Motorola-Moto-G4

Motorola has just announced the release of its first set of 2016 smartphones in the highly popular G series with three new variants, two G4 Plus variants with bigger 5.5in screen and a smaller G4 Play variant with 5in display.

The two Moto G4 variants are phablets with 5.5-inch full HD displays powered by 1.7GHz octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor. Both the models will ship with 2GB of RAM, while power users can opt for a 3GB/32GB variant of Moto G4 Plus.

While they share similar specifications, the Plus variant packs better camera and a capable fingerprint scanner for the first time on a Motorola smartphone.

The G4 Plus will have a 16MP camera whereas the G4 will come with a 13MP one. Both of them can shoot videos up to 1080p resolution. However, it's the G4 Plus which will also have Laser Auto Focus.

Motorola has been judicious in offering the bigger 3,000 mAh battery for all three phones with Turbo Charging capability. The G4 Plus includes a Turbo charger and supports dual SIM with 4G LTE functionality which will be region dependent.

The downscaled Moto G4 Play variant features a smaller 5 inch HD (720p) display and it resembles the existing Moto G 3rd gen variant. It will come with Snapdragon 410 processor, 2GB RAM, a downgraded 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. However, the battery has been bumped up to 2,800 mAh.

With all Moto G4 variants featuring a 5MP front camera., they will run the latest version of Android OS or Android Marshmallow 6.0.1.

Moto G4 Plus is likely to hit the retail market first, in a couple of RAM and storage combos. The 2GB/16GB variant will cost US $202 (INR 13,499) while the 3GB/32GB is priced at $217 (INR 14,499).

The Moto G4 is expected for global release next month, but there is no word on its pricing yet. The Moto G4 and G4 Plus are currently available only in Brazil, while India will get only G4 Plus.