The Motorola Moto G5 Plus comes with a 12MP Sony IMX362 sensor based rear-facing camera alongside a F1.7 aperture lens. This is the same renowned IMX362 sensor used in as part of the dual-lens camera system of the Vivo Xplay 6 smartphone. However, the Xplay 6 has a secondary 5MP camera that obtains depth information, whether the Moto G5 Plus front camera has a single camera setup, not a dual one. This sensor can also be found on the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 and the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom ZE553KL with its rear dual-camera setup. The ZenFone 3 Zoom also came with a f/1.7 aperture lens

The IMX362 sensor is 1/2.55" in size, featuring 1.4 μm size pixels. Because the sensor is relatively large, even with a 12-megapixel resolution, we get to enjoy those beefy pixels that alongside the fast aperture lens help promote very good low-light performance.

I'm sure that some of you are now thinking about the Google Pixel, so I thought I would bring this up. The Google Pixel rear-facing camera employs a Sony IMX378 Stacked BSI CMOS sensor. In terms of specs compared to the IMX362, the IMX378 is a larger 1/2.3" sensor. It has the 12.2MP effective resolution, therefore its pixels are larger, 1.55-micron.

The IMX378 sensor performance is unmatched as of the time of writing. The Google Pixel achieved the highest score in DxOMark tests, leaving not so far behind, the HTC 10, Samsung Galaxy S7, Sony Xperia X Performance, Moto Z Force Droid and others. If you look at that rating mobile score table, you can see that the highest rated Motorola phone is the Moto Z Force Droid. This phone uses the Sony IMX388 Exmor RS 1/2.4" 1.12µm sensor. No doubt that Sony sensors are conquering the image quality charts, but it seems that with the IMX362, the Moto G5 Plus can climb above the Moto Z Force Droid, but that yet to be seen.

The performance of the Moto G5 Plus main camera is expected to be excellent. This is one of the best sensor in 2016. Check out these two low-light shots comparison between the Vivo Xplay 6 and the Huawei Mate 9 Pro on forbes.com, and you can see what the IMX362 sensor is praised so much, it's low-light image quality and high ISO performance just cannot be ignored. This sensor, while coupled with a f/1.7 aperture lens can perform amazingly well in dim lighting conditions.

Of course the Moto G5 Plus will have excellent performance in daylight, with tack sharp images, with punchy vivid colors yet natural looking color reproduction. It's a smart move from Lenovo (or should I say Motorola), to use that renowned sensor in the Moto G5 Plus smartphone, because image quality wise, this phone just won't disappoint.

As of the time of writing, the expected price of the Moto G5 Plus in India is around Rs 15,000, around $223. So this should be a relatively affordable way to enjoy this great new Sony sensor in the rear camera. The Xplay 6 price is much higher. I assume that we are going to see many more phones utilizing this amazing Sony sensor in 2017.

Overall, the Moto G5 Plus is expected to have an amazing main camera using the excellent IMX362 sensor.