Yesterday, Lenovo launched the Moto G5 Plus phone in India at ₹14,999. The G-series smartphones have been the key drivers for Motorola's phone sales in India, and sales of Moto G5 Plus and the yet to be launched Moto G5, will be pivotal to the company's success in India this year. Let's take a look at how Moto G5 fares against its own predecessor, Moto G4 Plus, and against Xiaomi's Redmi Note 4 on the spec sheet.
First up is the screen size, which has been reduced to 5.2-inch as compared to 5.5-inch for the G4 Plus. The Redmi Note 4 has a 5.5-inch display too. Despite the ramped up 424 PPI (Pixels Per Inch), the G5 Plus display seems a bit dull at the first glance.
The new phone also has a 67.1 percent screen-to-body ratio as compared to 72.7 percent in Redmi Note 4. So, the G5 Plus' dimensions are similar to Redmi Note 4 or the G4 Plus, though it houses a smaller screen. The smaller screen and bigger body allows the G5 Plus to accommodate the fingerprint sensor in the front.
The G5 Plus comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, upgraded from G4 Plus' Snapdragon 617. This proven mid-range, power efficient chip is also being used in Redmi Note 4 and Moto Z Play. All three phones have multiple RAM options ranging from 2 to 4 GB and internal memory ranging from 16 to 64 GB, depending on the market.
For the new phone, Moto has opted for a 12 MP camera sensor over the earlier 16 MP sensor. But the new sensor has a f/1.7 aperture that lets in more light in dark conditions. It also uses a bigger pixel to provide a more detailed image. By comparison, the Redmi Note 4 uses a 13 MP camera with a f/2.0 aperture.
One of Moto's biggest advantage over the years has been a clean and fast Android. This year is no exception as the Moto G5 Plus will ship with Android Nougat 7.0, whereas Xiaomi's Redmi Note 4 ships with Android Marshmallow 6.1 with MIUI 8 on top.
Now, to the critical factors of price point and availability. Moto G5 Plus starts at ₹14,999, with the higher version costing ₹16,999. That's a much more than Xiaomi Redmi Note 4's highest version of ₹12,999, but the catch is that Xiaomi's phone is only being sold through flash sales that are held at regular intervals. The Moto G5 Plus is already available on Flipkart and can be ordered anytime. While Xiaomi has sold over a million units of Redmi Note 4, daily sales could give Lenovo an edge.