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The LineageOS custom ROM used to support just about every phone imaginable, but lately the project has been going for quality over quantity. Oreo (15.1) builds have to fulfill stricter requirements to receive official status, and now Lineage is dropping support for 30 unmaintained phones and tablets.
Motorola's flagship devices still get updates relatively quickly, but its budget phones lag behind quite a bit. For example, the Verizon Moto G4 Play was just updated from Android 6.0 to 7.1.1 earlier this month, shortly after the international variants received it. Now Motorola has released the kernel source code for the G4 Play's Nougat update.
B&H is running a massive year-end sale right now, fittingly named the 'Mega Deal Zone.' We already covered some of the offerings here, but there are also seven Motorola phones on sale. That includes the Moto G5S Plus, Moto G4, and last year's Moto Z Play.
This is quite the deal. Today over at Amazon and B&H you can pick the carrier unlocked ad-free Moto G4 for as little as $119.99, a savings of around $60. That is, if you're down with the 16GB model. If you step things up to the 32GB version, you'll have to cough up just an incredible $10 more. That's right, the 4th gen Moto G is going for just 9.99, up to $100 off, in its 32GB flavor. Yum.
Yesterday we published an article criticizing Motorola for not updating the Moto G4 line to Android Oreo, as numerous marketing materials had promised this update. Motorola seems to have had a change of heart, and will now be updating the Moto G4 Plus (yes, just the Plus) to 8.0 Oreo.
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- Motorola has decided to update the G4 Plus to Oreo, but not without a bunch of catches. Check our post for the full details.
You know who everyone hates? Liars. Nobody likes being promised something, only to have it taken away without explanation. At launch, Motorola advertised Android N and O updates for the Moto G4 line, but to the shock of many G4 owners, none of these phones were listed in the company's official Oreo update list. In fact, all mention of this promise has been wiped away. Motorola, this is bullshit.
A little over a year ago, Amazon began selling "Prime Exclusive" devices, which are unlocked phones at a discount in exchange for bloatware and ads. The program has actually been doing pretty well, with five new Prime Exclusive phones having been announced several weeks ago. But if you're okay with a slightly older device, both 16GB and 32GB flavors of Amazon's Moto G4 are being discounted.The Moto G4 was never a flagship device, but thanks to its near-stock Android software, it still manages to deliver a pretty quick experience. In our review of it, we called it "the best budget phone you can buy." The G4 sports a 5.5" 1080p LCD display, an octa-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon 617, 2GB of RAM, 16/32GB of storage, a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP front-facing camera, and a 3000mAh battery. I owned one for about a month and was pleasantly surprised with how nice of a phone it was to use.Amazon is asking $119.99 for the 16GB model, and $129.99 for the 32GB variant. Those prices are the lowest that we've seen thus far. Given that it's only $10 more, the 32GB one is definitely the one to go for. As you may have guessed from the "Prime Exclusive" name, you'll have to be a Prime member to take advantage of this deal. We're not sure when this deal will end, so don't miss out.Source: Amazon (1), (2)
If there's one thing that Motorola consistently does well, it's budget phones. All three variants of the Moto G4 - the normal, Plus, and Play - were some of the best inexpensive phones on the market last year. Now that the Moto G5 is out, we've seen the G4 Play drop to $100 on occasion, and now it has happened again.
The Moto G5 Plus was recently released, and is possibly the best budget phone you can buy. But if the $229.99 price tag for the G5 Plus is a little too high, you can now get the last-generation G4 Plus for just $189.99 on Amazon.Despite being a budget phone from a year ago, the G4 Plus is still a pretty decent device. It has a Snapdragon 617 processor, a 5.5" 1920x1080 IPS display, a fingerprint scanner, and a microSD card slot. The model on sale has 16GB of storage with 2GB of RAM.Motorola isn't great when it comes to updating its phones, even on the company's flagships. Nougat just started rolling out to the G4 Plus in the United States, but I wouldn't be too sure on a future Android O update (at least officially).Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better phone under $200 with full support for all major US carriers. You can buy it at the link below.Source: Amazon
The Moto G lineup includes some of the best phones you can buy on a budget. But Motorola places a higher priority on the G4 in India than the US, considering devices over there received Android 7.0 Nougat almost three months ago. Now the company has finally started rolling out Nougat to the G4 and G4 Plus in the United States.
Breaking your shiny new phone is a bummer, but YouTuber JerryRigEverything is on a mission to break phones so you don't have to. He gets phones, bends 'em, burns 'em, and films the whole ordeal so you can know which phones can take the most punishment. In the latest installment, he's gone after the Moto G4.
Motorola started pushing Android 7.0 Nougat to the Moto G4 and G4 Plus in some markets, but not everyone has it yet. OTA updates are nice, but developers also want to have access to the open source code for system updates. At least that's available to everyone now in the form of a kernel source download.
Motorola has been doing well in the budget phone arena with its Moto G series, the fourth generation of which just launched last year. These phones are more important than ever now that the Moto X is dead (or on hiatus or whatever), but what does Moto have in store? Well, there's a guy in Romania who appears to have a Moto G5. He's (foolishly) trying to sell it online.
CyanogenMod has seen better days as an organization, but the team behind the open-source Android custom ROM doesn't seem to be slowing down its prodigious output. In the last week new nightly builds have been added for no less than ten new phones and tablets, including notable models from Motorola, Samsung, OnePlus, and Amazon. All of them now have CM 14.1 (based on Android 7.1.1 AOSP code) builds available.
The budget smartphone segment in America seems to be a shrinking one of late (well, at least of good options), but we've rounded up the best we think the market has to offer consumers right now in the $250-and-under segment. The selected phones are presented in no particular order.
Tis the season for timely Android OS updates. Most of the phones that get bumped to the latest version of Android before the end of the year are flagships and other high-end devices, but it looks like Motorola may be bucking the trend a bit with the latest G-series phones. Reports from a small number of users in India indicate that the Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus are seeing over-the-air Nougat updates.
Black Friday is over, but that doesn't mean the deals have to be. Motorola appears to have resurrected its Black Friday deal on the Moto G4 for the next couple days. You can get $20-40 off the already very inexpensive phone from Motorola and a few other retailers. That's $179.99 for the 16GB and $189.99 for the 32GB.The Moto G4 is a competitively priced phone even when it's not on sale. The software and hardware are both very competent, and it's unlocked with support for both GSM and CDMA networks. Even Motorola's $600+ flagship phones don't have that. The Motorola deal includes Moto Maker customization of the device, but Moto's sale is only slated to run through December 8th at 11AM central. Note: the 32GB is currently out of stock, but check back. B&H has both the 16GB and 32GB on sale for the aforementioned prices, but you have to get the standard black or white versions. These prices are valid through the 10th, and they'll throw in a free screen protector. Amazon has the 16GB on sale, but the 32GB is out of stock and listed at the normal price. Finally, Best Buy has the 16GB on sale.
Motorola's recent high-end phones have been a bit disappointing, but the budget-friendly Moto G4 is a solid device thanks to its clean software, unlocked support for GSM and CDMA, and long battery life. Even when it's not on sale, this phone is a good deal. You don't even have to pay full price today, though. Amazon is selling all the Moto G4 and G4 Plus variants for as much as $70 off the usual price.The cheapest Moto G4 you can get from Amazon is the "with offers" variant. That means you get Amazon's lock screen ads, and there are more Amazon apps pre-loaded. The 16GB version of that phone is $129.99, and $10 more gets you 32GB of storage. Those would usually be $150 and $180. The regular Moto G4 without ads is $179.99 for 16GB and $174.99 for 32GB—yes, the 32GB is cheaper right now. Regular prices are $200 and $230.The G4 Plus adds a fingerprint sensor, a better camera, and higher storage options. This phone does not come in a "with offers" version. The 32GB/2GB RAM G4 Plus is on sale for $199.99 and the 64GB/4GB is $229.99. Those are usually $250 and $300 phones. If you need a good cheap phone (or just a spare phone) these are good ones to pick up.Source: Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus
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If you're looking for a good phone under $150, Motorola's G4 Play is probably one of the best options. You get a Snapdragon 410 CPU, 2GB of RAM, expandable storage, a removable battery, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow (with Motorola promising Nougat soon). This is also one of the few phones in this price range that supports GSM and CDMA, meaning it works with all US carriers.Now you can snag a G4 Play on Amazon for $20 shy of the $150 MSRP. This is not the Prime Exclusive model with ads, this is a completely unmodified device. Only the black color is discounted, the white model is still $150. Both models have Prime shipping available.Keep in mind that this is a different product from the similarly-named G4 Plus and G4, which are both priced above the G4 Play. I wish Motorola would have stuck with making one phone for high-end, mid-range, and low-end - it was much simpler.Source: Amazon
Cheap and good. In the tech world, finding a device with both those attributes can be difficult. The Moto G4 is one of those rare devices that is both inexpensive and satisfying. Ryan called it the best budget phone you can buy in his review and it's easy to see why – the specs of this device are top-notch for the price. As a quick reminder, the Moto G4 sports a 5.5in 1080p screen, 2GB of RAM, 13 and 5mp cameras, expandable storage, and a Snapdragon 617 in the engine compartment. Not bad for a $200 phone. It's even better at $119.99, which is its current price as an Amazon Deal of the Day.Now, there are a couple of strings attached to the discount. First, this is the Amazon ad-supported version of the phone. As such, you'll have to put up with lock-screen ads. Second, you need to be an Amazon Prime member to be eligible for this offer. The price for non-members is still $149.99. If neither of those strings is strong enough to tie your hands down, then go ahead and proceed to Amazon to purchase a G4. The deal expires at midnight, so think about it, just don't think for too long.