Review: Moto G4 Play

O Moto G4 Play it is the most basic smartphone of the fourth generation of the Moto G, but that is not to say that it is not an excellent smartphone. It has the same design as its bigger brothers (Moto G4 e Moto G4 Plus), with several differences inside.

We've had the opportunity to test it out over the last few weeks. Does it perform well as a mid-range device? Is your camera good for photos and selfies? And digital TV? And last, but not least: stem Pokémon GO? Check out what we think of this device and clear all your doubts in the next paragraphs.

Design

O Moto G4 Play It has a design very similar to that of the Moto G4. It has a textured plastic back cover, which is (almost) easily swappable. You need to have a fingernail to unhook the lid, but nothing that bothers you. In the box comes a purple cap, which is very pretty by the way, and a black cap, more sober.

The device is made entirely of plastic, so the use of a case will be essential so that it doesn't get some marks on the first drop. Note, that this is a piece of advice, after all, smartphones in this price range are all made of this material.

On the back we have the camera, a microphone, and the Moto line symbol, and that's it. On the right side, the power and volume buttons. At the top, the headphone jack, standard P2, and at the bottom, the micro USB port and a small crack to remove the cover.

On the front, we have, in addition to the screen, another microphone, the camera and the only speaker, which serves both for calls, as well as for videos and music. It's not impressive, but it does its job well.

Fabric

Its 5-inch LCD screen with HD resolution (1980 x 720 pixels) follows the standard of previous generations of Moto G. It has a strong brightness, can be used in sunlight without major problems, has a good viewing angle and displays balanced colors. Normal and vivid color modes are also present. If you like the screen of the previous devices in the line, you will also like the screen of the Moto G4 Play.

Performance and battery

No Moto G4 Play, Lenovo bet on the same hardware as the Moto G 3rd Generation, with some improvements. The processor is the same, one Snapdragon 410 which operates in conjunction with 2 GB de RAM. This combination proves to be enough for everyday life, without major problems.

You can open apps and switch between them quickly and play without any problems. THE Adreno 306 GPU It can run heavier games without stuttering.

the battery of 2.800 mAh it's your strong point. With it, you will be able to use the device all day without looking for a socket to recharge. Because it has lean hardware, which doesn't require much, it manages to get to the end of the day with a lot of load.

If you can download it, probably with a game, you will like the 10W charger that comes in the device box. It's not a Turbo charger, but it doesn't disappoint either. In less than two hours, you will have the device fully charged again. In addition, it is more compact than the previous generation.

Operational system

As usual, it comes with a version of Android no customizations. O Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow It has almost no customization. This is good and bad at the same time Moto G4 Play.

The good side is that of the device's 16 GB of internal storage, 10,96 GB left for the user. Which is quite satisfying and sufficient for the most casual use.

The bad thing about this is that (it may even seem strange), but it has less applications. The only app to view photos on it is Google Photos, it doesn't have a gallery app, so you need to look for one on the Play Store, and for those who don't know a good app, it can be a difficult task. I recommend the QuickPic Gallery.

Another thing I missed was the Moto Actions gestures. The only gesture available is to swipe down to make the screen smaller. I didn't think this made much sense as the cell phone isn't that big, but it might be useful for someone. The gestures of turning the wrist to activate the camera and activate the flashlight, present in the Moto G 3rd Generation are needed.

Apart from these details, he has FM radio e Digital TV, which can be great allies when you're out and about. Inside the box comes a headphone jack (the same as always), and an adapter to tune into the TV. But in my tests, I was able to tune into the digital TV even without the adapter, just with a headphone jack, which is great in case you forget the adapter.

Camera

The main camera of the device has 8 megapixels, and should please most users. She takes good pictures when the lighting helps, but it doesn't work miracles. The camera software is basic, and it boils down to taking pictures in automatic mode.

Few adjustments (very few) are available to the user, so it's just aim and click. Because of this, and the slow focus, you'll need to click a scene more than once to get a better shot. Despite the limitations, we are talking about the camera of an intermediate cell phone that costs approximately R$800,00. And by way of comparison, it takes better photos than the Moto G 3rd Gen. Check out some images:

You can see the images at original size here.

Conclusion

O Moto G4 Play It is a very competent, beautiful device that does not disappoint. Its performance pleases, the screen is good, the battery is excellent and its camera does not look bad. And he will get the Android 7.0 Nougatas the we show here.

The device delivers what it promises, to be an affordable intermediary with high performance. Unfortunately, the gesture features present in the previous generation are not present, but it makes up for it as a balanced smartphone. In short, buying it is a straight shot.

For you who own a Moto G 3rd Generation, the exchange for Moto G4 Play It might be a good idea if you want. You will get a thinner and lighter smartphone (the difference is noticeable), as well as a better camera and a smarter smartphone, because of the 2 GB of RAM. However, I would recommend jumping right in to a Moto G4 ou Moto G4 Plus, if you are going to change your device now.

It is sold in two versions, one with digital TV and another without the resource. Its starting price is R$ 869,00 No. Motorola website, however it is already possible to find it by R$ 782,10 on retail websites.

Technical Specifications