Motorola recently announced their budget offering i.e E4 plus. This device is priced at Rs. 9999 and competes directly with the likes of Xiaomi, Lenovo and even Indian brands like Lava, Micromax and so on. Although Xiaomi has become the King of budget devices with its Redmi series, does the E4 plus stand out among others, lets check that out.
Specifications:
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| Moto E4 Plus in grey |
Specifications:
- 5.5 inch 720p IPS LCD display (1280 × 720) with 267ppi and 2.5D glass
- Mediatek MT6737 SOC with 4 Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.3gHz
- 3GB RAM and 32GB internal Storage
- 13MP f/2.0 lens with 1.12 micron pixel size and 78 degree field of view and single LED flash
- 5MP front camera with f/2.4 aperture and 1.12 micron lens and 84 degree field of view with front facing flash
- Rear camera is capable of only 720p at 30 FPS video recording
- 5000 mAh battery with 10W i.e 5V at 2A charger
- Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi b/g/n and 2.4gHz band, GPS, A-GPS
- Dual microphones and Dolby Atmos support
- Sensor: Proximity, ambient light and accelerometer, fingerprint
- 3.5mm audio jack and micro USB port
- 9.55 mm thickness and 198g weight
- Android 7.1.1
- Colours: Fine Gold, Iron Grey
From the specs the device may not seem to be attractive like most other devices in this price segment however the main highlight and selling point is the 5000mAh battery. Motorola claims 2 full days of battery life and to some extent it may seem legit considering moderate to slightly heavy usage.
Physical features:
The device comes with 5.5 inch 720p display which is underwhelming considering the competitors provide 1080p screen resolution. Although 720p does provide decent viewing angles yet being 2017, its outdated and 1080p is mainstream.
This device has 9.55 mm thickness considering the massive 5000mAh battery that it packs. The E4 plus is not like any light device since it weighs 198g.
The device has a removable back panel which is made of metallic finish exposing the non-removable battery. One main advantage is that it takes 2 micro SIMs and has a separate slot for sd card unlike most other devices which provide hybrid slot.
The device comes with a fingerprint sensor towards the bottom and overall the device shares its design status with the G5 Plus.
The device comes with a fingerprint sensor towards the bottom and overall the device shares its design status with the G5 Plus.
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| Camera Interface |
Speaking of performance, this device comes with Mediatek MT6737 SOC. This SOC has 4 Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.3gHz and the GPU is Mali T720 MP1 with 650 MHz frequency. The number of GFlops is 18.7. The SOC is based on 28nm process. This SOC was also used on the Nokia 3.
The 6737 is not capable for any heavy usage and heavy gaming seems impossible. By impossible I mean heavy frame drops while gaming although casual games will never be an issue. Basic day to day usage without any stutter will be a big win for you here. The SOC specs are very outdated and is a blunder from Motorola to price the E4 plus at Rs. 10K. They should have chosen at least the Snapdragon 435 SOC or even 425 which would have been better than the 6737.
Although the 6737 being a newer SOC supports 4G LTE however it just supports Band 40 TDD LTE and FDD LTE 1/3/5/7/8.
The device comes preloaded with Android nougat i.e 7.1.1 based on almost stock Android. One of the pros of the device lies here as it comes with latest Android version and vanilla Android as against older Android version and highly customised UI in most other devices. Also the E4 Plus comes with all other Motorola specific features like ambient notifications, gesture over Proximity sensor to view notifications, reply to notifications from lock screen and so on.
The device comes preloaded with Android nougat i.e 7.1.1 based on almost stock Android. One of the pros of the device lies here as it comes with latest Android version and vanilla Android as against older Android version and highly customised UI in most other devices. Also the E4 Plus comes with all other Motorola specific features like ambient notifications, gesture over Proximity sensor to view notifications, reply to notifications from lock screen and so on.
Overall the performance will be average and no where near the Xiaomi Redmi note 4 or even the Redmi 4 as well as Huawei Honor 6X.
Now, for a price tag of Rs. 9999, should you go for it? Probably Not as the near contenders like Xiaomi Redmi note 4, Huawei Honor 6X and even the Lenovo K6 Power provide better value for the amount that they are being sold for. However, I can't comment on the camera since going by mere specs would be unjust yet Huawei Honor 6X was the winner in budget category and will still remain. Similarly, for performance with great battery life Redmi note 4 and also Redmi 4 (with 4000/4100mAh battery) are the clear winners.
The E4 Plus is available online via Flipkart.
Do let us know about your thoughts on the Motorola E4 Plus.
Now, for a price tag of Rs. 9999, should you go for it? Probably Not as the near contenders like Xiaomi Redmi note 4, Huawei Honor 6X and even the Lenovo K6 Power provide better value for the amount that they are being sold for. However, I can't comment on the camera since going by mere specs would be unjust yet Huawei Honor 6X was the winner in budget category and will still remain. Similarly, for performance with great battery life Redmi note 4 and also Redmi 4 (with 4000/4100mAh battery) are the clear winners.
The E4 Plus is available online via Flipkart.
Do let us know about your thoughts on the Motorola E4 Plus.