The Moto G Review
Everyone wants a great smartphone with no compromises. But let us look at this from a literal perspective for a moment. Not all of us are Bruce Wayne with unlimited income(or a cowl). When it comes to smartphones. The more money you fork over, the better it is(most of the time). Enter Motorola’s third generation Moto G. With respectable specs, a Nexus 6 caliber camera, and Near Stock Android all for under $230. What’s not to like? Let’s find out.
Before we begin, there is one thing to note. There are two different variants of the Moto G. The $179 model with 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM, and the $219 model with 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM. I am using the 16GB/2GB RAM version that will run you $220. For a review of the 8GB/1GB RAM variant, check out my friend Ben Schoon’s review of that variant over at iTechTriad right here:
Hardware
Look and Feel
Premium materials, Chamfered edges, edge to edge displays, and sealed internals for a fluid design. These are all things that come to mind when you’re thinking of a premium handset with a price tag to match.
None of these things are present with the Moto G. But why would they be? This phone costs a fraction of the price of your Galaxy’s and iPhones. What you do get for the cost is pretty impressive.
The back of the device is a diagonally textured plastic that feels unique in the hand. Now, you can choose whichever back you want through Moto Maker initially. Luckily, you aren’t tied to that back. The shell of the Moto G can be removed and replaced if you get tired of your current selection. The shell of the Moto G actually serves a great purpose, it seals the internals in for some basic water resistance(IPX7). I don’t recommend swimming with the Moto X, because that’s not what it is rated for. But if you happen to splash a bit of water on the device, it should hold up just fine. Beneath the shell of the Moto G, you have your SIM Slot and MicroSD Slot. A MicroSD slot is a rarity in Android devices today. Having one included in a budget device is a great addition from Motorola.
Along the backside of the device, you have Motorola’s new design for their Moto Dimple and 13MP Camera. It is now one fluid cutout made of metal. The dimple is shallower than that of the Moto X Pure, but it is made of metal and feels great all the same. The back does scallop slightly from the middle towards the rim of the device, much like every other Moto X and Moto G have before.
Along the right side you have your lightly textured power button and your run of the mill volume rocker. On the bottom of the device you have a mic and your headphone jack. Along the bottom is your MicroUSB port. The left side of the device is a lonely one, as nothing lives on that side. The front of the device has your 5 inch, 720p display, a mono speaker on the down below, phone headset up top, and a 5MP front facing camera on top as well.
The device itself isn’t too hefty, coming in at 5.47oz. I personally prefer a device with heft, as I’d rather hold a phone and not a toy. The Moto G definitely feels a little toy-like. The flexible, removable plastic back doesn’t help the feeling of the Moto G being a toy. But this is a $220 phone, after all, so it can’t all be perfect. The phone feels like a toy in the hand, but it is not flimsy like a toy. At the end of the day, this is still a Motorola device, so the phone is sturdy and does not creak or flex when pressure is placed on the Moto G.
Screen
The Moto G has a decent 5 inch 720p display. It is really hard to believe this was the standard for Android phones just a few years ago. The display is a little warm, but I actually enjoyed the accuracy of the color more than I would have thought for a budget phone. The Moto G display is decently bright, not as bright as the Note 5 or Galaxy S6, but as bright as other Motorola displays.
Speakers
The Moto G has a single front firing speaker, much like the Moto X of last year. The speaker sounds a little tinny at high volumes and really struggles to hit the low end. This is expected from a single speaker. I’m one of the most forgiving of mobile speakers, because 99% of the time that I am using a phone to consume media, I have headphones in or am connected to Chromecast or a bluetooth speaker of some sort.
Daily Use
The Moto G isn’t one that is going to impress or blow you away on benchmarks. After all, this is a budget phone that isn’t meant to break benchmarks or the bank. That being said, the Moto G performs quite well in day to day use. Scrolling through the app drawer was snappy and responsive. Switching between apps was nearly instantaneous, even with multiple apps open. We are to a point in smartphone technology that even lower end chips can handle basic, day to day tasks with ease. One place where the phone does lag behind a bit is in closing apps. Hitting the home button from an app takes a good second to get you back to home. A minor annoyance, given the price point(do you see this pattern here?).
Battery Life
Battery life was surprisingly good on the Moto G. I could never get it below 15% before I finished my day. For reference, my day is normally a 7:30AM to 10:30PM grind. In that timeline, I averaged roughly 2.5–3 hours of screen on time during my usage no problem. The scaled back processor and 720p screen help with this tremendously. Now, where the Moto G really stands out is in the standby time. There were multiple instances where I’d switch my SIM out of the Moto G, into the Note 5 and back again. Days would go by without my Moto G being used, but the darn thing never died. You can get over a week of standby time without a problem with the Moto G. That endurance solidifies this phone as my camping emergency phone.
Software
Android 5.0 Lollipop
Android 5.0 Lollipop was one of the most radical departures for Android. Gone were the robotic outlines and text, in was Material Design. Android 5.0 is a phenomenal operating system through and through. For more on the Lollipop as a whole, check out my comprehensive Android 5.0 Lollipop Review right here.
The real question is, how does the Moto G handle Lollipop? In short, really well. Lollipop made strides to become less demanding on lower end hardware. Google wanted more devices on their new vision of Android. The Moto G handles Lollipop with ease in everything it does. It is so great to see a budget phone run Lollipop. It’s even greater to see any phone run near Stock Android. Motorola has a hands off approach to the Android experience, only adding a singular app chock full of great features for you to use.
Moto App
The Moto App is a great, great app to have on your device. There are so many parts of the Moto experience that come straight from this app that make other smartphone users drool. The voice activation, the assist based on activity function, the action commands, and Moto’s Active Display.
In the Moto G variant of the Moto app, you have Assist, Actions and Display. Sadly, there is no voice control like you see in the flagship Moto X. Motorola has also excluded the four ambient sensors that are located on the front of the Moto X screen on the Moto G. This means you cannot wave your hand over the phone and turn on active display. You can, however, pick up the phone to activate this feature.
With Moto Assist, you have the ability to create different notification scenarios. For instance, there is a “Sleeping” mode that only allows priority interruptions and keeps the screen off during a set time where I’m sleeping. It’s a great feature for the Moto G to have
With Moto Actions, you can karate chop with your phone twice to toggle the flashlight. Be sure you’re careful when doing this with your Moto G though. Most phones cannot withstand your kung fu might. You also have the “Double Twist” to open up the camera app. Both of these work incredibly well on the Moto G. The Moto G will give you a vibrating notification when you activate either of these two Action features.
Finally, you have the Moto Display feature. This is Motorola’s screen off lock screen feature that shows you notifications with an almost completely blacked out display. Pick up your phone and the display will show you the time and any notifications you have. You can block pesky apps from showing up, so the Moto G will only show you the essentials that you want to see.
The Moto app is easily one of the killer features on the Moto G(or any Motorola phone that supports it). There aren’t many features that I find myself missing when I switch to another Android device. But Motorola’s Moto app is one of the few exceptions
Camera
The camera is almost always the Achilles heel of every budget device. The Moto G touts a camera that is a lofty 13MP(the same as the much more expensive Nexus 6) and a dual tone flash. Specs never tell the whole story with cameras, how does the Moto G’s camera stack up?
Speed
Using the twist quick launch for the Moto G camera, the app itself is ready to shoot surprisingly quick. Even launching the camera from the lock screen is quicker than I would have expected for a sub $250 phone. Having a quick launching camera is only half the story for speed, though. The camera has to focus and snap a photo quickly, too. This is another big win for the Moto G. The camera is remarkably snappy for the class of phone it is in. The Moto G isn’t quite as quick as it’s flagship brother, the Moto X. But it is still noticeably quick.
When you are quickly launching a photo, it focuses well, too. This is another great bit of news for prospective Moto G owners. As nothing is more disappointing than needing to grab a quick shot only for it to be out of focus. The Moto G does well with focusing correctly most of the time. There were a few instances where the Moto camera simply wouldn’t focus correctly on the first try. The issue wasn’t incredibly consistent, but it was there.
Quality
Megapixels do not tell the whole story with any phone camera. The iPhone line of phones has consistently shown that you do not need more megapixels to grab a great shot. Comparing the two, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus cameras both have a smaller megapixel count than the Moto G camera. The Moto G does take pretty great photos in good lighting. Without HDR mode enabled, the dynamic range and correct exposing of light struggles. With HDR on, the photo takes a bit longer to take, but the difference in quality is well worth the wait. If you’re shooting photos on the Moto G, just keep HDR mode enabled. This makes the photos go from average to impressive almost instantly.
Below are a collection of shots I took using the Moto G. All photos are as shot. HDR mode is noted as being on or off
Low Light
Low Light performance has been one of the biggest issues with phone cameras since the dawn of the smartphone itself. The Moto G, like many other smartphone cameras before it, does fall victim the a high noise photo in low light situations. The photos weren’t terrible, but they weren’t the best. The noise was noticeable enough for me to avoid shooting low light with the Moto G.
Front Facing Camera
No. I don’t take selfies, this is a well known fact. But I do test the front facing shooter by taking a photo of a normal thing that isn’t my face. The quality itself is pretty lacking. The Moto G selfie game isn’t strong, sadly(I’m not upset about it).
Video
Both the front and back cameras are capable of 1080p video. The quality itself is passable, but nothing stellar. An aspiring videographer will probably want to pass on the Moto G if they want to start vlogging or shooting videos seriously. You do have to remind yourself that this is a $220 phone, though. That price does come with some exclusions.
Conclusion
The Moto G is a lot of phone. The Moto G is a lot of phone for not a lot of money. The Moto G is a lot of phone, for not a lot of money, that manages to blow away most of my preconceptions about budget devices.
The more you think about the Moto G, the more you can add to the list of things to love about this great device. The best part about the Moto G is the price point. Most everything else about the Moto G is really good, too. For under $250, there simply isn’t a better phone available. The Moto G is easily the best budget phone money can buy, without question.
