Motorola Moto E4 Plus Philippines Price is Php 8,999 : Has Big 5,000 mAh Battery, Metal Shell

Since the first week of August 2017, I've been receiving lots of questions from my blog readers and followers in social media about the all-new Motorola Moto E4 Plus, which Lenovo Mobile Philippines launched in our country around the same time.

"Sir Mark, is the enclosure of Moto E4 Plus really made of metal?"

"Have you used Moto E4 Plus? How long does its battery last?"

"Does Motorola also have its own selfie beautification software? Does the front-flash support torchlight functionality for video?"

These are only some of the inquiries that you guys and girls have sent me regarding this cool new device.

Thankfully, earlier this week, our friends from Lenovo as well as their PR agency sent me a Motorola Moto E4 Plus unit to play with and review.

So expect me to answer your questions via blog posts on TechPinas as well as status updates on our social media accounts in the coming days.

For now, let me show you actual unit photos of the handset as well as give you a quick rundown of its key features and technical specifications.

In terms of design and build, as you can see in these shots, Moto E4 Plus flaunts chrome-plated plastic and real metal parts and accents.

In front, the Moto E4 Plus has a 2.5D scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3 touchscreen protecting the 5.5-inch 1280 x 720 pixels IPS display. And the back, the phone sports a removable case made of real metal covering the Dual nanoSIM and microSD card slots as well as the non-removable 5,000 mAh battery pack.

Speaking of the big 5,000 mAh battery, it's actually one of the phone's primary selling points. The ultra-large pack gives the Moto E4 Plus multiple days of uptime with regular use. So far, it has lasted me three days without having to plug it to an electrical outlet -- but I was only using social media apps and browsing blogs using the web browser via WiFi.

Having such a high-capacity battery pack powering it made Motorola Moto E4 Plus thicker and heavier than most Android smartphones in its price bracket. Nonetheless, its depth of 9.6 millimeters and weight of 198 grams are more than forgivable considering how long the phone can stay on with a single charge.

If you want a well-designed, budget-friendly-yet-more-than-capable smartphone that doesn't require constant charging throughout the day or if you hate carrying a bulking powerbank in your bag, you should certainly check out this model.

As you may have noticed, the distinguishing design element of the Moto E4 Plus is the black, circular camera module at the back, which is similar to what you'll find on the Moto Z and Moto Z2 Play. Below that, of course, there's the familiar circular Motorola logo.

The Motorola Moto E4 Plus is equipped with a 13 MegaPixel autofocus camera at the back with f/2.0 aperture and LED flash. This main shooter is complemented by a 5 MegaPixel selfie cam in front with f/2.2 aperture and Soft LED flash, which comes in handy in low to zero lighting conditions. Both optics can also record 720p HD videos at 30 frames per second.

For those who are asking, the Soft LED flash of the front-cam can work like a Torchlight for constant lighting when snapping selfies or recording a video. As for beautification software, Moto has its own version which is embedded in the camera application; The user can turn it on when using both the front and back cameras.

Under the hood, the Moto E4 Plus runs its Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system - incorporating Moto apps and customizations - with a 64-Bit Quad-Core 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 and Mali-T720MP2 GPU based Mediatek MT6737 chipset, has 3GB of RAM, and comes with 32GB of storage that's easily expandable using the dedicated microSD card slot.

Although the processor of the handset could be better, I haven't experienced annoying lags or stuttering when using the device so far. If anything I find the handset very responsive to touch gestures and capable of delivering fluid screen transitions.

Some cool unique features of this phone include the Moto Actions app that lets you use the Fingerprint Scanner below the screen to navigate the interface instead of the on-screen buttons. Turning it on, you can swipe left on the pad to go back and swipe right to launch the multitasking panel. There's also Dolby Audio that vastly enhances the sound quality emanating from the loud speaker and improves the audio when you're using earphones.

Alright! That's it for now. Stay tuned for our review along with sample photos and videos taken using the cameras.

For those who are interested, Dual-SIM and 4G-LTE-enaled Motorola Moto E4 Plus is now available at all Lenovo and Motorola Concept Stores, kiosks, as well as authorized retailers both online and in malls. The smartphone sells for only Php 8,999 and is out in a number of elegant hues, including Fine Gold (like what I have here), Iron Gray, and Oxford Blue.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST) Name : Motorola Moto E4 Plus
Type : Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category : Midrange
Dimensions : 155 x 77.5 x 9.6 mm
Weight : 198 grams
Available Colors : Iron Gray, Fine Gold, Oxford Blue
Operating System : Android 7.1.1 Nougat with Moto customizations
Display : 5.5 inches (~69.4% screen-to-body ratio), 720 x 1280 pixels (~267 ppi pixel density), IPS LCD Display, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Processor : Quad-Core 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A53, Mali-T720MP2 GPU, Mediatek MT6737 chipset
RAM : 3GB RAM
Internal Storage : 32GB ROM, expandable via dedicated microSD card slot supporting up to 128GB
Camera : Back: 13 MegaPixels, f/2.0 aperture, autofocus, LED flash
Front: 5 MegaPixels, f/2.2 aperture, 1.4 µm pixel size, Soft LED flash
Video Capture : Front and Back: 720p HD
Audio and Video Playback : MP3, WAV, eAAC+, FLAC, MP4, H.264
Ports : microUSB 2.0, 3.5mm combo jack
Connectivity : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, A2DP, LE, 3G HSPA+; 4G LTE Cat4
GPS : A-GPS, GLONASS
FM Radio : Yes
Sensors : Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity
Network : 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 and SIM 2,
3G HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900), 20(800), 38(2600), 40(2300)
SIM Card Type : Dual nanoSIM
Battery : Non-Removable 5,000 mAh Li-Po battery
Uptime : 3 Days of Uptime with Regular Use (TBC)
Value-Added Features : Large Battery, Front Flash for Selfies, Metal Shell
Announcement : August 2017
Availability : Philippines - August 2017
Price : Official SRP - Php 8,999