What are the differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play?

For the 4th generation of Moto G, Motorola (now under Lenovo), announced 3 different models: Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play.

Then which one is for you? What are the differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play?

This post will try to help you understand the differences of these 3 models so that you can make better decision when you want to buy one Moto G4 (Moto G 2016).

To download official Moto G4 user manual, Moto G4 Plus user manual anf Moto G4 Play user manual in your own language, please check this page.

Initial availability differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play

Although 3 models of Moto G4 were announced, only 2 of them are currently available.

Moto G4 Play will be only available later this summer.

Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 are currently available in selected countries and regions, mainly India, Brazil, Mexico and a few other countries in Latin America.

In early June, Moto G4 will be available in Europe, the Middle East, and other Asian regions.

Moto G4 Plus will be available in Europe, the Middle East, other Asian regions, and other Latin American regions from the second half of June.

For US and North America, the availability of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play has not been announced. (Motorola is not a US company any more; it is now a Lenovo company.)

So, many Motorola fans in US, Europe and other regions are a bit disappointed. Apparently, Motorola (Lenovo) is too short-sighted in Moto G4 release.

Will this help the success of Moto G4?

Very unlikely. The availability strategy of Moto G4 is probably a disaster for Moto G4 sales.

With 3 different models (G4, G4 Plus, and G4 Play) combined, Moto G4 probably cannot exceed the sales of Moto G3 (2015) or  Moto G2 (Moto G 2014).

Just may 2 cents.

Screen (display) differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play

Both Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus share similar display: 5.5″ 1080p (full HD. 1980*1080) display.

Moto G4 Play is smaller (5″) with a 720p (1280*720) screen.

So, the size of Moto G4 Play is similar to previous generations of Moto G devices (e.g., Moto G 2015 and Moto G 2014).  Moto G4 and G4 Plus are bigger than previous generations.

CPU (chips) differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play

Both Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus use Snapdragon 617 Processor, a middle-range 8-core 1.5GHz chip. The real-world performance should be comparable to previous generation flagship processor (Snapdragon 808 and Snapdragon 810).

Of course, Motorola marketed the processor as Motorola Computing System because Motorola customize it with some always-on low energy cores for voice processing.

Moto G4 Play uses identical processor as Moto G 2015. You can find a Snapdragon 410, a quad-core upper entry-level chip, in it.

So, if you often play games on mobile phones, you should get Moto G4 or Moto G4 Plus.

RAM differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play

Moto G4 and Moto G4 Play will have 2GB RAM in the standard configuration. FYI, both Moto G3 (Moto G 2015) and Moto G2 (Moto G 2014) have only 1GB RAM.

But in some regions, Moto G4 Play may only have 1GB RAM.

Moto G4 Plus have three (3) RAM configurations: 2GB or 3GB or 4GB depending on the region.  It is really confusing. You need check it carefully when you buy Moto G4 Plus.

Storage differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play

Moto G4 Play will only have one storage configuration: 16GB with micro SD card slot to expand the storage.

Moto G4 have 2 storage configurations: 16GB  or 32GB depending on the region.

Moto G4 Plus have 3 storage configurations: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB depending your region.

Normally (not always), the 16GB Moto G4 Plus comes with 2GB RAM, 32GB with 3GB RAM and 64GB with 4GB RAM.

Camera differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play

The front cameras in Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play are almost identical: 5MP sensor, wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture.  You can also use screen as flash. So, it is good enough for selfies.

Rear camera (main camera)  is one the biggest differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play.

Moto G4 Plus have the best camera among three models. Actually, Moto G4 Plus camera is comparable to most 2016  flagship phones (e.g., Galaxy S7, LG G5 and HTC 10).

Moto G4 Plus has a 16MP camera with dual autofocus system: laser auto-focus (as in LG G4 and G5) and phase detect auto-focus (PDAF)  (as in Galaxy S6, Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S7).

Moto G4 has a 13MP rear camera, and Moto G4 Play only has a 8MP rear camera.

Both Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus rear cameras support professional mode (manual mode).

Moto Maker customization differences  of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play

Moto Maker allows you to customize your Moto X or Moto G phones.

Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 can be customized through Moto Maker. Moto G4 Play cannot.

If Moto Maker is not available, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 may be offered up to 8 colors in some regions. Moto G4 Play are offered in two colors (black and white) only.

Turbo charging (fast charging) differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play

Fast charging can shorten the charging time significantly.

Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus both support fast charging. Motorola uses “turbo charging”.

Moto G4 Play does not support fast charging.

Fingerprint sensor differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play

Only Moto G4 Plus has a fingerprint sensor.  It is in weird square shape (as strange as Samsung’s rectangular shape) below the screen.

Moto G4 and Moto G4 Play do not have a fingerprint sensor.

Do you have any questions on the differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play? What’s your thoughts on Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play?

If you have any questions or want to share your thoughts on differences of Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play, please let us know in the comment box below.

The community will try to hep you.

For more Moto G online manual pages, please check this page.

For detailed step-by-step guides, please check Moto G How-to guides page.