Moto G5 Plus first impressions: At a price of Rs 11,999, Moto E5 Plus is one of the more expensive options when one compares specifications with rivals such as Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Oppo Realme 1.
Moto E5 Plus is now available in India. At a price of Rs 11,999, it is one of the more expensive options when one compares specifications with rivals such as Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Oppo Realme 1. The 5,000mAh battery is the USP of Moto E5 Plus, which the company claims will last for a day and a half. It features a larger 6-inch display with minimum bezels, and a design similar to the company’s Moto X4 device, which is another plus.
Moto E5 Plus is the first Moto E series smartphone to ship with Moto display, a feature that allows users to view notifications on locked screen. The phone runs stock version of Android 8.1 Oreo. It can be bought exclusively from Amazon India. At the Moto E5 Plus launch event, we spent some time with the phone and here is our first impression.
Moto E5 Plus: Design and Display
Moto E5 Plus stands out for design thanks to reflective wave pattern on the back cover and an arched back. The design will remind many of Moto X4, though the budget phone sports a plastic body unlike a glass back design on the more expensive X variant. The front is dominated by a 6-inch screen with thin bezels on the sides, which look good. The bottom chin has Motorola branding. Moto display is good to see on this budget phone.
Moto E5 Plus is aimed at people who prefer a bigger screen size on their smartphone. The 6-inch MaxVision display has HD+ resolution, which is a let down as competition offers FHD+ screen. I struggled to look at the screen in bright outdoors, even with brightness set to maximum. The viewing angles are decent. A full display will appeal especially while watching videos and playing games.
Moto E5 Plus stands out for design thanks to reflective wave pattern on the back cover and an arched back.
Moto E5 Plus is neither light nor very heavy, despite a larger battery, which is great. Though it ships with a plastic body, the reflective back design gives it a premium look. However, keep a wiping cloth with you at all times as the phone is a fingerprint magnet and prone to smudges. Face unlock feature is missing and fingerprint sensor is embedded in the Motorola logo below the rear camera lens.
Moto E5 Plus: Camera
In our limited time with Moto E5 Plus, the camera was quick to focus in indoors as well, which is great. I was surprised with the detailing and colour reproduction in photos clicked in dimly lit indoors. The selfie camera is also impressive in places where there is ample light. The rear camera work well for the asking price. The 12MP rear camera supports features like LED flash, laser autofocus, phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and laser autofocus, though there is no ‘bokeh’ mode. The 5MP selfie shooter comes with selfie flash for better photos in low-light.
Moto E5 Plus: Performance, Battery and Memory
Moto E5 Plus is powered by octa-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, with Adreno 505 GPU. It features 3GB and 32GB storage. The processor is an older one, and less powerful when compared to Snapdragon 625 on Redmi Note 5. Realme 1 packs the same Helio P60 processor that we saw on the Oppo F7. Moto E5 Plus is only available in 3GB RAM+32GB storage model, which is expensive when compared to the same storage model of Redmi Note 5 and Realme 1.
Moto E5 Plus camera sample. (Image resized for web)
Moto E5 Plus camera sample. (Image resized for web)
Moto E5 Plus camera sample. (Image resized for web)
I liked that Moto E5 Plus offers triple slots, which includes two SIM slots and a microSD card slot. The internal storage is expandable up to 128GB. Moto E5 Plus is backed a by a 5,000mAh battery, which the company claims will provide one and a half hours of usage. The battery specifications looks impressive on paper, but we will have to wait for a full review to comment on real-time usage.
Moto E5 Plus: Software
Moto E5 Plus runs stock version of Android 8.1 Oreo, which is great. People who prefer minimum customisations can consider the E5 Plus and it ships with the latest Android OS version as well. With Moto Actions, users can experience features like quick screenshot, swipe to shrink screen, pick up to stop ringing, flip for do not disturb, and more.
Moto E5 Plus: Verdict
Moto E5 Plus is inline with most budget smartphones. While a 5,000mAh battery is the highlight of the device, it lacks features like a FHD+ resolution display and Face Unlock. Though performance should not be a major issue, it still ships with a less powerful processor when compared to rivals.