Moto G5 Plus in-depth analysis, comparison, pros & cons. Should one buy this?

Moto G5 Plus has been launched in India and now it can be bought from Flipkart. At the time of writing this article all variants of Moto G5 Plus are available and there is no rush. We have already covered all details about both Moto G5 and G5 Plus though​ the G5 has not been launched here. Moto G5 Plus is available in fine gold and lunar gray colors.

If you want the in-depth specifications of Moto G5 Plus check here which you can get nowhere. You don't believe! Check yourself!

Price of Moto G5 Plus:
3GB RAM + 16GB Storage = INR 14,999
4GB RAM + 32GB Storage = INR 16,999

Moto G5 Plus

Now let me explain the vital points: What are the pros & cons, Should you buy it?
If Yes, Why?
If No, Why?

None of your​ questions will be unanswered, just go through this article till the end.

PROS of Moto G5 Plus:

1. Build Quality: Moto G5 Plus is the first smartphone in Moto G series to have a full metal body. It is made with 6000 series high quality aluminum. The build quality is really solid and the color is also prominent.

2. Connectivity: It can be surely said that Moto G5 Plus is the only smartphone in INR 20K price range which supports Dual SIM functionality with dedicated micoSD card slot as well as NFC. However you can use only one 4G SIM actively at a time.

3. Display: The display has not been changed a lot as compared to Moto G4 Plus. It is sharp as well as bright. Viewing under direct sunlight has not been a problem for us. The display bears Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection as well as splash resistant nano coating which are very useful.

5. Camera: The camera performance of Moto G4 Plus was best in class. Moto G5 Plus has 12MP rear camera and the camera sensor is Sony IMX 362 with dual autofocus technology and f/1.7 large aperture. Front camera is 5MP Omnivision 5695 with f/2.2 aperture. If you want in-depth analysis of camera performance check here. In one line I can say the camera performance is not of flagship level but very decent and not so better than Moto G4 Plus.

4. Software/User Interface: Moto smartphones are known for their stock android experience. Moto G5 Plus is sailing on latest Android Nougat 7.0 and gives us a neat and clean experience. After purchasing the device you will surely get update for Google Assistant.

5. Fingerprint Scanner: We have seen many flagship smartphones which bears rear Fingerprint Sensor. Recently launched Redmi Note 4 also has it on rear side which I dislike personally. But that is not the case with Moto G5 Plus. The fingerprint sensor in Moto G5 Plus is front mounted and it's simply awesome. Infact one​ of the fastest you can get. With this accurate fingerprint sensor you can easily lock as well as unlock your device. Yes! You have read right, you can also lock your device without touching or pressing the lock button.

Relevant Article: Moto G5 Plus Camera analysis & Comparison with Moto G4 Plus

CONS of Moto G5 Plus:

1. Screen Size: The screen size of Moto G5 Plus has been reduced to 5.2" from 5.5" which may be a problem for big screen lovers. Though the device looks good but the thick bezels on both top and bottom of the smartphone are just awkward in 2017.

2. Notification LED: Last year's Moto G4 Plus didn't have any working notification LED for calls, messages etc. The same scenario is still present in Moto G5 Plus. In 2017 a smartphone with more than INR 10,000 price tag but without any notification LED is extremely disappointing.

3. RAM Type: The Moto G5 Plus is backed by optional 3/4 GB LPDDR3 Single Channel RAM and the speed/frequency of the RAM is 933 Mhz. Here it is a disappoinment that the RAM used in it is of Single Channel. Moto should have used either 1066 MHz Dual Channel LPDDR4 RAM or at least 933 Mhz Dual Channel LPDDR3 RAM. Those who don't have any idea about Single Channel or Dual Channel RAM may be confused so let me make it simple. A 2GB 933 Mhz Dual Channel LPDDR3 RAM performs much better and consumes less power than a 2GB 933 MHz Single Channel RAM. You can find a lot of reviews, analysis on YouTube/Blogs but no one will tell you about this, we here at GadgetsMap are determined to provide you every nick & pick of smartgadgets in smart ways.

4. Native Storage: The base variant of Moto G5 Plus has 16 GB internal storage which is simply ridiculous.

5. Thermal Issues: The old Moto G4 Plus still has heating problems, it gets very hot while playing games and charging. The Moto G5 Plus is no exception. During GPS navigation the device became too hot to hold comfortably. I must say this device generates much more heat than Moto G4 Plus which may be a serious concern for some users. I hope this issue will be fixed soon with a software update.

6. Battery Backup and Charging: The battery backup is average not so impressive, you can easily get 3.5 hours of Screen on Time on heavy usage. As far as Turbo Charging is concerned I will say two lines.

Turbo Charging for Moto G4 Plus was 18W. Turbo Charging for Moto G5 Plus is 15W.

7. Connectivity: In 2017 at this price point expecting an USB Type C for connectivity is not over expectation.

Why should you buy ?

This is 5th generation Moto G smartphone which has top notch build quality with high quality metal body, very decent cameras and reliable fingerprint scanner. The camera performance of Moto G5 Plus is far better than Redmi Note 4. You do not need to updrade to Moto G5 Plus it you are an existing Moto G4 Plus user. Moto G5 Plus is a good phone with good cameras, flawless performance and superb software optimization but the price seems higher than it should be. Further you can avail 10% instant discount on SBI cards so the effective price becomes​ INR 13,499 & INR 15,299 for 3GB+16GB & 4GB+32GB variants respectively.

Why should you not buy ?

Average size display, average battery backup, heating issue and finally lack of notification LED are the factors you should thik of before purchasing Moto G5 Plus.