Motorola Moto E4 Plus Review

Introduction
In the world of smartphones, the true rock stars are often the top-tier heavy-hitters — your Samsung Galaxy S-es, your iPhones and Premium Xperias. These are devices that are filled to the brim with the latest and greatest in commercially available hardware and carry a justifiably high price tag for that. But there are also a few that become popular for going in the opposite direction — handsets that make the most out of the low-end hardware they're built around and provide the budget conscious with a surprisingly solid user experience.
Motorola's Moto G series is loved for just that reason — they are known as some of the best bang-for-the-buck phones you can go for, with a snappy interface and good camera performance. But there's also the Moto E family of handsets. On one hand, they have always been even more affordable than the Moto Gs, but on the other, they have had the reputation of phones that don't shine in any one department beyond pricing.
With the introduction of this year's Moto E4, Motorola added a Plus variant, with a higher-resolution camera sensor and a massive, 5,000 mAh battery. It seems that, for the first time in the line's existence, it may have its own heavy-hitter all while not breaking the bank. Let's take a closer look at it and see what it's about.
In the box:
- Moto E4 Plus
- Charger with fast charge support
- Micro USB data cable
- Quick guide booklet
Design
The E series gets its fingerprint badge
Without meaning to sound mean, we'd describe the Moto E4 Plus as an adorable little brick. Yes, it's back cover is made of metal and its matte finish feels nice to the touch. However, in today's smartphone world, we would say that its design looks just “plain” and it's a bit too chunky, though that's understandable given the 5,000 mAh cell that it holds inside. Do not get us wrong, we are by no means calling it “ugly”, but rest assured that it won't be turning any heads when laid down on a table.
In an unforeseen turn of events, the camera module at the back is not a protruding hump, but a caved-in dimple. Our minds are at ease that laying the phone down on a hard surface would not result in any damage to the camera lens, which we appreciate, but we fear that the circular pocket's rough edges may eventually get filled with dust and grime, which would be hard to get out. We wish the dimple had more of a slant to its walls, making it easier to for dust to just slide out.
The power button and volume rocker are clicky, with a nice amount of travel to them, but we did find their positioning to be slightly awkward for the way the phone handles. The fingerprint scanner is a new addition to the Moto E family and can double as a full replacement for the phone's virtual navigational buttons. It's placed in a nicely beveled ellipse under the screen and finding it by touch feels satisfying every time.
Motorola Moto E4 Plus
Dimensions
6.1 x 3.05 x 0.38 inches
155 x 77.5 x 9.55 mm
Weight
6.38 oz (181 g)
Motorola Moto G5 Plus
Dimensions
5.91 x 2.91 x 0.38 inches
150.2 x 74 x 9.7 mm
Weight
5.47 oz (155 g)
Motorola Moto E4 Plus
Dimensions
6.1 x 3.05 x 0.38 inches
155 x 77.5 x 9.55 mm
Weight
6.38 oz (181 g)
Motorola Moto G5 Plus
Dimensions
5.91 x 2.91 x 0.38 inches
150.2 x 74 x 9.7 mm
Weight
5.47 oz (155 g)
To see the phones in real size or compare them with other models, visit our Visual Phone Size Comparison page
Display
A phablet screen that doesn't get a phablet's resolution
So, as hinted by the name, the Moto E4 Plus is the bigger phone in the new Moto E pair. It carries a 5.5-inch screen, effectively making it the phablet of the duo. However, since it didn't get an appropriate boost in resolution, it still has 720 x 1280 pixels stretched across its screen making for a PPI density of 267. Seeing as today's handsets often have a super-sharp image, we dare say that this is noticeable to the point of being slightly irking.
As for brightness, the Moto E4 Plus' display performs great — with a maximum of 395 nits and a minimum 6 nits, neither daytime viewing nor nighttime reading will feel uncomfortable.
Display measurements and quality
Maximum brightness Higher is better | Minimum brightness (nits) Lower is better | Contrast Higher is better | Color temperature (Kelvins) | Gamma | Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better | Delta E grayscale Lower is better | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Motorola Moto E4 Plus |
395 (Average) |
6 (Good) |
1:823 (Average) |
7288 (Good) |
2.01 |
3.95 (Good) |
5.04 (Average) |
HTC Desire 650 |
361 (Average) |
13 (Poor) |
1:1559 (Excellent) |
6953 (Excellent) |
2.3 |
4.01 (Average) |
2.81 (Good) |
Motorola Moto G5 Plus |
581 (Excellent) |
6 (Good) |
1:1274 (Excellent) |
7989 (Average) |
2.21 |
6.07 (Average) |
6.79 (Average) |
ZTE Blade V8 Pro |
502 (Excellent) |
4 (Excellent) |
1:1340 (Excellent) |
8050 (Poor) |
2.36 |
4.98 (Average) |
8.08 (Poor) |
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
These measurements are made using SpectraCal's CalMAN calibration software.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
These measurements are made using SpectraCal's CalMAN calibration software.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.
These measurements are made using SpectraCal's CalMAN calibration software.
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9 Comments
NickHill
Posts: 388; Member since: May 07, 2016
"with a maximum of 680 nits and a minimum 2 nits" then why 395 nits and 6 nits in the list?
posted on Jun 30, 2017, 7:44 AM 0
shamrock_sean
Posts: 37; Member since: Apr 27, 2017
I recently purchased one of these in the UK which has 3 gig ram & sadly found it stuttery at times. Could be the processor I think. Also found the signal strength terrible which was a surprise for Motorola. The screen despite what Phone Arena stated is nice and bright,colourful and doesn't look pixelated. I returned the handset cos of poor signal
posted on Jun 30, 2017, 10:19 AM 0
Mr.mobile
Posts: 130; Member since: Mar 09, 2017
I wonder ever year they say we have improved by 15-20% faster charging speed look from quick chager 3-4 they are same not much improved , a 4000mah battery should charger from 0-100% in 70 minutes in half and hour 65% and a 4000mah battery phone with 5-5" 1080p super amoled screen should give a battery life of 20hours of phone arena SCreen on time (SOT) and gsmarena battery should be have
3G TT- 30H
Web browsing -18H
Video playback - 25H
There are no improvement from 2 years not even in SD 820,SD821,Sd835,A9,A10 where is battery life high end SOC makers
posted on Jun 30, 2017, 11:23 PM 0
Mr.mobile
Posts: 130; Member since: Mar 09, 2017
And one more thing there are lot of soc but still why would you people won't give us best of 2017 like mi phone only have good soc that's it , example we need
Latest soc even far entry level category $100 like SD 430,SD435 Sd 450
Budget catagory far $200-250 SD625,SD626,SD630 Mediatek helio P20,P25
Mid flagship far $300-350- Helio x25 ,x30 ,SD630,
Flagship Sd 835
And each every android phone should have this
Corning goirla glass
Metal unidoy 6000-7000series aluminum
Volte
Dual sim+Sd card support
Front flash
Fast charging
Super amoled display
USB- type c
Quick charge 2.0-3.0-4.0 charger in a box
Good in earphones
Bluetooth 5
Latest android os 7.1.2 with latest security update and even far budget catagory phone of $100 should get uoto 2 years of Android updates in month of NOV
posted on Jun 30, 2017, 11:40 PM 0
euskalzabe
Posts: 1; Member since: Jul 02, 2017
For ~$200, seems like the Asus Zenfone 3 Laser is a much better option than this Moto E4 Plus.
posted on Jul 02, 2017, 11:23 AM 0
RAJESHPANCHAL
Posts: 1; Member since: Jul 27, 2017
This motorola e4 plus one issue is there ... while mobile ideal or screen off u are not received any call from any operator this is software issue...voltee not working.
posted on Jul 27, 2017, 4:15 AM 0
smithellison
Posts: 3; Member since: Feb 02, 2017
Gretel GT6000 Vs Moto E4 Plus
From the specs, both phones look similar: quick charger, front fingerprint sensor, 5MP front camera with selfile flash and 2GB RAM. However, the Gretel GT6000 offers up a bigger battery life, dual rear cameras, fashion colors and lower price than Moto E4 plus. From a design perspective, they're both solid, made from a combination of metal and plastic.
At last, if you want a dual rear cameras phones with bigger battery smartphone and lower price, the Gretel GT6000 is perfect for you.
posted on Aug 21, 2017, 5:37 AM 0
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- Display 5.5" 720 x 1280 pixels
- Camera 13 MP / 5 MP front
- Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 427, Quad-core, 1400 MHz
- Memory
- Storage 32 GB + microSDXC
- Battery 5000 mAh
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