Motorola announced the Moto G5 and G5 Plus at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The two devices add a more premium finish to last year's models, while also improving in several areas.

You can read how the Moto G5 Plus compares to the G4 Plus in our separate feature, but here we are looking at how the standard Moto G5 compares to the Moto G4.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Design

  • G5 is smaller and lighter
  • Both have 3.5mm headphone jack and Micro-USB
  • G5 has a fingerprint sensor

The Motorola Moto G5 features a metal build with a front-mounted fingerprint sensor and a camera array on the rear that looks very similar to the Moto Z, featuring both the camera lens and flash module in a circular housing.

The signature "M" sits underneath the rear camera, and there is a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, while Micro-USB sits at the bottom. The Moto G5 measures 144.3 x 73 x 9.5mm and weighs 144.5g.

The Motorola Moto G4 features a metal frame but it has a plastic rear, making it look more budget than the new device. The "M" branding remains and the rear camera setup is more subtle too but the G4 doesn't have a fingerprint sensor.

Like the new device, the G4 has a 3.5mm headphone jack, Micro-USB for charging and it measures 153 x 76.6 x 9.8mm, hitting the scales at 155g, meaning it is both bigger and heavier than the G5.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Display

  • G5 has smaller display
  • Both Full HD resolutions
  • G4 has Corning Gorilla Glass 3

The Motorola Moto G5 has a 5-inch display with a Full HD resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 440ppi. It is a flat display with no fancy curves or 2.5 glass and Motorola hasn't specified what protection is on board.

The Motorola Moto G4 has a slightly larger 5.5-inch display, also with a Full HD resolution meaning there are a few less pixels per inch at 401ppi. It too is a flat display and it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Camera

  • Both have 13MP rear cameras, 5MP front cameras
  • G5 has phase detection autofocus
  • G5 has a display flash

The Motorola Moto G5 has a 13-megapixel rear camera with phase detection autofocus, an aperture of f/2.0 and 1.1µm pixels. On the front, there is a 5-megapixel camera with a f/2.2 aperture and 1.44µm pixels, along with a display flash.

The Motorola Moto G4 also has a 13-megapixel rear camera, also with aperture of f/2.0 and a dual-LED flash, but it misses out on the phase detection autofocus.

The front camera is also the same as the new model in terms of resolution at 5-megapixels with a f/2.2 aperture and auto-HDR. It misses out on the flash though.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Hardware

  • No NFC on either, so no Android Pay
  • G4 has bigger battery
  • G5 has more RAM

The Motorola Moto G5 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor under its hood, supported by 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, which is expandable via microSD.

There is a 2800mAh battery on board, charged via Micro-USB as we mentioned previously, and compatible with the company's Rapid Charger. As we also mentioned, there is a fingerprint sensor and 3.5mm headphone jack but no NFC.

The Motorola Moto G4 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chip, 2GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of storage, also with microSD support. It has a 3000mAh battery, also charged via Micro-USB and it features support for fast charging but there is no fingerprint sensor on board and it too lacks NFC.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Software

  • Both run on Android Nougat
  • Similar experience

The Motorola Moto G5 launches on Android Nougat with Moto Experiences, which includes Moto Display and Moto Actions. Motorola typically offers very little bloatware meaning you get an almost sure Android experience, as well as fast updates to the latest build.

The Moto G4 launched on Android Marshmallow but has since been updated to Nougat. Both devices should therefore offer a very similar software experience.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Price

The Motorola Moto G5 and the Moto G4 both start at £169 so unless you opt for the 32GB model of the G4, you all pay the same.

Motorola Moto G5 vs Moto G4: Conclusion

The Motorola Moto G5 makes several improvements on its predecessor, mainly in terms of design. The new device is much more premium, whilst also offering a sharper display, more RAM, camera improvements and it adds a fingerprint sensor.

The Moto G4 has a larger battery however, as well as a larger display and there is also the option of a larger internal storage model so some may still prefer this model. The new device costs the same and offers advancements though so it’s the more obvious choice.