Moto E4 Plus Review: A Phone With Extra Power

Moto E4 Plus Review

OUR VERDICT

The Moto E4 Plus comes with far better battery life than both its cheaper sibling, the Moto E4, and therefore the costlier Moto G5, but if you’re after for a more powerful phone with a Full HD screen you'll be more happy going for the G5 despite its higher price. However, if battery life is your main concern the Moto E4 Plus is made only for you.

FOR

• Huge battery
• Fingerprint scanner
• Premium pity budget phone

AGAINST

• Limited power
• Iffy camera
• Relatively heavy

Motorola's E4 Plus is that the latest phone from the corporate , packing an enormous battery and trying to up the spec despite a low-end price.

Battery life may be a big concern of just about everyone who wants to shop for a replacement phone, and Motorola has packed this phone with a huge cell that ought to be ready to last a minimum of two days.

The Lenovo P2 – made by Motorola’s parent company – impressed us earlier this year with its two-day battery life, so we expect some big things from the new E4 Plus, which in some respects replaces that phone.

Given that its specs are limited in other areas, leaving the phone with less work to try to to , we expect the Moto E4 Plus to try to to some fantastic things within the battery department, but do the remainder of the components add up to form this a worthwhile phone?

Update: Consistent with Motorola, the E4 Plus and E4 are among the few of its smartphones to not receive the anticipated upgrade to Android Oreo. as long as these are a number of Moto's most affordable phones available, this is often a disappointment to several who were hoping for it. But hey, Android Nougat isn't so bad.

Moto E4 Plus Release Date and Price

• Out now within the US and UK, no word on Australian release
• Costs $179.99 or £159, making it slightly costlier than the Moto E4
• The Moto E4 Plus is out now within the US and UK, so you'll buy this phone for $179.99/£159 (around AU$240).

In the US the phone is out there through Verizon or selected retailers SIM-free. within the UK you'll pip out from Argos and a variety of other stores.

That price may be a touch costlier than the Moto E4, a phone which we liked enough to offer four and a half stars and which is priced at $129/£129/AU$199, but the E4 Plus isn't that far more money considering the marginally improved spec.

There’s no currently no scheduled Australian release date for the E4 Plus, but it's hard to mention if it'll stay that way considering the Moto E4 has finally released within the region.

Design

• Premium feel metal design, unlike the Moto E3
• Thicker and heavier than your average phone
• Curved and smooth back means it sits comfortably within the hand

The Moto E4 Plus is encased during a full metal shell that provides it a premium feel many other affordable phones aren't ready to replicate. it's a curved back, helping it sit in your hand comfortably too.

On rock bottom of the phone there is a speaker and a micro USB port. On the highest there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack if you would like to use wired headsets for taking note of music.

It may sit comfortably in your hand, but the Moto E4 Plus is not light – it weighs 198g – and it’s also quite thick at 9.6mm. that creates it chunkier than the 9.3mm-thick Moto E4, and it’s right down to the much bigger battery that's been packed in.

You’ll likely notice this in your pocket quite the Moto E4 or Moto G5, which are available at 151g and 145g respectively.

That said, it doesn't make the E4 Plus ugly. Its metal shell leaves it wealthy , and overall Motorola has managed to create during a bigger battery without compromising the planning an excessive amount of .

There’s no SIM slot on the metal outside of the phone – you achieve the rear cover to insert your microSD card and SIM (you can’t remove the battery though). We found it to be particularly difficult to tug off, so swapping your SIM card or microSD might not be as easy as you’d hope for, although it’s unlikely you’d be doing so regularly.

There's also a fingerprint scanner below the screen, which we found to figure well. you'll find the sensor a touch small compared to those on another devices, but it always picked up our fingerprint for an easy unlock.

Having a fingerprint sensor on a phone this cheap may be a major plus, and you’ll likely appreciate it as a quick and straightforward way of unlocking your phone.

The design of the Moto E4 Plus certainly isn’t perfect, but considering the worth point of this phone, and therefore the incontrovertible fact that the sooner Moto E3 line came with a way uglier plastic shell design, this is often an enormous improvement.

Display

• Large display with a HD resolution, but only 720p
• May prove overlarge for a few , but it’s a bright and clear screen
• The Moto E4 Plus features a 5.5-inch HD (720p) display, which you'll see as a low-resolution option.

It does offer 267 pixels per inch though, which suggests you'll struggle to identify any pixelation in images unless you are looking closely.

It’s not, however, as high a resolution as previous Lenovo-built devices just like the P2, Moto G5 or the Moto G5 Plus. If you’re trying to find a better resolution you'll be ready to get the Moto G4 or G4 Plus, which features a Full HD display, for an identical price.

During our usage though we found the Moto E4 Plus to possess a bright and clear display that appears good for watching video, despite the lower resolution. If you’re not fussed about the upper resolution screen, this display will still allow you to comfortably use your apps and watch video.

Plus the lower resolution puts less of a strain on the battery, contributing to the superb battery lifetime of the Moto E4 Plus.