Motorola announced the Moto G5 and G5 Plus at Mobile World Congress 2017, bringing the next generation of its budget smartphones to the market.

The two devices feature very similar designs, aside from a few differences here and there, but they are a big step away from their predecessors. Here is how the Moto G5 Plus compares to the Moto G4 Plus.

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Design

  • Moto G5 Plus is slimmer and smaller
  • Both have front-mounted fingerprint sensors
  • Moto G5 Plus more premium with metal build

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus features a metal build with a front-mounted fingerprint sensor within a capacitive button and a Moto Z-like camera and flash circular module on the rear.

It measures 150.2 x 74 x 7.7mm, weighs 155g it comes Lunar Gray and Fine Gold colour options. The signature "M" also appears ton the rear and there is a nice curve to the back.

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus measures 153 x 76.6 x 9.8mm and hits the scales at 155g, meaning the G5 Plus is little more compact, as well as slimmer but the same weight. It is also a little more premium than its predecessor as the G4 Plus features a metal frame but a plastic rear and a square front-mounted fingerprint sensor that looks a little like an afterthought.

The G4 Plus also has the signature "M" on the rear, distinguishing it as a Motorola device, but the camera array on the rear is a different and a little less interesting than what appears on the G5 Plus. Colour options for the G4 Plus are black and white.

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Display

  • Moto G5 has a smaller, sharper display
  • Both have Corning Gorilla Glass 3
  • Both IPS LCD display

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus has a 5.2-inch display featuring a Full HD resolution. This puts its pixel density at 423ppi.

The company has retained an IPS LCD display for the G5 Plus, which is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a feature its smaller brother misses off.

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus has a 5.5-inch display, which also has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution for a pixel density of 401ppi. This means the new device theoretically offers a sharper display but the difference isn't likely to be noticeable to the human eye.

The Moto G4 Plus has an IPS LCD display too and it is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Camera

  • Moto G5 Plus 12MP Dual Autofocus Pixels camera
  • Wider aperture on Moto G5 Plus
  • Both 5MP front camera

Motorola claims the Moto G5 Plus features the "most advanced in class" camera. It offers a 12-megapixel Dual Autofocus Pixels snapper on the rear, featuring an aperture of f/1.7 and 1.4µm pixels. There is also a colour-balancing dual-LED flash.

On the front, the Moto G5 Plus has a 5-megapixel snapper, also with 1.4µm pixels, along with an aperture of f/2.2 and a display flash.  

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus has a 16-megapixel rear camera with phase detection and laser autofocus, along with an aperture of f/2.0 and a dual LED flash. There is also a 5-megapixel f/2.2 front camera with auto-HDR.

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Hardware

  • Moto G5 Plus faster chip
  • Same 3000mAh battery
  • Moto G5 Plus has TurboCharging

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 635 chip, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and microSD support for storage expansion.

There is a 3000mAh battery with TurboPower charging for six hours battery life in 15 minutes, and the Moto G5 Plus also offers a 3.5mm headphone jack, NFC, a fingerprint sensor as we mentioned previously, and Micro-USB.

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chip with options of 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, 3GB RAM and 32GB storage or 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage. MicroSD support is available on all three.

Like the new model, there is a 3000mAh battery, charged via Micro-USB, with fast charging supported. The G4 Plus also has a fingerprint sensor on board and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Software

  • Similar software experience

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus launches on Android Nougat with Motorola Experiences over the top including Motorola Display and Motorola Actions.

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus launched on Android Marshmallow but it has been updated to Nougat so the software experience will be very similar.

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Conclusion

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus features a more premium design, more discreet fingerprint sensor, better hardware and an improved camera.

There are a few things that stay the same, such as battery life and RAM, depending on the G4 Plus model you opt for, and the G5 Plus does have a smaller screen, but overall, the new device makes the changes you'd expect.

On paper, the Motorola Moto G5 Plus is the one to go for out of these two devices, but we will update this feature as soon as we have reviewed it to give you our opinion after real-world experience.