Moto G4 Plus: A mixed bag

Though not the best in its segment, it doesn't give you a lot to complain about

Motorola's newest offering, the Moto G4 Plus, comes with better specs than its predecessor but is that enough to grab one's attention? I wasn't convinced so I took it out for a spin.

The G4 Plus has a plastic back with metal edges, which for a mid-range smartphone feels rather cheap. The fashion conscious would rather go for a Redmi Note 3 or even the LeEco 1s. The phone, however, is comfortable to hold. It comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display with a resolution of 1,080x1,920 p. The colours are vibrant and sharp but could have been a tad better. It has the stock Motorola user interface and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Under the hood, it houses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 with 3GB of RAM. The G4 Plus can handle multitasking and RAM-heavy games. However, during one of my missions in Order and Chaos, I noticed a bit of lag. If you prefer games such as Candy Crush or Temple Run, you have nothing to worry about. But, if you like playing heavy games such as Order and Chaos, Injustice and Ashphalt, I'd recommend you choose a different phone.

The G4 Plus also comes with an astonishingly fast fingerprint sensor. Located just below the display, you might mistake the square-shaped sensor as the home button. Setting it up was easy and didn't take much time.

As someone who likes taking pictures of interesting bits of architecture, I always look forward to a smartphone camera that can satiate my needs. But very few have come close. The G4 Plus' camera was, however, a pleasant surprise. It has a 16 -megapixel (MP) primary and 5MP secondary camera. An overcast day was the perfect opportunity for me to test it out. The pictures were crisp and detailed. The camera gave great output even in low-light conditions. Though it loses out to the Redmi Note 3 in design, it definitely surpasses it in terms of the camera. The front camera could have been better, given the fact that most smartphones are coming up with 8MP secondary cameras.

The phone comes with a 3,000 mAh non-removable battery. I charged it to 100 per cent and did my usual - constant messaging, browsing the internet and played some Order and Chaos. It lasted about 12-14 hours. If you're a moderate user, you can expect the battery to last for almost an entire day.

At Rs 14,999, the Moto G4 Plus doesn't really take the top spot in its price segment but it doesn't really give you a lot to complain about either. This phone is well-suited for those who want a good camera and don't really care about the phone not being the best ever.