WhatsApp Likely to Launch Peer-to-Peer Payments in India Within 6 months
Mobile chat platform WhatsApp could be set to roll out peer-to-peer payments in India, which is home to its largest market with over 200 million users (via TechCrunch).
According to India-based media company The Ken, WhatsApp plans to use a cross-bank payment system called UPI, which is backed by the government, to enable payments between users within the next six months.
WhatsApp has neither confirmed nor denied the claim, but there are precedents for the messaging service to move into mobile payments. During a visit to the country in February, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton met with India’s IT minister and said the company was “in the early stages” of exploring how it might incorporate payment systems into the platform.
Last week, Swedish-based phone number lookup service Trucaller introduced user-to-user payments in India via a tie-in with ICICI Bank, which makes use of the same UPI system WhatsApp is said to be integrating.
Facebook has had a payments system in its Messenger app for some time in the U.S., but WhatsApp is far more popular in India and is already being used there as an e-commerce portal despite not yet offering any features that explicitly support the practice.
Samsung launched Samsung Pay in India for select Samsung Galaxy series devices last month, after it partnered up with Axis, HDFC, ICIC, SBI and Standard Chartered banks, and embraced the UPI standard. Apple spoke with the Indian government about introducing Apple Pay back in 2015, while talks with several banks in the country about incorporating the system are said to be ongoing.
Tags: WhatsApp, India
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Reddit law enforcement requests have tripled in two years
Reddit has just released its 2016 Transparency Report showing how many times US and foreign governments or law enforcement demanded private user information. Given its size (274 million users) the site is a pretty decent “canary in the coalmine” for privacy and government overreach. If so, governments are getting more nosy: Reddit said it fielded 170 requests for account information, over triple the 55 it received in 2014, the year of its first transparency report.
137 of the requests, including subpoenas (69), court orders (8), search warrants (32) and emergency requests (19) came from the United States. The rest (38) came from foreign countries, with the UK, Australia and Germany leading the way. The firm also received six non-governmental requests in the form of subpoenas and petitions.
Reddit complied in whole or part with 62 percent of the requests, roughly the same as what it produced in the last two years (58 percent in 2014 and 60 percent in 2015). As for the six private requests, in furnished information in two of the cases “as they were legally valid” and objected to the remaining four.
In one of the latter cases, a Reddit user linked to a band’s unreleased song, so its record label demanded private information that could identify the user. Reddit objected, calling it an “impermissible fishing expedition” and prevailed. In a similar vein, a company requested private information about a user who criticized it. Reddit fought the demand, arguing the post was protected first amendment speech as it was “based in fact and expressed the user’s opinion.” It won that case too and “was not required to produce the user’s information.”
So what about the famous national security letter (NLS) requests? In its first year of government disclosures (2014), Reddit said it had never received an NLS letter. Such a paragraph serves as a “warrant canary,” in that if it disappears, it means the site has had at least one request. That canary was gone in its March 2016 transparency letter, meaning Reddit was likely served at least one NSL in 2015. It’s not clear, however, whether it updates its canary every year, so it’s hard to say if it received an NSL request in 2016 year or not.
Source: Reddit
YouTube mobile live-streaming has just opened up to lots more users
Why it matters to you
If you’re in the early stages of a building a YouTube channel, chances are you can now use its mobile live-streaming feature.
YouTube has long offered its users the opportunity to launch live-streams, but until recently the feature was only available via its desktop site.
It was only after Periscope made a name for itself for mobile live-streaming, and after Facebook rolled out a similar feature to regular users in early 2016, that YouTube finally saw fit to offer mobile live-streaming starting in February this year. But only to creators with channels that had at least 10,000 subscribers.
The limited rollout allowed the Google-owned company to iron out any kinks as it prepped mobile live-streaming for more of its users, and in the last few weeks some creators with more than 1,000 subscribers noticed they, too, could use the new feature.
YouTube has now confirmed this wider rollout with an update to its support page. To broadcast live from your smartphone, you need a verified YouTube channel and at least 1,000 subscribers. This opens up the feature to a huge number of new users, offering YouTubers the chance to broadcast in real-time, on the go.
The feature is part of the YouTube app, so there’s no need to download separate software to get started. To launch a live-stream, tap on the “camera” icon at the top of the display, tap “go live,” and then add a thumbnail image for the stream. After that it’s simply a matter of tapping out a title and choosing whether you want the stream to be “public” for everyone, or “unlisted” where only people with the link can watch.
More: Instagram rolls out a new -live-streaming feature
In a message posted earlier this year, YouTube said live-stream videos “have all the same features as regular YouTube videos. They can be searched for, found via recommendations or playlists, and protected from unauthorized use.”
It added that the feature “uses YouTube’s rock-solid infrastructure, meaning it’ll be fast and reliable — just the YouTube you know and love.”
YouTubers who want to make use of mobile live-streaming require at least iOS 8 or Android 6.0, and the channel must be free of any live-streaming restrictions for at least 90 days.
This guy went to bed with his iPhone and almost died for it
Why it matters to you
As Wiley Day himself says, best you charge your smartphone
For the vast majority of smartphone owners, charging a handset is nothing more than a mundane necessity. You plug it in. You wait a while. You unplug it. You go about your day.
But very occasionally, for the unlucky few, this unavoidable chore turns into something more eventful. More dramatic. Even horrific.
Take Wiley Day. One evening last month, the Huntsville, Alabama man took his iPhone to bed as usual, leaving it on charge via an extension cord as he slept.
Neck burns suffered by Wiley Day.
Wiley Day
Wiley Day
On any normal morning, he would’ve awoken refreshed, ready to begin the day with a fully charged phone.
But on this particular morning, as he rolled over in bed, the dog-tag necklace he was wearing accidentally connected with the exposed prongs of the charger head, which had loosened from the cord as he slept.
Wiley suffered a huge electric shock, the force of it causing second- and third-degree burns to his neck and hands.
“I just thought, that’s how you die,” 32-year-old Day said in a recent interview with local media.
Describing the highly unfortunate episode as “the most scariest morning I’ve ever been through in my life,” Day said the severe shock jolted him out of his bed and onto the floor.
He managed to end the agony by yanking the chain from his neck, but the burns he suffered required immediate medical attention.
According to the Washington Post, “Day’s shirt was singed, with a small hole burned out.” It described “strips of skin and flesh missing where the metal chain had scorched his neck,” adding that “the pattern of the necklace was burned into parts of his hands where he had gripped the chain to try to tear it off.”
Day clearly had a lucky escape and is now recovering from his ordeal.
More: Digital Trends’ pick of the best smartphones
It’s not the first time for a smartphone to be linked to an electrocution incident. Last year a U.K. man died as he attempted to charge an iPhone while taking a bath, while a few months earlier a woman in Malaysia was killed in another phone charging incident.
Keen for others to avoid what he went through, Wiley Day urged other handset owners to “charge your phone away from you … charge it the next day. It’s not worth your life.”
Has your Nintendo Switch warped? New bending problem reported
After the dead pixels issue several Nintendo Switch owners have suffered, there are now reports that some Switch consoles are bending when docked.
Reddit user _NSR posted an image of his Switch with a clear bend in the middle, saying that it “started to warp while in docked mode”. Others soon followed suit to also complain that their consoles have exhibited warping signs too.
Fellow user Magnaha23 claimed his was bending too: “I actually checked my switch after seeing this. Its starting to do the exact same thing just not as bad as yours yet,” he posted.
- Nintendo Switch: Price, specs and everything you need to know
- All the Nintendo Switch games: Launch titles and every game for 2017 revealed
Others have reported similar issues on Twitter, including TechnoBuffalo’s editor Joey Davidson.
My #NintendoSwitch is warping. Others are warping. Contacted Nintendo. If your system is doing this, let me know! https://t.co/lCLhxYbV5g pic.twitter.com/on9eTFHFbg
— Joey Davidson (@JoeyDavidson) April 3, 2017
Luckily though, Nintendo will repair this issue, unlike the dead pixels problem of before: “I called Nintendo and got a repair set up in 10 minutes,” Magnaha23 added. And if it cannot be repaired because the warping is too severe, it will be replaced, he was told.
The problem is thought to stem from the fact that, when docked, the Switch graphical processing unit works harder than in handheld mode, so runs hotter. And with the dock offering less free-flowing air to the device, there’s a risk it could overheat and warp.
It is not a widespread problem at present though, so there could be other contributory factors, such as the external temperature. Let’s see what happens during the summer.
How to take long exposure photos on a smartphone
If you’ve ever looked at photos of your friends painting their name with light Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, or any other social network feed. Or if they’ve managed to shoot a starry night sky that actually looks good, and wondered how to do it yourself, the answer is long exposure photos. And it’s actually quite simple, once you know where to find the settings, and have the right equipment.
Long exposure on smartphone: What you need
Before you get started with the process of taking long exposure shots on your smartphone there are some essential pieces of kit you should have, because it doesn’t matter how steady your hands are, even the smallest vibration will be enough to ruin the photo. In short, you need something to mount your phone on, to keep it still.
A mount – if you have a tripod already:
- Mudder Universal smartphone mount – £4.99 from Amazon.co.uk or $6.98 from Amazon.com
- iStabilizer mount – £17.95 from Amazon.co.uk or $14.99 from Amazon.com
- Joby GripTight Mount (recommended) – £10.36 from Amazon.co.uk or $16.49 from Amazon.com
A tripod – If you don’t have one already:
- Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand – £19.99 from Amazon.co.uk or $19.95 from Amazon.com
- Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod – £17.95 from Amazon.co.uk or $15.99 from Amazon.com
A memory card – if you need extra storage space:
- 32GB Sandisk Extreme card for £15.29 from Amazon.co.uk or $18.99 from Amazon.com.
Why take long exposures on your smartphone?
For those who look at the phrase “long exposure” and think it’s some photographer jargon, it basically means holding the shutter open for longer than usual. It enables the kinds of effects you can’t get by just pointing and shooting at something, and means you can take better photographs in extremely low light situations.
You can create light trails, cool cloud-like effects shooting moving water, create your own “ghost” photos, or just shoot really great photos of the night sky laden with stars.
Long exposures on smartphone: The method
1. Find your manual mode
A lot of modern Android smartphones now have manual controls built into their camera apps. Whether you go with something from Huawei, OnePlus, Samsung, LG or others, there are plenty out there already capable of taking a long exposure photograph. Head to your default camera app, look through the camera modes and see if there’s one named “manual” or “pro”.
2. Locate shutter speed
We’ve been using the LG G6, Huawei P10 and OnePlus 3T in our testing, among other cameras. Once manual mode is activated, you’ll see a number of options. The most important to take note of are the ISO and Shutter Speed settings. Shutter Speed is normally indicated using a shutter icon (circle formed of interlocking segments), or an “S”.
Once you tap on the shutter speed icon you’ll get a list of speeds, ranging from fractions of seconds as fast as 1/3200 of a second, all the way up to 30 seconds. Needless to say, the longer the exposure you choose, the more time the sensor is exposed to light.
3. Adjust ISO
This is why it’s also important to adjust the ISO, which defines how sensitive the sensor is to light – it’s a hangover from the days of film. With a really high ISO, you not only run the risk of over-exposing/having too much light and ending up with a bright white image, with no detail, but also you will increase how much noise appears. For any long exposure, it’s good to take the ISO relatively low. For most of ours with the G6 we selected one of the two lowest options: 50 or 100.
4. No manual mode? There’s an app for that
If you don’t have a manual mode, either because you have an iPhone or a lower-end Android, there are third party apps available.
- Manual Camera on Android (FREE – Play Store link) is compatible with a lot of phones.
- Slow Shutter Cam (£1.99 – App Store link) on iOS is designed specifically for these long exposures.
Pocket-lint
Long exposures: Starry Nights
Taking your tripod, pointing it up to a clear night sky and taking a picture without a long exposure normally means a grainy, noisy picture showing no discernible stars. Set the shutter speed to 20 or 30 seconds, tune down the ISO to its lowest settings and then be amazed as it uncovers stars you can’t even see with your eyes.
Pocket-lint
Long exposures: Ghosts
The technique for creating ghostly images (ie. semi transparent people) is the same as taking any other long exposure shot. The only difference being that you have to ask your subject to stand still for a few seconds, then get them to move away really quickly out of shot. If your subject is a child, that latter part can be a challenge.
With the photo above we set up a five second exposure, and got the subject to move away after three seconds. With a slightly slower moving child, as you can see, it creates ghostly, whispie trails which kinda add to the effect.
Pocket-lint
Long exposures: Light painting and light trails
Using the same combination of long exposure and low ISO, you can point a flashlight towards the camera and use it to paint your name in the air. Some phones, like Huawei phones for instance, have a light painting mode optimised for this, but it can be done manually.
The same technique can be applied to busy roads at night time, which will then give you those red and white light trails with “ghost” cars.
Long exposures: Cloudy/frosty water
Bodies of water, whether they be lakes, the sea, waterfalls, rivers or just running water from a tap can create a really eerie cloudy effect using a long exposure photo. Since it’s transparent, the movement can make the water seem cloudy or milky when a camera shutter is open for a few seconds.
The only tricky part is ensuring light levels aren’t too high. With a 2-3 second exposure you can often end up with a completely bleached image if you take it in the day time, even with the ISO set at 50. So your best bet is heading out at sunset or sunrise, when it’s not completely dark, but just enough light to capture something.
Belkin’s new Kevlar-reinforced USB Type-C cable is built to last
Why it matters to you
We’re all too used to stock cables that can’t stand up to the rigors of everyday life, but Belkin’s latest USB-C offering has been made to outperform and outlast.
If you’re tired of USB-C cables that tear under stress, Belkin may have a solution for you. The company is adding to its line of ultrastrong Mixit Duratek accessories today with a new USB Type-C cable.
Belkin’s Lightning and Micro USB Duratek cables have been on the market for more than a couple months now, sporting Kevlar-reinforced conductors and double-braided nylon shielding on the outside for enhanced durability. This new USB-C cable is no different, and the company is touting the same five-year limited warranty here as with its previous Duratek products.
More: Amazon tightens up rules on USB Type-C cables after Google engineer’s criticisms
The cable measures 4 feet in length — likely much longer than the cable that shipped with your smartphone or tablet — and has been certified by both the USB Implementers Forum as well as Apple’s MFi program. Unremarkable as that might seem at the outset, they’re actually important distinctions that separate the highest-quality cables with the litany of cheap knockoffs sold online on sites like Amazon.
Belkin
At best, many of those faulty cables wouldn’t be able to properly charge your devices, because they don’t adhere to USB-C’s 3A power delivery specification. At worst, they could actually damage your hardware.
Belkin’s Mixit Duratek USB-C cable may cost a bit more than those alternatives, retailing for $30 — but then, you get what you pay for. In this case, it’s the peace of mind that’s knowing your cable can take advantage of the full range of USB-C’s abilities, is safe to use with everything you own, and of course, can take a beating.
Flexible TPE is used to join the jacket and connector head at each end to prevent splitting. Belkin says that, in testing, its Duratek cables have withstood more than 5,000 cycles of being bent 180 degrees back and forth.
The braided exterior is reportedly lighter, stronger, and more flexible than what you’d find in typical cables — and besides, it just looks good. Belkin hasn’t sacrificed design in making its cables stronger, and if it has, you wouldn’t know it. The Mixit Duratek USB-C cable goes on sale today direct from the company in four colors — black, silver, gold, and rose gold.
Buy now from:
Belkin
Belkin’s new Kevlar-reinforced USB Type-C cable is built to last
Why it matters to you
We’re all too used to stock cables that can’t stand up to the rigors of everyday life, but Belkin’s latest USB-C offering has been made to outperform and outlast.
If you’re tired of USB-C cables that tear under stress, Belkin may have a solution for you. The company is adding to its line of ultrastrong Mixit Duratek accessories today with a new USB Type-C cable.
Belkin’s Lightning and Micro USB Duratek cables have been on the market for more than a couple months now, sporting Kevlar-reinforced conductors and double-braided nylon shielding on the outside for enhanced durability. This new USB-C cable is no different, and the company is touting the same five-year limited warranty here as with its previous Duratek products.
More: Amazon tightens up rules on USB Type-C cables after Google engineer’s criticisms
The cable measures 4 feet in length — likely much longer than the cable that shipped with your smartphone or tablet — and has been certified by both the USB Implementers Forum as well as Apple’s MFi program. Unremarkable as that might seem at the outset, they’re actually important distinctions that separate the highest-quality cables with the litany of cheap knockoffs sold online on sites like Amazon.
Belkin
At best, many of those faulty cables wouldn’t be able to properly charge your devices, because they don’t adhere to USB-C’s 3A power delivery specification. At worst, they could actually damage your hardware.
Belkin’s Mixit Duratek USB-C cable may cost a bit more than those alternatives, retailing for $30 — but then, you get what you pay for. In this case, it’s the peace of mind that’s knowing your cable can take advantage of the full range of USB-C’s abilities, is safe to use with everything you own, and of course, can take a beating.
Flexible TPE is used to join the jacket and connector head at each end to prevent splitting. Belkin says that, in testing, its Duratek cables have withstood more than 5,000 cycles of being bent 180 degrees back and forth.
The braided exterior is reportedly lighter, stronger, and more flexible than what you’d find in typical cables — and besides, it just looks good. Belkin hasn’t sacrificed design in making its cables stronger, and if it has, you wouldn’t know it. The Mixit Duratek USB-C cable goes on sale today direct from the company in four colors — black, silver, gold, and rose gold.
Buy now from:
Belkin
Sonos PlayBase review: Don’t overthink it
Sonos’ second television-friendly speaker is a good choice when a soundbar won’t work — but it’s still pretty darn expensive.
It’s easy to look at the Sonos PlayBase and try to squeeze more out of it than is needed. In fact, you can sum it up thusly: It’s a Sonos speaker that fits underneath (and connects to) your TV.
That’s it.
Don’t worry about where it fits into the Sonos ecosystem. (Hint: It’s right alongside the PlayBar, but underneath the TV — not in front of it.)
Don’t worry about why Sonos decided to use an optical audio port — that’s the one with the cool red light — instead of HDMI. (I’d prefer the latter for smarter switching, but the fact is it’s got optical, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.)
That said … there are a few things you’re going to have to think about here, however. Let’s spend a few more words diving into the new Sonos PlayBase.
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About this review
I’ve been using a Sonos PlayBase on loan for the company for about a week and a half. I’ve had it connected to a 5-year-old 46-inch Samsung plasma TV in my bedroom, and a smaller, newer Samsung in my office. I’ve used the PlayBase with the television remotes, as well as with a Logitech Harmony system.
PlayBase pricing — What do you get for $699?
If you’re already in the Sonos ecosystem, you knew this wouldn’t be cheap. In fact, the PlayBase is the same price as the SoundBar — $699 retail. That’s a lot of scratch, especially considering you can get a decent soundbar for far less than that. Or if you need something of the same style under the TV, the Bose Solo 15 II is a little more than half the price.
PlayBase brings all the audio quality and features you’ve come to expect — just in a different form.
What you’re really paying for, of course, is the Sonos name. OK, you’re also getting a pretty darn good speaker. If you’re an iOS user you can take advantage of Sonos’ “TruePlay” tuning. (And it’s worth taking a couple minutes to set this up.) But even without it you’ll probably get much improved sound over the speakers that are built in to your TV. It drastically improved my aging Samsung TV in the bedroom, adding some simulated surround sound and a good bit of bass.
And it should go without saying, but you also get what in my experience has been the best and easiest wireless music system available. PlayBase connects to any other Sonos speakers you have in your home (I’ve managed to sneak a Play 5, Play 3 and Play 1 into the joint before my wife started asking questions) and groups with any and all of them just as you’d expect.
Plus there’s the TV aspect. It connects as an external speaker via that optical audio input. You’ll need to dive into your TV’s settings to get that all set up. And depending on how old your TV is, you might find some gremlins here. My aging bedroom Samsung throws an error on the screen when I adjust the volume, and there’s nothing I can do about that. But I’ve also used it on a newer model that behaves just fine, with no annoying messages. So YMMV. (And, in fact, this is something Sonos acknowledges.)
Added (obvious) bonus: The PlayBase raises the height of your TV a few inches, which often is a good thing.
Additional (obvious) gremlin: If your TV has feet on either end instead of a pedestal base, then you’re going need a workaround, like the Sanus Swivel TV Base. (In which case maybe just buy a PlayBar instead.)
The bottom line
The Sonos PlayBase is a Sonos speaker that connects to and fits under your mid-sized TV.
That’s it.
It sounds pretty great. It does all the wireless music stuff you’ve come to know and love from Sonos.
It’s also pretty darn expensive at $700.
I look at this more of the sort of thing I’d have under a secondary TV, and not necessarily my main living room screen. (There’s no reason you couldn’t, though.) And for that reason I have a really hard time spending as much on a base-style speaker as I would on a new 4K TV.
But we Sonos faithful aren’t always known for having the tightest wallets.
In this case, though, I look at the PlayBase more as an option, and less as a must-have. It’s a really good product. But the price is going to be prohibitive for many folks — including me.
See at Sonos
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Moto G5 Plus for India review: This is the one to beat
Motorola has another winner on its hands with the G5 Plus.
Quick take:
The Moto G5 Plus symbolizes a bold move by Motorola to assert its dominance in this segment. It combines great hardware with unmatched software experience, culminating in a device that stands a head and shoulders above the competition. I’m not going to mince words here — if you want a capable budget phone in 2017, the Moto G5 Plus should be at the top of your list.
The good
- Amazing camera
- Decent hardware
- Unmatched software
- Great battery life
The bad
- Base variant has 16GB storage
- Costlier than rivals
- Micro-USB doesn’t cut it in 2017
Moto G5 Plus Full review
The Moto G5 Plus comes at a time when the Indian smartphone segment is witnessing a heady growth. The Chinese contingent is in a dominant position in the country, and the goal this year for everyone from Lenovo, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi is to outmatch Samsung, who’s still leading the pack. Lenovo, in particular, is looking to solidify its second place in the market, and in recent months we’ve seen the manufacturer roll out several enticing devices in the form of the K6 Power, K6 Note, and the Lenovo P2.
Phones sold under Lenovo’s label are going strong in India, but it is clear that the manufacturer is gravitating to the Motorola brand to do the heavy lifting. At the G5 Plus launch event in India, Motorola announced that it sold over 6 million units in the Moto G series globally since its inception in 2014. The series is certainly one that Motorola cares about deeply, which is evident when one looks at the improvements made in this generation.
The Moto G5 Plus has several upgrades for 2017, including a metal body and beefier hardware in the form of a Snapdragon 625 — the same SoC used in the Redmi Note 4. Earlier phones in the Moto G series weren’t known for their hardware prowess, with Motorola instead focusing on optimizing the software for a smooth experience. Software superiority continues to be Motorola’s strong suit, but with the Moto G5, the company is also offering robust specs and a significantly upgraded camera in a bid to take the fight to the likes of Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, and Vivo.
The result is a handset that has great hardware and software, as well as a camera that can hold its own next to phones that cost twice as much. Read on to find out why the Moto G5 Plus should be worthy of your consideration.
Moto G5 Plus Specs
| Operating System | Android 7.0 Nougat |
| Display | 5.2-inch 1080p (1920×1080) IPS LCD panel 424ppi pixel density |
| SoC | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Eight Cortex A53 cores at 2.0GHz 14nm |
| GPU | Adreno 506 with Vulkan API, OpenCL 2.0, and OpenGL ES 3.1 650MHz |
| RAM | 2GB/4GB |
| Storage | 16GB/32GB microSD slot up to 128GB Dual SIM connectivity |
| Rear camera | 12MP with f/1.7 lens PDAF, LED flash, Auto HDR 1080p video recording |
| Front shooter | 5MP with f/2.2 lens |
| Connectivity | LTE with VoLTE Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, NFC Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS Micro-USB, 3.5mm audio jack |
| Battery | 3,000mAh battery TurboPower fast charging |
| Fingerprint | Front fingerprint sensor |
| Dimensions | 150.2 x 74 x 7.7mm |
| Weight | 155g |
| Colors | Lunar Grey, Fine Gold |
About this review
I (Harish Jonnalagadda) am writing this review after using the Moto G5 Plus variant with 4GB of RAM and 32GB storage for two weeks in Hyderabad, India. The unit was provided by Lenovo India for review and was connected to Airtel’s 4G network for the bulk of the testing period. I switched to Jio for a few days to test out VoLTE. The device was running Android 7.0 Nougat (build number NPN25.137-15) with the January 1, 2017 security patch and didn’t receive any updates over the course of the review period.
Moto G5 Plus Design and screen
The Moto G5 Plus is the first phone in the Moto G series to feature a metal design. Contrary to Motorola’s marketing materials, the G5 Plus isn’t entirely made out of metal. The back is certainly crafted out of aluminum, but the sides retain the plastic frame that’s coated to feel metallic. The new design definitely makes the G5 Plus feel more upmarket, and the smooth curves at the back along with the rounded corners and the subtle chamfers make the device stand out in a sea of similar-looking metal devices.
The phone is a definite improvement over the G4 Plus. That said, the distinct Motorola design language that made initial generations of the Moto G series so endearing has gone. While the overall design of the G5 Plus is by no means underwhelming, it does tend to come across as tacky.
While we’re on the subject of design, the SIM card slot on the G5 Plus bears a quick mention. Earlier generations of the Moto G series had a removable back, allowing you to slot in the SIM cards and microSD card after removing the back cover. But the switch to a metallic back has led to a non-removable back on the G5 Plus, and that means a SIM card slot, which is at the top of the device. The housing has slots for two SIM cards, as well as a dedicated slot for a microSD card — a welcome move considering the base variant of the G5 Plus has just 16GB of internal storage.
As for the screen, the 1080p panel on the G5 Plus is one of the best in this segment, and it doesn’t suffer from the unduly warm tones exhibited by its predecessor. Color balance and saturation are good, and while Motorola doesn’t offer as many display features as some of its competitors — such as a blue light filter and the ability to adjust color temperature — the screen on the G5 Plus should be plenty adequate.
The design of the Moto G5 Plus is a move in the right direction.
The phone has a slight protrusion at the back for the camera sensor, but it doesn’t affect its usage when laid flat on a surface. Oh, and that iconic Batwing logo is positioned right below the camera housing. I was worried about the sensor picking up scratches, but in two weeks, I’ve yet to notice any. The power button and the volume rocker are on the right, and they offer decent tactile feedback. A nice touch is the texture on the power button, making it easier for you to locate the button with your finger.
Talking about positive changes, the fingerprint sensor is no longer an eyesore, with Motorola deciding to offer a more conventional sensor that’s rounded off. The larger surface area makes a lot of difference when using the sensor to authenticate, and the process itself is just as fast — if not slightly faster — than the G4 Plus. You’ll be able to switch the phone on and off by interacting with the sensor, and it has other tricks up its sleeve. More on that later.
Moto G5 Plus Hardware
The Moto G5 Plus is different from its predecessors in that it has decent hardware. Motorola’s motto was always to deliver the best software experience, and that hasn’t always led to phones with the best specs. We’ve seen that last year with the Snapdragon 617 in the G4 Plus and a year before that with the Snapdragon 615 in the Moto G 2015, but this time around Motorola is including Qualcomm’s 14nm Snapdragon 625 SoC in the G5 Plus.
This is the same chipset that was used in the Moto Z Play, a handset that debuted for ₹24,999. The difference is immediately noticeable when you start using the G5 Plus. It is quick to load apps and games and doesn’t stutter or lag during intense workloads. It does have its shortcomings when it comes to visually intensive games on account of the Adreno 506 GPU, but in everyday usage scenarios, you’ll not face any issues with the G5 Plus.
Where the G5 Plus shares a similarity with its predecessor is when it comes to the onboard sensors. Like the G4 Plus, this year’s G5 Plus does not have a magnetometer. However, I used the phone with Google Maps while driving, and it worked just fine.
While the Indian G5 Plus has NFC, the base variant comes with a paltry 16GB storage.
Unlike last year — where both the G4 and G4 Plus were powered by the same chipset — the G5 Plus has the Snapdragon 625 while the standard G5 features the Snapdragon 430. As a result, we’re seeing several SKUs in the Moto G series for 2017. Motorola is taking a data-driven approach to each market, making features available based on the usage data it has accumulated over the years. That means that the G5 Plus units sold in the U.S. don’t have NFC, an omission that is a dealbreaker for many potential customers.
Thankfully, the G5 Plus sold in India is NFC-enabled, and while I’m glad it’s present, I’m not getting much use out of it as Android Pay has yet to make its debut in the country. Samsung launched its digital payments service in India last month, and during the G5 Plus launch event, Motorola hinted that Android Pay would be available soon. There isn’t a timeline for when the feature will be rolled out, and until that time, NFC is relegated to being a tick mark on the spec sheet.
While Motorola wins a point for including NFC in the Indian variant of the G5 Plus, it loses one for its decision to offer just 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage with the base variant. It’s an obvious ploy by the manufacturer to get customers to choose the pricier model, which has 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The base variant retails for ₹14,999, and with the higher-storage model costing a mere ₹2,000 more at ₹16,999, it’s a no-brainer to opt for the latter.
Furthermore, Motorola’s decision to stick with Micro-USB is a puzzling choice, considering the similarly-priced Z2 Plus runs USB-C. Lenovo pointed out that the Z2 Plus is aimed at the enthusiast segment and that the Moto G line is targeted at a mainstream audience, but that justification doesn’t hold up in 2017.
Battery
When it comes to the battery life, the G5 Plus managed to last a day with ease. Phones like the Redmi Note 4 offer a massive 4,100mAh battery, but the 3,000mAh battery on the G5 Plus delivers a day’s worth of use on a full charge. Standby time on the device is particularly great, with the phone lasting three to four days with low usage. As always, when you do need to top up quickly, you can call upon Motorola’s TurboPower fast charging to deliver a few hours’ worth of charge in 15 minutes.
Moto G5 Plus Camera
One of the most-talked-about features on the Moto G5 Plus is the camera. The 12-megapixel IMX260 imaging sensor in the phone is the same as that on the Galaxy S7, offering an f/1.7 lens and 1.4-micron pixels, but that doesn’t mean you’ll see the same quality of images from the camera on the G5 Plus. There are a lot of other factors here that determine the image quality, such as the ISP and the software processing — an area where Google has excelled with the Pixel.
That said, the Moto G5 Plus beats out every other phone in this segment when it comes to camera quality. Not a single phone under ₹20,000 comes close to the G5 Plus in this regard, and Motorola’s focus in this area will definitely pay dividends over the course of the year. It’s remarkable what Motorola has achieved in two years considering the Moto G 2015 had a mediocre camera.
When it comes to taking images with the phone, you have the option of choosing if you want a dedicated shutter button within the camera interface or to revert to the earlier system that let you tap anywhere on the screen to take a photo. The camera also automatically reads QR codes and barcodes, a feature that should be standard on all phones.
Shooting with the G5 Plus is an easy affair, and Motorola offers one of the most convenient (and fastest) ways to launch the camera app with its double twist gesture. The resulting images are full of detail and color, with the phone managing to take great macro shots. The camera was also fast to focus, and there’s a pro mode that lets you tweak the white balance, ISO, exposure compensation, and shutter speed. While the camera excels during well-lit and daylight scenarios, it isn’t nearly as good when it comes to low-light shots.
Moto G5 Plus Software
There isn’t a lot to talk about when it comes to the software side of things on the G5 Plus, and that’s because Motorola hasn’t tweaked the overall experience a whole lot from the G4 Plus. Considering that the Moto G series set the bar for software in this segment, that’s a good thing.
The user interface on the G5 Plus is clean and devoid of any customizations aside from what you get with Motorola’s own Moto Actions, which are definitely useful. One-handed mode made its debut in Nougat, but the mainstays — the ability to quickly see notifications without turning on the screen, double chop for flashlight, and automatic DND — are still there. One new addition that’s worth talking about is One Button Nav, which is one of my favorite features about the G5 Plus.
It takes a while to get accustomed to One Button Nav, but you should take the time to do so.
The G5 Plus has standard on-screen navigation keys, as well as a new feature called One Button Nav that lets you rely on the fingerprint sensor for navigation. With the feature enabled, you’ll lose the on-screen nav keys and instead use gestures across the face of the fingerprint sensor to move in and out of menus and interact with the user interface. For instance, you’ll be able to get to the home screen with a single tap on the sensor, whereas a right-to-left swipe takes you back within an app’s interface, and a left-to-right swipe serves up the multitasking pane.
Lenovo came up with the feature last year on the Z2 Plus and extended it to other phones following positive feedback, and this year it has made its way onto the Moto G series. The gesture-based interaction certainly has a learning curve, but it is a novel new way of interaction. It’s also one of those features that you’ll either love or hate.
The feature wasn’t pioneered by Lenovo but rather by fellow Chinese manufacturer Meizu (thanks Adrian!). However, Lenovo’s system is easier to use, more intuitive, and is more customizable. The G5 Plus doesn’t yet offer the ability to set custom gestures like the Z2 Plus, but it is possible we’ll see the feature make its way to the phone via an update.
As we’re on the subject of updates, Motorola has lagged behind when it comes to rolling out the Nougat update to the Moto G4 in other regions — the U.S. unlocked units just started receiving the OTA at the end of last month. Thankfully, with India being the manufacturer’s largest global market, there are no such issues with updates in the country.
The Moto G4 and G4 Plus picked up the Nougat update all the way back in December, and there’s no reason to suggest that Motorola won’t follow suit this year with the G5 Plus.
Moto G5 Plus The competition
Normally by this point, I’d just talk about how the G5 Plus offers a lot of value for its price tag and leave it at that. But with the recent influx of great budget phones, it makes sense to take a look at how the device fares in this segment.
Competition in the budget segment in India is intense, which is a good thing as customers are spoiled for choice. Between Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 4, the Honor 6X, Motorola’s Moto M, the Lenovo Z2 Plus, Lenovo P2, Galaxy J7, and a litany of phones from the likes of OPPO and Vivo, there’s an abundance of options if you’re looking for a decent budget phone.
With a price tag of ₹16,999, the G5 Plus costs ₹4,000 more than the Redmi Note 4. Xiaomi’s latest budget offering is going to be one of the best-selling devices of the year, and it’s easy to see why. The Redmi Note 4 has decent specs in the form of a Snapdragon 625, Full HD display, 13MP camera, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, and a 4100mAh battery, and while the phone is still running Marshmallow, MIUI 8 offers a ton of features.
The G5 Plus takes on the best that Xiaomi and Huawei have to offer and comes out on top.
The G5 Plus loses out when it comes to the storage — it comes with 32GB to the Redmi Note 4’s 64GB, but it has a better camera and software that’s in a different league altogether. While Xiaomi has a lot to offer with MIUI, Motorola’s clean implementation coupled with fast updates make it a much more enticing handset.
Same goes for the Honor 6X: Although the phone offers dual cameras at the back, the secondary sensor is more of a gimmick and doesn’t come in handy in most real-world shooting scenarios. The camera as a whole isn’t as good as last year’s Moto G4 Plus, and that should give you an indication as to how it fares next to the G5 Plus. At ₹15,999, there’s even less reason to go for the Honor 6X.
With Lenovo launching a flurry of devices over the last six months, the toughest competition to the G5 Plus comes from within its own ranks. The Lenovo Z2 Plus continues to be one of the best devices in this segment, and the recent price cut means that the model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage is now selling for just ₹500 more than the G5 Plus. That’s a steal considering you get a phone with a Snapdragon 820, 5-inch Full HD display, 13MP ISOCELL camera, and a 3,500mAh battery. The main issue with the Z2 Plus is that it’s still on Marshmallow, and while Lenovo says that it’s dogfooding the Nougat update, there’s no word on a public release.
Motorola’s fiercest competition in this segment comes from within.
Then there’s the Lenovo P2. The phone is the closest to the G5 Plus when it comes to the specs and pricing, offering a 5.5-inch Full HD panel, Snapdragon 625, 13MP camera, 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The differentiator for the P2 is the massive 5,100mAh battery, which allows the phone to run at least two days on a full charge.
I’ll be taking a detailed look at how the G5 Plus compares to the Lenovo P2 — as well as other handsets in this segment — over the coming weeks, but for now, the main advantage with the G5 Plus is the software experience. While Motorola is doing a great job of offering timely updates for its devices, the same cannot be said of its parent company.
Moto G5 Plus Bottom line
Previous devices in the Moto G line championed uncluttered software, but they lacked a certain grunt when it came to the hardware side of things. That isn’t an issue any longer with the G5 Plus: The phone offers an unencumbered software experience that’s a delight to use and internal hardware that’s right up there alongside devices from Xiaomi and Huawei. This is the phone that changes the way budget devices are imagined.
I’m using the Indian variant with NFC, so I can confidently say that there’s not a single thing wrong with the phone. The design — while tacky — is a move in the right direction, the internal hardware ticks all the right boxes, and the software is quintessential Motorola. Considering that we still see devices that fail to get the basics right even in the high-end segment, it’s refreshing to see Motorola not leave out any noteworthy feature in the G5 Plus.
Should you buy it? Yes!
If you’re in the market for a budget handset that offers great hardware and clean software, the Moto G5 Plus is the device to get. The phone is loaded with features, and with India being Motorola’s largest market, you can be assured of quick software updates.
Yes, it costs ₹4,000 more than the Redmi Note 4. Does that extra cost justify the great software experience? Absolutely. While you’re at it, do yourself a favor and pick up the model with 4GB of RAM and 32GB storage. You’ll thank us later.
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