Moto G4 review: Lenovated

3. Display, connectivity, battery life

Display

The Moto G4 features a 5.5" IPS display. It has 1080p resolution, marking a jump in sharpness from previous models and the G4 Play used 720p.

We found two settings for the Display - Normal and Vibrant - though they aren't very different (a slight gamma correction). The upside is that the screen is unexpectedly good both in terms of contrast and color rendering.

It scored an average deltaE of 2.6 and a maximum of just 3.7 in terms of color deviation. Those are better readings than the iPhone 6s Plus, LG G5 and HTC 10 get, not far off from Samsung's best either. We do wish Vibrant mode offered more punchy colors as they default to a somewhat muted look.

Colors stay nailed in place even when you view the screen at an angle. There's no visible contrast shift either when looking at an angle either.

It's not just the colors, the screen is brighter than LCDs in its price class and thanks to the impressively deep black levels, it offers very impressive contrast ratio.

Display test	100% brightness
Display test	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio
Moto G4	0.32	495	1560
Apple iPhone 6s Plus	0.43	590	1382
Meizu m3 note	0.52	425	816
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)	0.42	403	953
Meizu MX5	0	346	∞
Oppo F1 Plus	0.00	351	∞
Vivo V3Max	0.66	596	903

The minimum brightness we got was 21nits, which is too bright if you need to check a late-night email in a dark room.

Sunlight legibility is pretty solid - it beats several pricey flagships as well as some of its direct competitors. Still, there are some affordable AMOLED options out there that do better.

Sunlight contrast ratio

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439
OnePlus 3
4.424
Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376
HTC One A9
4.274
Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124
Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09
Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019
OnePlus X
3.983
Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983
Oppo R7s
3.964
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918
Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879
Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873
Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859
Apple iPhone 6
3.838
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817
Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789
Apple iPhone 6s
3.783
Meizu Pro 5
3.781
Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756
Oppo F1 Plus
3.709
Vivo X5Pro
3.706
Apple iPhone SE
3.681
Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679
Meizu PRO 6
3.659
BlackBerry Priv
3.645
Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53
Acer Jade Primo
3.521
Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512
Oppo R7 Plus
3.499
Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422
Meizu MX5
3.416
Oppo R7
3.32
Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235
Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234
Motorola Moto X Play
3.222
Huawei P9
3.195
Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113
Motorola Moto X Force
3.105
LG Nexus 5X
3.092
Huawei Mate S
3.073
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023
Sony Xperia X
2.989
Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97
Huawei Mate 8
2.949
LG G5
2.905
HTC One S
2.901
Sony Xperia Z5
2.876
Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851
Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784
LG V10
2.744
Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735
Sony Xperia M5
2.69
Vivo V3Max
2.659
Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641
Sony Xperia XA
2.609
Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574
LeEco Le Max 2
2.567
Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563
Moto G4
2.544
Oppo F1
2.528
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503
Motorola Moto G
2.477
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473
Huawei G8
2.471
Sony Xperia Z
2.462
Huawei Honor 7
2.406
ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382
HTC 10
2.378
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
2.378
HTC One E9+
2.305
Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272
Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235
Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233
LG Nexus 5
2.228
Huawei P8
2.196
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166
OnePlus Two
2.165
HTC One X
2.158
LG Aka
2.145
Archos 50 Diamond
2.134
Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119
Acer Liquid X2
2.084
Huawei P8lite
2.078
Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026
Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996
Sony Xperia E4g
1.972
OnePlus One
1.961
Meizu m3 note
1.923
Meizu m2 note
1.892
BlackBerry Leap
1.892
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759
Sony Xperia U
1.758
Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675
ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659
Jolla Jolla
1.605
Motorola Moto E
1.545
Sony Xperia M
1.473
Xiaomi Redmi 2
1.311
Sony Xperia C
1.283
Meizu MX
1.221
Sony Xperia E
1.215

Using the Moto app, you can configure the Moto Display feature - disable it, block certain apps from pushing notifications to it and disable it at night.

Connectivity

The Moto G4 is available as a dual-SIM phone in some regions, single-SIM in others. Both have LTE Cat. 4 connectivity - that's 150Mbps down and 50Mbps up, and it comes in several versions with different band support.

Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is supported along with Bluetooth 4.2 LE. There's no NFC, however.

The microUSB 2.0 port supports OTG so that you can hook up flash drives and other USB accessories to it. It cannot output video, and there's no MHL or SlimPort functionality.

Battery

The Moto G4 is powered by a 3,000mAh non-removable battery.

The phone supports TurboPower, the Moto name for Quick Charge. It promises 6 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes of charging.

You won't be charging your phone too often, however, as it scored an Endurance rating of 73 hours. The individual readings were strong too.

With 20+ hours of talk time, the Moto G4 can outlast flagships like the LG G5 or an Xperia Z5, but lags slightly behind the Redmi Note 3. The Moto gets its revenge in the Web browser test by going an hour longer. The just under 10 hour video playback time is solid in its class.

The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Next Page » 4. User interface

3. Display, connectivity, battery life

Reviews Moto G4 reviewPage 3