Moto G4: Release date, specs and pricing expected from Motorola's upcoming device

Motorola has made a name for itself by catering to the budget and mid-segment consumers. This year too it has an extensive line-up with models like the Moto E (4th gen), Moto G (4th Gen), Moto G4 Plus and Moto X set for release.

IBTimes UK gives you a low-down on what is likely to be one of its first releases in 2016 - the Moto G4 series. As of now, rumours point to two variants of the Moto G4 - a base model named Moto G4 and an upgraded one called Moto G4 Plus.

Design and Display

It has been just a few weeks since two images of the Motorola phones, one claiming to be the G4 plus and the other an unknown one surfaced on the internet. In both the images there is no major design overhaul. Well-known leaker Evan Blass' tweet indicating a Moto G4 Plus had a square home button in the picture containing a fingerprint scanner below the homescreen. This is not a surprise since the company has already confirmed that all Moto-branded devices will come with a fingerprint scanner this year.

The screen size on the other hand will definitely be above 5 inches as already announced by the company for all its devices. Tipsters say the Moto G4 in particular could have a 5.5-inch display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. Additionally, the Moto logo which looks like an inverted bat wing may be pushed to the upper left corner of the display instead of the backside.

As for the display, if a Snapdragon 430 SoC is used as is expected, it will have a 505 GPU which supports up to 1920 X 1200 pixel display resolution.

Procesor, RAM, Storage and OS

The Moto G3 last year came with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 410 processor. So we expect the G4 to get an upgrade. Rumours suggest that while the base model G4 could get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset which clocks up to 1.2 GHz, the G4 Plus could come with Snapdragon 650 being in the category of mid-segment phones.

As for the ROM, we are likely to see two variations with 8GB and 16GB capacities. While the device with 8GB internal storage should hold a 2GB RAM, the upgraded model with 16GB of capacity should run on a 3GB RAM. Both the Moto G 2016 models are expected to come with LTE and voLTE support.

It will come with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box and be eligible for an Android N upgrade once the OS is unveiled by Google later this year.

Camera and Battery

The Moto G4 may not get a camera upgrade and the 5MP snapper could stay. The G4 Plus however, is expected to have a front camera close to the 8MP mark.

For the rear camera, there have been no clear or reliable indications but an upgrade is certainly due and given it is a mid-range series, we expect a rear camera close to the 16MP mark. The leaked images by Blass had also shown that on the rear of the device above the camera unit there are two distinctive holes which may be an additional sensor, most likely a laser autofocus or colour spectrum sensor.

The previous version Moto G 3rd Gen had a non-removable 2470 mAh Li-Ion battery. So to cope with the enhanced features, especially the processor, Motorola should use a battery with capacity close to 3000mAh. If there are two models as is expected, there could be variations of 2,800 mAh and 3,000 mAH battery capacities on the G4 and G4 Plus.

Release Date

GizmoChina recently reported that at the Zuk Z2 Pro smartphone launch in China, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing commented that Motorola (now owned by Lenovo) will be announcing a new smartphone on 9 June . Given that Motorola released the Moto G3 in July 2015 and the Moto G Turbo in December, the Moto G series could be the next in terms of launch. An earlier hint from a supply official had indicated that the G4 will be released by the summer of 2016 which falls in line with a May 2016 or latest June 2016 release.

Pricing

There are no confirmed reports on the pricing yet, but PC Advisor UK reports that the regular Moto G4 is expected to cost $269 (£187, €240) while the G4 Plus will cost $314 ( £218, €280) respectively. This is well in line with Motorola's pricing of the mid-segment series.