The early reactions to Motorola's new generation of hardware have been tepid at best. Even so, if you're one of the people looking forward to the recently-announced US launch for the 2016 version of the Moto G and the new G Plus, Motorola is hoping to sweeten the pot on the already budget-priced phones. Both Best Buy and B&H Photos are offering free $50 gift cards to their respective stores for early buyers.
That means the 16GB Moto G gets an effective price of $149.99 (assuming you can use every penny of that gift card), which is a pretty fantastic price for a phone with a Snapdragon 627 processor, 2GB of RAM, and Android Marshmallow. The 32GB G goes down to $180, the base 16GB G Plus is $200, and the 64GB version of the G Plus is $250, which again, is a pretty great price for a phone with those specs.
Here are the listings for all of the Moto devices plus gift cards so far. Note that Best Buy is missing the 16GB black G and the 16GB white G Plus for some reason, and a few of the B&H listings have the wrong prices attached - chock it up to early errors. You have plenty of time to wait.
Best Buy:
B&H Photo:
B&H is only offering the gift cards with pre-orders, but Best Buy's promotion goes all the way to July 30th. The phones are scheduled to land in the US on the 12th. Other retailers may follow suit, though we haven't seen any announcements thus far.
PRESS RELEASE
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - June 28, 2016) - The successor to Motorola's best-selling G3 phone -- the G4 -- is now available for preorder at B&H. Also available is the new G4 Plus, with fingerprint security and a superior camera. Both phones are unlocked, and include a $50 gift card when pre-ordered through B&H's website. The G4 phones are expected to be a major player in the smartphone market this year thanks to their sleek designs, crisp displays, and exceptional batteries.
B&H is offering a $50 gift card with the pre-order of either the G4 or the G4 Plus. In total, there are eight phones to choose from, including:
The standard G4 and G4 Plus are the same size, measuring in at 153 x 76.6 x 9.8 mm (6.02 x 3.02 x 0.39 in) and 155 g (5.47 oz). They also have the same display, a 5.5" IPS LCD with 1920 x 1080p resolution and Gorilla Glass 3. Both feature the powerful Snapdragon 617 processor. Finally, both models have a 3000mAh battery, which is significantly higher than the iPhone 6's 1810mAh battery. The batteries have TurboPower capability as well, meaning users can get up to eight hours of usage from just 15 minutes of charging. A full charge can be achieved in about an hour.
Standard G4 Product Highlights:
Motorola Moto G4 XT1625 4th Gen 16GB Smartphone (Unlocked)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251437-REG/motorola_00969nartl_moto_g4_xt1625_4th.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251438-REG/motorola_00970nartl_moto_g4_xt1625_4th.html
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GSM + CDMA/4G LTE Capable
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Compatible with all Major US Carriers
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North American Variant
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4th Generation 2016 Model
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Rear 13MP Camera + 5MP Front
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1.5 GHz Snapdragon 617 Octa-Core CPU
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16GB/32GB Storage Capacity + 2GB RAM
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5.5" 1920 x 1080 IPS LCD Display
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microSDXC Memory Card Slot
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Android Marshmallow 6.0.1
Motorola Moto G4 XT1625 4th Gen 32GB Smartphone (Unlocked)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251439-REG/motorola_00971nartl_moto_g4_xt1625_4th.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251440-REG/motorola_00972nartl_moto_g4_xt1625_4th.html
G4 Plus Product Highlights
Motorola Moto G4 Plus XT1644 4th Gen 16GB Smartphone
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251443-REG/motorola_00967nartl_moto_g4_plus_xt1644.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251444-REG/motorola_00968nartl_moto_g4_plus_xt1644.html
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GSM + CDMA/4G LTE Capable
-
Compatible with all Major US Carriers
-
North American Variant
-
4th Generation 2016 Model
-
Rear 16MP Camera + 5MP Front
-
1.5 GHz Snapdragon 617 Octa-Core CPU
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16GB/64GB Storage Capacity + 4GB RAM
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5.5" IPS LCD Touchscreen Display
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microSDXC Memory Card Slot
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Android Marshmallow 6.0.1
Motorola Moto G4 Plus XT1644 4th Gen 64GB Smartphone
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251443-REG/motorola_00967nartl_moto_g4_plus_xt1644.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251444-REG/motorola_00968nartl_moto_g4_plus_xt1644.html
Key differences between the G4 and G4 Plus are security, the camera, and RAM. For security, the G4 Plus offers a fingerprint sensor while the G4 does not. For photography, the G4 Plus offers a 16MP rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture, rapid-focus technology, and various other photo-friendly features. The G4 offers a slightly less powerful 13MP rear shooter, while retaining all of the other built-in features of the G4 Plus.