Moto G5 Plus preview: A closer look

Software and performance

The Moto G5 Plus runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 with a choice of 3 or 4GB RAM and 16 or 32GB storage space. Our test unit was the 4GB/64GB variant.

Software version

On the software side, it runs Android 7.0 Nougat. As with previous Motorola phones, the G5 Plus comes with some proprietary Motorola features but everything else is largely stock Android UI.

Launcher • Notifications

Starting with the launcher, Motorola is using a classic homescreen plus app drawer design but now with a swipe up gesture to get to the app drawer. The leftmost page is assigned to Google Now but unlike on Google's launcher this cannot be disabled.

Within the app drawer we see the now standard vertical scrolling grid of icons. At the top are four most commonly used apps and a search bar. You can also use the scroll bar on the right to jump alphabetically within the grid.

While we appreciate stock Android, we miss some the useful features that other manufactures are adding on top of it. For example, there is no option to hide unnecessary icons or create folders within the app drawer. There is no additional functionality available when you press and hold on the app icons. You can't even change the size of the icon grid.

Multi-window mode

Being a Nougat device, the G5 Plus does have support for multi-window functionality. It works as you'd expect but the issue here is still the display size, which makes this feature less useful than you'd want it to be. We do like the ability to quickly go to the previous app with a double tap of the multitasking key, however. It's one of our favorite UI updates that come with Nougat.

Display size settings

Like most manufacturers, Motorola also sets the default display density too high. Fortunately, you can now change this easily under Nougat. Switching to the small size provides a significant increase in displayed information while still being at a comfortable size.

Moto Actions

As for additional features, we have Moto Actions, which include gestures such as double chop for flashlight and twist for capture. Once you get used to these it's hard to imagine why other phones don't include such a simple thing.

Then there is Moto Display, which lights up the display to show the time and notifications every time you pick up the phone or when there is a new notification. You can also interact with them directly from the lockscreen.

In terms of bloatware the G5 Plus is mercifully light. Apart from the most essential Google apps, which are mandatory anyway, there really isn't anything that comes pre-installed on the phone.

We found the fingerprint sensor on the front to be very good, with fast and accurate reads almost every time.

The single loudspeaker on the front also does reasonably well, with decent audio quality. It's no replacement for stereo speakers but having the speaker up front next to the display does make it sound a lot better than having it on the side or the back.

As for performance, the G5 Plus manages to be just on the right side of adequate. The phone handles day to day tasks well with enough speed and fluidity. In some apps like Twitter and Instagram we felt the scrolling could be smoother but it wasn't something we couldn't live with.

Occasionally, however, the phone would show its humble roots. In Snapchat, for example, using some of the heavier filters brings the framerate to its knees. This isn't a big deal when taking a picture but if you are recording a video it ends up looking extremely stuttery with a very low framerate. Fringe cases like this aside, the performance is mostly good and most buyers should be happy with it.

When it comes to gaming, the G5 Plus handles most games reasonably well. If you are primarily into casual games then you won't have any performance issues on this devices. Those looking to run graphics intensive games at their highest settings might need to look elsewhere.

The good thing is that the phone only gets nominally warm during use in some apps and games, and never reaches uncomfortable temperatures.

GeekBench 4 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  4053
• Moto G5 Plus
  3789
• Sony Xperia XA1
  3554
• Huawei Honor 6X
  3351
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  3011
• Oppo F3
  2685

GeekBench 4 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  843
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  832
• Huawei Honor 6X
  801
• Sony Xperia XA1
  800
• Moto G5 Plus
  799
• Oppo F3
  737

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  91458
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  76186
• Moto G5 Plus
  63390
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  63358
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  61616
• Sony Xperia XA1
  60707
• Huawei Honor 6X
  57012
• Oppo F3
  53008
• Oppo F1s
  30657

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  14
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  9.9
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  9.9
• Moto G5 Plus
  9.7
• Sony Xperia XA1
  9.6
• Huawei Honor 6X
  8.4
• Oppo F3
  6.8
• Oppo F1s
  5.1

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia XA1
  19
• Oppo F3 Plus
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  14
• Oppo F1s
  10
• Moto G5 Plus
  9.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  9.7
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  9.7
• Huawei Honor 6X
  7.9
• Oppo F3
  6.8

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  9
• Moto G5 Plus
  6.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  6.2
• Sony Xperia XA1
  6.2
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  6.2
• Huawei Honor 6X
  4.8
• Oppo F3
  4.5
• Oppo F1s
  2.4

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia XA1
  15
• Oppo F3 Plus
  11
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  9
• Moto G5 Plus
  6.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  6.2
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  6.1
• Oppo F1s
  6
• Huawei Honor 6X
  4.6
• Oppo F3
  4.5

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  16695
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  14717
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  10446
• Moto G5 Plus
  10406
• Sony Xperia XA1
  9714
• Huawei Honor 6X
  8458
• Oppo F3
  6148
• Oppo F1s
  419

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  1890
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  1426
• Sony Xperia XA1
  1351
• Huawei Honor 6X
  1309
• Moto G5 Plus
  1089
• Oppo F3
  1085
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  1050
• Oppo F1s
  269