The Moto G series from Motorola has always been reliable and solid with impressive performance and specs. The Moto G5s Plus takes this claim a step further by adding a dash of premium glamour to it. Thanks to the all-metal unibody, sleek design and solid build, the G5s Plus looks like a premium phone, but at a budget price. The “S” stands for Special Edition, and the G5s Plus is an enhancement to the G5 Plus released last year.
Let’s take a closer look at the specifications and features of this device from Motorola.
• Design and Build Quality
The G5s Plus sports a full aluminium unibody which gives a premium finish to the device. Motorola has stated that a single piece of metal is used to make the body, which ensures the high build quality. The device feels solid and sturdy to handle, without any squeaky parts.
You can find the speaker grill, front-facing camera, flash and proximity sensor on the top of the screen. The dual camera is on the back, and the antenna bands run on the top and bottom. The power button and volume rocker are to the right, and the sim tray is on the left. The micro USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and speaker grille are at the bottom.
The fingerprint sensor is on the bottom, below the screen and there are no other physical buttons. The virtual home button is present on the screen. Additionally, you can also configure the settings to make the fingerprint sensor double up as the home button.
• Display Quality and Features
The G5s Plus sports a 5.5” full-HD IPS LCD with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 and 401 PPI. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protects the screen. Vibrant colours, excellent viewing angles, accurate colour reproductions and sharp images and text are some of the positives of the display.
You can switch the display between two modes. Opt for the standard colour setting when you want for natural colours. Choose the vibrant setting when you want the images to pop out and watch videos on a vivid colour setting.
• Hardware and Performance
The G5s Plus runs on an octa-core Snapdragon 625 chipset bundled with an Adreno 526 GPU. The processor clocks at a rate of 2.0 GHz and comes with 4GB RAM. The internal storage capacity is 64GB which is expandable to 128GB via a microSD card.
It has a 3000 mAh battery with Turbo Charge support, meaning the charging time reduces significantly. The connectivity options include Dual nano-SIMs, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/q/n, GPS, Bluetooth 4.2, MicroUSB, and 3.5mm headphone jack.
The G5s Plus really shines when it comes to performance. The device runs all major tasks effortlessly and without any hiccups and handles heavy-duty games like Asphalt 8, Modern Combat 5 without any delays or lags. Also, it doesn’t heat up much even during extended gaming use.
The call quality is excellent, and the G5s Plus latches on to mobile networks perfectly, even in areas with spotty signals. Decent noise cancellation, clear sound output, voice clarity are some of the best features of the speaker.
• Software, UI, and Apps
As with other Motorola devices, the G5s Plus offers a clean, stock Android experience. It runs Nougat 7.1.1 out of the box. Bloatware is kept minimal, and the standard Google suite apps and Moto Help files are preloaded. Motorola has provided G5s Plus with access to several features like the “Moto Voice,” “Moto Display” and “Moto Actions” all of which elevate the overall user experience of the device. The overall user experience is smooth, snappy and fluid without any glitches.
• Camera and Battery Life
One of the highlights of this device is the Dual 13MP camera with depth editing software, and colour balancing LED flash. Of the two 13MP sensors, one shoots in monochrome while the other shoots in colour. This gives better images that capture even the tiniest details and look good even in low-lighting conditions. The front selfie camera is 8MP with an aperture rating of f/2.0, LED flash and wide angle lens. You can record 4K videos at 30fps.
The G5s Plus has a 3000 mAh non-removable Li-ion battery that lasts for a typical workday. Additionally, the device comes with a 15W Turbo Charger which charges from 0 to 100% in around 110 minutes.
Product Highlights
• Dual Camera Setup – The G5s Plus sports a rear dual camera, which is not usually available on phones in this price range. The camera has dual 13MP sensors with an aperture of f/2.0.
• Android Oreo Update – Motorola has announced that users of the G5s Plus will receive updates to Oreo, the upcoming Android OS, as soon as it rolls out.
• Google Assistant Nav Bar – The G5s Plus has the Google Assistant navigation bar, which is found only in the premium Pixel phones as of now.
• Depth Editor – Use this feature to alter the depth of your images after you shoot them. Increase or decrease the slider to vary the field of depth.
Pros: The Good
• The screen to body ratio is a high 70.1, meaning that you get a large display that feels immersive.
• Bloatware is minimal when compared to other similar devices from other brands. This ensures that you aren’t tied down with apps that you rarely use.
• Use the professional mode to set the camera features like exposure, ISO manually and click DSLR like images.
• Chamfered edges, premium metal body all add to the overall aesthetics of the device.
• The fingerprint sensor is pretty fast and works without any delays or lags.
Cons: The Not So Good
• Lack of an AMOLED panel, thereby missing true blacks and high contrast ratios.
• Sunlight legibility is poor as the display causes a bit of reflection when operating under direct sunlight.
• Absence of an LED notification light.
• There is a significant camera shutter lag.
• The phone feels a bit bulky, especially while using on the move.