It's very ironical that Motorola's Moto G (Gen 3) and the OnePlus 2 were launched on the very same day (in India). Although both these phones are in stark contrast to each other in terms of what's inside (and outside), both of them have more or less the same goal - to make feature-rich affordable phones for the masses.
While Chinese company OnePlus has always been vocal that specifications are boring and that user experience is all that matters, it's actually Motorola that has let action do all the talking for it. No, we are not trying to pull off a Moto G (Gen 3) versus OnePlus 2 case scenario here.
It's just that we've had both the Moto G (Gen 3) and the OnePlus 2 with us since launch and off the two we still haven't been able to get our hands off the new Moto G. Yes, the Moto G (Gen 3) is that good (read, smooth).
While the first generation of the Moto G gave us a phone that was all about value for money at an affordable price, the third generation Moto G recreates that magic and adds some fresh mojo to it as a mark of changing with the times. And oh, it still rocks stock Android like no other.
Design and build qualityThat Motorola has tried to change with the times can be seen right at the onset when you unbox the new Moto G. Now, the Moto G (Gen 3) won't go down in history as the sexiest phone in its price category, but it's still the sexiest Moto G that Motorola ever created.
This doesn't mean that Motorola has gone back to the drawing board for this one though. The front is still signature Moto G (Gen 2) with its characteristic dual-front grilles, only this time they lack any chrome. The design is closer in line to the second-gen Moto X.
It's the back where most of the changes have happened. And the changes are all for the better. The removable back cover now comes with a textured matte finish giving the new Moto G a rugged edge over its predecessors (as well as rivals). This does aid in improving grip, but also makes the phone feel a little feeble in hand. While all Moto phones are comfortable to hold by default, the Moto G (Gen 3) does take a step backwards in this regard. Though it is not as bad as it reads. We are just nit-picking here.
Overall dimensions of the Moto G (Gen 3) are towards the bulkier side, slightly in comparison to its predecessors and remarkably in comparison to rivals. At 155 grams and 11.6 mm thickness, the new Moto G may not appear slim and sleek on paper, but don't let the numbers fool you. The phone is surprisingly light-weight and easy to operate with one hand in real-world usage.
The new Moto G also manages to sneak in some metal on to its body, which is always nice and a welcome change to break monotony. It has a strip of metal around the camera that ends in the trademark Moto dimple. The back is still swappable with a range of 10 Motorola Shells (and 5 flip shells) available in a variety of colours.
Two microSIM slots and a microSD card slot are located underneath the back cover along with the battery which is non-removable.
The new Moto G is the only phone in its price range to come with IPX7 certification making the phone water-resistant in up to 3 feet of fresh water for up to 30 minutes (provided the back cover is properly sealed). That is certainly a welcome addition and a useful one at that.
DisplayIt's a little disappointing that Motorola has decided to retain the exact display hardware of last year's Moto G in this year's version as well, when FullHD resolutions have made an entry into the budget market. You still get the same 5-inch HD IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display with a 720x1280 pixels resolution and 294 ppi density as last year's model.
In a nutshell, if you were expecting an eye-popping display with this one, it's better you look towards other options. The Lenovo K3 Note and the Xiaomi Mi 4i are some of the better options you have in and around this price point.
For those of you who find a 720p resolution well-worth your time and money, the new Moto G still has a pretty good display.
For a 5-inch 720p display, the Moto G (Gen 3) churns out pretty good output with accurate colours -- a little on the warmer side though -- with rich text and adequate viewing angles. Display snobs will find some pixilation on closer look, but considering the price of the new Moto, its display is definitely more than good enough.
The new Moto G has sufficient brightness to make it useful in outdoor environments, although the same cannot be said about its viewing angles which are hampered when you're out and about in sunlight.
SoftwareWhen we say the new Moto G still rocks stock Android better than any other phone, we mean it. At the end of the day it all narrows down to the user experience. You may spend an awful amount of money on some high-end phone based on hardware that may make it seem like a winner on paper, it's when you actually put the device to good use that proves whether or not it is worth it.
The Moto G (and the Moto E) was never about high-end specifications, it was all about being 'worth' it. Rest assured, the Moto G now in its third generation carries that legacy forward with changes that make the whole user experience count even more on so many levels that there are times when you'll ask yourself, "Is this really a budget phone?"
The Moto G (Gen 3) runs the very latest Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out-of-the-box and like all Moto phones gives you stock Android experience with almost zero bloatware. Not that it's completely free of bloat - it does come with 'few' proprietary Moto apps - but they are non-intrusive. Fewer non-intrusive app means you don't have unnecessary apps hogging your memory and resources.
This makes the user interface smooth, peppy and fun to work around with. It's the best that Android can offer, of course minus the horsepower that Nexus phones give you, but Android on a budget can't get better than this.
Two key additions to the new Moto G are Moto Actions and Moto Display.
Moto Actions' 'double karate chop for torch' feature was so addictive we often made the frantic gestures over and over again to use. Meanwhile, its 'Quick Capture' feature lets you launch the camera app by twisting your wrist twice while twisting it twice again switches it to the front camera. We predict these features would be popular among users.
Moto Display made its first appearance in the Moto X and has now come to the budget Moto G. The feature that essentially lets you preview your notifications and updates without waking your phone is just what the doctor ordered for your lazy Sunday mornings.
Long-time features like the Moto Assist (for controlling your notifications) and Moto Migrate (for transferring content and settings between phones) are also present.
PerformanceThe Moto G (Gen 3) is powered by a 64-bit quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (Qualcomm MSM8916) processor coupled with Adreno 306 GPU. Geeks may find this discouraging.
We for one had our doubts initially, more so because the Snapdragon 615 seems to be the new 'hot' favourite in this price category (also the Mi 4 with Snapdragon 801 now retails for as low as Rs.15,000). Boy, were we in for a surprise!
While the new Moto G may not be lightening quick, you can't accuse it of being too slow either. In a word, the real-world performance of the new Moto G is solid.
There is the occasional lag in animations and app transitioning every once in a while, but chances are most of the time you'll barely notice it. To put things into better prospective, the user experience is more fluid than in the Mi 4i, which uses Snapdragon 615.
And yes, stock Android has a lot to do with it. The stock Lollipop and Snapdragon 410 complement each other well which brings us to the burning question: why did Motorola launch a 1GB RAM/8GB memory variant (Rs.11,999) at all, when all that we needed was the 2GB RAM/16GB variant (Rs.12,999). To top it all, the price difference is just Rs.1,000.
Not that the 1GB RAM/8GB memory variant is any less useful, it's just that the 2GB RAM/16GB variant makes so much more sense that most buyers would consider buying it over the former.
The 2GB RAM/16GB memory version handles multi-tasking better, and has double the storage, so you know which one to pick.
The new Moto G handles basic games like Candy Crush Saga pretty well with slight lag over longer periods of usage. GPU-intensive games like Asphalt 8: Airborne will run with slight lag at medium to low settings. Frame rate drops are quite evident at high settings.
More importantly, the new Moto G is not prone to heating (even on long usage) like some of its rivals.
Our review unit came with 16GB of internal memory of which about 11.8GB is available for use. Both the variants support expandable storage of up to 32GB via micro-SD card slot.
The lower front grille serves as the speaker vent on the Moto G (Gen 3) and gives out good audio output: not too loud but still good enough.
Phone calls made with the Moto G are of acceptable quality and we did not notice any odd call drops on our review unit. The device supports 4G LTE on both SIMs.
CameraMotorola phones (including higher-end ones) have a reputation of being shabby camera phones. Not the new Moto G though. It's still not the best camera phone in this price range, but the new Moto G is undoubtedly the best camera phone Motorola ever made.
In terms of specifics, it has a 13MP rear camera with autofocus and DualLED (dual tone) flash and a 5MP front-facing camera with wide angle lens. Clearly, it's a huge upgrade over its predecessors.
More importantly, Motorola has given quite a lot of thought to the new Moto G's rear camera which is equipped with the same sensor as Google's Nexus 6, and it shows in the output.
Images clicked in outdoor well-lit conditions came out with good amount of detail, colours that were true to source and with little or no metering issues. There was very little noise in these photos.
Photos clicked in indoor well-lit conditions also came out pretty good as well, again with good amount of detail and almost true to source colours. Noise level was too low, especially considering the low light.
Photos clicked in low light had some noise, but the fact that some of the detail was still retained in these photos was still very remarkable for a Motorola phone (and the Moto G).
The front camera with its 'Best Shot' feature is a decent selfie camera that is able to click selfies with good detail in well-lit situations. In low light, however, the results are not good.
If you love to take point-and-shoot photos (in good to medium light) the new Moto G will keep you happy for the greater part. We liked its quick autofocus and shutter speed capabilities, but for serious photographers the camera app doesn't give you enough manual control over your photos.
Check the following image samples to get an idea of the Motorola Moto G (Gen 3) Camera performance: Sample 1 , Sample 2 , Sample 3 , Sample 4 , Sample 5 , Sample 6 , Sample 7 , Sample 8 , Sample 9 , Sample 10 .
BatteryThe new Moto G uses a 2,470 mAh battery which is a huge upgrade to what we had in the previous generation Moto Gs. Simply put the Moto G (Gen 3) has an amazing battery life.
In our battery benchmark, we subjected the device to an hour of 1080p video playback, half an hour of GPU-intensive gaming, 45 minutes of basic games, phone calls (to the tune of one hour), some music streaming and YouTube video playback along with web browsing, and we were able to get almost 12 hours out of the device.
A more generalised usage should see you sail through one whole day (24 hours) quite easily. Moreover, the phone comes with a power saver option to squeeze out some extra juice.
Should you buy it?The new Moto G ticks almost all the right boxes on paper as well as during actual usage. Also, it's a huge upgrade over its predecessors making the whole point of an upgrade seem worth it. We say this because a number of phones launched lately have been more of an incremental update (to a previous model) making no sense in the longer run.
The new Moto G carries forward Motorola's legacy of bringing value for money phones to the masses. But, times they are a changing. Two years ago when the original Moto G was launched, it had no competition. In 2015, it has lots and lots of it. The Lenovo K3 Note, Yu Yureka, Xiaomi Redmi Note (as well as Mi 4i), Huawei Honor 4X etc. are pretty good phones. More importantly, they give you better hardware at lower prices.
Where does that leave the new Moto G? Well, as mentioned earlier, the Moto G was never about specifications but about user experience and there's little doubt that Android on a budget still doesn't get any better than the new Moto G. It's smooth, lag-free UI coupled with an amazing battery life and well to-do cameras will keep you happy for the most part. Not to forget, it's water-resistant too. Yes, it is still well worth your time and money.
Also Read: Motorola Moto G (Gen 3) takes you back to the good old days
Source: Motorola Moto G (Gen 3) review: Android on budget doesn't get any better
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