Moto G5 Plus Review

Best sub-$300 smartphone lets you forget about the flagships

For years, Motorola has been the king of the budget market. The company's Moto G phones offer plenty of features and are wonderfully affordable.

The newest family member is the Moto G5 Plus, which somehow adds even more premium features. It's got a metal body, more storage, new Moto gestures and even 4K video: All this without raising the cost.

At just $300 for the model tested here, businesses can purchase the Moto G5 Plus and provide a complete smartphone experience to employees. You get a stock experience with Moto enhancements that increase your productivity. Motorola has also shown an excellent track record of monthly Android security updates over the past year.

SPECIFICATIONS

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 2.0 GHz octa-core

Display: 5.2 inch 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution LCD screen, 424 ppi

Operating system: Android 7.0 Nougat

RAM: 2GB and 4GB (I tested the 4GB model)

Storage: 32/64GB internal with microSD expansion card slot

Cameras: 12 megapixel rear f/1.7 dual autofocus with 5 megapixel wide-angle f/2.2 front-facing camera

Water resistance: Splash resistant nano coating, not to be submersed

Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS

Battery: 3000 mAh non-removable with Turbo Charge

Dimensions: 150.2 x 74 x 9.7 mm and 155 grams

One powerful feature of the Moto G5 Plus that you don't see in flagship carrier variations is the support for virtually all mobile networks, both GSM and CDMA. You can pop in a SIM from Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, and their prepaid partners and be off and running with the Moto G5 Plus. In addition, you don't get any of the massive carrier bloatware that so many carriers love to add.

The one specification that is lacking here in the US is NFC, which means you won't be able to use Android Pay. You could always pair up a new Android Wear watch or Samsung Gear S3 to use Android Pay though. NFC is available for other regions, then why doesn't the US get NFC? A spokesperson for Motorola said that "in the US, NFC capabilities are in less demand within the value tier." Still, it's a bit of a bummer.

Moto G5 Plus still uses a microUSB port for charging and thankfully, there is also still a 3.5mm headset jack. While many not appreciate it, the Moto G5 Plus does come with an FM radio.

HARDWARE

The Moto G5 Plus presents a different shell than you have seen in the past. Moto used aluminum for the back panel and frame. It's very well done with matte finish on the back, polished metal around the edges, and a slightly raised edge around the glass front display. It looks classy and works well in a business environment.

While the LG G6 pushes the smartphone world forward with its 18:9 display and fantastic camera, it is also priced twice as much as the Moto G5 Plus. You won't find anything special about the 1080p display on the Moto G5 Plus, but fonts are crisp and colors look just fine.

Lenovo has brought some innovation to the Moto G5 Plus that are yet to be seen on other Android phones. With the Moto G5 Plus, you will find the home button perform as a fast fingerprint scanner and home button. Even better, there is an available Moto Actions setting where you can use the fingerprint sensor for navigation. Simply enable it and then swipe left to go back and swipe right to view recent apps.

Moto devices have had good speaker performance in the past, but the Moto G5 Plus has a single speaker that plays out of the headset. This front-facing speaker isn't a bad idea, but the speaker isn't anything you will want to use for regular listening of music or video content.

There is a microUSB port, microphone, and 3.5mm headset jack on the bottom. The SIM card and microSD card tray is found up top. There is nothing on the left side while the power and volume buttons are on the upper right side.

The camera and flash are positioned at the center of the upper back with a rather large protrusion that extends out the back. A Moto logo is centered below the camera while the second mic is also placed near the top of the back.

It stuns that devices like the HTC U Ultra, priced at $749, do not come with any level of water resistance in 2017. The $300 Moto G5 Plus continues to use the nano coating that Moto has used for years so you have a device that can take a splash or light rain without failing. This is just what you’ll need and should be the minimum standard for all phones at this time.

SOFTWARE

The Moto G5 Plus launches with Android 7.0 Nougat and the evaluation device used here has the January 2017 Android security update. The UI is stock with a few Moto widgets and the Moto app.

The Moto utility gives you access to toggles for the various actions and display settings available on the G5 Plus. Actions include:

--One button nav to swipe for back and recent apps

--Karate chop twice to turn on the flashlight (don't drop the phone)

--Flip the phone face down to silence notifications and calls

--Pick up the phone when it rings to switch to vibrate

--Twist your wrist twice to launch the camera

--Swipe to shrink the screen

Display options let you toggle on notifications that appear while the display is off. You can choose to block apps from the display, set how much detail is shown, dictate when the display should remain dark, and toggle on touch vibration.

The standby notification screen on Moto devices is better than on any other smartphone. You can see notifications from many of your apps and then hold the notification to see more details without ever unlocking or turning on your display. Over the course of a day, you can save yourself a considerable amount of time and also save on some battery life.

The camera app is easy to use and supports auto photos, video, panorama, slow motion, and professional modes. Tap the camera icon in the upper right to switch between the various modes. Swipe in from the left to access settings and in from the right to quickly view photos in the gallery.

Its good that the phone app integrates visual voicemail unlike some other Android devices like the HTC U Ultra and LG G6 that require a separate app just to add visual voicemail functionality. Google provides this in Android and even though it is a minor detail, all manufacturers should enable this by default.

The rest of the software is typical Android Nougat, including the ability to customize your Quick Actions buttons and see important information at a glance in settings.

PRICE AND COMPETITION

The Moto G5 Plus will be available in the US starting on 31 March at Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, Costco, Flash Wireless, Frys, Motorola.com, NewEgg, Republic Wireless, Target, Ting, and Walmart. Pre-orders begin March 24 at select retailers. It will be available for $229 with 2GB RAM/32GB storage and $299 with 4GB RAM/64GB storage. The Moto G5 Plus will also be available as a Prime Exclusive Phone on Amazon.com, at a discounted price for Amazon Prime members (2GB RAM/32GB of storage will be $184.99 and 4GB RAM/64GB of storage will be $239.99 for Prime members).

Other options in the sub-$300 range include the Huawei Honor 6X for $250, the ZTE Axon 7 Mini for $200, and the ZTE Blade V8 Pro. Looking at the specs, Moto actions, and track record of timely security updates, the Moto G5 Plus is the best sub-$300 smartphone available today.

DAILY USAGE EXPERIENCES AND CONCLUSION

There are always some compromises you have to make when you are paying half to a third of the cost of a high end flagship phone. With phones like the Moto G5 Plus, it is possible the masses may start looking to more affordable options and realize they don't have to give up much to save a ton of money. As Jason Perlow from ZDNet wrote back in October, the app experience is about the same across most smartphones today. It gets to be challenging trying to explain to your boss while the company needs to pay twice as much for a phone that does the same thing and in many cases may even be better.

Cameras on these low cost phones are generally fine for social networks, but it is not often they are very impressive. Huawei did well with the Honor 6X, but the Moto G5 Plus does even better. It has a 12 megapixel camera with large pixels to capture more light. BTW, you also get full image resolution upload to Google Photos for free for at least two years with the Moto G5 Plus.