Moto G4 Smartphone to Deliver Decent Features at an Affordable Price

For those in the market for a smartphone but don’t want to pay iPhone or Galaxy S prices, Lenovo’s Moto G4 offers some nice features for hundreds of dollars less.

The key ingredient in the Moto G4’s market appeal is price. Unlike the iPhone, which can cost well over $500, the Moto G4 starts at an affordable $200. Add in a case and some other accessories, and it’s entirely possible to walk out of the store with a new G4 and extra components and not even come close to matching high-end smartphone pricing.

Some might think that users will lose quite a bit to get down to such a low price tag, but that’s not the case. The Moto G4’s design, for instance, is quite nice and looks somewhat similar to higher-end Android-based smartphones on the market. The device has rounded edges, a prominent screen, a small bezel and a curved back casing. The G4 isn’t the best-looking smartphone on the market, but it’s certainly not ugly.

Some customers will be drawn to the Moto Maker online customization service. The service lets customers choose from several different case designs, pick accent colors, and even engrave a name or slogan on the back of the Moto G4. Thanks to Moto Maker, those who want a smartphone that doesn’t look like any other can find it with the Moto G4.

The Moto G4 ships unlocked and works across both GSM and CDMA networks. In other words, the smartphone will work on any carrier a customer chooses, including Verizon and AT&T. That’s an important feature that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Turbo-charging has become a popular feature in the higher end of the smartphone market, but it’s also available in the Moto G4. According to Lenovo, the device’s battery can last all day and gets an additional 6 hours of power in just 15 minutes of charging. That’s especially useful for busy travelers who need to quickly charge the smartphone between flights.

Higher-end smartphones tend to come with more data storage, so it’s no surprise that the Moto G4 is lacking in that regard. The device comes with the customer’s option of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. Users can also store up to 128GB on a microSD card. Those who need a bit more storage will be able to automatically back up their images to Google Photos for two years at no charge.

The Moto G4 ships with up to an octa-core processor, which sounds like it might have some power behind it. However, further inspection reveals that the CPU is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617, which is far less powerful than the 800 series of Snapdragons found in top-of-the-line handsets. Owners will also find the relatively underpowered 550MHz Adreno 405 GPU in the Moto G4.

The Moto G4 is an Android-based smartphone running Android 6.0.1. While that’s a good sign—it’s a secure operating system compared with earlier versions—it’s unclear at this point whether Lenovo will update the device to Android N when that operating system launches later this year.

Although the G4 is on the cheaper side, it actually comes with a nice display. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch screen, matching the size of the iPhone 6s Plus. In addition, it offers 1080p Full HD resolution and 401 pixels per inch. It should, in other words, deliver solid visuals.

The cameras bundled with the Moto G4 aren’t high-end, but they should get the job done. On the back, the device has a 13-megapixel sensor with support for burst mode and dual LED flash. On the front, users will find a 5-megapixel option with a wide-angle lens for selfies.