I like smaller Android phones, which are getting harder to find, and am not one of the borg that goes around staring at their phones all day; I don’t watch movies or game on it. So –that said…last Christmas I bought my wife a Moto G Plus (5.2") and it has been a great phone for her – so when my trusty old BLU died last week I figured I’d include them in my search – which included quite a few Chinese-branded models, Nokias and Motorolas. My minimum specs were: 5” screen (or smaller), 2 GB RAM and Android 7 or higher.
The main things that set this phone apart (in this sub-$100.00 price range) are: the reasonably clean (unskinned) version of Android 7; 2 GB RAM; and 4000 mAh battery. I installed a 64 GB Samsung Evo SD card, formatted as “internal storage” and selected "force apps onto external storage" in Developer options; the 2 GB RAM is enough to ensure apps run smoothly and don't crash, and there's now plenty of room for any apps I may want to install.
The Evo card is fast enough that I don't experience any lags or problem running apps (so far) that have been "forced" to the SD card. The screen is adequate although you'll probably want to look for some shade to read it in direct sunlight, the speaker is good, call quality excellent, no problems with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity, and I'm running an ATT sim card which the phone recognized and connects, so far, at "H+" (21 mbits theoretical). I have tried a few other APNs but so far have been unable to get it to run LTE in the ATL area – but 21 mbits is plenty fast for me anyway.
I travel routinely and the 4000mAh battery will easily last all day (the Moto E4 is a very similar 5” phone, lighter and thinner, but with a 2,800 mAh battery). The phone runs all my travel apps (Delta, Hilton, Google Maps, Waze, etc) smoothly and flawlessly, and while the phone can’t see the GLONASS system the GPS/AGPS works fine for navigating in CONUS (w/Waze and G-Maps).
Overall, if you don’t need the latest and greatest – but do need a functioning smart phone (and don’t want to spend as much as a new set of Michelins) – I can recommend this one – IMO you can’t get away with less than 2 GB RAM any more, and while I have in the past fooled around and flashed/installed custom ROMs on my old android phones, Android 7/N includes enough functionality (that you used to have to get from a custom ROM); including the important function of enabling apps to install to the SD card – so you end up with over 60GB of internal storage (vice the 16GB native).
I should also mention that I like an “LED Notification” functionality (an LED flashes to let you know you have a notification of some sort) –many Motos do not have an LED – but you can install an app called “Flash Notification” which will provide that function from either the front or rear camera flash/LEDs.
Overall a functional, modern smartphone, good value for money, reasonably well built. Modern OS, runs apps smoothly and well. It is a little heavy (the 4000 mAh battery) and the screen is adequate, not exceptional.
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