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If you’re looking for the best phone on the market, start with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (first impressions)

Matt Adams
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Welcome to our first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7! Here at AndroidGuys, several of us were taken in by Samsung’s beautiful new superphone and pre-ordered our phones just like many of you. We’ll have our full review in the coming weeks (we like to take our time with a device before reviewing it), but it’s not too early to give your our initial impressions of the device.

Samsung really upped its game with the Note 7 this time around. While the Note 5 was a beautiful redesign that followed the new industrial design of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, the Note 7 is another iteration of that same design. We aren’t getting a version of the device with a flat screen this time around, but the curves are much more subtle than they are on the Galaxy S7 Edge so the Note 7 feels a bit slimmer and it is easier to activate swiping gestures from the left side of the phone. We’re also getting water resistance back and expandable storage, which fans were demanding. So what do we think about this phone after a few days with it? Let’s dive in.

Display

Wow. In my humble opinion, no other display on the market competes with the Galaxy Note 7 in terms of vibrancy and overall brightness. Not only that, but this thing gets DARK, too. When I turn the brightness all the way down to read in bed, it is pleasing to my eyes unlike other phones on the market which have too high of a brightness floor. Bravo, Samsung.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 with S Pen

On the other end of the spectrum, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 gets brighter than any other phone on the market. According to DisplayMate, who are experts in this area, the Note 7 can achieve 1000 nits (A unit of measurement of luminance, or the intensity of visible light) at peak brightness, which is a new record.

The colors on the Note 7 are stunning as well. Sure, some will complain about the display oversaturating colors (maybe rightly so), but to the naked eye, it looks fantastic. If you’re not in love with the color profile that comes standard on the Note 7, you do have 4 profiles to choose from: Adaptive display (default), AMOLED cinema, AMOLED photo, and Basic.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 no bezels

While the curved display does look beautiful and gives a bezeless effect, it is still hard to use for me. The Galaxy S7 Edge was much harder to swipe in from the left and almost impossible without a case, but the Galaxy Note 7 does a better job due to its less dramatic curve. That being said, it still isn’t a fun experience for me. At all. Spigen sent over some cases for us to review, and I’m glad it did because it makes holding the phone and swiping from the left much, much easier. I don’t know if I want to go through constant frustration or constantly using a case to operate this phone the way it was supposed to be used.

Software

Samsung continues its iterative improvements to its skin, TouchWiz. Long gone are the obnoxious blues and neon greens, replaced by whites, soft blues, and grays. I, so far, have enjoyed the aesthetics that Samsung has presented in the Note 7. It’s easy on the eyes and looks appropriate for a phone at this price point, in my opinion. Along with those aesthetics, there remains a theme store where you can change up the look to your liking if you don’t enjoy the stock TouchWiz look.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Quick Toggles

One of the things that bothers me most in software skins is what OEMs do to the Settings application. I’m often in and out of the app (checking battery life, mostly) so it’s a major factor in my experience with the phone. I don’t think that Samsung’s reskin of the Settings app is better than stock Android, but it doesn’t take any steps back. It’s well formatted and offers a clear idea of what options are in which category. There are a TON of options in the Settings app in the Note 7, and Samsung does a pretty good job of not making it feel overwhelming.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Settings app

I’m impressed with what I would even call restraint that Samsung has shown in its software. Gone are the days where it replicated every core application in stock Android and added in its own ridiculous applications no-one asked for (Milk Music?), and even though some of those apps have stuck around and are joined by carrier bloatware, it doesn’t feel so bad since they’re all hiding in folders in the application tray. I don’t need two apps to do everything, but the apps that Samsung bundle with the Note 7 are pretty good, especially the Calendar, S Health, Theme Store, Secure Folder, and the Camera app.

Body

I’ve buried the lede a little bit since this statement comes so far into this post, but the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is the most attractive phone I have ever seen. And, it’s not really close, either. I have the Black Oynx version of the phone, and the only thing that is not black on it is the Samsung logo on the front and the lens for the camera on the back. This gives the phone a sleek, blacked-out feel that is a pleasure to look at.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 back

And, not only is it easy on the eyes, it’s a pleasure to hold, too. While glass does have its downsides, it is still the most pleasing material to the touch in modern day smartphones. The curved front and back of the Note 7 lead to spinning the phone in my hand nonstop. The perfectly weighted device is a joy to hold even when I have to reach to the top of the very large 5.7″ display. I don’t have big hands (nor do I have abnormally small hands), but I do occasionally have to take my pinky off the bottom of the phone to reach the top.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 buttons

The buttons retain the excellent clickiness of the Note 7’s predecessors, and the home button houses a sometimes hit or miss fingerprint sensor. I do miss the glass home button of the OnePlus 3. I feel having a home button you don’t actually have to press that houses a lightning fast fingerprint sensor is far superior to Samsung’s choice here.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 home button

Odds and ends

After some of the initial reviews I’ve read or watched, I was actually quite pleased with the bottom firing speaker. It’s loud enough, and while it doesn’t put out any bass, it’s pretty clear until the highest volumes. Bluetooth and wired headphones sound as good as with the Note 7 as any other phone.

The S-Pen has been nice so far, even if I’m someone who generally doesn’t use a stylus. The added functionality to make GIFs and writing on the display is pretty cool, but I doubt it is something I use much, if ever.

The camera has been great so far with fast shutter speeds and a full featured camera app to control it. I love that all of the modes are a swipe away, but you can easily just pull the phone out and snap wonderful pictures reliably. We’ll have a closer look at the camera and many other features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in our full review.

Sprint may make second attempt to kill off 2-year price offerings

AndroidGuys
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Sprint may make second attempt to kill off 2-year price offerings

It has been a busy week in mobile carrier news. We had AT&T announce a new data structure, which was then changed immediately following T-Mobile’s Uncarrier 12 announcement. Sprint, caught up in all the T-Mobile fervor, also announced an unremarkable unlimited plan yesterday.

While Uncarrier 12 is interesting for many reasons, we want to make sure all this excitement doesn’t overshadow a leaked document from Sprint that will end up impacting many of its customers. If the document leaked by PhoneArena is accurate, starting on 8/26/16, Sprint will no longer be offering 2-year pricing for mobile phones.

Leaked document detailing 2-year pricing removal
The leaked document detailing 2-year pricing removal. Source: PhoneArena

The document is quick to point out that Sprint is “being competitive” by removing 2-year pricing options since Big Red is the only other carrier that still offers contracts.This latest attempt by Sprint to kill off the 2-year pricing structure is the company’s second attempt to do this. In January, Sprint tried to remove 2-year pricing options before reversing the decision in late February.

The leaked document also goes into detail about the differences between leasing devices and installment billing. It then closes the document stating that if a customer is willing to leave Sprint because of this change, the sales representative can refer them to sprint.com or the company’s Telesales department where the customer can still receive the 2-Year pricing.

[graphiq id=”3lBnyOQZUSp” title=”Sprint Corporation (S)” width=”700″ height=”456″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/3lBnyOQZUSp” link=”http://listings.findthecompany.com/l/32574845/Sprint-Corporation-in-Overland-Park-KS” link_text=”Sprint Corporation (S) | FindTheCompany” ]

It seems like Sprint is unsure if it wants to kill its 2-year pricing options. While the options won’t be as readily available to the customer, they are still in the back corner gathering dust for anyone who wants one. We are curious to see how Sprints customer base will react to this change in policy.

Google partners with Apple, AT&T and more to combat robocalls

Andrew Orr
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Randall Stephenson, chairman of AT&T, is announcing a consortium of 33 companies, which include Google, Apple, AT&T and Comcast, that are joining the FCC to crack down on robocalls.

Robocall Strike Force

Right now, the plan is to have these companies work on various solutions and come up with a plan by October 19. So far it’s unknown as to what kinds of plans are being tested, but Google has already begun spam blocking with the Google Phone app.

nexus2cee_07.25_Android_SpamCall_thumb

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told Reuters, “This scourge must stop…the bad guys are beating the good guys with technology…”, while Stephenson said, “This is going to require more than individual company initiatives and one-off blocking apps. Robocallers are a formidable adversary, notoriously hard to stop.”

This issue is going to require concentrated effort among technology companies. Like email spam, combatting robocalls will turn into a cat-and-mouse game. Right now the main plan seems to be the implementation of Caller ID standards and a “Do Not Originate” list than can stop phone spoofers from impersonating the phone numbers of governments, banks and others.

LimeLens: 2 Wide angle lenses for your Android

AndroidGuys
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The Low Down

 The Get Down

For most of us, our phone is always with us, always within arm’s reach. We use it for everything from surfing the web, checking our email, looking at our bank accounts and even phone calls. It is also the easiest to get to and sometimes the best camera we have around too.

I have longed for a camera on my phone that could replace a standard bulky digital camera. And the Galaxy S7 Edge is as close to that as I have found. It takes beautiful photos in the right light and pretty good ones in low light too. But what it lacks is a wide angle shot that can catch those big family photos or wide open spaces in nature.

The pictures below were taken standing in the same position at the same height.

Enter Lime Lens. Maybe. The set includes both The Thinker – Dual Macro / Wide Lens and The Captain – Supreme Fisheye Lens. Both lenses dramatically change the standard photos you get with the built-in camera.

Let’s start at the beginning. After opening the package I found that the lenses were packed quite well. It seems professional and everything is protected well in the case. You will get both lenses, 3 “clips” (these are how you mount the lens to your phone) cleaning cloth, #LimeLife stickers, and an instruction manual, plus the faux leather zipper case is all comes in.

The first thing we have to do is determine which clip goes to our phone. There is a great guide in the manual so we won’t go into that here. Once you have the clip installed it’s time to put those lenses on and start shooting.

The Down Low

The lenses are small, as you would expect since they are for your phone. But I found it hard not to touch the glass parts of them and had fingerprints I had to wipe away. Luckily Lime Lens supplied the cleaning cloths.

There is a ridge in the clip and a piece that goes into that on half of each lens, so you put the lens in the clip and twist it half way around to lock it into place. I found this to be tricky and actually dropped the lenses a couple of times when I thought they were secure. It did not break and seemed to take each fall well.

Now let talk about that clip. This is my least favorite part of Lime Lens. The clip is a piece of plastic that sticks to your phone. Once removed from your phone it cannot be used again. It will not work if you have a case on your phone since the lens has to be right on top of the lens on the phone’s camera. There is a list of cases that will work with Lime Lens but most are not very perspective.

For a product that is not used all the time I am frustrated that I have to have a part of it stuck to my phone all the time, and it stops me from putting the case back on my phone since I can’t take it off when not in use. There are a few other products on the market (none of which I have used so I don’t know if the lenses work as well as the Lime Lens) that have solved this problem by actually being a clip that can be removed when the lens is not in use.

They definitely don’t look as good as Lime Lens when you are actually using the lenses, but for me I would prefer my phone to look funny when I need to use the lens and then take it off when it’s not in use, than to have a piece of plastic stuck to the back of my phone all the time.

The lenses themselves work well and really add something useful to your phone’s camera. You can see in the pictures above how much more you can get in the shot with the Wide angle lens.

So if you don’t use a case or are willing to buy a new one that works with the lime lens clip, and you need to take wide angle shots with your phone this might be the product for you.

5 things that would make the next Nexus a huge success

Jason Botha
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We’re currently in the second half of 2016, and during this time of the year we typically begin to see Nexus rumours pick up speed. This year is no different as compared the past ones, and while we haven’t seen solid evidence of what the new Nexus may look like, we have seen trickles of information slip in.

google-nexus-2016-fingerprint-sensor-gesture (1)

We have mixed opinions on what we’ve seen, but overall the direction Nexus is moving in appears to be relatively promising. The Nexus devices are the epitome of Android and have been an important aspect of the Android ecosystem ever since their release.

But perhaps the Nexus devices aren’t quite what they used to be. They don’t particularly stand out as much as they used to nor do they seem the absolute go-to anymore. Here’s our list of things that would make the Nexus great again.

Affordable Price

The Nexus were relatively affordable until the 6″ Nexus 6 arrived on the scene. It was not a big issue: most people were not moved much by the substantial price increase. But once you increase the price, you inevitably begin looking at other options in that price range.

Nexus-Evolution-750x421

Those who were affected by the price increase also had little choice if they wanted to get their hands on the new model. Making it affordable would result in a better market penetration, putting the Nexus in a better standing.

New, unique features

Phones of today typically come with the same features on offer. Be it a fingerprint scanner, OIS camera or 4K; it’s hard to come across something unique. The Note7 is a good example of this as it has a retina scanner, the only phone currently which has something that no other phone has.

note7_in_hand

But we aren’t necessarily expecting something as drastic as a retinal scanner. Maybe a new software tweak that allows the fingerprint scanner to be used as tool for controlling your phone, or something that we’ve never thought of previously.

Carrier support and availability

Right now, you cannot walk into a store and buy the Nexus on a contract, while subsidizing the price. You cannot play around with it and get to feel it before you decide whether you’d like to get one or not. You have to fork out the full price with a one off payment. This is terrible and has been one of the weakest spots of the Nexus.

Nexus6P_GalaxyS7_camera-min

Some carriers do not even support the Nexus, so in some cases you’re forced to not buy a Nexus. Expanding on this, the Nexus should also be universally unlocked. I simply can’t think why, after all these years, carrier availability for the Nexus is so poor.

Unrivalled Camera

The Nexus 6P really stepped up its camera game against the competitors, but compared to other phones it’s still relatively further down on the list. The 2016/2017 Nexus has a chance to pick up its game even further.

5x-cameraWe’d like to see a dual-camera setup on the next iteration. Not only that, but maybe a wide angle lens to the extent of what we saw on the LG G5 packed to the brim with features like OIS, manual camera adjustments, low light capabilities and super-high resolution pictures.

Google could easily attempt to make the camera the best ever, but we should take into consideration that we’ve already asked for a lower price and it’s unlikely we’ll receive the best of both worlds.

Bigger battery

At the time of writing this, the media has been abuzz with news of new batteries that hold virtually twice the amount of amperage and thus allow us to double the time we get out of one charge. While it’s highly unlikely we’ll see this technology in the new Nexus, we would still like a bigger battery, particularly over a thinner phone.

nexus 5 battery

The Nexus 6P gave us a respectable battery life, but there’s no limit on how big we want the batteries, other than the limit on how fat the phone can be. I do think that battery life is one of the major areas that have been neglected in the industry ever since the first cellphones.

And that, is what we would like to see in the next Nexus. What are you looking forward to and hoping to see?

Android-powered ConsoleTab now taking pre-orders

AndroidGuys
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Console Inc., of Santa Clara, CA is gearing up to open preorders for its new ‘ConsoleTab’ tablet. This new tablet is designed to meld the Android and PC experience into one 10-inch portable device.

UPDATE: We previously reported that this was going to be a Kickstarter project, however we’ve learned this not to be the case.  As such, ConsoleTab wants to clear the air a bit and offer more detail on its previous Kickstarter campaign. Pre-orders are set to go live any time so it’s important we made the distinction.

A message received from its team today reads:

To be clear, we are refunding our Console OS kickstarter backers, and we are working with our manufacturing partners at Teclast to clarify how the device is unique (from different radios, to different storage options, and more). And, we really want to make clear to people that do order that their credit cards will not be charged until it ships.

Key features of the tablet include the new Intel quad core Atom x5-Z8300 running at 1.8GHz and a base 64GB of expandable storage space, as well as 4GB of DDR3 RAM.  This should be plenty of processing power and memory for day-to-day tasks, but we will have to wait to see how it performs in real world applications after the official launch.

Full specs and pre-ordering information can be viewed at the ConsoleTab’s website, but rest assured that they are including some fairly powerful hardware underneath the 1080p screen. Console Inc. is taking a unique approach to this pre-order process by allowing backers to vote on the final color Kinetic Blue, Reflective Gold, and Matte Black.

Jumping into the crowded tablet space may prove to be a challenge for a small company like Console, Inc., but so far the overall design and internal specs show promise. Pair that with a new take on melding the PC experience into the Android OS, and they may just have a device that finds its own niche in the market.

HTC 10 now available in Camellia Red and Topaz Gold

Scott Webster
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Today finds HTC offering its flagship smartphone, the HTC 10, in new colors to US customers. Formerly available in select markets, the Camellia Red and Topaz Gold version of the phone is now sold through HTC.com.

Pre-orders have started at HTC’s website with both colors offered in limited quanities. Currently, HTC is slashing $100 off the phone when purchased through its channel; the new colors get the same UH-OH Protection service that comes with the standard options. This means you’ll be protected for 12 months with a replacement plan for water damage and cracked screens.

Coming next year: batteries that last twice as long

Andrew Orr
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Yes, you read that right. Imagine having your smartphone’s battery last TWICE as long!

SolidEnergy

Developed by SolidEnergy Systems, a spinout from MIT, the new type of battery is roughly half the size of one found in an iPhone 6s. This means that your phone can stay nice and thin – that is if you’re into that. The new batteries are different than regular batteries in two ways:

  • They use a thin metal foil for the anode – 20% thinner than the anodes in today’s lithium batteries
  • The electrolyte is a hybrid: one solid layer wrapped around the foil and a non-flammable liquid solution
SolidEnergy Systems
SolidEnergy Systems

Standard lithium-ion batteries use graphite as the anode material. Graphite is readily available and electrically conductive. Graphite also swells up to hold the lithium ions. But since SolidEnergy uses a lithium-metal foil for the anode, it can hold more ions.

Qichao Hu, CEO of SolidEnergy, told MIT News:

“With two-times the energy density, we can make a battery half the size, but that still lasts the same amount of time, as a lithium ion battery. Or we can make a battery the same size as a lithium ion battery, but now it will last twice as long.”

Certain chemical modifications made to the electrolyte make these batteries rechargeable and safer to use. Using a non-flammable liquid also makes these batteries safer than regular lithium-ion batteries, which can explode if punctured and exposed to oxygen.

SolidEnergy Systems
SolidEnergy Systems

In October of 2015, SolidEnergy showed off a working prototype of the battery. Now they are ready for commercial production. The company hopes to have the batteries in smartphones and wearables in early 2017, and in electric cars in 2018. Eat your heart out Elon Musk.

Hu continues: “Several customers are using drones and balloons to provide free Internet to the developing world, and to survey for disaster relief…”

Sounds like Facebook and Google among others are already benefiting from this technology. For more information (and detailed chemistry) check out the article at MIT News.

Moto G4 Plus review: Moto has to bring its A-game

AndroidGuys
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Motorola has been redefining what a budget phone is capable of for the past few years. The Moto X line provided affordable flagships with great features while the beloved Moto G and E lines set examples for just how well budget phones could perform given proper software.

Although Moto has diverged from its usual affordable flagships with the $600+ Moto Z line, this year’s Moto G4 and G4 Plus are still extremely affordable and come with good features. But the smartphone market has been trending towards power yet affordable flagships for a couple of years. Does the G4 Plus offer enough to make it stand out from the crowd?

Things I Liked

Software

Screenshot_20160818-161857For the last few years, Motorola has been leading the way in terms of Android skins for its phones. It does this by basically not adding a skin at all. I would wager that most would think this phone ran stock Android at first glance.

The G4 Plus’ version of Marshmallow is almost untouched aside from a few software additions and Moto apps. I love the look and feel of stock Android and usually protest to any changes made to the software by phone manufacturers. However, Moto continually impresses me with the usefulness of its added features.

Screenshot_20160818-161903Moto display is still one of my favorite OEM additions since its inception on the original Moto X. The ability to quickly view and interact with notifications using Moto Display is something you don’t realize you want until you have it.

Another addition that Moto has spoiled me with are Moto Actions. With this feature, you can control a few aspects of your phone with nothing but movement. The most famous of these are the double twist with your phone to open the camera and the double chop to activate the flashlight. While they take a few moments to master, the convenience they offer is worth it.

I still believe that Moto provides the best Android software experience aside from pure stock Android.

Performance

The G4 Plus comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor and Adreno 405 GPU; however, the amount of RAM is dependent on your version. There are 16, 32, and 64GB variants of the G4 Plus that each come with 2, 3, and 4GB of RAM, respectively (the 32GB/3GB version is not available in the US). I have the 64GB model with 4GB of RAM.

In my couple of weeks using this phone, performance has blown me away. I believe this is definitely due in part to the mostly stock Android software running on the G4 Plus. This phone flies through daily tasks like social media and web browsing, checking emails, texting, and playing light games.

It may struggle on games that are more graphically intensive and demanding, but for the majority of mobile gamers, the G4 Plus will be more than enough. I never experienced any stutters or lag while using this phone during my normal daily activities, which is a continuation of Moto’s commitment to making budget phones that still provide quality user experiences.

Battery life

Screenshot_20160720-022148

Powering the G4 Plus is a non-removable, 3000mAh battery. Combine this with power friendly hardware and software, and that’s a phone that, in theory, should have good battery life. In actual use, I found that the G4 Plus has incredible battery life!

Moto G4 Plus screen on timeI use my phone heavily and can easily drain most phones’ batteries before the end of the day. With the G4 Plus, I found myself often ending the day with over 10% battery left. I never got less than 5 hours of screen time every day with most days climbing close to or passing 6 hours of screen time.

My normal day includes texting friends and family most of the day, streaming YouTube and Spotify over WiFi and LTE for about 2 hours or more together, sending some pictures through Snapchat, and having four email accounts pulling down continuously. If you are a power user, I believe most will be able to get a full day of use from the G4 Plus and lighter users could stretch that to two days or more.

Fingerprint scanner

Moto G4 Plus fingerprint scanner (FILEminimizer)

One of the advantages of getting the G4 Plus over the basic G4 is the inclusion of a fingerprint scanner. With a base price of $250, I was not expecting much from this phone’s fingerprint scanner, but I have been pleasantly surprised by it.

While its speed will not rival the newest offerings from Samsung and Apple, it proved faster than a friend’s iPhone 6 and should be fast enough for most anyone. You also do not have to power on the display to unlock your phone; simply touching your finger to the scanner will both turn on the display and unlock the phone.

In terms of accuracy, I have had almost no misses with any of the four fingers I added to the phone. The fingerprint scanner is a welcomed addition to the G4 Plus, and its speed and accuracy make it worth the price difference over the regular G4.

Build

Moto G4 Plus back (FILEminimizer)

From pictures and videos, the G4 Plus does not appear to be anything incredible physically, and honestly, it isn’t. However, I do not think that is a bad thing. While the phone is no fully metal behemoth, the metal band on the side and slightly textured plastic back make the G4 Plus a comfortable phone to hold while also keeping weight down.

I was pleased to see Moto go with a textured plastic back instead of something glossy because it adds a grippiness to it that gives you a better hold. I was never worried about this phone sliding out of my hand or my pocket. The design itself is pretty understated with no logos or writing aside from the Moto logo on the back. The back is also removable to give you access to the SIM card slot and the MicroSD card slot.

Moto G4 Plus SIM and MicroSD (FILEminimizer)

There won’t be any awards given to the G4 Plus in terms of style or uniqueness, but its solid build and smart materials make it easy to hold, which is most important.

The following  are a couple of the smaller things that I liked about the Moto G4 Plus. While they are not big enough to warrant entire paragraphs, I believe they deserve to be mentioned nonetheless.

  • I love front-facing speakers and always commend companies for adding them to their phones. Moto deserves some credit for using a front-facing speaker on the G4 Plus. If you are looking for a full report on the speaker, keep on reading.
  • This is a completely personal opinion, but I love the dimple on the back of many Moto phones. It creates a nice place for my finger to rest and just feels nice when you hold the phone. Sometimes it is the small things that really stand out.

Things I Didn’t Like

Display

Moto G4 Plus screen (FILEminimizer)The display on the G4 Plus is a nice size at 5.5” and comes with a respectable 1080p resolution. This resolution definitely helps the G4 Plus accomplish its impressive screen on times. Also, the IPS panel gets exceptionally bright for those who struggle viewing their phones in the sunlight.

Unfortunately, this is where the good features of the display end. The color reproduction on the G4 Plus’ display is completely horrible. Colors appear washed out and much lighter than they should be. This is especially noticeable when using the camera. For many people, I do not believe this will be important or even noticeable; however, there are some who appreciate a quality screen on their phone. If that is you, the G4 Plus probably isn’t your phone.

Camera

Moto G4 Plus camera (FILEminimizer)

This category was difficult to place because the camera is fairly average for a phone in this price range. The G4 comes with a 16-megapixel f/2.0 camera on back with a 5-megapixel front camera.

In well lit, outdoor shots, the rear camera actually performs well. Details are fairly crisp, color reproduction is okay, and focusing is quick thanks to phase detection autofocus. However, I found that the camera tends to struggle in photos with uneven lighting by blowing out highlights and losing detail in shadows.

Moto G4 Plus
Thankfully, the G4 Plus comes with a good HDR mode that helps level out these types of shots; although, it is not as fast as I would like and requires the phone to be held steady for a few seconds, which might not be possible in some situations. As for low light, the camera struggles noticeably. I do not use my camera much in low light anyway, but the test shots I took showed lots of noise, poor detail, and an overall dull image.

My biggest complaint is actually not the camera’s fault but, rather, the screen’s. Due to the poor color reproduction of the screen, photos often look washed out, but when viewing them on another device, the photos look much better than they did on the G4 Plus. This made it difficult to tell how the photos would actually turn out.

As for the front camera, it continues on the path of average. Good enough for the majority of users, but it will not be blowing you away in terms of quality.

Speaker

Earlier, I commended Moto’s use of a front facing speaker, and some of you might be wondering why speaker is singular. Well, that is because there is only one speaker on the G4 Plus. The earpiece doubles as a speaker, which means no dual speakers on this phone. I like the inclusion of dual speakers, and I was disappointed to see Moto opt for a single one.

Of course, it would probably be okay if the speaker had good quality, but my findings on the sound from the speaker are a strong “meh”. I never expect much from phone speakers since they are rarely good, but the G4 Plus’ speaker is disappointing.

If you mostly use your speakers for watching YouTube videos, listening to podcasts, and talking on speakerphone, the G4 Plus can handle that. But do not expect to play music with any sort of style from this phone. I would recommend using headphones or an external speaker for anything like that.

Just like above, I also found a few small things that I did not like about the Moto G4 Plus that just aren’t big enough to go in their own category.

  • While I loved the fingerprint scanner, I prefer fingerprint scanners on the back of phones because I like the front of my phone to be minimal and clean. I also think the dimple in the back would have been a perfect place.
  • To my dismay, the G4 Plus lacks NFC. For many of you, that might not be a factor at all, but for me, it was disappointing to see it left off. I use NFC often when checking out at stores as well as connecting to several of my speakers. If you don’t use NFC, you can pretty much ignore this complaint.
  • As I said earlier, little things are often what sets a phone apart from its competitors. Most people may not pay attention to their phone’s buttons, but I always love when companies make their buttons tactile and clicky. In the case of the G4 Plus, the buttons are mushy, which makes pressing them difficult.

Conclusion

After a few weeks with the G4 Plus, I have to say that I am pleased with Moto’s fourth iteration of its famous budget phone. Performance, software, battery life, and the fingerprint scanner are all wonderful and make this phone a joy to use. The lackluster display, disappointing speaker, and average camera keep it from being a perfect budget phone.

So the question remains: Did Moto bring its A-game with the G4 Plus? With a heavy heart, I have to say no. I think the company could have done better with the G4 Plus, which is evident when you look at my list of dislikes. That being said, I would not have much hesitation in recommending the G4 Plus to anyone looking for a quality budget smartphone.

If you are willing to overlook its faults, the G4 Plus is a phone I can see being used for multiple years. You can get a G4 Plus starting at $250 from the Motorola website, Amazon, and B&H Photo!

Looking for something smaller and less expensive, check out our review of the Moto G4!

Moto G4 Review: No longer a game-changer (Video)

Google’s Duo will soon support audio-only calls

AndroidGuys
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Google’s new video calling app, Duo, was released on August 16 for both Android and iOS. It has only been two days since the apps release, and we are already getting news about new functionality coming to the app. Soon, Duo will soon support “audio only” calls. This news comes to us from Google’s product lead in charge of real time communication, Amit Fulay. There is no timeframe as of yet when we will see this new feature, only a nebulous “Coming Soon.”

Fulay confirms audio-calling for Duo
Amit Fulay confirms audio calling for Duo

Duo is Google’s response to Facetime and is available for both iOS and Android. Duo seeks to simplify video calling by using your phone number to connect directly to others for one on one encrypted video calls. In addition to the ease of use, Duo will also manage your calls for an uninterrupted experience by adjusting video quality to maintain frame rates, and can switch seamlessly between WiFi and your cellular network without dropping your call.

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Duo marks a huge step forward for video calling between devices. You will not need a log-in or password, just your phone number and a friend (Or two phones, who are we to judge). Googles willingness to help bridge the “Android and iOS divide” with Duo will allow more friends and family to communicate in a simplified and meaningful way.

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