The Moto G4 Plus was announced back in 2016 and it ran Android Marshmallow out of the box. It later received an update to Android Nougat as promised. The phone is now receiving its Android 8.1 Oreo update more than a year after Oreo was announced.

Why is the update coming so late? It is actually Motorola‘s fault, to be honest. When the phone was announced, Motorola promised an update to Android N and Android O as Nougat and Oreo were known as back then. However, when the list of Moto devices getting Android Oreo was released in 2017, the Moto G4 Plus and the Moto G4 were missing.

This caused a lot of backlash and they eventually agreed to uphold their promise to update it, though on the condition that it would take time since it was “unplanned for”. Really, Motorola/Lenovo?

Now the update which will definitely be its last is finally rolling out to devices in the US. The changelog says the update brings all the features of Android 8.1 Oreo and also comes with December 2018’ security patch.

READ MORE: Moto G7 Plus China Red version will be the only Motorola phone launching in China this year

Motorola is also rolling out Android Pie to the Moto Z3 Play. The update is already arriving on the 2018 phone in the US. It brings all the goodness of Pie which includes a redesigned navigation system, a redesigned recent apps menu, a new volume control, a virtual screenshot key, new emoji, adaptive battery, and adaptive brightness etc. The update should arrive in other regions in the coming weeks.

(Sources: 1, 2 | Via: 1, 2)

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Its good news for Moto G4 Plus users –Android 8.0 Oreo is on its way. Due to customer’s outcry, Motorola is soon going to test Android 8.0 Oreo for Moto G4 Plus. Earlier, Moto G4 Plus was not included on the list of the smartphones to get the Oreo update. It’s quite late but you know how its said, better late than never.

On the other hand, Google has launched the Android Pie and has even rolled it on the Pixel devices. But some devices are lagging behind for Android 8.0 Oreo. Moto G4 Plus is still running on Android 7.0 Nougat and will keep running till next couple of months until the testing completes. In Brazil, Motorola is accepting new beta testers for the Moto G4 Plus. So, if we make a rough guess then you guys will be getting the update in the next few months and that too depends on how the testing proceeds. Motorola will start soak tests probably after a month upon recruiting. Recently, Motorola started rolling out the Android 8.0 Oreo for the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus.

• Read More: Moto G5 and G5 Plus finally starts receiving Android Oreo update

Additionally, Moto G4 Plus carries Snapdragon 617 with 2/3/4 GB RAM coupling with 16/32/64GB of internal storage. It packs 16 MP rear shooter with a 5 MP on the front for selfies. There’s a 5.5 inches of display having a pixel density of 401 ppi and is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. In connectivity, it carries Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, microUSB 2.0, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS.

(Via)

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In the last week, Motorola’s official blog carried the list of smartphones that will be upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo. Strangely, the Moto G4 Plus is not included in the list even though the company had confirmed in May 2016 that it will be upgraded to Android O. Even the marketing materials of the Moto G4 Plus that had released at that time stated that it would be getting Android N and O (Nougat and Oreo) updates. After facing criticism for making false promise to Moto G4 Plus users, Motorola has confirmed that the handset will be upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo.

As it can be seen in the image above, Motorola had promised Android O for Moto G4 Plus. However, Motorola has removed all the references of Android O update for Moto G4 Plus.

A newer poster does not mention anything on Android O for the handset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voyvRspkWAo

The above video that was uploaded on YouTube shows the listing of Moto G4 Plus on Amazon India. The Moto G4 Android Oreo promise can be clearly seen at 1:02 mark. The refreshed landing page of Moto G4 Plus on the retailer site does not contain any references of Android Oreo.

A Spanish brochure of the Moto G4 Plus also mentions in the Moto Pure section that Android O will be coming to the handset. More recently, Motorola India had also confirmed on Twitter that Moto G4 Plus will be getting Android 8 update.

Motorola India confirmed that moto g4 plus will receive android oreo..but no specific time..being a lenovo moto i think at least 1 year wait pic.twitter.com/k1l8LVY7aM

— Krishnendu Ballav (@KrishnenduBall2) September 15, 2017

Read More: Android 8.0 Oreo Customs ROMs Arrives for Popular Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Motorola Phones & More

Motorola Officially Confirms Moto G4 Plus Android 8.0 Oreo Update

Motorola claims that the Moto G4 Plus was never meant to receive Android O and it had erroneously mentioned the software upgrade for it. It added that the company will keep the promise of releasing Android O for the handset. Since it will be an unplanned upgrade, it will take some time for the company to release the update. The Moto G4 and Moto G4 Play that were unveiled alongside G4 Plus will not be receiving Android 8.0 Oreo update. Android 7.0 Nougat is the last major update for the G4 and G4 Play handsets.

Here is the official statement.

“It’s been brought to our attention that there were some errors in our marketing materials around Android O upgrades (sic) for Moto G4 Plus. This was an oversight on our part and we apologize for this miscommunication. It’s our general practice for the Moto G family to get one major OS upgrade per device, but it’s important to us we keep our promises, so in addition to the N upgrade it has already received, we will be upgrading Moto G4 Plus to Android O. Because this is an unplanned upgrade, it will take some time to fit it into our upgrade schedule. Watch our software upgrade page for more information.”-Motorola

(source|via:1,2)

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So you have got some spare money left from the holidays or maybe you lost your phone when you were on vacation, bottom line is you need a new phone but don’t want to buy something pricey. So you narrow down your options to three phones: the Nokia 6, the Moto G4 Plus, and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. Which one of the phones deserve your money?

Display

All three phones have a 5.5-inch 1080p display but if you care about screen protection, that is where the differences come in.

The Nokia 6 and Moto G4 Plus boasts Corning Gorilla Glass 3 but Xiaomi is not known to use any form of display protection for its Redmi phones, so you might want to steer clear from it.

Just because there is no screen protection doesn’t mean the Redmi Note 4 is a total loser with respect to displays. It actually offers a higher screen-to-body ratio than the other two devices and this is as a result of its shorter frame.

Software

This is another round where Xiaomi loses. The Nokia 6 comes with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, and while the Moto G4 Plus comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow from the factory, there is already a Nougat update available.

Xiaomi on the other hand is still working on MIUI 9 which is said to be based on Android Nougat. It will be available later this year but there is no assurance if the android version of the Redmi Note 4 will change after the update. The reason is because Xiaomi is fond of releasing updates to its MIUI ROM but not updating the android version for some devices even though they get the new ROM update. So it is quite possible to see a Xiaomi phone running MIUI 8 while still on Android Kitkat.

RAM and ROM

The Moto G4 Plus and Redmi Note 4 are available in multiple RAM and storage variants. For the sake of this article we will keep the variants limited to 4GB + 64GB for the Moto G4 Plus; 3GB +32GB and 3GB + 64GB for the Redmi Note 4. The Nokia 6 comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

The good thing about all three devices is that they all support microSD cards of up to 256GB.

Processor

This is a deciding factor for a lot of people when it comes to purchasing phones. The Snapdragon 430 chip in the Nokia 6 is more or less its most popular spec as most people are displeased with Nokia’s SoC choice. It is clocked at 1.4GHz and consists of eight Cortex-A53 cores. The Moto G4 Plus doesn’t fare much better. It sports a Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor (4 x 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4 x 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53) which was released back in 2015.

Xiaomi has gone all out with the chip in the Redmi Note 4. There is a Helio X20 deca-core processor clocked at 2.1GHz (2 x Cortex A-72 & 8 x Cortex-A53). So while all three processors will handle your regular apps and tasks easily, only the Helio X20 will be able to handle high performance tasks without any sweat due to its Cortex-A72 cores.

The GPU is also pretty important. The Nokia 6 has an Adreno 505 GPU and the Moto G4 Plus has an Adreno 405 GPU. Inside the  Redmi Note 4 is a Mali T880-MP4.

Camera

The Nokia 6 sports a 16MP shooter with a  f/2.0 aperture, PDAF and dual-LED flash. Up front is an 8MP camera for selfies.

The Moto G4 Plus has a 16MP camera with the same f/2.0 aperture. In addition to Phase Detection Auto Focus, the G4 Plus also has laser autofocus. The front camera is a 5MP shooter.

The Redmi Note 4 has a f/2.0 13MP rear camera with PDAF and dual LED flash and the front facing camera is a 5MP sensor.

Battery and Extra Features

The Moto G4 Plus and the Nokia 6 both feature 3000mAh batteries with support for fast charging but their batteries are small compared to that of the Redmi Note 4 which is an impressive 4100mAh capacity. Not the biggest in a mid-range phone but large enough to give you a few extra hours of screen-on-time. It also supports fast charging.

All three phones have fingerprint scanners but the Xiaomi is the only one with its mounted on the rear. They all have audio jacks but the Moto G4 Plus lacks any form of audio enhancement. The Nokia 6 comes with Dolby Atmos while the Xiaomi comes with 24-bit hi-res audio support.

READ MORE: Vernee Apollo vs OnePlus 3T Design Comparison

Price

Nokia’s first phone is heavily priced at about $250, a price generally agreed to be on the high side. The Moto G4 Plus actually costs more; priced at $269 for the 4GB+64GB version and $194.99 for the 2GB+16GB variant. The price for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 isn’t surprising as the company is known for its aggressive pricing. The 3GB + 32GB variant will set you back $150 while the 3GB + 64GB variant is priced at around $170.

Conclusion

The price alone should make the Xiaomi your choice but if you are bent on having the latest software version, you will have to consider either the Nokia 6 or the Moto G4 Plus. Just remember that you will be shelling out more money not only for the latest software but for a likely better camera, more RAM, and a smaller battery.

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Motorola, a Lenovo owned company, is rumored to be working on Moto G5 Plus. Its full specs and photos have surfaced as its prototype is available for purchase on online marketplace in Romania.

Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus was announced in May 2016. It seems that the company may launch successor models, Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus soon as a prototype of G5 Plus has been spotted on sale OLX (online marketplace like Craiglist) in Romania.

The seller on OLX Romania is selling the alleged Moto G5 Plus with model number XT1685. The listing of the smartphone on OLX has been taken down. However, its entire specifications, photos and pricing have been shared on Reddit.

In the leaked photos, the device has “Motorola confidential property, not for sale” mark on its chin. Hence, the seller did not reveal any information on from where he obtained the Moto G5 Plus.

Moto G5 Plus Specifications

Moto G5 Plus will be allegedly sporting a 5.5-inch full HD display. The OLX Romania listing revealed that it will be driven by Snapdragon 625 chipset along with 4 GB of RAM.

Its native storage is rumored as 32 GB and it will deliver Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box experience. It is rumored to include a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel frontal camera.

The Moto G5 Plus is expected to include a 3,080 mAh battery and it features a front-facing fingerprint scanner.

Related: Motorola Droid Turbo 3 Renders & A Few Specs Leaked

Moto G5 Plus Release Date, Price

The seller has revealed that the smartphone would go on sale officially in March. Hence, it is likely that the smartphone would be unveiled to the world at the MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2017 that is expected to be held next month.

On OLX Romania, it was being sold without accessories with a pricing of RON 1,650 ($389). Lenovo has not revealed any information on the successor models for Moto G4 and G4 Plus.

The Moto G5 Plus photos seems to resemble the recently leaked renders of the Moto X (2017). It is likely that these two may be different smartphones but sport the same design with different features. The smartphone in the photos do appear real. However, if the Moto G5 Plus is pegged to launch in March, more details are expected to surface in the coming weeks.

(Source)

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Lenovo-owned Motorolo is finally rolling out an Android Nougat update to the Moto G4 Plus. This is not the first time the Moto G4 Plus is getting the Android Nougat update as Motorola carried out a soak test back in October.

The new update brings a ton of new features to the phone such as split-screen multi-tasking, quick switching between apps, and work mode. You can also reply to notifications directly from the status bar without opening the app, and even control the notification settings for an app by pressing and holding down on the notification.

Motorola has also added new Moto experiences like the Moto action which lets you swipe to shrink the screen and a setting to disable or enable the feature that locks the screen when the screen is on and you touch the fingerprint scanner.

The update is starting in India and will gradually roll out to other owners. You may receive a notification telling you abut the update or you can manually check by going to Settings>About Phone>Software Update. Make sure you have at least 50% of charge left on your phone before downloading the update.

READ MORE: Motorola Droid Turbo 3 Renders and Few specs Leaked

The Moto G4 Plus was released this year as one of the successors to the Moto G3. It has a 5.5-inch display, 4GB/3GB/2GB of RAM, 16/32/64GB of ROM, a Snapdragon 617 SoC, a 16MP rear camera, a front-mounted fingerprint scanner, and a 3000mAh battery.

Source

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When you get a new phone, you are always excited about it for a couple of weeks before the feeling wears off. But one thing that usually brings back that excitement is an update. I’m not referring to small and boring incremental updates like security patches and bug fixes. I mean the large updates ushering in a new version of android and a ton of new features. I am always so excited about such updates as long as it doesn’t mess up my device.

Google’s new version of android called Nougat, is just a little over a month old and just a handful of devices are running the official version. A few manufacturers have started announcing update schedules for supported devices and one of them is Motorola.

The company has announced that starting Q4 2016 the new Moto Z and Moto G4 lines will be seeing Android Nougat. Why is this a big deal? Motorola is one of the companies known for pushing  out updates in a timely manner but lately things seem to have gone bad following Lenovo’s acquisition.

A few months ago Motorola released an official statement over its inability to release monthly security updates for its phones citing the difficulty associated with the amount of testing and approvals necessary for a large number of devices as the reason. The company has also laid off a large percentage of the original workforce since the take over which might mean less hands assigned to tasks like that.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Mi 5 Gets a Price Slash Following New Releases

Q4 starts next month but that doesn’t mean the update will begin then since Q4 2016 runs till December (and beyond, since there’s no duration stated). I hope Motorola gets its act together and goes back to the good old days of regular updates.

(Source)

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Motorola is expected to announce the brand new Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus smartphones at two separate events in Mexico and India later today. Despite the event being just a few hours away, leaks are continuing to come in about the upcoming devices. The latest leak comes in the way of a Moto G4 box, which basically confirms the name, design as well as specifications of the device. From the written material at the back, it looks this leak comes from Mexico.

So, first let’s look at the design revealed by the box. It is in line with the previous leaks, with curved corners and a physical square home button with fingerprint just below the display. The name is also confirmed, so like expected, it will be called as the Moto G4 Plus. Coming to the back, the phone features the standard ‘M’ Moto logo on the back panel, along with the pill shaped camera module, which includes dual tone flash and laser autofocus along with a 16MP sensor.

Thanks to today’s leak, even the specs were confirmed. The Moto G4 Plus will come with a 5.5-inch 1080p display powered by an octo-core processor with 2GB of RAM on board and 32GB of internal storage. At the back, you will find a 16MP camera sensor with PDAF and laser autofocus while up front, there will be a 5MP shooter. Under the hood, the phone comes with 3000mAh battery with Turbo Charging. Other features include Android Marshmallow out of the box, 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Pricing is still a mystery as it is yet to be confirmed, but official details should be announced in the next few hours. As you already know, there’s another variant, the Moto G4 which should be an less powerful and affordable than the G4 Plus. Both the smartphones are expected to be announced later today, so stay tuned for details.

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Every once in a while, our sources send us information about upcoming smartphones. Today, we have received some pictures of the cases of the upcoming Moto G4 handset. These images conform with the earlier leaked design of the handset.

So, what can we take from these leaked cases for the Moto G4? First of all, it looks like the company will incorporate a square physical home button on the device. Previous leaks have from leaksters such as NWE have already shown us this unique design in images, so it doesn’t come as a surprise. Another interesting thing revealed by these cases is the camera setup at the back. Traditionally, smartphone manufacturers prefer placing the camera sensor and the flash horizontally at the back. However, this time around, the company has arranged the sensor and flash in a vertical setup. Also, from the image, it looks like the power and volume buttons are placed on the right side of the device. The headphone jack would be on top, right in the center.

According to previous rumors, there will be two versions in the Moto G lineup this year, namely the Moto G4 and the Moto G4 Plus. Both the handsets are said to come with a 5.5-inch display which would be interesting since the current generation Moto G handset features a much more compact 5-inch screen. Other specs of the Moto G4 include 13MP rear camera and 16GB of internal storage. The G4 Plus is said to come with the same sized screen but with a better 16MP rear shooter.

No more specs information about the two handsets are available yet. But, the CEO had hinted back at the ZUK Z2 Pro launch that we will meet a new Moto G handset on June 9, and it’s quite possible that it will be the Moto G4 and G4 Plus phones.

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Lenovo today announced Zuk Z2 Pro in Beijing’ Capital Gymnasium. However, in addition to the announcement of Zuk Z2 Pro and pricing details, Lenovo revealed some information about Motorola’s upcoming device.

Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo’s CEO, said Motorola will be releasing a new device on June 9, but the model name and other details have not been revealed yet. Mr. Yang added that the new product will be nothing less than “exciting”.

Going by the recent leaks, Motorola currently seems to be working on two new devices, the Moto G4 as well as Moto G4 Plus. A leaked hands-on video of the former has already been doing rounds since a few days.

The overall design still carries the classic style of Motorola cell phones. It may come with a metal frame and a squarish fingerprint sensor housed in a home button on the front panel of the device, is the biggest change.

However, Moto G series has always been positioned for the low-end market segment, such products would hardly be regarded as “exciting”.

At CES earlier this year, Lenovo had teamed up with Google and displayed a mysterious new Project Tango project based device, which sported an augmented reality interactive 3D scene scanner.  Are we about to see this device as Motorola’s new product? For a change, a launch date and time has been declared. It’s going to be an exciting time as we wait for the specific details.

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