Moto G4 Plusby Motorola

The Moto G4 Plus finally brings a great camera into Motorola's budget lineup. It's decently fast for the price, though the build quality mig…

The Moto G4 Plus finally brings a great camera into Motorola's budget lineup. It's decently fast for the price, though the build quality might not last years of use.

The Moto G4 Plus comes with an all plastic build, and despite appearances, the frame is plastic, albeit with a metallic finish. Understandab…

The Moto G4 Plus comes with an all plastic build, and despite appearances, the frame is plastic, albeit with a metallic finish. Understandably, you don’t get the premium look and feel of a smartphone that features a metal or glass build, but for a phone made of plastic, the Moto G4 Plus is definitely one of the sturdiest ones out there.

The bottom line is that the Plus adds a couple of "nice to have" features, especially if you prefer to unlock the phone with your fingerprin…

The bottom line is that the Plus adds a couple of "nice to have" features, especially if you prefer to unlock the phone with your fingerprint or like to zoom in to your photos for greater detail. But the lack of NFC and full Android Pay features makes us inclined to stick with the baseline G4 model.

Thanks in large part to a water-resistant plastic outer shell, the G4 Plus isn’t as hefty as some of its metal-clad competition, and is more…

Thanks in large part to a water-resistant plastic outer shell, the G4 Plus isn’t as hefty as some of its metal-clad competition, and is more comfortable to hold. The phone’s sloping edges practically meld into the borders of its rear casing, giving the impression of a unibody crafted from a continuous, uninterrupted block of plastic.

If you order directly from the Motorola website, you can use Moto Maker to customize your G4 Plus and inject a little more colour. You can e…

If you order directly from the Motorola website, you can use Moto Maker to customize your G4 Plus and inject a little more colour. You can even get the back engraved for an extra fiver. However, this is never going to be the kind of eye-catching beauty that draws admiring glances when you slip it out of your pocket.

For starters the dark grey metal frame makes this feel like a phone that’s worth more and gives the G4 Plus a stability and robustness that’…

For starters the dark grey metal frame makes this feel like a phone that’s worth more and gives the G4 Plus a stability and robustness that’s rare in phones costing less than £300. I’ll attest to its durability, as I’ve dropped it twice – the second time on a hardwood floor – and it remains unscathed.

This 5.5-inch handset is comfortable to hold and operate with one hand thanks to perfect power button placement and sensibly curved edges. T…

This 5.5-inch handset is comfortable to hold and operate with one hand thanks to perfect power button placement and sensibly curved edges. The increased screen size makes the G4 Plus notably larger than the 2015 Moto G, which may disappoint those after a more user friendly 5.0-inch display, however the extra screen real estate does improve the multimedia experience.

I’ve been testing the upgraded 16-megapixel Moto G Plus camera, and it does nothing to justify the "Plus" branding. It’s the very definition…

I’ve been testing the upgraded 16-megapixel Moto G Plus camera, and it does nothing to justify the "Plus" branding. It’s the very definition of mediocrity, falling far behind the recent OnePlus 3 in terms of sharpness, detail retention, and color accuracy. Don’t bother trying to photograph anything in low light with the G or G Plus, either, as you’ll only end up with big splotches of indistinct color.

One of the cons in regards to Moto G4 and G4 Plus devices is the lack of water resistance. Removing this feature from the newer devices is a…

One of the cons in regards to Moto G4 and G4 Plus devices is the lack of water resistance. Removing this feature from the newer devices is a step down. Fortunately, the Moto G4 and G4 Plus has a water repellent nano-coating so spilling a drink on it may not cause any damage.

You can remove the rear panel to get at the microSD slot or swap out your SIM card, but you won’t be changing the battery, as it is permanen…

You can remove the rear panel to get at the microSD slot or swap out your SIM card, but you won’t be changing the battery, as it is permanently installed. Being able to take the phone apart also means you can’t expect it to be completely waterproof, with Motorola designing the G4 Plus to be ‘resistant’ rather than dunk-safe.