Not even a month has passed and Lenovo has launched yet another Moto device in the country, the Moto G5.
The Moto G5 Plus, which was launched last month, hit the mid-range segment of the market like a sledgehammer offering excellent specs at a reasonable price tag. From features like Google Assistant and a well above average camera combination, the G5 Plus became the in-demand android phone for people hunting phones in the sub 15k category.
Now with the Moto G5 making in-roads to the Indian smartphone market, the ‘aam bhartiya janta’ is asking only one question. Which Moto G is worth the ‘moolah’?
Display: Less on Size, More on Pixels
Where the Moto G5 Plus comes with a 5.2 inch Full HD display, the Moto G5 is only slightly smaller. The 5-inch Moto G5 display also stands at 1080p but pumps out more pixels in the process.
Although on paper the G5 Plus sports a bigger screen, visually you aren’t missing out on much. Being smaller in size, the G5’s 5-inch display offers 441 ppi translating into more crisp images.
Misses out on Extra RAM & Storage Option
The new Moto G5 comes bundled with an octa-core Snapdragon 430 chipset coupled with 3GB of RAM while its bigger sibling the G5 Plus packs in a mid-tier Snapdragon 625 octa-core chipset with RAM options of 3GB and 4GB. A feature that we really like in the G5 & G5 Plus is the additional microSD card slot which allows memory expansion up to a whopping 256GB.
A slight advantage the G5 Plus holds here is that it comes with a 4GB RAM variant and internal storage options of 32GB and 64GB.
The better processor and additional RAM does give the G5 Plus an upper hand in this department. You might not be able to spot the difference in performance initially but that extra RAM might come in handy later.
G5 Plus Camera Holds a Slight Edge
Lenovo Moto has always been very serious about its optics. The G5 has been launched with a camera combination of 13-megapixel by 5-megapixel promising good pictures overall. Although, something that surprises many is the 12-megapixel rear sensor on the G5 Plus which is lesser than the G5!
Don’t be fooled by the numbers as the 12-megapixel sensor of the G5 Plus offers much more. Where the G5’s 13-megapixel shooter comes with f/2.0 aperture, the G5 Plus’ rear camera come with wide f/1.7 aperture, thereby offering better picture quality with more depth. Oh, and the G5 Plus can record 4k videos too.
Also Read: Moto G5 Plus vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4: Camera Shoot Comparison
Not Much Difference in Battery
Battery back-up is where we feel that Lenovo has maintained some consistency. The Moto G5 comes with a 2,800 mAh battery while the G5 Plus packs 3,000 mAh battery juice.
Both come with Quick Charge 3.0 so the wait to take the phone off a charging cable will be much lesser. The more mAh for the G5 Plus is justified because of the bigger screen although we feel that number should have been bigger.
Moto G or G5 Plus: Which One to Go For?
Now to what really matters to a buyer. The price tag.
Where the 16GB variant of the G5 is available for Rs.11,999, the 32GB and the 64GB variants of the G5 Plus are available for Rs.14,999 and Rs.16,999 respectively.
Both are great devices so it becomes tougher to choose here. The G5 is meant for the ones who just do not want to shell out that extra buck beyond the 12k mark. Also, what’s also important is that you won’t have to wait in any online queues unlike many Xiaomi devices to land yourself a G5.
The G5 Plus on the other hand is an excellent bargain for the ones looking for that extra oomph within budget.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)