Introduction
The Moto G became the go-to phone for many people that wanted no fuss and guaranteed quality at an affordable quality. Now the line is under new leadership, with new branding and retooled design.
Lenovo phased out the Motorola name in favor of the Moto sub-brand, which now stands along the in-house Vibe brand. While still produced under the name of the iconic American brand, the G4 family is actually the first set of devices to come out since Lenovo acquired Motorola.
Lenovo has a hands-off approach to the Moto lineup and the devices have retained the unaltered Android experience that Motorola phones were known for under Google. It wasn't just the software that made the G series so popular, their design and build were always among the best - even when you look at contemporary flagships.
The Moto G4 is no different. It has a high-quality build and a replaceable back if you want to add some color.
Inside, water repellent nanocoating protects the phone's interior from damage (the phone isn't designed to be submerged like the G3) but should be splash-proof.
The Moto G2 was the only model that had stereo speakers, and while the Moto G4 has only one, it's still positioned on the front. It's this kind of attention to detail that made the G-series so popular.
Moto G4 key features
- 5.5" IPS LCD display of 1,080 x 1,920px resolution; 401ppi
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chipset; quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU; Adreno 405 GPU; 2GB of RAM;
- 16GB/32GB of built-in memory; dedicated microSD card slot (up to 200GB)
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- 13MP main camera with f/2.0 aperture; dual-tone LED flash
- 1080p video capture @ 30fps video capture
- 5MP front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture
- Dual-SIM model available; Cat. 4 LTE support; 802.11a/g/b/n; Bluetooth 4.1 LE; NFC; GPS
- 3,000mAh battery; TurboPower quick charging
- Water repellent nano-coating
Main disadvantages
- No fingerprint sensor
- Older chipset
- The battery is not user-replaceable
To get the obvious things out of the way, no, there's no fingerprint reader on the Moto G4, you'll need to upgrade to the Moto G4 Plus for that. The G4 Plus also brings a better still camera, 16MP, but the sealed 3,000mAh battery remains the same.
The Moto G4 Play is another model from the product family. It's a completely different device with a smaller 5-inch display, unlike what the name might suggest.
While we haven't had a chance to check out the G4 Play, we can testify that the regular G4 we're reviewing today feels fast and smooth despite the conservative choice of chipset. It seems that without the burden of a skin and extra background services, the Snapdragon 617 can really shine and performing any task on the phone feels surprisingly brisk.
Moto G4 by Lenovo
We're happy to report that at least at first blush all these sub-brands have not divided the attention of the tech giant and the Moto G4 feels like a solid, well-built product. Let's find out if it holds up to closer scrutiny.
Lenovo Moto G4 360° spin
The Lenovo Moto G4 measures 153 x 76.6 x 9.8mm and weighs 155g. Surprisingly, the weight is absolutely identical to the Moto G3 model, which had a 5" screen.
The G4 is bigger, however, with its 5.5"IPS LCD. You'll mostly feel it in the width - 76.6mm is slightly above average for a 5.5" Android, though the iPhone 6s Plus is even wider.
The G4 is only about 4mm wider than its predecessor and still manageable with one hand. It's also thinner, which was a bit of an issue for the G3 (9.8mm vs. 11.6mm) and yet it has a bigger battery (3,000mAh vs. 2,470mAh).
Hardware
When you look at the Moto G4 design and you can instantly recognize it as a Motorola, you don't even need to see the iconic M on the back. For us, it's probably the way the top side of the frame curves around the 3.5mm headphone jack, just the way it did on the original Moto X from 2013 as well as the Moto G3 from last year. Or it could be the small dimple where said M resides.
The Moto G4 has a recognizable design
Carrying on the design language is important for brand recognition, but it's also great that Lenovo maintained the build quality as well. The Moto G4 feels rock solid and you wouldn't have a hard time to pass off the side frame as metal (it isn't, though).
The finely textured back cover feels soft and is very grippy. Even with a loose grip you never worry that you may drop the phone. The back is a fingerprint magnet, but at least it can easily be swapped out.
The texture of the back cover really improves the grip
The Motorola.com site (still the home of Moto phones) promises you'll be able to customize the front, back and accent colors using Moto Maker where that's available.
The front is a choice between Dark Moon (deep blue) and Metallic Silver (white front/silver sides), the back has a wider choice of colors, eight, and there are five options for the accent around the camera. Additional customization is available too - such as engraving the phone or changing the greeting message.
Some of the color combos we tried out
On the front, the side frame sticks out above the Gorilla Glass 3. It means the screen glass will never touch a flat surface and if you happen to drop the phone, it will be the frame that absorbs the initial impact.
Gorilla Glass 3 above the 5.5" IPS screen
Carved into the glass above the screen is a pretty chunky hole for the earpiece. It's also the loudspeaker, so you can enjoy a front-firing speaker (back or down-firing speakers aren't great for watching videos and occasionally get muffled).
We also like the metallic rim accent, which breaks up the monotony of the black glass.
The earpiece/loudspeaker above the screen
The Moto G doesn't come with any notification LED. Instead, it relies on Moto Display to alert you of any new notifications. Moto Display is a monochromatic clock, which is visible even when the screen is off. This is one of the few proprietary features Motorola has added to the otherwise vanilla Android experience. It activates for a bit when a new notification arrives and again when you move the phone (you can also trigger it with a double-tap), but keep in mind this isn't what is known as an Always On screen.
The mouthpiece is below the screen and, of course, there aren't any keys here. Motos have long adhered to the on-screen button design. Note that on the G4 Plus there will be a square fingerprint reader here. We're surprised we have to say this, but its lack on the G4 is actually a positive thing from an aesthetic point of view.
The Moto G4 has two wired ports - a 3.5mm headphone hack on top and a standard microUSB 2.0 on the bottom. The USB port is USB On-The-Go enabled, so you can hook up USB storage and accessories. It also supports TurboPower charging, but more on that in the battery life section.
3.5mm headphone jack on top • microUSB 2.0 port on bottom
The right side of the phone is home to the two sole hardware buttons that the phones has. The Power button has a nice grooved texture, which makes it easily distinguishable from the volume rocker below it.
If you pop open the back cover, you'll see the SIM and microSD card slots side by side. Our review unit is a single-SIM model.
You can see the 3,000mAh battery, but it's sealed and you can't take it out. It's an oddly-shaped battery, sure, but we still think it wouldn't have impacted the design too much if it was user-serviceable.
Power key and volume rocker • card slots under the back cover
There is nanoSIM adapter supplied, which would allow you to insert a nanoSIM card instead of a microSIM one.
Anyway, let's put the cover back on. Much like the Moto G3, there's an "island" that holds the camera and flash that's vertically oriented along the center line.
The camera hump
It's smaller now, made of glass with a metallic accent. This island is a hump, protruding slightly from the back. The way things are positioned, this hump is unlikely to cause scratches on the camera glass or too much wobble. Still, humps are for thin phones and 9.8mm doesn't count as "thin" for a long time already.
Display
The Lenovo Moto G4 features a 5.5" IPS display. It has 1080p resolution, marking a jump in sharpness from previous models and the G4 Play used 720p.
We found two settings for the Display - Normal and Vibrant - though they aren't very different (a slight gamma correction). The upside is that the screen is unexpectedly good both in terms of contrast and color rendering.
It scored an average deltaE of 2.6 and a maximum of just 3.7 in terms of color deviation. Those are better readings than the iPhone 6s Plus, LG G5 and HTC 10 get, not far off from Samsung's best either. We do wish Vibrant mode offered more punchy colors as they default to a somewhat muted look.
Colors stay nailed in place even when you view the screen at an angle. There's no visible contrast shift either when looking at an angle either.
It's not just the colors, the screen is brighter than LCDs in its price class and thanks to the impressively deep black levels, it offers very impressive contrast ratio.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.32 | 495 | 1560 | |
| 0.43 | 590 | 1382 | |
| 0.52 | 425 | 816 | |
| 0.42 | 403 | 953 | |
| 0 | 346 | ∞ | |
| 0.00 | 351 | ∞ | |
| 0.66 | 596 | 903 | |
The minimum brightness we got was 21nits, which is too bright if you need to check a late-night email in a dark room.
Sunlight legibility is pretty solid - it beats several pricey flagships as well as some of its direct competitors. Still, there are some affordable AMOLED options out there that do better.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - OnePlus 3
4.424 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - HTC One A9
4.274 - Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Apple iPhone 6
3.838 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Meizu PRO 6
3.659 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Acer Jade Primo
3.521 - Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Meizu MX5
3.416 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Huawei P9
3.195 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nexus 5X
3.092 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - LG G5
2.905 - HTC One S
2.901 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784 - LG V10
2.744 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G8
2.471 - Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - HTC 10
2.378 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
2.378 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - LG Nexus 5
2.228 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - LG Aka
2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996 - Sony Xperia E4g
1.972 - OnePlus One
1.961 - Meizu m3 note
1.923 - Meizu m2 note
1.892 - BlackBerry Leap
1.892 - ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759 - Sony Xperia U
1.758 - Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68 - Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675 - ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659 - Jolla Jolla
1.605 - Motorola Moto E
1.545 - Sony Xperia M
1.473 - Xiaomi Redmi 2
1.311 - Sony Xperia C
1.283 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
Using the Moto app, you can configure the Moto Display feature - disable it, block certain apps from pushing notifications to it and disable it at night.
Connectivity
The Lenovo Moto G4 is available as a dual-SIM phone in some regions, single-SIM in others. Both have LTE Cat. 4 connectivity - that's 150Mbps down and 50Mbps up, and it comes in several versions with different band support.
Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is supported along with Bluetooth 4.2 LE. There's no NFC, however.
The microUSB 2.0 port supports OTG so that you can hook up flash drives and other USB accessories to it. It cannot output video, and there's no MHL or SlimPort functionality.
Battery
The Lenovo Moto G4 is powered by a 3,000mAh non-removable battery.
The phone supports TurboPower, the Moto name for Quick Charge. It promises 6 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes of charging.
You won't be charging your phone too often, however, as it scored an Endurance rating of 73 hours. The individual readings were strong too.
With 20+ hours of talk time, the Moto G4 can outlast flagships like the LG G5 or an Xperia Z5, but lags slightly behind the Redmi Note 3. The Moto gets its revenge in the Web browser test by going an hour longer. The just under 10 hour video playback time is solid in its class.
The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
User interface
The Lenovo Moto G4 comes with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box, unlike previous-gen Motos (even some 2016 models), which launched with Lollipop before a quick upgrade to Marshmallow.
The software is some of the purest Android this side of the Nexus line and with remarkably little bloatware. Well, the camera app is a custom app, but it brings a few extra features on top of the usual Google Camera, so we don't mind the upgrade. The rest of the pre-installed apps include Google Play Music, Google Photos, Google Hangouts, you get the idea - all stock Android software.
There's also the Moto app, which is a simple configuration screen. It can set up the Active Display - turn it on or off, block select apps from spamming and disable it for a given time period (so you can turn it off at night).
It's not an always on display like Samsung and LG offer, but it comes on when a new notification arrives, when you pick the phone or when you double-tap the screen.
Moto Screen • Tapping on a notification reveals more info • The stock lockscreen
The app also enables the two usual Moto gestures - chop twice to turn on the flashlight (and again to turn it off) and twist your writs twice to quick launch the camera. There's no notification LED, though, so you do have to interact with the phone to see if there's anything new after the initial display.
There are also a couple of gestures for the ringer - flip for Do Not Disturb and pick up to stop ringing.
The Moto app lets you tweak the added Moto features
Other than the Moto Screen, the lockscreen is plain Android. This means time and date, notifications and two shortcuts - Camera and Voice search.
Behind the lockscreen is the Google Now launcher. The left pane is your Google Now view with all relevant info cards. To the right are standard homescreens.
Google Now launcher • Google Now pane • The app drawer
The Notification area shows notifications on the first swipe then quick toggles on the second. You can also do a two-finger swipe to get straight to the notifications. This is the vanilla Android setup and it is gaining popularity as many phones stick close to AOSP and even skinned ones like Xperias do not change it.
This includes the brightness slider that lacks an Auto toggle. You have to go into the settings menu if you want to enable/disable automatic brightness.
Notification area • Quick toggles
The app switcher is the usual 3D rolodex with a searchbar on top. Google has been considering adding split-screen multitasking for ages (since Lollipop), but it never gets past the beta stage of the latest Android (it's in the Android N preview, let's see if it survives this time).
App switcher
Performance
The Lenovo Moto G4 is powered by a Snapdragon 617 chipset and comes with 2GB of RAM. The 617 is part of the older generation, you can mostly tell by the old Adreno 405 GPU. The CPU clock speed is lower compared to the chipset that replaces it - the 625.
Speaking of clock speed, there are two groups of four A53 cores - one runs at 1.5GHz and the other at 1.2GHz.
Anyway, from the time we spend with the Moto G4, we walked away with the impression of a very fast phone with a smooth UI. This is one of the benefits of Android without the extraneous maker skins.
The 5.5" 1080p segment is fairly popular and includes high-profile devices like the Xiaomi Redmi 3 and the Meizu m3 Note. We have tested Redmi 3 with both the Helio X10 chipset and the Snapdragon 650. The Meizu m3 note has Helio P10, which sits below the X10. The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) packs an Exynos 7870, while the Oppo R7s uses an older Snapdragon 615 chipset.
AnTuTu 6
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
75051 - Oppo F1 Plus
51299 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
49094 - Lenovo Moto G4
46949 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
45474 - Meizu m3 note
44898 - Oppo R7s
35959
You can see the power of the A72 cores used in the the Redmi note 3 (Snapdragon 650) in the single-core test. They are about as twice as fast as the A53 core of the Moto phone.
For multicore performance, however, the eight A53 cores in the MediaTek version of the Redmi note 3 come out ahead. The eight cores of the Moto G4 are just about equal to the combined power of the six cores in the Snapdragon 650 (2x A72 + 4x A53).
GeekBench 3 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
1573 - Oppo F1 Plus
857 - Meizu m3 note
807 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
745 - Lenovo Moto G4
713
GeekBench 3 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
4537 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
4140 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
3570 - Oppo F1 Plus
3242 - Oppo R7s
3206 - Lenovo Moto G4
3182 - Meizu m3 note
3028
Moving over to the GPU, the Adreno 405 did fine in the 720p days, but it always struggled on 1080p. Games definitely won't run at the full resolution of G4's screen, but will have to upscale instead.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
14 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
9.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
7.9 - Oppo F1 Plus
7 - Lenovo Moto G4
6.8 - Oppo R7s
6.2 - Meizu m3 note
5.4
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
9.1 - Lenovo Moto G4
4.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
3.9 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.3 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.2 - Meizu m3 note
2.5
The Adreno 510 is about twice as fast as the Adreno 405. We haven't tested the Adreno 506 inside the Snapdragon 625, but still, a newer chipset would have been a boon for gaming performance.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
14 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
8.5 - Oppo F1 Plus
7 - Lenovo Moto G4
6.5 - Oppo R7s
5.9 - Meizu m3 note
5.4 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
4.9
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
9.1 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
7.2 - Lenovo Moto G4
4.2 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
4 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.3 - Meizu m3 note
2.5
Basemark X shows that even the Helio X10 chipset (with a PowerVR G6200 GPU) is a bit faster.
Basemark X
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
14732 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
8540 - Lenovo Moto G4
6932 - Oppo F1 Plus
6204 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
5383 - Oppo R7s
5302 - Meizu m3 note
4567
Basemark X (medium)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
23376 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
15359 - Oppo F1 Plus
14843 - Lenovo Moto G4
11860 - Meizu m3 note
11604 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
11199 - Oppo R7s
10637
The Lenovo Moto G4 is definitely fast enough for daily use and most apps will be happy with it. Some would have benefitted from the more powerful A72 cores used in newer chipsets, but it's really the games that take a hit. The Adreno 405 will deliver lower level of graphical effects than what you get from similarly priced 5.5" 1080p phones.
Telephony
It depends on the region, but the Lenovo Moto G4 comes in single and dual-SIM versions. We have a single-SIM model for testing.
The dialer should be quite familiar. It's split into three tabs - favorites (with big thumbnails), call log and all contacts. There's no mention of Wi-Fi calling, however (even though previous Motos supported it), there's only SIP calling.
Favorite contacts • Call log • All contacts
The Moto G4 has a single speaker, but it's positioned on the front. That's almost as good as front facing speakers (sans the stereo), right? Well, the speaker is decently strong and got a Good mark. That's still below the Very Good that the 3rd generation Moto G got. While not the loudest, the G4 offers a strong and clean sound for listening to music.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing |
Overall score | |
| 66.3 | 66.2 | 65.9 | Below Average | |
| 66.5 | 64.6 | 71.7 | Average | |
| 64.7 | 70.8 | 72.8 | Good | |
| 66.5 | 66.6 | 75.8 | Good | |
| 74.7 | 75.8 | 68.0 | Good | |
| 75.7 | 69.6 | 75.9 | Very Good | |
| 75.7 | 73.5 | 79.5 | Excellent |
Messaging and text input
The Moto G4 comes with Google Messenger pre-installed (it's the default SMS app) as well as Hangouts. Messenger is a relatively new app that handles SMS and MMS and it behaves a lot like a modern IM app. You can snap a photo and send it in seconds or send short audio recordings, emojis and so on.
Google Messenger
However, unlike Hangouts it does not support Gmail chat or voice calling, video calling or anything that doesn't fit into MMS. Also, Google now has Allo and Duo for texting/video chats so figuring out which Google app you're supposed to use is a puzzle.
Text input, naturally, is handled by the Google keyboard. It's fast, it's accurate, it's reliable and it has plenty of configuration options. You can enable one-handed mode by long-pressing the comma key, adjust the keyboard height, the layout (e.g. you may want QWERTZ), enable additional symbols on long-press and change the theme. Typing, swiping and voice dictation are available.
Google Keyboard • One-handed view • Landscape
Google Photos is smarter than Skynet
Google Photos is your gallery app. The Moto G4 even comes with 2 years of free full-resolution backups (normally this is paid, free accounts get only limited resolution backups). Uploads can happen over Wi-Fi only or use cell data too.
Pinch zoom changes the size of thumbnails, but the search field is pure sci-fi - type in the name of a place, person or just name a thing (e.g. 'swimming pool') and it sifts through years of photos in a moment.
Google Photos • Amazing search • The assistant
The assistant continues the AI tricks by automatically creating panoramas and slideshows (complete with maps of your travels), it even processes certain photos with more skill than your average Joe - it straitens them, adjusts levels, it may decide to make them black & white and so on.
All of these auto features can be triggered manually, of course. From the editing you can hit Auto to fix the colors and contrast, you can auto-level a photo or just add filters.
Doing the assistant's job manually
Video player
There's no video player as such, but you can use Google Photos to view videos. That's mostly for ones from your camera as if you want "advanced" features like subtitles you're out of luck.
Basic video player from Google Photos
Google Play Music merges streaming and offline
Play Music works as a generic music player, but it's also a streaming app. Google boasts 50,000 tracks and if you're worried about data usage, you can just make your favorite albums offline.
Google Play Now is built around music streaming
Still, if you prefer your own music library, then Play Music will assist you in loading tracks from your computer or a USB drive if you happen to have one.
Separate equalizers are available for wired headsets and the front-facing speaker. For headsets, you can also enable surround sound and other features.
It plays offline music too • You can cache streamed music • Setting up the equalizer
FM radio with RDS and recording
The FM radio app is courtesy of Lenovo, Google just doesn't care for non-Internet technologies. The app is full-featured. It has RDS, a sleep timer and record broadcasts (with an auto-off feature when storage runs low). The radio can play through the loudspeaker but still needs the headset connected.
FM radio with RDS • Sleep timer • Broadcast recording
Audio output is very solid
The Motorola Moto G4 delivered excellently clean output when used with an active external amplifier, getting top marks across the board. Its loudness was above average too, for an impressive showing by the mid-ranger.
The headphones test brought more good news - there’s virtually no degradation outside of the moderate stereo crosstalk hike. Volume remained above average too, so it’s one of best performances in the price range we’ve seen.
And now here go the results so you can do your comparison.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| Motorola Moto G4 | +0.02, -0.07 | -92.4 | 92.5 | 0.0028 | 0.0084 | -92.1 |
| Motorola Moto G4 (headphones) | +0.04, -0.08 | -92.0 | 92.0 | 0.0073 | 0.070 | -63.8 |
| Sony Xperia XA | +0.01, -0.18 | -93.6 | 90.6 | 0.0030 | 0.010 | -91.7 |
| Sony Xperia XA (headphones) | +0.85, -0.18 | -87.1 | 87.8 | 0.018 | 0.327 | -54.9 |
| Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus | +0.02, -0.08 | -93.8 | 92.8 | 0.0037 | 0.034 | -91.3 |
| Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus (headphones) | +0.09, -0.03 | -93.5 | 92.6 | 0.070 | 0.075 | -49.0 |
| Huawei Honor 5X | +0.02, -0.08 | -93.4 | 90.1 | 0.0028 | 0.012 | -93.4 |
| Huawei Honor 5X (headphones) | +0.10, -0.03 | -92.9 | 89.8 | 0.0048 | 0.071 | -78.2 |
| Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) | +0.02, -0.07 | -94.3 | 92.2 | 0.0065 | 0.010 | -95.0 |
| Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) (headphones) | +0.42, -0.01 | -93.4 | 87.1 | 0.029 | 0.254 | -53.0 |
Motorola Moto G4 frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Camera
On paper, the Lenovo Moto G4 comes with a very similar camera as its predecessor - a 13MP sensor behind an f/2.0 lens and a dual-LED, dual-tone flash. The main camera records 1080p video and there's a 5MP f/2.2 selfie cam on the front. And that's a good thing, the 3rg generation Moto G offered excellent image quality for its class.
The Moto G4 UI looks deceptively simple, but you can tap into a surprising amount of power once you get used to it.
The most common shortcuts are available right in the viewfinder, including Flash and HDR toggles (with Auto modes for both). A right swipe brings up the settings.
Viewfinder • Switching modes
You can also tap and hold on the screen to lock focus and exposure. Manual exposure control is available too, just drag the sun icon. This doesn't work with the "Tap anywhere" shutter button.
AE/AF lock • Adjusting the exposure
If you want more, you can go into the Pro mode. It gives you control over focus, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation and white balance. You can also view all the dials simultaneously to make big adjustments quicker.
Pro mode with manual controls
The Moto G4 offers a burst mode called Burst Shot. You hold down the virtual shutter key and see a count of the number of photos taken. After you lift your finger, the phone will automatically select the best one. The others are still preserved if you want to override the auto selection. Even so, photos are grouped together so you can easily delete long bursts in one go.
While photos shot with the Lenovo Moto G4 are rich in detail, an up-close examination reveals some leftover noise, despite the aggressive noise reduction. Image quality is above average for the class, though colors are slightly oversaturated. White balance is either very slightly cool or very slightly warm, not much of an issue.
Lenovo Moto G4 camera samples
The dynamic range is a bit tight, so we'd leave HDR on auto. It slows down shot-to-shot time, but it really helps out the highlights.
Moto G4: HDR off • HDR on
The 5MP selfie camera takes photos with very good quality, sharp and rich in detail, with little noise. It has an HDR mode (with Auto), which is well worth it.
Selfie camera: HDR off • HDR on
The panorama is pretty bad. The actual JPG has decent resolution, but the actual resolved detail isn't worth a quarter of that resolution. So, panoramas look pixelated, there are stitching issues, you'd be better off snapping several shots and waiting on Google Photos to automatically stitch them into a panorama.
Moto G4 panorama
You can check out how the Moto G4 does against competition in its class. 13MP cameras on 5.5" are common enough, but you can see the Moto comes with better quality optics (check the ISO chart near the edges), produces a sharp image and keeps noise in check in the dark.
Moto G4 in our Photo Quality Comparison tool
Video camera
The Lenovo Moto G4 can record 1080p video (at 30fps) with both the front and back camera. It also offers a 120fps slow motion mode, but only at 540p (a quarter of FullHD, aka qHD).
The videos are captured in the usual MP4 files at 17Mbps. Sound is recorded in stereo at a good 128Kbps (48kHz).
The videos keep plenty of detail, but the camera runs up against dynamic range limits.
Color rendering is similar to the still camera - that is slightly oversaturated and with a white balance that's slightly off.
We tried enabling HDR, but while it did bring out the highlights a touch, it crushed the shadows. We'd definitely skip the HDR video mode, it's just not as good as that of the still camera.
The sound in the recorded videos isn't perfect, we think it has to do with the mic positioning. One is on the back, next to the camera, the other on front (the mouth piece), which isn't the best way to capture stereo sound.
1080p video is the norm for the premium mid-range market. The Moto G4 sows strong sharpening, but the image is clean. Low-light performance is strong, similar to the still camera.
Moto G4 in our Video Quality Comparison tool
Conclusion
With a Nexus line that only offers one or two new phones a year, we need more handsets running pure Android. And the Moto phones - the affordable Es, the well-rounded Gs and flagship Xs - were some of the best such phones. Of course, they were made by Google-owned Motorola! There were some doubts about the future of the company and its fate after the sale to Lenovo, but so far the Chinese tech giant has proven to be a great shepherd of the beloved Moto brand.
Previous Moto Gs were great phones, but a few specs always seemed below what other phones in the class offered (e.g. the Moto G3 had a quad-core CPU and 720p screen). The Gs made up for it with things few others offered - stereo speakers on the G2, waterproofing on the G3.
Now the Moto G4 has caught up with the competition in most technical aspects - mainly a faster chipset and a sharp, beautiful screen - while keeping up the build quality and the rare perks.
Okay, no stereo speakers or an IP rating, but the phone does offer a front-firing speaker and a water-resistant coating on the inside. The Moto G line always had an issue with consistency where some features don't carry over to the successor and this generation is no exception.
Lenovo Moto G4 key test findings
- Excellent build with high-quality (if not premium) materials;
- The display is sharp, bright and with accurate colors; we do wish the Vibrant option offered a stronger...well, vibrance;
- Great battery life for the class, quick charging makes top-ups a breeze;
- Pristine Android flies on the mid-range hardware; the few apps Moto did add bring extra value (the Moto Screen is the next best thing to always-on);
- The chipset is fast enough for general use, but the GPU is weak for 1080p and games will play with reduced graphics;
- Some of the best audio quality amongst mid-rangers
- A very good 13MP camera for the money, with a simple but powerful interface and extensive manual controls; Panorama mode is terrible; the selfie camera is great;
- Good quality 1080p videos, but audio could have been better; skip the HDR video mode, it doesn't do much;
If you couldn't tell by now, we're very pleased with the Moto G4. The exterior isn't all metal like some of the competition, but it feels solid and durable. The customization options from the Motomaker can make the device feel more personal.
Lenovo splurged for a high-quality screen and as a result the contrast, color accuracy and viewing angles are all top-notch. The camera is one of the best in its class too. The chipset could have been a bit better, a new generation Snapdragon (625 at least, ideally 650/652) would have helped gaming performance, but other than that, the sleek software flies. Battery life is great too, there's not much to complain about, perhaps other than the sealed battery.
You could wish for an option with more RAM and a fingerprint reader, but that's exactly the Moto G4 Plus. Well, not exactly - the Plus also brings a higher resolution back camera, 16MP. Lenovo is letting you decide how much you want to pay here - get a base G4 or a G4 Plus with 2GB, 3GB or even 4GB of RAM and up to 64GB built-in storage.
If you miss the 5" form factor of older Moto G models, then Lenovo has you covered again. The Moto G4 Play has a 5" 720p screen, but the rest of the hardware isn't as impressive as the big G4. It has a quad-core processor (Snapdragon 410 chipset), the base version gets only a gig of RAM and the main camera is an 8MP shooter.
Motorola Moto G4 Plus • Motorola Moto G4 Play
In-house competition continues from Lenovo's other branch - the K5 Note. This one is all metal and has a fingerprint reader on the back, a similar chipset and camera setup, but also Dolby Atmos and High-Res audio support (24-bit/192kHz). It also packs a bigger battery, 3,500mAh. The software situation is very different, however - Android 5.1 transformed into Vibe OS.
You can also look into the Lenovo Vibe P1 Turbo, it's a bit pricier, but you get a huge 5,000mAh battery and 3GB/32GB memory.
Lenovo K5 Note • Lenovo Vibe P1 Turbo
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is one of the most popular devices in our database. It offers a unibody metal body that houses a 5.5" 1080p screen, a Snapdragon 650 (which as we saw offers a faster GPU) and a fingerprint reader. Like the two Lenovos above, you get a lot of battery (4,000mAh), but an old, customized Android (5.1 with MIUI). Note that there's a version with a MediaTek Helio X10 chipset as well.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
Redmi's constant rival is the Meizu m3 note. With the third generation, Meizu switched over to a metal body as well and added a fingerprint reader. You only get the less powerful Helio P10 chipset, but a better battery life out of the 4,100mAh power cell.
Meizu also has the higher-end MX5. Its 5.5" 1080p screen is an AMOLED, though it's not particularly color accurate or bright. You get a solid camera - 20.7MP 1/2.3" sensor with 2160p video capture. But with no microSD slot, you'll have to pick the 32GB version, maybe even the 64GB one. Also, according to our tests, the endurance of the 3,150mAh battery isn't that great.
Meizu m3 note • Meizu MX5
If you're looking for something in the US, many of these will not be accessible. ZTE is catering to that market with the Axon (note that there are several different Axons in different regions).
You get an attractive design with a 5.5" 1080p screen, a 13MP camera with 2160p recording! Here come the trade-offs - you'll be running an old Android (5.1) on an old chipset (Snapdragon 801) and you don't get a microSD card slot (and only a 32GB storage option).
ZTE Axon
The Asus Zenfone 3 is coming soon and marks a departure from Intel's chipsets. This one uses the Snapdragon 625, the replacement for the 617 with higher CPU clock speed and a new-generation GPU.
Chipset envy aside, you get a 5.5" 1080p screen, 16MP camera with OIS, and a choice between 3GB or 4GB of RAM. The Zenfone 3 will launch in Asia soon, but while we know the US price of the phone, the launch timing there is unknown.
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
The Huawei Honor 5X is another metal offering with a 5.5" 1080p screen. And it has stereo speakers around that screen! The chipset is a Snapdragon 616, so just about the same, and the cameras are 13MP/1080p + 5MP.
Huawei Honor 5X
The LeEco Le 1s may be hard to get hold of, but you do get 2160p video from the 13MP camera. There's no card slot, so you'll have to make 32GB work. A Helio X10 chipset runs an older Android (this is so common for phones from China-based makers).
If you splurge for the LeEco Le 2 Pro version, you'll get a much better still camera - 21MP 1/2.4" sensor - and a faster chipset, Helio X25 (an overclocked X20) with 4GB of RAM. And still no card slot.
LeEco Le 1s • LeEco Le 2 Pro
There's no shortage of affordable 5.5" 1080p phones, but many of them have limited availability outside of China. Even if you find a retailer that offers them, chances are you'll be stuck with an older Android that has been heavily customized.
The Moto G4 is an honorary Nexus in that respect and will be widely available in the Sates and Europe. Even if you don't care about Android versions, the G4 is a solid, capable phone.
Considering the G4 Plus is a pricey upgrade ($50/£60) for its fingerprint reader and camera and that the G4 Play is a lower-end device, we think the G4 will become the most popular of the trio and a popular phone in general.
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