Moto G5 Plus

So far, all generations of the Moto G range have favoured plastic-bodies. In fact, even its flagship Moto X series (which has now given way to the Moto Z family) have used a combination of metal frames and plastic / glass backs. With the recently-released Moto M (review) however, the Lenovo-owned brand switched an all-metal chassis for the very first time. The Moto G5 Plus also follows the same path, but the metal is limited to the back panel only.

Motorola has set a name for itself when it comes to software on its devices – the latest iteration of Android in its pure unadulterated form with some useful enhancements. The Moto G5 Plus fulfils that promise as it ships with Android 7.0 Nougat, and you get the same interface as the Google Pixel – be it the lock screen, the home screen or the app drawer.

While most Moto devices might not be known for their camera quality, the Moto G4 Plus changed that perception. In fact, it still ranks as among the best shooters in the sub-Rs 15k range. Its successor, the Moto G5 Plus also promises a lot on the photography front, as it offers a 12-megapixel snapper with the widest aperture available on smartphones – f/1.7. The same aperture is available on the Samsung Galaxy S7 duo (camera review). The G5 Plus matches the S7 in another aspect too – dual autofocus pixels. With the dual-pixel technology – usually available on Canon DSLRs – the camera can focus on the subject in a jiffy. The shutter speed of the Moto G5 Plus is impressive too. The camera app has also come a long way in Moto smartphones… earlier it used to be minimal almost to a fault, and now it offers a ton of features, including the professional mode to tweak the ISO levels, focus, etc. as per need. The viewfinder also suggests the apt mode as per the ambient conditions, and we also appreciate the fact that the app also offers an auto HDR mode, enabling the dynamic range automatically. Another interesting capability is that it can detect and scan QR codes and barcodes automatically.

Moto has always been known to focus on experience rather than specs, but with the G5 Plus, it's giving equal importance to the hardware under the hood. The device comes powered by the popular (and our favourite) Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset. The processor offers excellent power efficiency without sacrificing on the performance front with its eight Cortex-A57 cores thrumming at 2.0GHz. Combined with up to 4GB of RAM, the phone is able to deliver a smooth performance throughout. We rarely came across any slowdowns whatsoever. The Adreno 506 graphics engine also manages to ensure a smooth gaming experience. We enjoyed playing titles like Asphalt Nitro and Smash Hit for long durations, and the device offered lag-free graphics. However, we did notice a few jerks while running Smash Hit at the highest settings. The best part is that there are no heating issues while gaming for long periods, though we did notice the back plate getting warm after using it for GPS navigation. 

While the Rs 15,000 price bracket is seeing a surge of smartphones packing 4,000mAh or even 5,000mAh batteries, the Moto G5 Plus features a standard 3,000mAh unit. However, don’t go by the numbers, as the handset is able to offer fantastic battery life. Thanks to Snapdragon 625’s efficiency and Moto’s optimisations, the phone can easily last up to two days with moderate usage comprising intermittent use of 4G, 15 to 20 minutes of gaming, plus a few calls and messages. In fact, we got close to five hours of SOT, which is simply outstanding. Even with heavy usage, the phone can easily last more than a day.

Solid metal-clad design

One-button navigation is difficult to get accustomed to