First Look: Moto G Plus

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The Motorola Moto G has always been the puckish upstart, a mid-range smartphone that challenged and defied conventions by giving users some of the best features of premium smartphones (4G data, 720p HD display, long battery life, water resistance, microSD expansion) and placed it in an attractive package and price.

The fourth generation of the Moto G, which comes to Canada in two flavours including the Moto G Plus which we're checking out here, has definitely grown up and I don't mean just in size. 

The first official product launched under the stewardship of Lenovo, the Moto G Plus brings a more serious and austere look and feel to the Moto G line. The device is now a 5.5-inch smartphone and is visibly larger (but thankfully not much heavier), it retains some of the identity of its predecessors including the rear dimple with the iconic Moto 'M' badge as well as slight swooping of the plastic border but that's about it. Even the cool Moto startup animations which excited and delighted Motorola fans have been replaced with a generic 'Moto' flipping over into 'Lenovo' logo.

What's also gone, unfortunately, is the 'just right in the hand' curvature that was distinctly a trait of the Moto X and by extension its little brothers the Moto G and Moto E. As a fan of the funky, colourful and multitextured treatments that Motorola embellished upon the previous Moto G models, I can't help but find the styling and look of the Moto G Plus a little bland and unoriginal. The feel, however, is righteous and well-put together although the volume and power buttons feel a little too loose for my liking.

Thankfully, there's way more the the Moto G Plus than just the looks of it. This phone feels great and has a great fit for a 5.5-inch device. Aiming to be an affordable phablet, it really doesn't feel much heavier than last year's 5-inch Moto G and as a result is a device you won't think twice about taking with you.

The large and bright 5.5-inch display isn't the only premium feature on tap with the Moto G Plus. It features an all-new 16 megapixel camera with laser focus, a fingerprint sensor that resides at the bottom of the front bezel plus has updated specs including an octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and microSD card expansion.

The fingerprint sensor is quick and easy to set up and fast to deploy. It has become my preferred way of unlocking the device. 

The Moto G Plus also has turbocharger quick-charge technology, which works when you use the Motorola charger that can quickly top up the battery up to 60 per cent in just 15 minutes. This is a feature that isn't even being offered in some higher end smartphones, yet Motorola has had it for a few years now and made it available to the Moto G Plus, which also has a 3000 mAh battery.

I'm looking forward to testing the Moto G Plus, specially its 16 megapixel camera which rated higher on DXOmark than many flagship devices.

With a new range of Moto G devices and a midrange-phablet flagship in the Moto G Plus, Lenovo is continuing Motorola's strategy of creating compelling handsets with features and specs found in more expensive devices. Even if it has lost some of its playfulness, there's little doubt that the Moto G Plus can dominate the important mid-range of the smartphone market.