Moto G5s Plus Vs Moto G5 Plus: How good is the new one?

Lenovo-owned Motorola has just released the Moto G5s Plus in India with a pretty aggressive pricing strategy. At Rs. 15,999, the special edition Moto G5 Plus costs even lesser than the initial retail price of its predecessor. However, when you compare the specifications, the newer one is visibly better than the older one. But, is this the entire story? Let’s find out.

Design and Build Quality

Starting with the exteriors, the Moto G5s Plus easily outshines the Moto G5 Plus. While this may depend on your personal taste, no one can deny that the full metal construction of the former feels more premium than the plastic top and bottom of the latter. On the front, there are hardly any differences between the two devices.

Regarding handling, the Moto G5 Plus with its smaller 5.2-inch screen is clearly better than its newer version. The older one is slightly thinner too. However, the Moto G5s Plus posts a lower maximum thickness, thanks to its thinner camera bump.

Display

Motorola surprised everyone by opting for an unusual 5.2-inch screen for the Moto G5 Plus. We all know that this was purposely done to prevent the phone from clashing with the Moto Z Play. Incidentally, the Moto G5s Plus comes with a much realistic 5.5-inch display. Otherwise, there is not much difference between the panel quality and both the phones sports Gorilla Glass 3.

Performance

Both the smartphones feature the exact same Snapdragon 625 chipset and they don’t differ in terms of raw power. However, the Moto G5s Plus runs the latest Android 7.1 Nougat, while the older one is still on Android 7.0 Nougat. This is the reason why the newer smartphone feels slightly snappier than its predecessor. Nevertheless, this difference shall go away once Motorola pushes an update.

Memory

Currently, Lenovo sells two versions of the Moto G5 Plus in India. One with 3 GB of RAM and 16GB of storage while the other with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. On the other hand, the Moto G5s Plus is available only in the 4GB / 64 GB avatar. That too, with a lower retail price. So, it is pretty clear that the newer model is the winner here.

Camera

This is the main bragging-factor of the Moto G5s Plus. The latest iteration comes with a 13 MP dual camera setup which on paper outshines the single 12 MP unit of the Moto G5 Plus. That said, the newer phone loses out on aperture size and does not feature the dual pixel technology of its predecessor.

However, for selfie enthusiasts, the 8 MP front camera of the Moto G5s Plus is certainly more appealing than the 5 MP shooter of the older one.

Nevertheless, all these are just a superficial spec comparison and we will take this further on our upcoming real life camera shootout between the duos.

Battery

A 3000mAh battery sits inside both the competing devices. However, the Moto G5 Plus with its 5.2-inch display should fare a bit better standby time than its successor. Still, the software has a significant role too.

Pricing

With the launch of the Moto G5s Plus, Motorola announced a price cut of the Moto G5 Plus. The 3 GB / 16 GB variant of the latter now costs Rs. 14,999 while the 4 GB / 32 GB one is priced at Rs. 15,999. However, the 4 GB / 64 GB Moto G5s Plus beats it all with its retail price of Rs. 15,999.

Wrapping it up

As you see, the Moto G5s Plus is actually what the Moto G5 Plus should have been. It is good to see that Motorola is working to fix its mistakes, as the saying goes, ‘Better late than never’. If you notice, we have intentionally skipped the ‘Connectivity’ department, because the phones are exactly same in it.