Motorola finally unveiled its 2016 Moto G smartphone in the India market. This time around the Lenovo-owned company has also launched a Plus variant of the Moto G, which is dubbed Moto G4 Plus. It is the plus variant that will be going on sale first. Moto G4 Plus in itself will be available in two variants and has a starting price of Rs 13,499. We think it is a compelling price point for this smartphone and thought it will be a good idea to compare it with the recently launched budget Android smartphones.
Samsung too has been trying to get a hold in the Rs 10 to 15,000 smartphone category for a while now. The company has recently released the refreshed variants of its Galaxy J series smartphones. So we are pitting the newly launched Moto G4 Plus with the Galaxy J5 (2016), which is priced at Rs 13,990.
Design
Both the smartphones borrow the design cues from their previous generation handsets, but improves on a number of factors. Samsung Galaxy J5 come with a diamond cut metal frame and a plastic back panel with a brushed metallic finish. The smartphone look aesthetically pleasing and the rounded edges add to the comfortable handling in everyday usage.
On the other side, Moto G4 Plus looks more appealing and has an urban feel to it. The smartphone has a metallic frame running on the sides and the back panel has been given a criss-cross pattern, which looks much better than the brushed metallic finishing of the Samsung Galaxy J5.
While, the Samsung Galaxy J5 will be available in Radiant Gold, Midnight Black, and Pearl White colour variants, while the Moto G4 Plus will be avilable in White and Black colour variants. If you set aside the fancy names then you will realize that Galaxy J5 is offering just one more shade, which is Gold colour variant. It has become quite a norm for a lot of Indian and Chinese companies to offer a Gold colour variant these days. Samsung too has been giving that as an option for almost a year now, but Motorola clearly continues to steer away from the "Gold" trend.
Display
Motorola for the first time has included a 1080p display on its Moto G series. The Moto G4 Plus features a 5.5-inch 1080p display with Gorilla Glass 3 coating. It beats the 5.2-inch HD Super AMOLED display of Galaxy J5 (2016) in terms of pixel density, however Galaxy J5 (2016) has an advantage over Moto G4 Plus due of its AMOLED display technology that delivers vibrant colours and deeper blacks in everyday usage.
Camera
Motorola has crammed in a 16MP rear camera, which comes with a laser autofocus system to quickly lock the subject and has an f/2.0 aperture with Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF). The camera is accompanied by a dual-tone LED flash and the app has some nifty additions such as HDR, tap-to-focus, slow-motion video, panorama, and a professional mode with options to tweak ISO, exposure, colour balance, etc. The front has a 5MP camera with a wide-angle lens. Samsung on th eother side is shipping the Galaxy J5 with a 13MP auto-focus rear camera module and a 5MP front camera. In terms of pure numbers, Moto G4 Plus has an edge over the Galaxy J5 (2016)
However, if you are fond of taking selfies even in low-light, then you will find the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) a better option as it features a front LED flash light.
Processor
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2 GHz quad-core processor coupled with 2GB of RAM, while Motorola is using a 1.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 (MSM8952) SoC coupled with 2GB or 3GB of RAM (depending on the variant you choose). This is an area where we think Motorola has an advantage over Samsung. However, we're yet to test the two handsets to give a final verdict.
Battery
Samsung is shipping the Galaxy J5 (2016) with a 3,100mAh battery unit and Motorola G4 Plus comes with a 3,000mAh battery. The difference in numbers seems quite negligible, however we believe that Samsung will win the fight as its 3,100mAh battery unit has to power a smaller 720p display, whereas the 3,000mAh battery of Moto G4 Plus has to support a larger 1080 display.
Added features
Motorola G4 Plus integrates a fingerprint sensor, which you will not find in Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016), however you will get the Samsung's S Bike mode that is exclusive for Samsung devices. If you fancy the fingerprint sensor, then Moto G4 Plus is the right option, but if you commute on a two-wheeler then Samsung galaxy J5 (2016) with the S- Bike mode can serve you better.
Additionally, Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) is only available in 2GB RAM variant, while you can buy the 32GB+3GB RAM variant of Moto G4 Plus at Rs 14,999.
Read also: Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) and Galaxy J5 (2016) first impressions
