed to create a catchy style that appeals to some, repels others, but few can call it gaudy. The Moto G 3 looks fresh, but its design is mostly an evolution of ideas from previous models.

The entire front surface is occupied by Gorilla Glass 3, while the back of the device is covered by a polycarbonate panel, the surface of which has a rough ribbed texture. The glass and the lid are separated by a frame made of silvery plastic stylized as metal, all other elements, including the frame of the camera module and mechanical buttons, are also plastic. One of the features of Moto G 3 is that the user can refresh the look of the phone over time by changing the native back cover to a new one of a different color or surface texture.

The second important feature of the device is the presence of protection according to the IPX7 standard, which implies the possibility of immersing the smartphone in fresh water to a depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. However, the case is not protected from dust.

The smartphone cannot be called compact - its thickness in the middle is 11.6 mm, but due to the sloping shape of the case, the device fits comfortably in the hand. In general, Moto G 3 is very ergonomic, you can only find fault with the location of the ringing speaker - it can be muffled if the phone is screen down, and the location of the power button - it would be better if it was under the volume rocker, and not above her.

Screen

Diagonal and screen resolution in Motorola Moto G 3, in comparison with its predecessor, remained the same: 5 inches and 1280*720 pixels respectively (PPI=294). The matrix boasts the highest possible viewing angles, good contrast and a good margin of brightness in the sun moto screen G 3 remains legible even though it fades. Automatic adjustment of the matrix backlight works adequately.

The touch screen supports up to 10 touches at the same time. Work with the touch screen gloves are not provided. An unfortunate shortcoming of the screen is the well-visible grid of the touch layer in the form of vertical ribbons consisting of rectangles 1 by 3 mm in size, which is clearly visible in any light.

Hardware platform and performance

The hardware platform of Moto G 3 has been updated, but it has not become much more powerful, in fact, only the bit depth of the chip has changed. The system-on-a-chip is a 64-bit quad-core CPU based on Cortex-A53 cores operating at frequencies up to 1400 MHz, complemented by an Adreno 306 video core and 2 GB of RAM (1 GB for the lower version). The built-in memory is 16 GB (8 GB for the younger version), of which 11.9 GB is available to the user. There is a slot for microSD memory cards up to 32 GB.

Benchmark results will not impress the demanding user, AnTuTu smartphone scored 23942 points, in the Geekbench singlecore test - only 521 “parrots”, which is quite a bit. Despite this, like the rest Motorola devices recent years, Moto G 3 demonstrates smooth operation GUI and responsive in daily work. Unfortunately, the heaviest modern games cannot be comfortably played, although almost all of them run on the device.

Cellular and interfaces

Motorola Moto G 3 is available in many modifications for different regions, the list of supported LTE frequencies depends on the modification. The most suitable for work in Russian LTE networks will be models released for European countries XT1540 and XT1541. At the same time, the SIM-free model sold in the USA has the XT1540 index, but of the frequencies common in Russia, it supports only the 7th band - you should be vigilant!

The sample participating in the review was bought in the USA, the device has one slot for micro SIM-cards. In the Megafon network of the city of St. Petersburg, I often managed to catch the signal of LTE towers, the results of Speedtest tests are impressive. Moto G 3 has a standard set of wireless interfaces, but it lacks NFC and IR-port.

Battery and autonomy

The battery capacity of the new product was increased to 2470 mAh, which had a positive effect on autonomy. In mixed operation mode outside the WI-Fi coverage area, Moto G 3 will work from morning to late evening with 4-4.5 hours of screen. The bundled charger for 5 V / 550 mA turned out to be inconvenient in everyday life, with its help the battery is charged for more than 4 hours. Charger at 7.5 watts, the phone will be charged from 0% to 100% in 2 hours and 50 minutes (from 0% to 75% in 1 hour and 40 minutes). In typical operating modes, the smartphone showed the following results:

Note. Testing is carried out in the appropriate modes according to the methodology: - listening to music in headphones at maximum volume with the screen turned off; – viewing 720p video from the device’s memory at 50% backlight brightness and maximum sound volume in headphones; - active browsing (constant opening of new tabs, active page scrolling, etc.) via Wi-Fi at 50% backlight brightness; – 3D games (Real Racing 3) at 50% backlight brightness.

Cameras, photo and video quality

The resolution of the main camera has grown to 13 megapixels, the aperture and equivalent focal length have remained the same: F2.0 and 28 mm, respectively. HDR is supported in hardware, the system camera does not have manual settings.

In adequate lighting conditions, the Moto G 3 can take good quality pictures with correct color reproduction and decent dynamic range. The pictures are slightly lacking in sharpness across the entire field of the frame, probably due to not the best optics. CLICKABLE! On the left are examples of Motorola Moto G 3rd gen, on the right - Apple iPhone 6 Plus:

In photos taken in HDR mode, the tones are highly compressed and the color saturation remains more or less natural. Pictures are saved almost instantly, less often the smartphone thinks for a second and a half. CLICKABLE! On the left are examples of Motorola Moto G 3rd gen, on the right - Apple iPhone 6 Plus:

The smartphone camera generally copes well with low-light scenes, but sharpness drops even more, plus noise reduction kills detail. CLICKABLE! On the left are examples of Motorola Moto G 3rd gen, on the right - Apple iPhone 6 Plus:

The panoramic shooting mode in Moto G 3, unfortunately, is present only nominally. The process of shooting a panorama is not burdened with any warnings, but the photopanel itself is saved for about 15 seconds, at the output we have a picture smaller than 3 megapixels. CLICKABLE! Above is an example of Motorola Moto G 3rd gen, below is an Apple iPhone 6 Plus:

The 5 megapixel front camera is equipped with a fixed focus lens, F2.4 aperture and EGF = 30 mm, can shoot video in FullHD resolution. The capabilities of the front camera are enough for high-quality selfies in most situations. CLICKABLE!

The smartphone writes video in FullHD resolution at 30 fps with stereo sound. The footages come out of average quality, the correct color reproduction and good detailing spoil the oversharp and strong contrast. The camera has a slow motion mode, when the video is recorded at 60 fps, and encoded at 15 fps - a total of 4 times slowdown.

Sound quality

The smartphone has one call speaker, it is located on the front panel below the screen, it plays loudly and with high quality. Putting the Moto G 3 face down on a table will reduce the ringer volume by about a third.

The sound quality in the headphones of the Moto G 3 is decent and is in no way inferior to that of high-end smartphones. The volume reserve is enough for listening to music both indoors and in the subway. There is an FM radio, it can only work when a headset is connected.

Operating system features

The smartphone runs almost stock. Motorola left the desktop interface unchanged and most system applications, but reimagined the Camera and Gallery apps.

Motorola Moto G - A simple review of a good but boring smartphone

19.03.2014

Lyrical introduction

The video is recorded in HD resolution (1280x720), the quality is also mediocre.

But the front camera (1280x960 or 1280x720) is quite reasonable. Well, for front cameras. For Skype - that's it.

Motorola Moto G as a GPS navigator

Satellites are caught quickly, there is GLONASS support, a screen with a battery allows you to navigate (navigate ... navigate ... navigate ...) for a long time and with taste.

The test tracks (see picture) are pretty flat. Although, of course, there are more equal. Well, just think, from the point of view of a smartphone, I went through the houses a couple of times! The bottom picture is pure GPS, the top one has a SIM card in the device, all possible auxiliary methods of determining the location are included.

Weird glitch. To record tracks, I use the Osmand + software (honestly bought, from Google Play, everything is as it should be). In general, softinka is reliable as a tank. Never had any problems with her. Immediately, in the half hour that I was hanging around with a smartphone, it flew out three times already. No, not on ARM. On Dalvik.

Motorola Moto G as video player

The power of the device is enough even for FullHD-video. Alas, as usual, you need to install an additional player. I traditionally install MX Player and use its "Hardware +" decoder. The pre-installed native Android player behaves in much the same way as on smartphones from lesser-known manufacturers. Some videos refuse to play at all. Part - agrees, but cannot reproduce sound in them.

Alexander Mikheev,

Ferra score

• good design
• There is NFC
• Operating system not clogged with pre-installed rubbish

• "Iron" is not for games and without a margin for the future
• The screen is not well calibrated

Despite completely different prices for electronics than three years ago, you can still find a decent smartphone in the price segment up to 20 thousand. Even if it's not Xiaomi or Meizu. Motorola, with its Moto G5S model, can also adequately fit into the price bracket. At least she tries hard. We tried to figure out whether she is doing well or not.

Specifications

Appearance and control

For an A-brand smartphone at this price point, the Moto G5S looks better than you'd expect. And better than its younger brother, the Moto G5. For example, Moto G5S (S - special edition) is made in an aluminum unibody case, while the G5 had a half plastic back panel, and it could and had to be removed to insert a SIM card. But God bless him with the G5, it is no longer available for sale anyway, so let's get back to the G5S. It exists in two colors: stylish gray, like our sample, and golden. On the rear panel, the eye immediately clings to the camera module, as it protrudes decently here - a curious distinguishing feature. The camera is one (unlike the G5S Plus).

Despite the 5.2-inch display, the smartphone seems somehow small and compact. The front panel is entirely made of glass, which allows the gadget to look modern, but this is achieved at the cost of a high risk of losing this glass if it falls. Above the display, you can find a large recess for the earpiece, to the left of which is the selfie camera, to the right is the flash. That's right, selfies on the Moto G5S can be taken with a flash, although this is not always a good idea. Under the screen there is only a home button, it is also a fingerprint scanner.

It's nice that the smartphone is not devoid of a 3.5 mm jack for wired headphones, although more and more people on the street walk with wireless "ears". The mini-jack is located on top, and below are the ringer speaker grille and the micro-USB connector (not newfangled USB Type-C). On the right side you can find the usual volume rocker and not so familiar - embossed - lock button. On the left side there is a tray into which either two SIM cards or one SIM and memory cards (microSD up to 256 MB) are inserted.

Display and sound

The screen is good, but not without flaws. Its most popular resolution now is 1920x1080 pixels, which at 5.2 inches gives a good pixel density of 424 ppi. The results of testing with a colorimeter showed that there are minor problems with the color temperature - it is higher than it should be, plus a noticeable deviation in color accuracy - it would obviously not hurt to calibrate the matrix.

But the user really can't do anything with it, just choose from two preset display modes of shades, which are not very different from each other. But the brightness reaches almost 500 cd / m 2, and the contrast is under 1300: 1, these are excellent indicators for actually budget smartphone. The gamma matches the reference, and the color gamut is almost up to the standard with sRGB. There is almost no color distortion at large angles. In principle, treat Motorola less negligently with the calibration of the matrix, the display received an excellent rating from us.

The multimedia speaker is located at Motorola Moto G5S bottom - I don't really like this position, because I often accidentally close it. As for the sound, everything sounds great at medium and slightly above average volume, details are well audible. But if you turn the volume up to the end, then in some songs all these details and high frequencies begin to merge into a mess. True, even at 70% of the volume you don’t have to listen - for one person in a small room it will be more than enough. For a disco, you will have to use at least a laptop.

cameras

The main camera of the Moto G5S is single, with a very wide angle, and with a 16 megapixel matrix. True, as is usually the case with smartphones, a lot of megapixels does not mean great image clarity. That is, it is better to use the photo as is, without trying to cut out a separate section from it, since it will look very mediocre.

For the money, the camera shoots well, but if you want to achieve a richer picture with less noise and further down the list, then you should explore the manual mode. Of course, there are many situations where it will be enough to correct the exposure in auto mode, since the regulator is located in the most obvious place - right on the autofocus circle. But sometimes you have to adjust other parameters, such as the ISO value and color temperature.

In manual mode, all sliders can be positioned evenly across the screen, which, in my opinion, is more convenient than, for example, in Xiaomi, where everything is crowded in a small area. But, of course, shooting in manual mode is only suitable for static scenes. It's great that the app shows in real time what the shot will look like, depending on your manipulations with shutter speed and other things. But the fact that the settings are not remembered after exiting manual mode, is embarrassing.

The selfie camera also works decently, even despite its 5 megapixels. The flash, of course, expands the possibilities of using the self-camera. It is especially pleasing that the flash has a flashlight mode, that is, you can immediately see on the screen what a selfie with a flash will look like, without having to take a photo, go blind from the flash at night, get upset from the result and repeat the process again.

Video shooting is very convenient due to the fact that you can adjust the exposure even before shooting, as during - this is a great feature. True, the camera lacks a stabilizer. Handheld footage skips even if you were standing straight on both feet, not walking, not running. It was not found in the settings and the increasingly popular 4K resolution for video shooting. The ceiling is 30 frames per second in Full HD. But for a budget smartphone, this is normal.

Software and performance

Moto G5S is beautiful, shoots well, but there is one “but”: you can’t take it with an eye not to change your smartphone for a couple of years, since even now its hardware is far from being a boast. For example, 3 GB of RAM is far from a luxury - modern applications can take up this amount of RAM now, and only in a year and a half even more so.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor is already more than two years old, and now it can most often be found in smartphones for 10-13 thousand rubles. Games with it go native to the Motorola Moto G5S display Full HD resolution, but with low detail. The 430th is enough for the moment for quick work of applications, but since the model is already aged, this state of affairs will not last too long.

The built-in memory of the Moto G5S is 32 gigabytes. It is very difficult to answer the question whether it is a lot or a little. For example, 32 GB is enough for me, because apart from applications, photos and audio books with podcasts, I don’t keep anything on my smartphone. And for someone, even 128 GB will not be enough - it all depends on the individual. However, Moto G5S is suitable for anyone, as it supports microSD cards up to 256 GB.

As for communication, then, of course, you will have LTE at your disposal, but Wi-Fi only has the penultimate version - IEEE 802.11b / g / n. But there is an NFC module, which is missing from the budget Xiaomi.

Moto G5S running under Android control 7.1.1 Nougat with minimal changes, but they are quite worthy of attention. For example, there is a handy feature: as soon as you pick up a locked smartphone, it automatically shows you the time, charge and notifications. That is, you don’t even need to activate the display using buttons or a fingerprint sensor. The latter, by the way, can replace the touch keys for you, as it supports gestures. And it is very convenient, in my opinion. First, in this mode on-screen buttons do not occupy the useful area of ​​the screen. Second, it's very easy to get used to. A short press on the fingerprint sensor below the screen is equivalent to the "Home" button, a slide on the sensor to the left means "Back", and to the right - opens a list of recently used applications. There are also other proprietary gadgets using gestures to turn on the camera and flashlight, which make life easier.

Offline work

The smartphone has a 3000 mAh battery, which seems to be good. But the maximum that can be squeezed out of the Moto G5S is a day and a half. Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, made on a 28-nm process technology, is far from the most economical model. For example, in games, the smartphone is discharged to zero faster than in 4 hours. Therefore, if you decide to use it with two SIM cards, then it is better to have on hand external battery. But charge it from a complete network adapter more efficiently, as the smartphone supports the proprietary TurboPower function. Thanks to this, already after 15 minutes of charging from scratch, Motorola Moto G5S will be able to work for five hours.

Competitors

In the budget price segment, competition is very high, so you can’t just come with a weak processor from two years ago and be king. After all, in this niche, where you don’t spit, there are completely powerful “Chinese”. For example, the novelty of this autumn, Xiaomi Mi A1. For about the same price as the Moto G5S, the competitor offers one gigabyte more RAM (which is by no means superfluous), two cameras with different focal lengths (which gives a 2x optical zoom), and twice as much internal storage space ( 64 GB instead of 32 GB). And finally, Xiaomi Mi A1 has a more modern and nimble processor - Snapdragon 625. But the lack of NFC speaks against this device.