Lenovo has introduced several new Moto branded phones this year – the midrange Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus and then their flagships Moto Z and Moto Z Force, and finally the Moto G4 Play, which many would consider their entry-level device. Moto Canada has finally released the Moto G4 Play and it is available on several Canadian carriers, including Bell, Virgin Mobile, Telus, Koodo, SaskTel, and Wind Mobile with prices starting from $0 to $249 on a no-term. Lenovo advertises the Moto G4 Play as “More phone. More Fun. Affordable as ever.” Designed and priced as a postpaid device, it is looking at the younger crowd – a great device for school kids getting their first device or as a backup device for your other flagship phone.
The Moto G4 Play comes with a 5-inch IPS LCD HD display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and 294 pixels-per-inch (PPI.) For processing power, Lenovo chose the 64-bit Snapdragon 410 quad-core clocked at 1.4GHz. It uses and Adreno 306 GPU for graphic needs. The version sold in Canada packs 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable memory via a 128GB microSD card.
The primary camera is an 8-megapixel shooter with autofocus, an aperture of f/2.2 and a LED flash. It has the Tap anywhere to capture feature, 4X Digital zoom, Burst mode, Auto HDR, Panorama, Drag to Focus, and can shoot 1080p video at 30 frames-per-second. The front-facing camera is a 5-megapixel with f/2.2 and even adds a display flash for selfies and video chatting. Google Photos is offering two years of storage at the original quality for your photos.
The Moto G4 Play has some of the usual suspects WiFi, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, an FM radio, and a microUSB port for charging the removable 2800mAh battery and doing data transfers. The G4 Play also has Moto’s water repellent nano-coating to handle any splashes of water and a single front-facing speaker. There is no fingerprint sensor in this entry-level device and the Moto G4 Play measures144.4 x 72 x 9.9mm, weighs in at 137 grams and comes in Black or White. As we stated above, it will cost you $0 on a contract or $249 with a no-term purchase, but for $249, you can get yourself a very nice device.