Hands-on with the budget Moto G5 Plus from Lenovo. For less than $300 off-contract, it features a 5.2-inch FHD display, octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor with 4GB of RAM, 12MP rear camera, fingerprint scanner, 3000mAh battery, metallic build and Android 7.0 Nougat.

Do you think the Moto G5 Plus is worth it?

Moto G5 Plus on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2oZoCy1

The Moto G5 Plus has arrived in the studio. The Moto G4 Plus was one of the best budget smartphones of 2016 so Lenovo’s 5^th generation Moto G Plus has a lot riding on it. The model I have in front of me is the model with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, which sells for $300. However, you can get this phone for $240 via Amazon with offers and ads that will appear on the lock screen so you will be advertised to but you will also save $60.

Inside the box, we’ll find the G5 Plus sitting right on top. Underneath, we’ll find a micro USB charging cable. Unfortunately, it is not USB Type-C. And there is a wall wart with a SIM card ejector tool and some paperwork to get this phone up and running.

If we peel off the plastic wrap protecting the front of the phone, we’ll start to really appreciate what all is offered for such a relatively little overall price. Motorola has provided us with an aluminum rear that feels really cool to the touch and premium. The thing that sticks out the most with the build is the camera. It literally sticks out. It’s not as bad as the protruding camera sensor found in the Moto Z but it is apparent. I do like the subtle design features like the textured power/sleep on/off button on the right hand side of the phone. It’s a nice touch.

The G5 Plus features a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS LCD panel with a retina placing 424ppi index. It looks very sharp upon first impressions but the stock wallpaper gives me a little bit of a headache so I’ll have to change that.

There is a fingerprint touchpad below the display. It took me a while to find the settings to activate the touchpad because the settings are in the Moto app and not the settings drawer of the device. But you can go to the actions section of the Moto app. Tap on One Button and and turn on the feature to use the fingerprint scanner to navigate and get more screen real estate. I’m going to keep this feature on to learn more of the actions but I think this is a darn cool idea that shows a lot of promise. I’ll keep you posted on how it works in time but as you can see, I’m interacting with the device without ever touching the navigation buttons.

Android 7.0 Nougat is running out of the box, bringing a host of new features to Android. The biggest of which is multi-tasking so you can run two apps at the same time and I would say the Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor has plenty of power to run these apps without any major issues. There’s also 4GB of RAM inside this phone. It should provide plenty of power to keep up with social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

I will say I am a fan of the skin Motorola has here because it’s so minimal that it doesn’t appear to have skin at all. The launcher is very pixelesque as it features no app drawer. Instead, you swipe up to reveal all of your applications and we have Google Now, just a swipe to the right. I don’t know about you but I will not be installing a third-party launcher on the Moto G5 Plus, at least not anytime soon. This is the setup that I always strive for.

On the rear of the G5 Plus, there’s a 12-megapixel f1.7 aperture sensor and a 5-megapixel f2.2 sensor upfront. The sensor sounds appealing on paper but only time will tell how it stacks up. Motorola hasn’t had the best track record with its mobile camera sensors, even with its flagship devices. Since this is a budget smartphone, I expect the quality to be compromised at least a little bit. But we shall see.

There’s a front-firing speaker but there’s only one of them. It’s better than a bottom-facing speaker but it’s not quite as immersive as dual front-facing speakers.

As for battery life, it should be very good. I have only just unboxed this phone and haven’t been able to test the battery life in detail but the mid-tier and budget Moto devices have always had good battery life. The G5 Plus should be no exception with its 3,000 mAh battery. If its battery life can rival the Moto Z Play, I will be a happy camper.

So as you can see, the G5 Plus shows a lot of promise. I mentioned it has two different price tags though. You can buy this phone via Amazon for only $240 off-contract but you will be subject to advertisements and offers found on the lock screen. Every time you power on your phone, you will see an advertisement. But you do save $60 from the full price of $300 for the high-end model with 64GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM, which is the model I would highly recommend getting. You can visit the Amazon listing via the link we have placed in the description just for you.

The major spec that isn’t on the list is NFC but I don’t really think that’s a deal breaker. It might be for some people but I don’t think Android Pay is a deal breaker for the vast majority of users as the service isn’t available everywhere.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the G5 Plus in the comments down below.