best phone under $400 August 2018

Great phone indeed! Another good choice is the Moto G6 if you want to spend a little less.
 
Co worker ordered the Essential phone from Amazon for $309 and I was really interested in it. SD835, 128gb of storage, modern screen, ceramic & titanium construction, and the accessory connector. oh, and it already has Pie. funny thing is, after playing with it a bit I'm not sure it is better, or at least what I would want vs. X4.

To my eyes the Moto screen looks more vibrant. I like headphone jack and waterproof body. pictures from the Moto camera look more vibrant and clear. And the Moto animations are smoother. i would miss the Moto gestures.

I don't know if that is Pie or the Essential but it was just a tiny bit janky. I expected that I would be sorely tempted to replace my Moto with an Essential but after seeing it I'm not sure. 128gb of storage would sure be nice though...
 
Co worker ordered the Essential phone from Amazon for $309 and I was really interested in it. SD835, 128gb of storage, modern screen, ceramic & titanium construction, and the accessory connector. oh, and it already has Pie. funny thing is, after playing with it a bit I'm not sure it is better, or at least what I would want vs. X4.

To my eyes the Moto screen looks more vibrant. I like headphone jack and waterproof body. pictures from the Moto camera look more vibrant and clear. And the Moto animations are smoother. i would miss the Moto gestures.

I don't know if that is Pie or the Essential but it was just a tiny bit janky. I expected that I would be sorely tempted to replace my Moto with an Essential but after seeing it I'm not sure. 128gb of storage would sure be nice though...

Which camera is better between Essential and X4?
 
We didn't do a detailed test but I. Sample shots we took inside and out we both preferred the Moto pictures more than the Essential. Not a huge difference but the Moto pix seemed sharper and the colors were better (more saturated).