Moto G4 review: Lenovated

Display

The Moto G4 features a 5.5" IPS display. It has 1080p resolution, marking a jump in sharpness from previous models and the G4 Play used 720p.

We found two settings for the Display - Normal and Vibrant - though they aren't very different (a slight gamma correction). The upside is that the screen is unexpectedly good both in terms of contrast and color rendering.

It scored an average deltaE of 2.6 and a maximum of just 3.7 in terms of color deviation. Those are better readings than the iPhone 6s Plus, LG G5 and HTC 10 get, not far off from Samsung's best either. We do wish Vibrant mode offered more punchy colors as they default to a somewhat muted look.

Colors stay nailed in place even when you view the screen at an angle. There's no visible contrast shift either when looking at an angle either.

It's not just the colors, the screen is brighter than LCDs in its price class and thanks to the impressively deep black levels, it offers very impressive contrast ratio.

The minimum brightness we got was 21nits, which is too bright if you need to check a late-night email in a dark room.

Sunlight legibility is pretty solid - it beats several pricey flagships as well as some of its direct competitors. Still, there are some affordable AMOLED options out there that do better.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  4.439
• OnePlus 3
  4.424
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  4.376
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Vivo Xplay5 Elite
  3.983
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3.918
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Apple iPhone 6
  3.838
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  3.817
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.802
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  3.789
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  3.772
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.756
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.709
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Apple iPhone SE
  3.681
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Meizu PRO 6
  3.659
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Acer Jade Primo
  3.521
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Sony Xperia X Performance
  3.234
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Huawei P9
  3.195
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• Motorola Moto X Force
  3.105
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  3.023
• Sony Xperia X
  2.989
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.97
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• LG G5
  2.905
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• LG V10
  2.744
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Vivo V3Max
  2.659
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Sony Xperia XA
  2.609
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• LeEco Le Max 2
  2.567
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Moto G4
  2.544
• Oppo F1
  2.528
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  2.473
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC 10
  2.378
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
  2.378
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  2.254
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  2.249
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Acer Liquid X2
  2.084
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Xiaomi Mi Max
  1.996
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Meizu m3 note
  1.923
• Meizu m2 note
  1.892
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  1.759
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Asus Zenfone Selfie
  1.68
• Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
  1.675
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  1.659
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Xiaomi Redmi 2
  1.311
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215

Using the Moto app, you can configure the Moto Display feature - disable it, block certain apps from pushing notifications to it and disable it at night.

Connectivity

The Moto G4 is available as a dual-SIM phone in some regions, single-SIM in others. Both have LTE Cat. 4 connectivity - that's 150Mbps down and 50Mbps up, and it comes in several versions with different band support.

Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is supported along with Bluetooth 4.2 LE. There's no NFC, however.

The microUSB 2.0 port supports OTG so that you can hook up flash drives and other USB accessories to it. It cannot output video, and there's no MHL or SlimPort functionality.

Battery

The Moto G4 is powered by a 3,000mAh non-removable battery.

The phone supports TurboPower, the Moto name for Quick Charge. It promises 6 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes of charging.

You won't be charging your phone too often, however, as it scored an Endurance rating of 73 hours. The individual readings were strong too.

With 20+ hours of talk time, the Moto G4 can outlast flagships like the LG G5 or an Xperia Z5, but lags slightly behind the Redmi Note 3. The Moto gets its revenge in the Web browser test by going an hour longer. The just under 10 hour video playback time is solid in its class.

The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.