Moto G4 Play Review: Budget Android, Full-Featured And Unlocked

The third member of the new Moto G family, the Moto G4 Play we've shown you here, is the most wallet-friendly option. As such, it has less-powerful hardware than its more expensive siblings. Even so, the Moto G4 Play offers adequate performance for day-to-day smartphone user at a reasonable price, especially if you consider Amazon’s $99 option for Prime users, which displays ads on the Lockscreen in exchange for a lower out-of-pocket cost.

In the budget-friendly smartphone space, each additional dollar spent can have an impact on performance and the hardware powering the devices. The G4 and G4 Plus are in the same family as the Moto G4 Play, yet they have higher price tags and better internal hardware. Likewise, the 16GB ZenFone 2 Laser which is currently selling for around $180 has a better processor and GPU, more RAM, dual SIM slots, larger and higher resolution screen, and higher resolution rear camera. The ZenFone 2 Laser runs Android 5.0, however, whereas the Moto G4 Play runs on the updated Android 6.0. Each of these phones have more to offer than the Moto G4 Play, but they also cost more.

For the basic user who wants a simple phone, without a cluttered OS or tons of bells and whistles, the Moto G4 Play should be adequate. Will these users notice the additional performance available with some of the more expensive options mentioned above? Possibly, but that increase in performance may not be worth the trade off in cost to these users.

Its benchmark scores aren't very strong, but to be fair, we weren’t expecting chart-topping performance from such an affordable, unlocked smartphone. The Moto G4 Play simply isn’t trying to be the best of the best. Instead, it’s meant  to offer good real-world performance for a very budget-friendly price and it accomplishes that goal well. The fact that the phone offers decent battery life, good cameras, and is clean and free of unnecessary apps and bloatware are additional perks, particularly for someone who just wants a basic, no-frills smartphone that won't break the bank.

Affordable Unlocked Removable battery Expandable storage	Unimpressive benchmark scores Limited camera controls