Moto X4: Sets the bar for mid-range smartphones

Aligning with its India strategy to tap the consumer mindset rather than focusing on market share, Lenovo-owned Motorola has just launched mid-price segment device Moto X4.

The Rs 22,999 (4GB RAM+64GB storage) Moto X4 claims to deliver best-in-class experience when compared with other devices like Vivo V7+ and OPPO F3 Plus in the same price range.
Will Moto X4 rule the mid-range smartphones? Let's find out.

The basic design is similar to Moto G5 Plus, with a 5.2-inch Full-HD display, thick bezels on the top and bottom on front and a dual-camera set-up at the back -- all housed in a unibody metal and glass body.

The device has a regular oval fingerprint sensor below the display that doubles up as navigation keys.

The primary dual-camera (12MP+8MP) is neatly placed in a ring at the back with a dual-tone LED flash. The 12MP sensor has dual-autofocus pixel sensor (f2.0, 1.4um) while 8MP camera has ultra-wide angle with 120-degrees field of view sensor (f2.2, 1.12um).
Photos in the daylight conditions were rich in colours.

In low-light conditions, we got the desired pictures by manually clicking with the "professional mode" feature.

The camera has other features like "ultra-wide angle shot" and "depth detection effects".
The 16MP front shooter is complemented by a selfie flash which gives an option to click clearer images even in low-light conditions. You can also capture group photos with the selfie panorama feature.

On the hardware front, Moto X4 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor and has 64GB on-board storage that can be expanded up to 2TB.

The IP68-rated (water resistant) device functioned smoothly with multiple apps running in the background. We did not experience any lags or heating issues while using the device for regular functions.

The device runs Android 7.1 Nougat OS that offers near stock Android experience -- one of the best points of the Moto brand.Moto X4 also has several gesture modes like the chop gesture that turns on the flashlight.

The navigation keys can be removed from the display and you can navigate by swiping left on the fingerprint scanner to go to the previous screen and swipe right for "recent" tabs, thus giving more screen space to the users.

Moto X4 has 3,000mAh battery that lasted for more than a day on a single charge for normal use. The usage included multimedia consumption for nearly 10 hours with the handset being always connected to Internet.

It has got fast-charging technology that charges the device in less than an hour.

What doesn't work?

The camera bump is a put off which makes the phone wobbly. The glass finish will have fingerprint smudges and so you will need a back cover.Hard-core gaming (Asphalt Xtreme) did not deliver a smooth experience. It stuttered and heated during the test.

Conclusion: Moto X4 has looks, hardware and software that make it a good choice for millennials who are looking for a power-packed mid-segment device. Motorola also has a 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM variant for Rs 20,999 which can also be looked at.