Motorola G5 Mobile 16Gb/3Gb Ram?

[countrykid]

I've posted before about the limited "memory" on my existing MotoG2 mobile which has 8Gb storage and 1Gb Ram. I added a 32Gb SD card thinking this would greatly increase my storage space, but later discovered most apps cannot be "saved" to SD card even when formatted to "Internal Storage", so that does not really help. I actually don't have a great many apps on the phone due to memory issues. Almost daily now my phone says it cannot update xyz apps due to insufficient space. Clearing the "cache" gets me by for now, but as the android operating system gets ever hungrier, I'll need to act before much longer

So it's time to think about a new phone. I'm used to my Moto and on the whole, like it. My budget is limited and I do not want anything over and above what I need it for. I do not play games at all, and don't store music or watch films on it. In essence I make calls etc, surf the web, emails and do need it to take decent photos.

I have narrowed my choice down to either Moto G5 or G5S. The G5 has 16Gb Memory and 2 or 3Gb Ram (3GB Amazon). This phone has just been reduced to £149 on Amazon. The G5S has 32Gb Memory and 3Gb Ram and features Gorilla Glass and a slighter better camera(16Mp rather than 13Mp) plus some other extras but nothing that concerns me. This phone is circa £220. This phone features Nougat 7.1 whereas the G5 has Nougat 7 - no idea what the difference is, but doubt it'll matter too much to me.

In short my questions are: 1) Is 16Gb storage enough for what I need it for? I will still be using the SD Card to store whatever it can - currently it has used up about 5Gb - mostly photos and about 3 apps. 2) Regarding "RAM" what benefits does having 3GB rather than 2Gb (or even my existing 1GB) bring?

The G5 16GB/Gb RAM version from Amazon at £149 is very appealing right now IF 16GB is sufficient. Any advice or user experience with 16GB is appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help.

[hc4361]

Have you considered resetting your phone to factory default and setting it up from scratch?
This can clear a whole load of junk from the memory and may help your phone last a few months more.
Before you do it, make sure you have backed up your phone, especially your photos.
I keep very few photos on my phone - they are automatically backed up to the cloud and I can access them whenever the phone is connected to the internet.

[Buenchico]

I don't know a great deal about phones (so I'll have to pass on the main content of your question - sorry!) but I do know quite a bit about cameras and I can confidently tell you that you should ignore any 'difference' between 13Mp and 16Mp.

Because it's quite cheap to add extra megapixels, phone and camera manufacturers keep increasing the number they offer in the hope that purchasers will be conned into thinking 'more is better'. It isn't!

Unless you're planning on producing prints bigger than A4 size, you don't need more than 5Mp at the very most. Indeed, even when printed at A4 size, I'd defy most people to be able to tell the difference between an image taken with a 3Mp camera and a 5Mp one. Above that additional megapixels become meaningless. (It's like offering car buyers a model which can go at 1000mph, even though they'll only ever drive it on public roads and within the legal speed limits. The extra speed is completely pointless).

I've even seen it argued (on well-respected websites and in equally well-respected technology magazines) that trying to squeeze a vast number of megapixels onto the tiny light-sensing chip in a phone camera can actually lower image quality. (Top-of-the-range professional DSLR cameras might offer plenty of megapixels but they'll also contain a far larger chip for the image to be focussed upon).

All that having extra megapixels in a phone camera does is to produce larger file sizes, taking up far more of the precious memory which you're concerned about.

You might well see reviews stating that phone A takes far better pictures than phone B and I'm not seeking to rubbish such reviews. However the difference will be down to the quality of the LENSES in those phones, rather than having anything to do with the number of megapixels the phone cameras have got.

If you want really good pictures, buy a proper camera. The lenses in phone cameras are too small to allow enough light in for good quality pictures in all but the brightest of conditions. They try to compensate through using slow shutter speeds but that produces a high risk of ending up with 'camera shake'.

However if you're determined to stick with the cameras in mobile phones, read the reviews of those phones carefully to see produces the best pictures (because of a higher quality lens) and IGNORE the number of megapixels.

[erik2]

check any apps you have downloaded are on the sd card go to settings /apps/ click on the apps you have put on/ click on storage and see if it says internal if it says change in green change it and all other apps you have downloaded ,the apps that come with your mobile cannot be changed to sd card (unless rooted but thats a different story) all your pics and music should be on you sd card too, then go too setting again click on storage &usb click on internal and delete cached data, that should clear your mobe up, i have the same moto ,and very good it is for for me

[countrykid]

Thank you for all responses. HC4361 - I haven’t done a factory reset as unsure how to back everything up, although photos are synced to Google Photos. Buenchico - thanks for very comprehensive info re pixels. I tend to resort to using my phone for photos as I’ve almost always got it with me, and for convenience. Erik2 - any app that can be saved to SD card has been and I regularly clear the cached data, but thanks for suggestions

[countrykid]

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