LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs Moto E5 Plus – An in depth Comparison

Moto E5 Play is a very close LG K30 competitor with similar features & price range. However, E5 Plus belongs to a higher segment and falls in the range of LG Stylo 4.

In this post, we’re going to compare K30, Moto E5 Play, and E5 Plus. We’ll first start off with the differences, then similarities and will end it with the conclusion.

So, Let’s begin with the differences between the 3 –

Difference between LG K30, Moto E5 Play & E5 Plus

lg k30 vs moto e5 play vs moto e5 plus

The phone on the left is LG K30. The middle one is Moto E5 Play and the last one is Moto E5 Plus

difference between lg k30, moto e5 play and moto e5 plus

 

1.  Price & Release Date – Difference between LG K30, Moto E5 Play & E5 Plus

PRICE & RELEASE DATELG K30 MetroPCS / T-MobileMoto E5 Play MetroPCS / T-MobileMoto E5 Plus MetroPCS / T-Mobile
Model NumberLM-X410MK/X410TKXT1921-3XT1924-7
Release DateMay 2018July 2018July 2018
Current PriceAround $70Around $60Around $110

LG K30, Moto E5 Play & Plus came at around the same time in mid-2018.

As K30 and Moto E5 Play are close competitors they fall in the same price bracket of $60-$80. However, E5 Plus retails for almost twice the price.

2. Body & Design – LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus

BODY & DESIGNLG K30Moto E5 PlayMoto E5 Plus
ColorsAurora BlackGrayMineral Blue
Body MaterialMetal & PlasticPlasticPlastic
Dimensions5.85 x 2.95 x 0.34(inches)5.9" x 2.91" x 0.35(inches)6.37" x 2.96" x 0.37" (inches)
Weight5.93 oz5.29 oz7.05 oz
Removable Battery


Waterproof
Water-Repellent DesignSplash Resistant

The T-Mobile variant of LG K30, Moto E5 play & E5 plus comes in Aurora Black, Gray & Mineral Blue color respectively.

Only K30 uses metal in its construction. It has a metal back with a plastic frame. Moto E5 Play and Plus have a plastic body.

Even with its plastic body Moto E5 plus is the biggest and heaviest among the 3.

Among the 3, only Moto E5 Play has a removable battery

Neither of the phones is waterproof, but Moto E5 plus is resistant to splashes and E5 play has a water-repellent design. No such protection from water is taken care of in the case of LG K30.

 

3. Display – LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus

DISPLAYLG K30Moto E5 PlayMoto E5 Plus
Screen Size5.3" (inch)5.2" 6.0"
Aspect Ratio16:916:918:9
Screen Resolution / Wallpaper Size1280 x 720 pixels1280 x 720 pixels1440 x 720 pixels
Display Type / TechnologyIPS LCDTFT LCDIPS LCD
Gorilla Glas / Glass Screen Protection


Contoured /Curved Edge


Pixel Density277 ppi282 ppi268 ppi

 

Moto E5 Plus has a huge 6-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. Both K30 and Moto e5 play have the older 16:9 screen with a screen size of  5.3 & 5.2 inches respectively.

K30 has an IPS display while the Motorola phones have a TFT LCD display.

All 3 phones have HD resolution. Thus, the pixel density of Moto E5 plus is lowest due to the bigger screen size.

Out of the 3, only Moto E5 plus have a glass screen protection of Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

 

4. Hardware & Benchmark – LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus

HARDWARE & BENCHMARKLG K30Moto E5 PlayMoto E5 Plus
Processor / CPU1.4 Ghz Quad-Core, Cortex A531.4 GHz Quad-Core, Cortex A531.4 GHz Octa-Core, Cortex A53
Chipset28nm, Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM891728nm, Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM891728nm, Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 MSM8940
GPUAdreno 308Adreno 308Adreno 505
Antutu Benchmark Score383034425658825

LG K30 and Moto E5 play use the same hardware (1.4 GHz Quad-core processor) with the same amount of RAM (2 GB). However, E5 plus has a much more powerful 1.4 GHz Octa-core CPU paired with 3GB of RAM.

You can check the antutu benchmark score of 3 phones in the table above. As expected, Moto E5 plus scores much higher than the rest of the 2.

 

 

5. Software – LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus

SOFTWARE LG K30Moto E5 PlayMoto E5 Plus
Android VersionAndroid 8.1 OreoAndroid 8.0 OreoAndroid 8.0 Oreo
Multi Window /Split Screen /


Mini View / One-Handed Mode / Swipe to Shrink Screen


The current firmware version of all 3 phones is Android Oreo. Its highly unlikely that any of these would get an Android Pie 9.0 update.

LG K30 Firmware Download & Update

LG K30 and Moto E5 plus support multitasking. We can split the screen into 2 and work on 2 apps simultaneously at the same time.

 

 

6. Camera – LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus

CAMERA LG K30Moto E5 PlayMoto E5 Plus
REAR
Image Resolution / Megapixels13 MP8 MP12 MP
Autofocus

Laser Autofocus
Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF)


Slow Motion


Video Stabilization


FRONT
Image Resolution / Megapixels5 MP5 MP8 MP
Selfie Flash


LG K30 (13MP) and Moto E5 Plus (12MP) have a better rear camera as compared to Moto E5 play (8MP).

The autofocus on Moto E5 Plus camera is the fastest as it uses Laser autofocus as well as PDAF.  K30 has PDAF, while Moto E5 play camera comes with regular Autofocus.

Moto E5 Plus has a feature-rich rear camera with slow motion, manual mode & video stabilization. K30 lacks all these features while Moto E5 play supports slow-motion and manual mode.

The Front-mounted camera on both the Motorola phones has Selfie Flash which is missing on LG K30.

 

7. Connectivity & Storage – LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus

CONNECTIVITY & STORAGELG K30Moto E5 PlayMoto E5 Plus
Screen Mirroring / Miracast / Screen Share/ Smart View


Internal Memory / ROM32 GB (Up to 23.65 GB Usable)16 GB (Up to 8.64 GB)32 GB (Up to 26 GB Usable)
RAM2 GB2 GB3 GB

The internal storage capacity of LG K30 & Moto E5 Plus (32 GB) is twice that of Moto E5 Play (16GB).

LG K30 Move apps to SD Card

There is no option to Cast Screen on LG K30. However, using Chromecast we can mirror it on a TV screen. In Motorola phones, there is an option to Cast Screen which when turned on can detect nearby compatible devices for Screen Mirroring.

8. Audio & Sensors – LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus

AUDIO & SENSORSLG K30Moto E5 PlayMoto E5 Plus
Speaker LocationBackFront-Ported SpeakerFront-Ported Speaker
Surround SoundDTS:X 3D Virtual Surround

Number of Microphones122
Magnetometer / Digital Compass / e-Compass


The speaker quality on both the Motorola phones is better than LG K30, thanks to the front-mounted speaker which doubles as an earpiece. They also have 2 mics as opposed to one found in LG K30.

LG K30 offers DTS:X 3D virtual surround sound in headphone mode.

When talking about the sensors, it’s quite surprising that the costliest phone among the 3 i.e Moto E5 Plus lacks Magnetometer Sensor (Digital Compass) which is found in both K30 as well as Moto E5 Play.

9. Battery & Charging – LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus

BATTERY & CHARGINGLG K30Moto E5 PlayMoto E5 Plus
Battery Capacity2880 mAh2800 mAh5000 mAh
Battery Life / Talk TimeUp to 13 hrs & 40 minsUp to 24 hrsUp to 36 hours
Quick Charge / Fast Charging


The biggest USP of Moto E5 Plus is its 5000 MAh battery. Coupled with Fast Charging it can beat the flagships as well in Battery life.

The battery capacity of LG K30 and Moto E5 Play is near about the same but Moto E5 Play wins the race with Fast Charging support.

Double your LG K30 Battery Life via Dark Mode

10. Root Status – LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus

Root StatusLG K30Moto E5 PlayMoto E5 Plus
Can be Rooted


The Bootloader can be unlocked


Custom ROM availability
Lineage OS, AOSP, Resurrection Remix, etcLineage OS, AOSP, Resurrection Remix, etc

The predecessor to LG K30, K20 Plus was easily rootable. However, LG K30 bootloader cannot be unlocked, thus it cannot be rooted as of now.

Both Moto E5 Play & Plus can be rooted and there are a fair number of custom ROMs available to flash.

Similarities between LG K30, Moto E5 Play & E5 Plus

What they share in commonLG K30, Moto E5 Play & E5 Plus
BODY & DESIGNK30, E5 & E5 Plus
Memory Card Slot / Expandable Memory
NETWORKK30, E5 & E5 Plus
Sim Size/TypeNano
GSM/CDMAGSM
GSM Unlock StatusLocked
CarrierT-Mobile/MetroPCS
Wifi Calling
VoLTE
SENSORSK30, E5 & E5 Plus
Accelerometer
Gyroscope/VR Compatibility
Fingerprint Sensor
Ambient Light Sensor
Proximity Sensor
CONNECTIVITYK30, E5 & E5 Plus
USB PortMicro USB 2.0
USB OTG
Bluetooth
Wifi
Wifi Tethering / Hotspot
GPS
NFC / Android Pay / Android Beam
MHL / Slimport / HDMI Compatible
IR Blaster / TV Remote
CAMERA K30, E5 & E5 Plus
REAR
FlashSingle LED Flash
ZoomUp to 4x, Digital Zoom
Video Resolution1080p @ 30 fps
HDR
Manual Mode / Controls
Time Lapse
FRONT
Video1080p @ 30 fps
AUDIO K30, E5 & E5 Plus
FM Radio
Headphone Jack3.5 mm jack
ADDITIONAL FEATURESK30, E5 & E5 Plus
Notification LED Light
Handwriting Support / Stylus Pen Input
Wireless Charging / Qi-enabled
MEMORY / STORAGEK30, E5 & E5 Plus
Expandable Memory
Maximum SD card capacity/sd card sizeup to 256 GB
SOFTWARE K30, E5 & E5 Plus
Face Recognition / Smart Unlock
Flashlight
Google Assistant

The above table shows the common features which are found in LG K30, Moto E5 Play & E5 Plus. It also marks those features which are not found in either of these.

CONCLUSION

From the above comparison, we can conclude that Moto E5 Plus is much superior in hardware as well as features when compared to K30 and Moto E5 Play.

LG K30 is ahead of Moto E5 Play in these fields –

  • Metal back gives more premium feel
  • IPS Display
  • Split Screen / Multi-Window support for Multitasking
  • 13MP vs 8MP Rear Camera
  • Phase Detection Auto Focus
  • 32GB vs 16GB Internal Storage Capacity
  • 3D Virtual Surround Sound via headphone

Moto E5 Play is ahead of K30 in these areas –

  • Cheaper
  • Lighter (5.93 v 5.29 oz)
  • Water-Repellent Design
  • One-Handed Mode / Swipe to shrink Screen
  • Supports Manual Mode & Slow Motion in Rear Camera
  • Selfie Flash
  • Screen Mirroring / Miracast Support by default
  • Front-Ported Speaker
  • 2 Microphones
  • Fast Charging Support
  • Can be Rooted

You may also like to check out the below comparisons –

LG K30 vs K40 vs Aristo 4 vs Stylo 4 – Antutu Test 

LG K20 vs K30 vs K40

LG K30 vs Moto G6 Play

LG K30 vs Moto G6 vs G7 Power

LG K30 vs Samsung J7 Star vs J7 Prime

LG K30 vs LG Stylo4 vs Stylo 5 

LG K30 vs LG Q7 Plus 

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