Mommy Has a New Phone: Moto G5 Plus Review

When I first moved from Moto to Samsung, I was downright impressed. I haven’t been an iPhone fan an due to lack of many features. But my Moto X Play proved to be an easy winner over my Samsung Galaxy Grand. It’s been over a year now and I needed another upgrade (work, kids…everything is growing!). Needless to say, I looked towards Moto again. But it is a bitter sweet experience this time around. I will explain more in my Moto G5 Plus review today.

My Constant Need for a More Powerful Phone

Okay, so I love technology! But that isn’t the only reason I need a new and improved phone every now and then. I am a web entrepreneur and blogging and running websites is hardly the same as when I started 14 years ago. These days, you have to do a whole lot of graphics, videos, social media shares marketing, collaborating and a ton of other things, mostly on your phone. If you are serious about your work, you need to have a fast and feature-packed phone.

In addition to running my own extensive business, I am also a mom of 3. Now, I would be lying if I said my kids are not allowed to use my phone. The truth is, while I do my best to keep them engaged in offline ways, my phone is a huge part of their lives. 25% of the apps on my phone are games and activities for my kids. From math activities for my first grader to online tests for my 11 year old, I also need educational apps. And if course, when Mommy is late from work and wants to avoid guilty conscience spending to make up for her absence, she has to (at least) catch a new Pokemon and collect some Pokeballs on the way back! Seriously speaking, I don’t think any game on my phone takes up as much resources as Pokemon Go.

Well, to sum it up, I am a business woman as well as a mom. I carry my world in my phone and a better phone is always a thing of joy for me.

iPhone vs Android

The iPhone has got to be the fastest phone and I love the fact that it practically never slows down or hangs up. But the joyride ends there. If you have ever used an Android phone, you will know how frustrating the iPhone can get. Pretty much everything is located 4 clicks away! It affects my speed and productivity completely and I’d rather stick with Android phones. Also, the price does nothing to attract me to it. I am not likely to buy an INR 50,000 or up smart phone mostly because I would be changing it within 1 year. I’d rather put that money in a designer handbag that will stay for generations to come and will always have a resale value too!

After having used Samsung and then Moto, I became a fan of Moto phones. They now belong to the Lenovo family though. Choosing a brand was a no-brainer this time. Motorola it had to be!

Moto G5 Plus Review

I was awaiting the release of Moto G5 Plus and grabbed it on the day of it’s launch from Flipkart. Here are some details on the features and what I loved (and did not!).

1. Fast and Powerful: The phone has Snapdragon 625 processor and 4 GB RAM in comparison to my old phone Moto X Play which has Snapdragon 615 Processor and 2 GB RAM. Result? Fast and no lags!

2. Bright Screen: The TFT IPS display gives a very bright screen and the phone also has support for more colors. The difference in the colorful and bright screen of Moto X Play and the new Moto G Plus is clearly visible. This one is far better!

3. Attractive: The fine gold color and the subtle curves makes this one of the most attractive Moto phones ever!

4. Camera: It took me a while to realize that megapixel is not everything! Moto G5 Plus has lesser number of megapixels astually – only 12p – but the sensor has 1.4 micron pixels which give better low light performance, f/1.7 aperture, phase-detection, laser-based autofocus and a color-balancing dual LED flash. I am loving this camera!

5. Fingerprint Reader: The fingerprint scanner makes unlocking a breeze. You can also declare specific zones (like your home etc.) as safe and without the need for constant screen locking. You can register 4 to 5 different fingerprints. So the kids don’t bother me every time they need to play a game. I really don;t know if that’s a boon or a bane…lol!

6. One Button Nav: This was a love/hate situation for me. It took a while to get the hang of it as I was used to the traditional navigation keys. Swiping your finger in different directions on the lone button gives you different results. But once you get the hang of it, it is actually a time saver!

7. Turbo Charging: This has been a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. The phone comes with a turbo charger and is supposed to charge within 15 minutes and last all day. That is hardly the case here. It takes hours to charge. the phone heats up when charging, and the battery lasts for 4 hours max (Yes, I have heavy battery usage due to YouTube and Games). This could be a problem with my handset and I intend to make a complaint but clearly I am not the only one having this problem with Moto G5 Plus. If my problem is fixed, I will update the post!

PROBLEM FIXED: It was the GPS! If you read further, you will know how I loved the super powerful GPS. That was what was draining the battery all the time! I switched off the ‘Location’ and the phone charges in 30 minutes and lasts for 6-7 hours. It does need a cool room to charge with heating, though. The turbo charging heats up the phone in Indian summers.

8. No Picture Gallery: Android is doing away with the ‘Gallery’ App it seems. Shoving ‘Google Photos’ down everyone’s throats is simply not the way to do it. I love Google Photos but it is not a substitute for the Gallery App. My kids love to watch their own videos. They like to go the Gallery App, click on Videos and watch their videos. With Google Photos, there are no easy steps to do this. I am going to have to download a separate Gallery app just for this.

9. Exceptional GPS: This is solely based on the game ‘Pokemon Go’. The game works flawlessly in Moto G5 Plus! Unlike in Moto X Play, the game does not get develop a lag when the car slows down or picks up speed. The graphics also show up much more bright and colorful!

Final Thoughts

In spite of being a great buy, it is not as big an improvement over Moto X Play as the latter was over Samsung. The phone is also a bit complicated even for a Moto user. But despite my peeves, it is the best phone for its price right now unless something else comes along. I will need to sort the issue of charging and picture gallery somehow because all else, from the camera to the performance, is undeniably good.