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❤ Here are the Motorola phones that will get an Android 11 update but won’t update any of its older phones to Android 11

Galaxy Expert , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

Motorola has announced which of its phones will receive an update to Android 11, along with some of the new features to expect. The list of phones is long; if you purchased a Motorola device in the past 12 months or so, chances are you’re covered.

Here’s the full list:

  • motorola razr 5G
  • motorola razr 2019
  • motorola edge
  • motorola edge+
  • motorola one 5G
  • motorola one action¹
  • motorola one fusion
  • motorola one fusion+
  • motorola one hyper
  • motorola one vision
  • moto g 5G
  • moto g 5G plus
  • moto g fast
  • moto g power
  • moto g pro
  • moto g stylus
  • moto g9
  • moto g9 play
  • moto g9 plus
  • moto g9 power
  • moto g8
  • moto g8 power
  • Lenovo K12 Note

According to Motorola, Moto users should expect features like Chat Bubbles, streamlined device and media controls, and improved privacy settings. We also confirmed earlier this month that as part of Motorola’s Android 11 update, some of its phones will support a new Desktop Mode.

It’s unclear which Motorola devices will support the new mode, but we got a brief glimpse at it possibly running on the Moto G 5G Plus. Either that or it was the company’s upcoming Snapdragon 865-powered “nio” handset.

The plan right now is for Motorola to roll out Android 11 “in the coming months.” Unfortunately, we have no exact dates, and Motorola warned that its current plans could change. “This information communicated is not a commitment or an obligation to deliver any product, product feature, software update or functionality and Motorola Mobility reserves the right to change the content and timing of any product, product feature or software release,” Motorola wrote in a blog post.

Motorola said that the rollout of Android 11 is also influenced by partner support. Hopefully, we’ll see Motorola release Android 11 sooner rather than later. There’s a long list of devices expected to get the update, and we’re hoping Motorola can hit every one on the list.

 

 

 

 

  • Motorola released a list devices it plans to update to Android 11.
  • All of the phones on the list came out in either 2019 or 2020.

After all the disappointment 2020 brought with it, you might have hoped a company like Motorola would have tried to end the year on a high note. But that’s not to be the case. The company shared its Android 11 upgrade plans, and they’re no better than anything Motorola has put together over the past couple of years.

As you can see from the list below, if you own a Motorola phone that came out before 2019, don’t expect the company to push the latest version of Google’s operating system to your device. What’s more, even if you own a Moto phone from 2019 or 2020, you may end up waiting a while to get anything. Motorola says it will begin rolling out Android 11 “starting in the coming months, pending partner support.” In other words, expect a potentially long wait, particularly if you don’t own one of the higher-end devices on the list like the Razr 5G or Edge.

If you happen to own a Motorola One Action you bought in North America, you’re also out of luck. Motorola only plans to update the Latin American and European variants of that phone to Android 11 since it’s included in Google’s Android One program in those places. Even by Motorola’s lacklustre support standards, this is not a great showing for the company.

Thankfully, update lists like the one above may become less common in the future. Google and Qualcomm recently announced a partnership to deliver four years of support to future Snapdragon-equipped devices. That pledge is likely to help low-end and mid-range devices the most.

 

 

❤ Motorola G6 Play ( Moto G6 Play )

Galaxy Expert , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

Few brands can boast such a monumental legacy as Motorola – one of the original forefathers and titans on the mobile scene. And it’s not just the brick-like phones of the past that contribute to this special status either. You only need to turn the clock back five years or so from now to see the original Moto G at the forefront of a budget smartphone revolution. One that is continuing to this day, compelling manufacturers to constantly push the envelope on what is possible with a budget device.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, financial turmoils, several buyouts, management and business changes later, these historic Motorola glory days appear to be in the past. But even so, Moto lives on and so does the Moto G. Now in its sixth generation and a sprawling family of three – the G6, G6 Plus and last, but not least, the G6 Play.

All that being said, at $200, the latter can’t really hope for the instant recommendation, many of its predecessors got back in the day. Especially in 2018, with good quality value offers flying in left and right and seriously mounting competition from the likes of Xiaomi, Huawei and even a resurrected Nokia.

 

 

 

 

Motorola Moto G6 Play

  • Body: Plastic back; 154.4×72.2x9mm; 175 grams; p2i water repellent nano coating on some markets
  • Screen: 5.7-inch, 18:9, HD+, IPS LCD, MAX Vision
  • Rear Camera: 13MP, f/2.0 lens; Secondary 5MP; LED flash; 1080p@30fps video recording
  • Front Camera: 8MP, 1080p@30fps video recording; LED selfie flash
  • Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, octa-core Cortex-A53 1.4GHz
  • Memory: 3/4GB RAM, 32/64GB, dedicated microSD slot for up to 128GB expansion
  • OS: Android 8.0 Oreo
  • Battery: 4,000mAh, Turbo Charge 15W
  • Connectivity: Optional Dual SIM (4G), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/GLONASS, Dual-band (some markets) Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, microUSB
  • Misc: Fingerprint reader on back

However, don’t do kicking the Moto G6 Play to the side quite so hastily. The proverbial runt in the Moto G litter still has a lot going for it, besides a legendary reputation. Lenovo managed to cram a massive 4,000 mAh battery, inside the 9mm thin handset and even throw in snappy 15W fast charging support in the mix.

Just like its bigger sibling, the G6 Play has an extra-tall Max Vision display. It’s even complete with rounded corners, for a truly contemporary look. All the while, the Moto G6 Play remains a lot truer to the original Moto G spirit than the rest of the family.

A clean front, with no controls and only on-screen navigation and a the familiar “M” dimple on the back, make for a rather classic experience, that long-time fans of the series might actually prefer. Of course, that’s also complimented by the traditional Vanilla approach to Motorola‘s Android ROMs. Another integral and well-known part of the Moto G mix.

Join us on the following pages, as we explore the new, yet familiar Moto G6 Play in more detail.

Back in the day, the Motorola Moto G had a pretty clear angle going for it. It was the go-to, budget and vanilla Android device of choice for many. Since then, things have become a bit more complicated within the Motorola lineup. Now, there’s a sprawling Moto E family, a growing Moto C and even a Moto E, all filling up the proverbial nooks and crannies of the budget niche as best they can.

While choice is hard to complain about, this new-found market saturation and segmentation do require some involved choices on the user’s end. Thankfully, for the most part, the Moto G6 Play brings a balanced mix of design and features to the table. Just like its older predecessors, the G6 Play is plastic all around and it still works just as well.

There are plenty of advantages to using the relatively light and less dent-prone material. Lenovo has even put in the extra effort to coat the central frame in a metal-like fashion. We’ve seen more believable finishes out there, but still, a good effort.

In place of the more traditional unibody approach, Motorola decided to go for a modern look this time around and a glossy, curved back surface. Naturally, just like the rest of the body, it’s plastic as well, but actually does a pretty convincing job of imitating metal.

This could potentially spell out trouble if you tend to bang and slap your phone around a lot. Plus, chances are you’ll never get to see the surface fingerprint-free from the moment you first pick up the Moto G6 Play. Still, it does make for a decent hand feel.

On a more positive note, the signature Motorola splash-resistant nano coating on the electronics inside is still part of the mix. We are kind of hesitant to get the phone deliberately wet to test it out. But then again, that’s missing the point entirely. It’s just meant to be the extra piece of mind in case of rainy weather or an accidental splash of water.

Hardware overview

In many ways, the Moto G6 Play has a traditional setup on the front – no capacitive navigation keys or fingerprint reader, a fairly wide bottom chin, with the entire surface covered by an undisclosed version of Gorilla Glass.

 

 

 

 

At the same time, however, the new Moto G look is trendier than ever, mostly thanks to an extra-tall, 18:9, LCD panel, shared by all three siblings. It even has rounded corners, in keeping with the trends of the day. Just like the regular Moto G6, the G6 Play gets a decently sized 5.7-inch display – fairly large for a “Play” device.

The only real difference in the display department between the two devices is the resolution – it’s 720 x 1440 pixels on the G6 Play. However, fewer pixels mean less strain on the GPU for on-screen rendering task. A bonus that is sure to shine through in the benchmark section of the review.

We can’t fail to mention that Motorola didn’t find it necessary to fit a notification LED on the front of the G6 Play, but there is still an LED selfie flash.

Like we mentioned earlier, the curved back side of the Moto G6 Plus is plastic and thus not necessarily the most sturdy surface out there. We would definitely recommend using the provided case, which also offers the bonus of not having to deal with the almost unnatural amount of dirt and grease the back accumulates.

The camera module protrudes a bit, but it’s nothing major. One would hope so, considering the G6 Play is 9mm thick. It has this watch dial effect going for it and the lack of a second camera module allowed Motorola to go for a vertical arrangement. So, there are no shocked and surprised smiley configurations on this one.

Right underneath the familiar circular camera module is an even more familiar and traditional “M” dimple. Long-term fans will remember the little signature detail was mostly for show back in the day. Now, it also doubles as a home for the fingerprint reader. Getting the dimple once again looks retro fancy in just the right way. Resting your index finger there during calls feels right.

The fingerprint reader itself is pretty reliable, but not exactly what we would consider speedy. It is more versatile than before now that Motorola can use it as an authentication to manage and auto-fill passwords in apps and websites and even log-on to Windows devices.

There’s not a lot to mention about the sides of the Moto G6 Play. The bottom is almost entirely empty, housing only the dated microUSB port and the main microphone. So, where are the speakers then you ask? Well, turns out the phone only has one and it’s the earpiece. It’s pretty quiet as well, but more on that later.

The top is equally barren, with a pair of holes – one for the secondary, noise-canceling microphone and the other the tried and true 3.5mm audio jack. The left-hand side has a single cut-out for the card tray. Motorola could have done a better job slicing it out and then dampening it since it doesn’t really sit flush and rocks in place a little bit when nudged. However, these are all petty complaints that get dwarfed by the fact that the tray has three whole slots (two in the Single SIM models). Two for SIM cards and a dedicated microSD one. That means you don’t have to choose between another phone line and memory – always a plus in our book.

All the buttons sit pretty high up on the right side of the device. Perhaps a bit too high for comfort, if you have smaller hands. Other than that, they are nice and clicky and well-defined. The power button, while on the slim side, even has an edged pattern going for it, so its very easy to feel around.

Overall, as far as controls go, no real complaints. It seems Motorola has handled the transition to a new extra-tall aspect ratio pretty well.

Display

Extra-tall displays are an increasingly common sight on budget devices nowadays. Even though the new aspect ratios typically leave you with less horizontal real estate, it is still hard to complain or argue against the practical benefits of more vertical room for most everyday tasks. Especially, when the deal does not include a notch.

 

 

 

 

Just like many of its competitors, Motorola decided to hunker down and bring 18:9 to the masses, including as part of the affordable Moto G6 Play package.

Users looking to same a few bucks from the regular Moto G6 won’t have to sacrifice on screen diagonal at all.

The Play does come with a slight bump down in resolution. But, 720 x 1440 pixels and a density rating of 282ppi is still pretty decent for an entry-level phone.

Display test 100% brightness
Black, cd/m2 White, cd/m2 Contrast ratio
Motorola Moto G6 Plus (Max Auto) 0.564 776 1376
Motorola Moto G6 Plus 0.418 610 1459
Motorola Moto G5S (Max Auto) 0.415 582 1402
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus 0.548 555 1013
Motorola Moto G6 Play (Max Auto) 0.419 554 1321
Xiaomi Mi A1 0.351 551 1570
Huawei P Smart 0.356 531 1492
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) max auto 0 518 ∞
LG Q6 0.288 510 1771
Xiaomi Redmi 5 0.378 503 1331
Nokia 6 (Global version) 0.364 484 1330
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) Max Auto 0 482 ∞
Motorola Moto G6 Play 0.339 476 1404
Huawei Honor 7X 0.236 458 1941
Motorola Moto G5S 0.266 415 1560
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) 0 408 ∞
Huawei P8lite 0.45 362 802
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) 0 348 ∞

The IPS LCD panel Moto managed to acquire and fit inside the G6 Play budget is decent, if not particularly impressive. Under normal conditions, its brightness tops off at 476 nits, with respectable enough contrast. Max Auto allows it to shine at up to 554 nits, at the cost of some contrast.

The Moto G6 Play offers a less than stellar experience under strong sunlight, but it’s still usable in most cases.

On a more positive note, color accuracy is surprisingly good, if a few conditions are met. In it’s default mode, the whites on the G6 Play screen have a distinct blue hue. Switching between the Standard and Vivid color modes does little to correct that. The maximum deltaE sits at 6.4, with a maximum of 13.3 in the blue.

However, setting the color temperature from the default setting to Warm does yield tangible results. This way, you can get the color deviation down to a respectable average deltaE of 3.8 and a maximum of 6.5. Almost what we would consider color-accurate.

Moto G6 Play Battery Life

At 9mm thick, the Motorola Moto G6 Play is quite a chunky phone, no question about it. Still, it does compensate for it’s girth, at least to some extent, with a large 4,000 mAh battery. Sure, you could justifiably argue that a lot of the juice end up kind of wasted on the inefficient 28nm Snapdragon chipset. Undoubtedly, something newer, like the Snapdragon 450 would do a better job, with its 14nm node. Failing that, the older and now likely more affordable Snapdragon 625 is tried and true and still a solid choice.

But, we might be getting a bit too picky. The Snapdragon 430 (non-US) review unit, we tested at the office still did a solid job, stretching the 4,000 Mah battery pack to its full extent.

It scored an overall endurance rating of 92 hours – more than respectable.

 

 

 

 

Looking at the particular numbers in detail, Motorola appears to have done a bang-up optimization job all-around. The near-vanilla Android OS definitely helps a fair bit and as a result, the Moto G6 Play easily breaks the 200-hour barrier in standby.

Even with its older 28nm development process, the Snapdragon 430 and its X6 LTE modem, in particular, manage to clock in over 30 hours of call time. Google’s Chrome browser and File app/video player don’t disappoint either. Both manage to keep pushing content on the HD+ display for over 14hours on a single charge. Overall, while the Moto G6 Play is a bit on the chunky side, it feels quite comfortable away from a power outlet for prolonged periods of time.

Motorola was also considerate enough to include support for its own Turbo power fast charging standard in the Moto G6 Play. It is actually one of the cheapest phones out there, with quick top-off support.

The Moto G6 Play is, theoretically capable of sucking in power at up to 15W. However, we can’t really confirm is a compatible Turbo Power charger will be provided in the box. Package contents frequently differ from market to market and Lenovo has a pretty bumpy track record in this area. So, the best way to go about it is to check with your local retailer of choice.

Loudspeaker

Motorola was definitely generous in the battery department, but the loudspeaker setup is a whole other story. The Moto G6 Play only has a single speaker – the earpiece, above the display. It is powered to pump out some volume and that’s about it.

Speakerphone test Voice, dB Pink noise/ Music, dB Ringing phone, dB Overall score
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) 64.1 65.3 68.5 Below Average
Motorola Moto G6 Play 62.6 68.0 71.0 Average
Moto M 64.5 72.9 72.0 Good
Motorola Moto G6 Play (Dolby audio) 66.1 70.0 76.2 Good
Nokia 2 66.7 70.6 75.0 Good
LG Q6 67.0 69.3 76.1 Good
Xiaomi Redmi 5 66.1 68.4 82.1 Good
Huawei P Smart 65.9 70.8 85.8 Very Good
Huawei Honor 7X 66.4 71.1 85.1 Very Good
Motorola Moto G5S 76.1 72.7 81.0 Excellent
Sony Xperia L2 67.4 72.2 91.6 Excellent
Motorola Moto G5S Plus 91.5 74.9 86.9 Excellent

The G6 Play is a bit quiet, especially in its default mode, with the audio equalizer turned off. Speaking of which, it’s a bit odd that Motorola decided to provide a really in-depth audio equalizer, for the single, underwhelming speaker. It even bears the Dolby audio branding.

Still, we can’t complain too much, unlike most smartphone audio tuning suit, this one did not reduce the overall output volume. On the contrary, it increased it slightly, while also managing to open up the soundstage noticeably. If configured correctly, that is.

If you spend enough time tweaking the sliders and toggles, for your content of choice, you can actually achieve tangible results, like a clearer voice in movies or richer simulated bass, if that’s your thing.

Audio quality

Motorola Moto G6 Play matched the splendid clarity of its Plus sibling in the active external amplifier part of the test. Its loudness fell seriously short though, giving away its lower standing.

Loudness remained below average when we hooked up our headphones too, but the clarity was downright impressive. The Moto G6 Play delivered a performance that would be worthy of a device with a much higher price tag. Unless you have high impedance headphones and the volume is actually a deal-breaker, you really can’t wish for much more than that.

Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk
Motorola Moto G6 Play +0.06, -0.03 -89.0 86.6 0.0052 0.019 -87.3
Motorola Moto G6 Play (headphones) +0.06, -0.03 -90.5 87.1 0.0054 0.028 -77.3
Motorola Moto G6 Plus +0.00, -0.03 -93.6 93.5 0.0050 0.011 -94.6
Motorola Moto G6 Plus (headphones) +0.02, -0.02 -93.5 93.4 0.0067 0.033 -81.0
Oppo F7 +0.01, -0.10 -92.5 92.7 0.0019 0.0077 -91.2
Oppo F7 (headphones) +0.50, -0.20 -91.4 91.8 0.0079 0.402 -51.5
Nokia 6 (2018) +0.10, -0.20 -37.5 80.4 0.0018 4.735 -93.3
Nokia 6 (2018) (headphones) +0.05, -0.03 -94.3 90.2 0.0027 0.019 -58.6
Nokia 7 Plus +0.02, -0.31 -38.8 81.7 0.0013 4.690 -95.9
Nokia 7 Plus (headphones) +0.25, -0.23 -93.3 90.4 0.0045 0.227 -53.9
Honor View 10 +0.02, -0.01 -92.6 92.6 0.0021 0.012 -94.4
Honor View 10 (headphones) +0.17, -0.03 -92.0 92.1 0.0023 0.092 -52.8

Synthetic benchmarks

The Motorola Moto G6 Play was never meant to be a performance powerhouse in any way, shape or forms. Still, in 2018, we are finally a bit past the days when you had to take anything you could get for $200, or so. That being said, we approached the Snapdragon 430, 3GB RAM review unit with clear expectations of a smooth overall experience. Definitely not unreasonable, especially considering the near-stock Moto Android ROM.

To our surprise, however, the Moto G6 Play experiences some noticeable performance dips, even when dealing with everyday tasks.

Frankly, it’s an odd position to find a current Moto G device in. While far from ideal, we know for a fact that the Snapdragon 430 has plenty of power to drive a fluent UI experience, if nothing else. The raw performance numbers out of the Moto G6 Play indicate the same as well. So, we can only surmise, the occasional hiccups and dropped animation frames while browsing the menus and opening apps are due to some odd optimization issue. Hopefully one that gets cleared up quickly.

 

 

 

 

Before we move on to the actual scores, it is worth noting that certain US carriers and retailers will be offering the Moto G6 Play with an even less-powerful Snapdragon 427 chipset. You should probably stay away from it, if possible. It only has four Cortex-A53 cores and the GPU is downgraded from the Adreno 505 to the Adreno 308. Definitely not ideal.

Speaking of the CPU, the non-US Moto G6 Play, we are testing, has eight Cortex-A53 cores at its disposal, clocked at 1.4 GHz. While that overall configuration is pretty popular in the budget market segment, 1.4 GHz is a pretty low clock.

Single 13MP camera

Unlike its two bigger siblings, the Moto G6 Play doesn’t get the privilege of a fancy dual-camera setup. It is stuck with a single 13MP snapper, with 1.12µm pixels. It sits behind an f/2.0 lens. Nothing really too spectacular. There are still a couple of extras sprinkled in, like phase detection autofocus and a surprisingly decent EIS stabilization for video.

While on the subject, not only does the stabilization work surprisingly well, but it even comes with a real-time preview during capture.

 

 

 

 

 

Just like the stills, the 1080p clips, themselves, are actually quite usable. These get recorded in a standard AVC, plus AAC stream, inside an MP4 file, with a bit rate of about 18 Mbps and stereo audio. A bit more detail wouldn’t hurt and the same goes for the dynamic range. Still, we can’t nitpick too much.

 

 

 

 

 

Competition

The original Moto G from some 5 years ago was a real game-changer in terms of value and an easy instant recommendation. A lot has changed since then. The legendary American brand has been changing ownership quite a bit over the last few years. Internal turmoil and brand-identity aside, the sprawling budget scene the phone launches on looks quite different in 2018.

 

 

 

 

There are a lot more options to explore. Perhaps even too many. Even Motorola‘s own lineup now features a trio of Moto G devices. And that’s on top of other viable affordable devices, like the Moto E line. Which brings us to our first couple of contenders – the Moto G5S and G5S Plus. Sure, neither features a trendy new 18:9 display, but other than that, specs-wise the Moto G5S is an almost perfect match to the G6 Play. Its bigger brother – the G5S Plus is even more alluring, complete with a much more-potent and power-efficient Snapdragon 625 chipset, as well as a dual 13MP camera setup.

Samsung has some well-rounded devices up on offer around the $200 mark as well. The budget Galaxy J7 (2017) pairs a sizeable battery, with another battery-efficient chipset – the Exynos 7870 and a Super AMOLED panel – sharp, colorful and also easy on the battery. There are some interesting accompanying options as well, like the option for the more compact and slightly more premium Galaxy A3 (2017) instead. Or even saving a few bucks with the older J7 (2016), which still offers most of the models highlights.

The resurrected Nokia has been soaking up quite a bit of attention lately and rightfully so. HMD is putting a lot of effort into build quality and producing reasonably priced devices with a great bill of material and overall durability. The original Nokia 6 from last year seems to match the Moto G6 Play almost spec to spec even down to the overall clean approach to Android. Price-wise the two aren’t far apart either.

 

 

Moto G5S Plus • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) • Nokia 6 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro • Huawei Honor 9 Lite

 

 

Of course, we can’t glance over Xiaomi’s constantly growing lineup for affordable models. The trendy Chinese brand has become amazingly quick in adopting new tech in its products. The most obvious competitor to the Moto G6 Play would be the Android One running Mi A1. A Snapdragon 625 and dual camera setup make for a more potent hardware platform for pretty much the same price tag. The soon-to-hit-markets Mi A2 looks even more enticing but might be a little outside the budget. Currently, the Redmi Note 5 Pro seems to offer the best value for your buck, with a trendy exterior and pretty potent internals.

Last, but not least, Huawei and its Honor sister-brand have a stable finger on the pulse of the market and some really competitive devices to offer. You can pretty much match the Moto G6 Play spec for spec with the new Huawei Y7 Prime (2018) and potentially even save a few bucks in the process. However, devices like the Huawei P smart and the Honor 9 Lite arguably have even more value to offer, within roughly the same budget.

Verdict

It’s really hard to make any noticeable dent in today’s highly-competitive and overcrowded budget smartphone scene. Adapting as you go seems to be the only path to survival and Motorola has been doing plenty of it lately. The company’s excellent reputation backed by Lenovo’s distribution network helps it along its way too.

 

 

 

 

Pros

  • Combines a classic Moto control layout with a trendy new extra-tall display on the cheap
  • There’s a dedicated MicroSD cars slot on the SIM tray, so you can have to SIM cards and and SD at the same time.
  • Display has decent brightness, contrast and sunlight legibility. It is surprisingly color-accurate, when set propperly. The only thing you are really loosing compared to the regular G6 is resolution.
  • Great battery endurance at 92 hours. Quick top-offs, thanks to Turbo Power charging support, up to 15W.
  • Good, clean audio quality through the 3.5mm jack. A bit quiet, though.
  • A fine blend of vanilla Android and just the right amount of useful proprietary customizations
  • Good photo and video quality. Full-featured manual mode. LED selfie flash. EIS for video is a great little bonus and it works surprisingly well.

Cons

  • No notification LED and MotoDisplay isn’t quite like an always on display (not that it automatically renders the LED redundant)
  • The speaker is not particularly loud or clear. Audio output though the 3.5mm jack is also on the quiet side.
  • Some noticeable performance dips (skipped transition animation frames and micro-stutters) are observable even while just browsing the UI. Likely an optimization issue that should get fixed, since the Snapdragon 430 can drive a smoother experience.
  • Video capture is limited to 1080p@30fps.
  • The selfie fixed focus sweet spot is a bit distant, which resuts in the faces getting blurry at times.

Despite the few minor issues we found with the Moto G6 Play, it definitely won’t steer you wrong. It’s a dependable phone with a nice feature set. However, in this price range you can (and should!) get hardware that provides hiccup-free performance. So if you shop around a bit, there is more value to be had elsewhere. We hope Lenovo sorts things out with the Moto G6 Play performance, otherwise as things stand right now, it’s hard for it to get the recommendation it deserves.

❤ Best Moto G5 Plus Cases in 2019

Galaxy Expert , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

If you recently bought a Moto G5 Plus at a discount, you should reinvest some of that money you saved on a case to keep it in tip-top condition. I’ve rounded up a wide variety of cases here —from heavy duty and rugged to slim and sleek — but I don’t think you can do much better than the exceptional Spigen Rugged Armor.

Spigen Rugged Armor

Spigen’s Rugged Armor lineup offers a great balance between style and functionality without adding a ton of bulk to your phone. This is one of the most popular cases in the world for a reason.

$13 at Amazon

Ringke Fusion

Striking the right balance between protection and thickness, the Ringke Fusion series is one of the most popular for a reason. Get the Moto G5 Plus version in one of three awesome colors: Smoke Black, Rose Gold Crystal, and Clear.

$10 at Amazon

Tudia Merge Series

Tudia’s Merge Series may not be the most imaginative style in the world, but it’s dependable, affordable, and offers some distinctive color combos like the grey/green seen here. Get a protective case with personality like the Merge Series.

$11 at Amazon

Supcase Unicorn Beetle Pro with Built-in Screen Protector

The Supcase Unicorn is thick and bulky for a reason: it’ll protect your Moto G5 Plus from anything life throws at you. It comes with a built-in screen protector, too, so you can protect that shiny metal back and shiny glass back in one complete package.

$18 at Amazon

Incipio NGP

If you’re looking for a lightweight rugged case, Incipio’s NGP case is the right voice for you. It’s a no-fuss choice that provides considerable protection, specifically around the sides and back. The black is more reserved, but it also comes in hot pink.

$7 at Amazon

Poetic Revolution

If rugged protection is the name of the game for you, you’ll want to consider this Poetic Revolution case for the Moto G5 Plus. It offers full protection for your phone, including a front plate with a built-in screen protector that also adds water resistance to the mix.

$13 at Amazon

ORNARTO Thin Fit

These thin hardshell cases from ORNARTO may not offer as heavy-duty protection as Poetic Revolution, but it will protect that shiny metal finish from scratches while adding a bit of grip and a lot of color. I’m partial to this genie blue, but the green and red pop, too.

$11 at Amazon

DLHLLC Ultra Slim Wallet Folio

While the Moto G5 Plus may not have quite a much room for card carrying as other phones, that doesn’t mean you can’t find a cute folio case that can carry the essentials. Skip the purse and grab this slim magnetic folio in one of six colors instead.

$13 at Amazon

Tudia Ultra Slim

Tudia’s carbon fiber Ultra Slim case is the perfect way to cover your Moto G5 Plus with minimal bulk. A stylish and inexpensive solution for not a lot of money, and it’s available in three colors to give you a choice beyond the Spigen Rugged Armor’s boring black.

$11 at Amazon

No matter your taste, your phone needs a case

 

 

The Moto G5 Plus is one excellent-looking all-metal budget phone, but that shiny metal finish is very easily scratched. While all of these choices are fantastic, I really love the Spigen Rugged Armor, which offers the best of all worlds of protection for your phone.

If you want a little more flair in your case, there are still great options out there like the clear-backed Ringke Fusion or the TUDIA Merge Series, which has some muted and bold color options. After all, life’s too short for boring tech, so get a case with some personality to it!

Tip: How to speed up your Moto X Pure Edition

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The Moto X Pure Edition was a great device for those looking for something with a bit more of a personal touch from a smartphone. However, the device isn’t as young as it once was and with apps getting more resource demanding, you could find the Moto X Pure Edition to be slowing down. Luckily there is a hidden feature that you can change that will instantly speed up your device.

This tip will help speed up your Moto X Pure Edition by reducing the impact of the aging processor and resource hungry apps, as well as the lower processing power in the device, by reducing unnecessary animations that will make it feel the device is quicker. The best bit is there’s nothing extra to install or tons of settings to change, just a simple case of changing a setting with developer options enabled.

The little hack revolves around the animations applied to transitioning between windows and turning the device on or off. By simply turning this off, it contributes to making the device seem extremely snappy and fast by reducing the delay applied to the animation.

First, you’ll need to enable the Developer Options hidden menu. To do this, go into Settings -> About Device and scroll down to “Build Number”. Now, tap on “Build Number” five times and you’ll see a notification saying that “Developer mode has been enabled”.

With that hidden menu now enabled, we can head on into it to begin fastening up our Moto X Pure Edition.

  1. Head on in to Developer Options in Settings.
  2. Scroll down to the Drawing section.
  3. Of interest here is the Window Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale, and Animator Duration Scale.
  4. Click on them individually to change the scale.

You are able to turn the animations off completely, or set them to 0.5x (default is 1x) so the animations will be double speed for those who would like to retain them.

You’ll notice your Moto X Pure Edition feels substantially quicker without any hacks that affect your software, warranty, or device battery life.

Moto X4 vs Moto Z2 Play: Choosing Moto Mods or a dual camera

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This year Motorola decided to expand its line of smartphones, and now it has so many devices that they’re starting to compete with each other. This is the case with the Moto Z2 Play and the more recently launched, Moto X4, both of which are about $400. But what are the pros and cons of each device when compared to each other? Let’s take a look.

 

Moto X4 vs Moto Z2 Play: software

Both phones come with Android Nougat and are projected to update to Oreo in the future. Motorola still has one of the purest Android experiences on the market even if in the past few years, they’ve added more apps and changed the interface a bit, especially the icons. There’s not much difference between the two, but the Moto X4 has a slight edge with a couple decent features that Motorola created for especially for it.

Among those is one app that Motorola calls Moto Experience and it gives users the ability to connect their smartphone with up to four Bluetooth devices simultaneously. There’s also a quick screenshot feature which lets you take a picture of the screen by pressing on the display with three fingers at the same time. And lastly, Moto Key, where you can unlock password protected sites, for your phone or laptop, just by touching the multi-functional fingerprint reader. It’s not a massive advantage, but it still sets the Moto X4 apart from the Moto Z2 Play.

 

Moto X4 vs Moto Z2 Play: display

The display is one of the most significant differences between these two devices. The Moto Z2 Play has a Super AMOLED display while the X4 comes with an IPS LCD display. The screen on the Moto Z2 Play is 5.5 inches, and the Moto X4’s is 5.2 inches. As for resolution, both come with 1,080 x 1,920 Full HD resolution, with a 16:9 aspect ratio. As we all know though, AMOLED displays offer much better brightness than IPS LCDs.

 

 

AMOLED or IPS, which do you prefer?/ © AndrdoiPIT

 

 

Moto X4 vs Moto Z2 Play: camera

This is one aspect that the Moto X4 might have a slight edge when compared to the Moto Z2 Play, considering it has a dual camera. The rear camera on the Moto Z2 Play does have a few exciting pieces of tech, though: dual autofocus pixels and laser focus, which can reach up to three times as far as the last generation, capturing images at up to 5 meters away. The 5 MP front camera comes with an 85 degree open angle and dual flash with color balancing.

 

 

Normal or dual camera? / © AndrdoidPIT

 

 

On the other hand, the Moto X4 comes with a smart dual camera on the back, with advanced features such as selective focus, color highlighting, object recognition, all in addition to panoramic selfies with a 16 MP front camera. Among the upgrades that the camera’s software has received is Landmark and Object Recognition, which displays information about the objects that are being shot and shown on the screen.

You can even quickly scan business cards and add them to your contacts. Another sweet feature is the animations and graphic effects, which let you add a layer of design to photos or videos using augmented reality. This is something we’ve seen on other phones from the brand, but it’s still impressive.

The software of the dual rear camera lets you blur the background, similar to that Bokeh-type effect, choose black and white for the first or second plane of the image, or you can even change the background entirely as we saw with the Moto G5S and Moto G5 Plus.

Another update on the Moto X4 is the color highlighting, where you can enhance one of the colors within the photo, leaving the rest black and white. Plus, the camera on the Moto X4 also has dual autofocus pixels for quickly focusing in low-light situations. If the back camera isn’t enough to win you over, then maybe the 16 MP front camera will do the job.

 

 

The Moto X4 has a dual camera. / © AndroidPIT

 

 

Moto Z2 Play vs Moto X4: battery

There really isn’t much to say here about the battery. In the end, they both come with a 3,000 mAh battery equipped with TurboPower, which gives you up to six hours of use from only a 15-minute charge.

 

Moto Z2 Play vs Moto X4: Moto Mods

This might just be the Moto Z2 Play’s secret weapon against the Moto X4, only if you want to spend more money buying mods that is. You’ll only be able to find specific battery and camera accessories for the Moto Z2 Play. You could even get a speaker or portable projector.

 

 

Hello Moto! / © AndroidPIT

 

 

Moto X4 vs Moto Z2 Play: conclusion

Of course, before we wrap this up, we have to take a look at the hardware on both devices. As for the Moto Z2 Play, it comes with a Snapdragon 626, GPU Adreno 506, 4 GB RAM and 64 GB memory, and the Moto X4 comes with a Snapdragon 630, GPU Adreno 508, 3 GB RAM and 32 GB memory.

If you’re worried about having enough storage space on your phone, that’s something that gives the Moto Z2 Play a slight edge. Honestly, the Moto Z2 Play seems to be ahead in almost every category, unless you’re looking for a dual camera and a few new software features. You should probably go with the more recent launch.

Now it’s your turn, which would you choose? Moto Z2 Play or the Moto X4?

 

 

Moto Z2 Play vs. Moto X4 technical specifications

MOTO Z2 PLAY MOTO X4
DIMENSIONS: 156.2 x 76.2 x 5.99 mm 148.35 x 73.4 x 7.99 mm
WEIGHT: 145 g 163 g
BATTERY SIZE: 3000 mAh 3000 mAh
SCREEN SIZE: 5.5 in 5.2 in
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY: AMOLED LCD
SCREEN: 1920 x 1080 pixels (401 ppi) 1920 x 1080 pixels (424 ppi)
FRONT CAMERA: 5 megapixels 16 megapixels
REAR CAMERA: 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
FLASHLIGHT: Dual-LED LED
ANDROID VERSION: 7.1.1 – Nougat 7.1 – Nougat
USER INTERFACE: Stock Android Sorry, not yet available!
RAM: 4 GB Sorry, not yet available!
INTERNAL STORAGE: 64 GB Sorry, not yet available!
REMOVABLE STORAGE: microSD microSD
CHIPSET: Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 Qualcomm Snapdragon 630
NUMBER OF CORES: 8 8
MAX. CLOCK SPEED: 2.2 GHz 2.2 GHz
CONNECTIVITY: HSPA, LTE, NFC, Dual-SIM , Bluetooth HSPA, LTE, Bluetooth

Moto G5S Plus review: Too much of a good thing

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This is Motorola's most prestigious budget phone, but you can do better.

 

You’d be forgiven for not paying close attention to the release of the Moto G5S Plus; it snuck into the company’s lineup in early August alongside the Moto G5S.

The ‘S’ stands for “Special Edition” (Moto G5SE Plus was too much of a mouthful?), and they’re moderately improved versions of the existing Moto G5 line that debuted earlier in the year. Why would Motorola introduce slightly updated versions of existing phones less than six months after their release? Who knows?!

What I do know is that the Moto G5S Plus, which is available unlocked in the U.S. for $279, is one of the better budget phones you can buy, but the slightly better build quality, additional camera, and larger display don’t justify the additional cost over the existing Moto G5 Plus.

See at Motorola

 

Moto G5S Plus What you’ll love

There’s a lot to like about the phone when you consider its $279 starting price: the metal build quality is unimpeachable, its 5.5-inch 1080p LCD display is vivid and relatively sharp, and its software is among the best in the business, replete with truly useful additions to Android that I actually rely on.

 

Moto G5S Plus specs

 

 

 

The improvements to build quality over the existing Moto G5 Plus — which, also mostly metal, is no slouch — are immediate. Dense and sizeable, the phone belies its budget status with clicky buttons, chamfered edges, and precise etching that wouldn’t be out of place on a device three to four times its asking price.

This phone looks like a slightly larger version of the same budget phone Motorola‘s been selling for nine months.

Immediately recognizable as a 2017 Motorola device, too, the phone looks pretty good, especially in the new Blush Gold hue that, in the right light, appears lusciously copper. I like it — a lot. There’s a fingerprint sensor below the screen, a rounded “Batwing” divot on the back, and a circular camera module with — and this is new — two sensors instead of one. We’ll get to that a bit later, but suffice it to say if you’ve seen a Motorola phone recently, this one will not be difficult to get used to.

That’s fine because the design is perfectly serviceable; count me among the people that will take a fast, reliable front fingerprint sensor over whatever shenanigans Samsung is up to these days. Here, that’s exactly what you get: you can choose to use the sensor as just that (as well as an on/off button by holding it down for a second), or as a navigation tool with Motorola‘s One Button Nav feature. I’m still not comfortable recommending it for daily use given the tiny amount of reclaimed screen real estate, but others I’ve spoken to swear by it, so give it a try.

Along for the ride is Motorola‘s industry-leading notification system, Moto Display. Thank goodness Lenovo, Motorola‘s not-so-new parent company, hasn’t messed with a good thing here, because there’s no better way to triage Android notifications than with Moto Display. No other ambient display, from Samsung to LG to Google itself, comes close.

The Moto G5S Plus has the same 1080p screen as its G5 Plus counterpart, but it’s ever-so-slightly less dense. And it’s still LCD, not OLED. That’s not a slight against the screen — it’s fine — but if you’re looking for next-gen resolution here, you’re out of luck.

Here’s what’s significantly better than the Moto G5 Plus, though: the bottom-firing speaker is much louder and clearer than the single front-facing speaker on the smaller phone; the base model comes with 3GB of RAM instead of 2GB; and the front-facing camera gets upped to 8MP with a wider ƒ/2.0 lens and a real LED flash compared to 5MP/ƒ2.2/display flash. That front-facing camera is legit.

The phone also works with all four U.S. carriers out of the box, which is a huge boon to carrier portability. (This review focuses on the U.S. model only.)

Moto G5S Plus What needs work

The same processor, screen resolution, battery size and charging port doesn't scream "special edition".

 

I having nothing inherently against iterative improvements, but there is very little “special” in the Moto G5 Plus Special Edition. Its larger display, as mentioned, doesn’t add anything to the experience, and the modicum of additional metal, while certainly appreciated from a density perspective, can’t alone justify the added cost over the G5 Plus.

Motorola also chose to keep the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor inside the phone, too, which is a fine chip, but since it debuted in the Moto Z Play last year, it has since been displaced by the Snapdragon 626 and, more recently, the 630 (where it finds a home in the excellent Moto X4). Similarly, the 3000mAh battery inside the phone hasn’t changed either, which means battery life hasn’t improved over the Moto G5 Plus. Again, fine, but it would have been nice to see the phone achieve better uptime than its predecessor, since that phone wasn’t particularly impressive in that area.

All of these decisions would be understandable were it not for the phone’s biggest change, the inclusion of a dual camera setup — two seemingly-identical 13MP camera sensors with ƒ/2.0 lenses. Having two sensors obviously allows for shots with artificial bokeh, but they lack the additional connective tissue to justify what is clearly a downgrade in traditional photography from the Moto G5 Plus.

 

 

 

 

That phone has a single 12MP sensor with 1.4-micron Dual Autofocus pixels and a wide ƒ/1.7 lens. It’s not the best camera — it struggles in low light — but it’s damn good for its price class. In fact, it’s probably unmatched under $300. Motorola sacrifices fidelity for a gimmick with the Moto G5S Plus; the 13MP primary sensor, which will be used far more often than both together, has smaller pixels, less reliable autofocus, and much less impressive low-light prowess. For all but a few situations, this is a worse camera experience than its cheaper counterpart.

In fact, even that depth gimmick is undermined by some abysmal performance in the camera app; switching to it causes the frame rate to drop precipitously, making it difficult to line up a good shot. And as we discovered with the Moto Z2 Force, which contains better camera hardware, Motorola‘s depth algorithms need a lot of work. The Note 8, this isn’t.

That isn’t to say the G5S Plus can’t take great daylight photos — look at some of the ones I captured above for proof — but they’re not particularly impressive, with muddy details.

Lastly, Motorola decided to maintain the Micro-USB port, which has been eliminated from nearly every other phone being released today, budget to premium. In fact, Motorola‘s own $399 Moto X4 is all-in on USB-C, as is the excellent Moto Z Play lineup. The company missed an opportunity to move the needle with its Moto G lineup here.

Moto G5S Plus Buy the other one

I have no idea why the Moto G5S Plus exists. It’s a nice phone, and it sure looks and feels great — certainly better than any budget phone Motorola has made before. But it’s just not a true upgrade over the Moto G5 Plus.

I’m not telling you to go out and buy a Huawei or a ZTE; I’m telling you to buy another Motorola. Specifically, if you’re looking at the entry-level $279 Moto G5S Plus, which comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, look instead at the upgraded Moto G5 Plus, which features 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. At $299, it’s around the same price and, in my opinion, better prepared to handle the onslaught of the real world.

See Moto G5 Plus at Amazon

If you do insist on buying the Moto G5S Plus, you do get a few advantages: a bigger screen, a better front-facing camera, a slightly newer version of Android, and the knowledge that you’re getting a special edition. If that’s enough for you, grab it from Motorola directly.

See Moto G5S Plus at Motorola


Best microSD Cards for the Moto G5 Plus

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Which microSD card is best for the Moto G5 Plus? Well, it depends what you need…

 

 

The reality is this: if you are buying a budget phone, you’re kind of over the idea of paying a lot for accessories. No fancy, expensive case; no insanely high-performance microSD slot. You just want something that works.

Even though the $229 Moto G5 Plus has a pretty hefty 32GB of storage out of the box (and double that for an extra $70), if you’re in need of extra storage for movies, music, or even large games, a microSD card can come in real handy.

The Moto G5 Plus even supports Adoptable Storage, which means that you can make the inserted SD card a permanent part of your phone’s storage.

So which cards do we recommend? Take a look below!

  • SanDisk Ultra 128GB
  • Samsung EVO 128GB
  • SanDisk Ultra 200GB
  • SanDisk Extreme 64GB

SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSD

 

 

 

 

SanDisk is a well-known company when it comes to memory cards and storage products, and cards like this show you why. The SanDisk Ultra 128GB (around $44) is a Class 10 card that comes with a 10-year warranty, and has quick transfer speeds (up to 80MB/s), so it should check many of the boxes that you look for in a microSD card.

Samsung EVO 128GB microSD

 

 

 

Samsung’s EVO 128GB microSD card (about $49) isn’t the company’s top offering, but it comes with decent speeds and a price tag to match. With up to 48MB/s read and write (Class 10 or U1 classification), it can handle 1080p video without a problem. If you want a well-regarded card that doesn’t break the bank, this is the one to go with.

SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSD

 

 

 

 

If you’re looking to add a lot of extra storage at a relatively low cost, the SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSD card (around $74) is the way to go. This Class 10 card provides transfer speeds of up to 90MB/s and can record Full HD video. If you like to keep your digital library with you at all times, you’ll want one of these.

SanDisk Extreme 64GB

 

 

 

The Moto G5 Plus can shoot 4K video which takes up a lot of space on the phone’s storage. With SanDisk’s Extreme microSD card, which is rated U3 and supports maximum write speeds of up to 100MB/s, you can force the phone’s 12MP sensor to record directly to the external storage.

Though the SanDisk Extreme 64GB is a bit more expensive on a per-megabyte basis, at $35 it’s a relatively inexpensive way to shore up the storage on your new phone.

Motorola now taking pre-orders for Moto G5S Plus with discount for early adopters

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Earlier this summer Motorola announced an addition to their G series of devices, the Moto G5S Plus. The new device was described as a “special edition” of the Moto G5 Plus, but in reality is an upgrade to the former device. That should make it a smartphone worthy of consideration by mid-tier buyers as we rated the Moto G5 Plus highly, so the Moto G5S Plus should be a more compelling option.

The biggest upgrade that the Moto G5S Plus gets compared to the original phone is the addition of a dual-camera setup on the rear, the first G series Motorola phone to get a dual-camera. The Moto G5S Plus is also slightly larger with a 5.5-inch screen versus the 5.2-inch screen of the Moto G5 Plus. Some other smaller differences include an upgrade in RAM options to 3GB or 4GB compared with 2GB/4GB and the front-facing camera has been upgraded to 8MP from a 5MP unit. Otherwise, the Moto G5S Plus gets the same Snapdragon 625 processor, metal body, 3,000mAh battery, and choice of 32GB or 64GB of storage.

 

 

Like so many Motorola smartphones, the Moto G5S Plus is unlocked and is compatible with all of the major U.S. carriers.

Pricing for the Moto G5S Plus in the U.S. is $280 for the 3GB/32GB version and $350 for the 4GB/64GB version. However, now through September 28th, Motorola is offering a $50 discount making the prices $230 and $300. The phone will be available on September 29th.

Motorola phones getting Android 8.0 Oreo revealed

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Motorola has revealed the smartphones that will be receiving an update to the Android 8.0 Oreo operating system upgrade. The list covers 10 different devices in three of the many Motorola series of phones. One group of owners that will not be happy if they were looking forward to Android Oreo will be owners of the Moto G4 smartphones as they did not make the cut. Likewise, older versions of the Moto X series will not get an update either. In the case of the G4 series of devices, Motorola launched them with Android Marshmallow just last year and updated them to Android Nougat earlier this year.

The list of devices includes the following:

  • Moto G5S
  • Moto G5S Plus
  • Moto G5
  • Moto G5 Plus
  • Moto X4a
  • Moto Z2 Play
  • Moto Z2 Force
  • Moto Z / Z Droid
  • Moto Z Play / Z Play Droid
  • Moto Z Force Droid

Motorola says the update will start rolling out to devices starting this fall, but no more specific dates were provided. That could be bad news for owners of these devices as Motorola’s history with updates has been inconsistent in recent times despite their announcements.

Flagship smartphones: Specs, benchmarks and prices for iPhone, Samsung, Huawei and more

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Apple’s 2017 iPhones will inevitably influence the top end of the smartphone market. Here’s how it looks at the moment, with a number of key launches expected soon.

Smartphones are the focus of most people’s digital lives these days, and are likely to remain so until computing becomes truly ‘ambient’ — probably involving some seamless combination of wearables (particularly augmented reality [AR] goggles), IoT devices, cloud services and artificial intelligence (AI).

Following the launch of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X, it’s a good time to take stock of the current state of the smartphone market by examining the vital statistics of leading vendors’ flagship handsets.

Apple‘s new iPhones, and Samsung‘s Galaxy S8/S8+ and Galaxy Note 8, show the general direction in which top-end smartphones are heading: powerful, attractive (and expensive) handsets whose user experiences increasingly leverage AI and AR, integrated with an ecosystem of add-on devices and services in various sectors including gaming, AR and VR, smart home, healthcare, shopping and office productivity.

Following last year’s well-publicised Galaxy Note 7 debacle and strong fourth-quarter performance from Apple, Samsung briefly ceded first place to its main rival in the Q4 2016 smartphone market. However, the Korean company swiftly returned to the number-one spot in 2017 (see chart). Apple‘s new iPhones face stiff competition from Samsung, Huawei and other top-five vendors, and from several manufacturers in the ‘Others’ category — including Google, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, OnePlus and Sony — that also offer premium smartphones.

 

 

“Despite some key launches in the second quarter from some well-known players, all eyes will be on the ultra-high-end flagships set to arrive this fall,” said Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, when the Q2 2017 figures were released at the beginning of August. “With devices like the iPhone 8, Pixel 2, Note 8, and V30 in the pipeline, the competition will be fierce come September. We expect all the key players to promote their latest and greatest flagships with an assortment of deals, bundles, and trade-in offers across a variety of channels in most key markets,” he added.

Here’s how the flagship smartphone market looks following Apple‘s 2017 iPhone launch, presented as far as possible in graphical form. (Note: we’ll update this article as new handsets from Google, Huawei, LG and any other leading vendors are released.)

DESIGN

Screen size & Pixel density

Screen size — measured in inches across the diagonal — is a smartphone’s defining design characteristic, and the range on offer from leading vendors is now very wide. BlackBerry‘s 4.5-inch keyboard-equipped KEYone is the smallest, while Samsung‘s Galaxy Note 8 currently leads the field at 6.3 inches, with 16 out of the 25 handsets covered here falling between 5.5 and 6 inches. Display technologies are split between IPS LCD (Apple, BlackBerry, Huawei, HTC, LG [G6], Sony) and various species of OLED (Apple [iPhone X], Google, HP, Huawei [Mate 9 Pro], LG [V30], Motorola, OnePlus and Samsung ).

 

 

Recent developments in smartphone displays include curved minimal-bezel screens with on-screen home buttons, 18:9 aspect ratio, Gorilla Glass 5 screen protection and — in the HTC U Ultra — a small secondary screen for notifications and other useful information (an idea recently dropped by LG when updating the V20 to the V30). Samsung‘s Note 8 is the only handset covered here that offers a stylus (the S-Pen). Apple‘s 2017 iPhones add True Tone technology (first seen in the 2016 9.7-inch iPad Pro) that automatically adjusts colour temperature and intensity to the ambient light, while the iPhone X made more space for the screen by removing the home button (and Touch ID) altogether.

The other key statistic here is pixel density, measured as pixels per inch (ppi), which factors in the display resolution. The graph below shows that Samsung (Galaxy S8) and LG (G6) lead the mainstream field with pixel densities of 567 and 564ppi respectively. The outlier is Sony‘s 5.5-inch Xperia XZ Premium, which offers a maximum 4K resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 for a massive 807ppi. This looks extremely impressive, but note that, for much of the time, the Xperia XZ Premium works at 1,080p resolution to save battery life, resulting in a much more mundane 403.5ppi.

 

 

Not everyone is comfortable with a large-screen handset, but if you want a leading-edge device, that’s increasingly what you’re being offered. If you’re happy with a large screen (>5.5in.) and also want high pixel density (>500ppi), you should be looking at Samsung‘s Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8+, LG‘s V30 or, if you’re happy to run Windows 10 Mobile, the HP Elite x3. If your hands are on the small side, the 5.3-inch Nokia 8 offers a good combination of moderate screen size and high resolution (550ppi).

Screen-to-body ratio & Thickness

Another key smartphone design metric is the screen-to-body ratio, which measures how much of a handset’s fascia is occupied by screen compared to non-display elements like bezels, camera lenses and control buttons.

 

 

If low screen/body ratios are ‘old-fashioned’, then Apple’s 2016 iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were showing their age at 65.5 percent and 67.5 percent respectively — and their 8 and 8 Plus successors have done nothing to change that. Apart from BlackBerry‘s KEYone, only four other handsets have sub-70 percent ratios: Google Pixel, HTC U Ultra, Nokia 8 and Sony Xperia XZ Premium. The 4.5-inch KEYone is an outlier at 55.9 percent because, of course, it has a hardware keyboard, which decreases the screen-to-body ratio (and also increases the thickness compared to touchscreen-only handsets — see below).

At the other end of the scale, Samsung‘s Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note 8 handsets, with their curved Infinity Display screens and on-screen home buttons, lead the field with screen/body ratios of 83-84 percent. LG‘s V30 and Apple‘s new iPhone X are the only other flagship handsets with screen/body ratios over 80 percent.

Smartphone vendors often make much of the slimness of their handsets, and it’s clear from the chart below that Huawei is particularly keen on this design feature. Conversely, Samsung and Google (and BlackBerry) deliver notably thicker handsets:

 

 

Motorola‘s modular Moto Z2 Force, at 6.1mm with no Mods fitted, is the thinnest handset here. There are trade-offs though: the camera lens housing protrudes from the rear, and the device’s body is too thin to accommodate a 3.5mm headset jack. With the increasing use of glass on both the front and back of premium handsets (to accommodate wireless charging), most people immediately put their expensive and shiny new handset in a protective case, which renders the quest for extreme slimness somewhat pointless.

Volume & Weight

As you’d expect, there’s a clear relationship between a smartphone’s physical volume and its weight, although the variation around the trendline is interesting.

 

 

For example, the handsets that are thick for their screen/body ratio — notably the HTC-designed Google Pixel and Pixel XL, HTC U Ultra and U11 — are also relatively light for their volume, suggesting that there’s plenty of room for components inside the case. Another handset that’s below the weight/volume trendline is Samsung‘s Galaxy Note 8 — evidence, perhaps, of design changes following the Note 7 debacle (especially as the Note 8 also packs a smaller-capacity 3,300mAh battery than its ill-fated predecessor, which ran on a 3500mAh unit). Conversely, it’s noteworthy how Apple‘s iPhone 8 Plus is particularly heavy (at 202g) for its volume, that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are slightly bulkier and heavier than their predecessors, and that the 5.8-inch iPhone X is considerably lighter and more compact than Samsung’s 6.3-inch Galaxy Note 8.

Dust and water resistance

Another key smartphone design factor is resistance to the ingress of foreign matter, as commonly indicated by a two-digit IP rating: the first number describes dust resistance on a 1-6 scale, while the second describes water resistance on a 1-8 scale. The highest rating among the flagship handsets covered here is IP68, where ‘6’ indicates that the device is ‘dust tight’ and ‘8’ signifies that it can withstand immersion in water (usually at least 30 minutes to depth of at least 1m).

 

 

An IP rating of 5 for dust means the device is merely ‘dust protected’, while 7 for water means it can withstand immersion in up to 1m for 30 minutes, 4 means it can resist ‘splashing water’ and 3 means it can handle ‘spraying water’, both of the latter for at least 10 minutes.

IP ratings are not available for the BlackBerry KEYone, Huawei (and Honor) handsets, HTC U Ultra, Motorola Moto Z2 Force (although it does claim a ‘water repellent nano-coating’) and OnePlus 5. However, two of the flagship smartphones — the LG V30 and HP Elite X3 — also boast a military-grade MIL-STD 810G ruggedness certification.

Somewhat surprisingly, Apple‘s 2017 iPhones did not bump up their IP ratings from IP67 to IP68, to match Samsung‘s Galaxy S8/8+/Note 8. Looking ahead, it will be surprising if Google‘s second-generation Pixel handsets don’t move beyond IP53.

PLATFORM

Chipsets, CPU & GPU performance

A flagship smartphone should do its job — launching, running and switching between apps, and displaying on-screen content — quickly and smoothly, without any delays or glitches that would mar the user experience. It shouldn’t become uncomfortably hot in operation either — or, of course, burst into flames.

Chipsets from four main vendors power the handsets covered here:

  • Apple‘s 4-core A10 Fusion (iPhone 7/7 plus) and 6-core AI- and AR-optimised A11 Bionic(iPhone 8/8Plus/X)
  • Samsung‘s 8-core Exynos 8995 in the Galaxy S8/S8+/Note 8 (worldwide versions)
  • Qualcomm’s mid-range 8-core Snapdragon 625 (BlackBerry KEYone); 4-core 820 (HP Elite x3) and 821 (Google Pixel/XL, HTC U Ultra, LG G6); and top-end 8-core 835 (HTC U11, LG V30, Moto Z2 Force, OnePlus 5, Galaxy S8/S8+/Note 8 [US/China versions], Sony Xperia XZ Premium)
  • HiSilicon’s Kirin 960 in the Huawei and Honor handsets.

Here’s how these platforms shape up in terms of processor and graphics performance, as measured by the Primate Labs’ multi-core Geekbench 4 (Gb4) and Futuremark’s 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (ISU) benchmarks respectively:

 

 

The top-performing chipset — on these measures at any rate — is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, with Gb4 and ISU scores of up to 6500 and 40000 respectively. Note that the Exynos 8995 versions of the Samsung S8 and S8+ deliver better CPU results but weaker GPU performance (benchmarks are currently only available for the Exynos 8995 version of the Galaxy Note 8).

Apple‘s A10 Fusion-powered iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were strong performers, with scores of around 5400 (Gb4) and 37000 (ISU), and the new A11 Bionic-powered iPhones are sure to see a significant speed bump when benchmarks appear (here’s a leaked report). At the 2017 launch, Apple claimed that the A11 Bionic’s two performance CPU cores are 25 percent faster than the A10, while its four high-efficiency cores are 70 percent faster. Apple‘s 2nd-generation performance controller is reportedly 70 percent faster for multithreaded workloads, while the A11’s GPU is 30 percent faster and delivers A10-level performance at half the power, according to Apple.

Also prominent are the Kirin 960-powered handsets from Huawei and Honor, which cluster around the 6000 (Gb4)/27000 (ISU) mark. Again, we expect to see a performance boost when the AI-optimised Kirin 970 chipset becomes available in the Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro in October.

The remaining Snapdragon 821-powered smartphones on this chart — notably Google‘s Pixel and Pixel XL — are well behind the 2017 curve, and will certainly be updated with the 835 chipset in due course. Very much in last place in this company is BlackBerry‘s KEYone, which is powered by Qualcomm’s mid-range 8-core Snapdragon 625 SoC.

RAM & Storage

 

 

When it comes to memory, the clear leader of the pack is the OnePlus 5, which is currently unique in offering 8GB or 6GB of RAM. Next come seven flagship handsets with a maximum of 6GB, all of which bar the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 also have a 4GB variant. The most common RAM complement is 4GB, which is the only choice with 11 handsets and the maximum for BlackBerry‘s KEYone (which also comes with 3GB).

Apple has always fitted less RAM in its iPhones than the Android competition, and that hasn’t changed with its 2017 handsets: the iPhone X and 8 Plus have 3GB (like the iPhone 7 Plus), while the iPhone 8 has 2GB (like the iPhone 7).

 

 

As far as internal storage is concerned, Apple‘s 2017 iPhones stand out with their maximum complement of 256GB — a feature that betrays the company’s disdain for external storage expansion via a MicroSD card slot. Samsung‘s Galaxy Note 8 also offers a maximum of 256GB (in some territories), but has a MicroSD card slot too, making it the top choice for the data-hungry.

Google‘s Pixel handsets and the OnePlus 5 also lack MicroSD expansion and, like the previous-generation iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, provide up to 128GB rather than 256GB of internal storage.

The most common maximum internal storage complement is 128GB, which is offered by 13 of the 25 handsets covered here.

CAMERAS

Rear cameras

Cameras have become a key battleground for smartphone makers, and several approaches are currently on view among the flagship population. Although it wasn’t the first to do so, Apple kick-started a trend last year by offering dual rear cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus: a primary 12-megapixel (MP) camera with an f/1.8 wide-angle lens and optical image stabilisation (OIS), and a secondary camera with an f/2.8 telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom but no OIS.

As well as adding telephoto capability, Apple‘s dual-camera system allowed depth information to be calculated, enabling features like bokeh — sharp foreground and blurred background — to be supported on portrait shots that were previously the province of expensive digital SLR cameras with high-end optics.

Apple‘s 2017 dual-camera phones, the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, remain at 12MP but the sensors are bigger, faster and deliver better low-light performance, according to Apple. The iPhone 8 Plus has the same basic lens specs as the 7 Plus (f/1.8 wa + OIS, f/2.8 tele), while the iPhone X has an f/2.4 aperture on the telephoto lens and implements OIS on both cameras. Apple also takes advantage of A11 Bionic chip’s machine-learning optimisation and custom ISP to deliver a (beta) Portrait Mode feature called Portrait Lighting: here, depth sensing and facial mapping are combined to deliver real-time analysis of the light on a subject’s face and provide alternative lighting schemes — either pre- or post-capture.

 

 

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For dual-camera handsets, the top bar is the wide angle or colour camera, while the bottom bar is the telephoto or black-and-white camera.

Huawei, LG, Motorola, Nokia, OnePlus and Samsung (on the new Galaxy Note 8) also deploy dual rear camera systems, with various twists.

Huawei‘s Leica-branded camera system pairs 12MP RGB and 20MP monochrome sensors with 27mm f/2.2 lenses (f/1.8 in the P10 Plus), supporting OIS on the primary colour camera. As well as enabling true monochrome shooting and adding detail to blended RGB/mono shots, the 20MP secondary camera supplies depth information for bokeh-style images. The Honor 8 Pro has a similar (non-Leica-branded) system, but the secondary mono camera is 12MP rather than 20MP and there’s no support for OIS.

LG uses two 13MP sensors on the G6, one coupled with an f/1.8 autofocus lens with OIS and the other with an f/2.4 wide-angle lens lacking both OIS and autofocus. The LG V30 takes a similar approach, but uses a 16MP primary sensor with an f/1.6 lens (with AF and OIS) and a 13MP secondary sensor with an f/1.9 lens (no AF or OIS).

Both Motorola and Nokia take the Huawei approach, with colour and monochrome cameras: the Nokia 8’s Zeiss-branded system supports OIS on the colour camera, but the Moto Z2 Force does not offer OIS on either.

OnePlus and Samsung (Galaxy Note 8) go for the wide-angle/telephoto dual camera design, OnePlus with 16MP (wa) and 20MP (tele) cameras and electronic image stabilisation (EIS) rather than OIS, and Samsung with two 12MP cameras, both with OIS. Samsung also introduces a couple of neat dual-camera features: Live Focus lets you adjust the bokeh effect pre- and post-capture, while Dual Capture simultaneously captures photos from both the wide-angle and telephoto cameras.

Single rear cameras are an increasing rarity among the flagship population, but are headed (in resolution terms) by Sony and HP, with 19MP and 16MP units in the Xperia XZ Premium and Elite x3 respectively.

Front cameras

The fashion for ‘selfies’ and authentication via face recognition means that front-facing cameras, once something of an afterthought with a nod to video calls, have seen significant recent evolution.

Samsung, for example, offers both face recognition and iris scanning on its Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note 8 handsets, as well as a capable 8MP camera, while the Nokia 8’s Dual Capture feature lets you take pictures with the front and rear camera simultaneously (a.k.a. ‘Bothies’). Even more recently Apple more than matched Samsung’s functionality with the front-facing TrueDepth camera system and Face ID on the new iPhone X:

 

 

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Apple’s True Depth camera system occupies a notch at the top of the iPhone X’s OLED screen.

 

To analyse your physiognomy, the flood illuminator detects your face, the infrared camera takes an IR image, and the dot projector places than 30,000 IR dots on your face. These data are fed into a neural network (in the A11 Bionic chip) to create a mathematical model of your face, which is then checked against the stored model on the handset — all in real time. The True Depth camera also enables Portrait Mode selfies with Portrait Lighting, and animated emoji called ‘Animoji’.

Here are the front camera megapixel counts for the 25 handsets under consideration, 12 of which are 8MP units:

 

 

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Video

Video capture is becoming an increasingly important smartphone camera feature — witness the fact that all bar one of the handsets covered here can record 4k (2160p) video with at least a frame rate of 30fps. The exception is BlackBerry‘s KEYone, which doesn’t support 4k video capture at any frame rate. Apple‘s new iPhones just upped the ante by supporting 4k video at 60fps, which will doubtless kick off another round of feature catch-up.

Slow-motion video is another popular feature, and Sony‘s Xperia XZ Premium leads the field here, supporting HD (720p) video capture at a startling ‘super-slo-mo’ 960fps. The current ‘standard’ for slo-mo video is 720p at 240fps, although Apple has again pushed the boundary by supporting full HD (1080p) video at 240fps in the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X.

As resolutions and frame rates rise, image stabilisation — either optical or electronic — will become ever more important. It’s noticeably absent from Motorola‘s Moto Z2 Force, for example.

BATTERY

Battery capacity

As flagship smartphones pack in faster processors, more memory, larger and higher-resolution screens, and ever more functions, so the toll on the handset’s battery increases. There are multiple trade-offs here: no smartphone user wants to have to recharge during a typical day’s usage, but manufacturers cannot simply fit ever higher-capacity batteries into designs that need to be as lightweight and elegant as possible in order to keep buyers interested. Get it wrong and a vendor can have a Galaxy Note 7-style debacle on its hands.

The state of the art in smartphone batteries is currently around 4,000mAh, while 14 of the 22 handsets charted here have battery capacities between 3,000 and 4,000mAh. Apple has not divulged the battery specs for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X, and we’re awaiting the teardown analyses that will supply them.

 

 

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Battery life

A bigger battery obviously means longer battery life, as the chart below clearly shows. But given that design and safety constraints preclude the shoehorning of big batteries into tight-fitting cases, manufacturers also need to make it as convenient as possible for users — especially ‘power’ users who subject their devices to heavy workloads — to recharge their handsets.

 

 

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Following LG‘s decision to drop the removable battery when updating the V20 to the V30, this feature is now absent from all of the top-end smartphones covered here. Fast charging is supported on all but the now-outdated iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, while wireless charging is available on Apple‘s new iPhones (8, 8 Plus and X), HP‘s Elite x3, the LG G6 and V30, and Samsung‘s Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note 8.

PRICES

High-end smartphones are never going to be cheap, but Apple‘s newly launched iPhone X has broken new ground — the combination of Apple‘s historically high margins and a significant amount of new technology have seen to that. The entry-level 64GB iPhone X configuration costs $999, and if you must have the top-end 256GB model, be prepared to part with a princely $1,149 (and the same figure in UK pounds).

That’s a record for a mainstream flagship handset, although you can spend even sillier money on specialist secure/luxury devices like Sirin Labs’ Solarin if you really want to (although, as it turned out, few did).

Here are the list prices in US dollars for most of the premium handsets covered in this feature:

 

 

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Notes: the LG V30 prices are converted from Korean won; the Nokia 8 price is converted from euros. The following handsets are not officially available in the US: Honor 8 Pro, Huawei Mate 9 Pro, Huawei P10 and P10 Plus. Where available, prices for entry-level and top-end configurations are shown.

Outlook

Recent launches from Samsung and Apple have highlighted the increasing importance of artificial intelligence and augmented reality in high-end smartphones, with the underlying chipsets and developer resources evolving appropriately. At least for now, the smartphone will remain the portable hub for your digital life, and the flow of new devices will continue apace.

We aim to keep this roundup updated as new products, specification details and benchmarks appear. The next big launches expected are Google‘s second-generation Pixel handsets, Huawei‘s Mate 10 and 10 Pro, and LG‘s G7. Check back for updated information on these and other devices.

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