For the price.
Those are the words that'll dictate your opinion of the Moto G. Taken on its own, Motorola's mainstream gambit is more or less a flagship phone from a year or so ago, with some modernized design cues added in. It's built well, plenty fast, and fit with a sharp, beautiful display.
It's also $180. Unlocked. And when paired with a Verizon prepaid plan, it drops down to just $99.
(Ed. note: According to Verizon and/or the Internet, this phone is locked to a VZW prepaid plan for at least six months in order to recoup the cost. We think that might only be if you activate the phone on a prepaid plan, however, as we had no issues activating it directly on one of our editors' postpaid plans.)
For most people, buying a phone is all about maximizing value -- and with price tags like that, the Moto G suddenly morphs from a capable midrange handset to one of the biggest steals on the market today.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
It's not unprecedented, but by offering this handset at this price point, Motorola just might liberate us from the hunks of old plastic we're usually forced to carry around if we want a sub-$200 phone. It could be a market-changing device - if it's any good. Let's take a look.
Build and Design
The primary point of comparison for the Moto G is the Moto X, the one flagship phone Motorola launched during its 'a Google company' era before getting shipped off to Lenovo. Generally speaking, the G is a stripped down version of the X, omitting some flashier features here and changing up some spec details there.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
This all starts in the design. The Moto G is more or less a pudgier version of its more expensive cousin, like the Moto X if it went on an ice cream binge and didn't get off its couch for a few days. Its back is composed of the same sort of smooth polycarbonate material, and its sides are similarly plastic. It's comfortably curved around its top and rear, with the same rounded edges and little back dimple that I can't stop running my finger across. (Really, I love the back dimple.)
That it rips most of its cues from the Moto X is a good thing, as the Moto G has the same mix of understated yet handsome looks. It's simply a class above the other kinds of phones you'd see in this price range.
Nevertheless, a Moto X mini this is not, and the Moto G does have some of the annoyances you'd expect from a phone this cheap. It's heavier than the X, for one, at 5.04 oz total. Much of that heft feels shifted towards its bottom, so if you're like me and rest your phone on your pinky when you're holding it, you're going to feel some strain after a while.
That curved, polycarbonate back is just a little chunky in general. It's a bit fatter, longer, and heavier than devices of a more premium caliber, though it's by no means an anchor in the hand. It is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, however, and it didn't take long for us to smudge up the Moto G's rear.
The front and sides of the Moto G aren't fused together the way they are on the Moto X; instead, the plastic edges form little protruding 'lips' around the side of the display. Those can be a bit of a nuisance when you press the phone up against your face during a call, and they do prevent side-to-side scrolling from being as smooth as it is on something like the Nexus 5. Some dust and other debris can accumulate in there too. None of those things are dealbreakers, but they're little nitpicks you'll have to live with.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
Only one side of the Moto G is adorned with any physical keys. A plastic power button and volume rocker sits on the right edge of the phone, and they're cheap-feeling compared to the rest of the hardware here. The front of the device has the usual three-pronged set of capacitive keys, while the right side is completely barren. A standard headphone jack and micro-USB port are on the phone's top and bottom, respectively, while the speaker and camera lenses rest above that dimple on the back. That rear panel is removable, and underneath it is a slot for your micro-SIM.
There are really no wacky signature tricks here (outside of the dimple), just a clean and co
Performance
This
makes it all the more disappointing that the actual pictures you take
with the Moto G just aren't very good. It's very obvious that this is
one area where Motorola made sacrifices to reach that $180 price point,
as it cuts the Moto X's 10-megapixel camera down to a meager 5-megapixel
shooter here.
The Moto G is the kind of phone people need to buy and support if they really want to boost the collective quality of low-end smartphones. It is an outstanding bargain regardless of who you buy it from, and it destroys any other phone in its price range on almost every level. It is more akin to a slightly dated flagship than it is to a traditional budget device.
However - and this is a big however - its lack of LTE is a killer. If you live in a region where true 4G is the standard, I'd recommend pinching a few more pennies and picking up a more modernized bargain like LG's Nexus 5. That device is up-to-date in every way, and it doesn't suffer from limited storage space and poor camera quality as much as the Moto G does
Still, Motorola and Google deserve to be commended for the value they've created here. Let's just hope the rest of the smartphone world follows their lead.
Pros:
Ease of Use
Design
Performance
Value
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
mpact phone that's easy to pick up and use. It's like the anti-Droid, in that sense.
IMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phonet isn't very colorful, though. Motorola is selling a number of different colored cover shells to try and infuse each Moto G with some more personality, but there's no Moto Maker shop support, so the level of customization isn't as deep as it could be. Our unit came with an all-black coating, which is a tint we've seen hundreds of times before.
But again, that's a nitpick, and just that we're actually comparing the Moto G's design to that of the Moto X makes it a success at this price point. It even one-ups the X in the sense that it's a truly one-handed device, something that's still a rarity among higher-end handsets these days. Yes, it has issues that wouldn't fly on a modern flagship, but it's all about keeping expectations in check here. And for a $180 smartphone, this is probably the highest-end design we're going to get.
Display
That same sentiment applies to the Moto G's display, which is just fantastic for what you're paying. On paper, it's a 4.5-inch IPS LCD panel, coated in Gorilla Glass 3, with a 1280x720 resolution that's good for around 326 pixels per inch. Off paper, you'd have to be looking closely to notice any major differences between this screen and the ones on the latest Droids or the Moto X. The display is typically where "cheap phones" make their biggest sacrifices, but Motorola made it a point to not fall into that trap with the Moto G.
They succeeded. Everything is as sharp, clear, and bright as you could ask for on a panel in this range. Viewing angles are great, and the contrast here is especially praiseworthy, as the deepest blacks and lightest whites here can compete with those on handsets three times as expensive. Its bezels aren't exactly thin, but they aren't large enough to be a distraction either. And that Gorilla Glass coating keeps the whole thing sufficiently sturdy and scratch-resistant.
The only issue with this picture is that it's very blue. It's immediately noticeable, and it causes the screen to be too dark for our liking on auto-brightness settings. This, combined with the notable contrast levels, almost makes it feel as if the Moto X has an OLED display like the one you'd find on a Samsung Galaxy S4. The overall color calibration just seems to be a bit off by default, which is disappointing given how much the rest of the display excels.
That's just about the only significant fault we can find, though, and even then it's excusable given the value you're getting here. Is 720p going to blow anyone away in a world where 2K phones are on the horizon' Of course not. But again, expectations. This is a display that you'd find on a phone priced around $100 on contract, so it really goes above and beyond anything we're used to seeing in this segment of the market.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhonePerformance
Let's not mince words: You can do things on the Moto G that you simply cannot do on any other phone in this price range. The 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC and 1GB of RAM here make running through all the menus and home screens of Android an absolute breeze. Most apps load within a second, and they almost always run without any noticeable hitches. For the many people who will buy the Moto G for casual use, you'll be more than satisfied with the horsepower you're getting.
That's not to say that the Moto G can't hold its own when pushed beyond the limits of everyday use. It pumped through games like Riptide GP2, Grand Theft Auto III, and Real Racing 3 without breaking a sweat. More intense in-game situations will bring out the occasional chug, but the four ARM Cortex A7 cores and Adreno 305 GPU that make up the Moto G's SoC aren't weaklings, and they'd fit right in on a flagship from a year or so ago. What's more, they rarely let the phone heat up beyond a comfortable level.
Not everything is as chic as the Moto G's design. One issue is web browsing performance. For whatever reason, the Moto G can plow through a modern HD game without much issue, but it stutters and spazzes out every other time you use Chrome. Sometimes it refuses to open up web pages altogether. To be fair, Chrome is a mess on many Android devices, but it's sloppier than usual here. That's odd, especially considering the Moto G launched when Moto was still "a Google company."
Two is the lack of storage space. Just 8GB of memory is listed for the $180 Moto G, and only 5.5GB of that is usable right out of the box. Google naturally pushes you to the cloud by giving you 50GB of Google Drive space free for two years, but that doesn't really change the fact that you just won't have room for many apps - especially without a microSD slot in sight. Motorola is selling a 16GB Moto G for just $199, so that's the no-brainer option if you can spare the extra Jackson.
Then there are the little nitpicks that are to be expected on a phone this inexpensive, but are still annoying either way. The Moto G's speakers are just alright, for one, and can get rather choppy on higher volumes. The same sentiment goes for the phone's call quality, which fluctuates between acceptable and awful depending on your signal strength. It'll do for the everyday users this device is aimed at, but we could see it bothering heavy callers after a while. Most of the other little things - like WiFi or Bluetooth 4.0 connection strength and range - are above-average, however.
But now we come to the Moto G's Big Problem, the thing that's less its Achilles' heel and more its terminal illness: the lack of 4G. Yes, the Moto G has no LTE support whatsoever, meaning that an HSPA+ connection is the fastest you'll get with it. We were stuck with Verizon's 3G network during our test period, and the speeds were predictably and consistently subpar for a modern-day device. You'll be itching for a WiFi signal whenever you use this phone.
(Ed. note 2: HSPA+, in the right areas on T-Mobile or AT&T, is actually totally fine! I mean, sure, it suffers from reduced latency and bandwidth compared to a good LTE signal, but hey, nothing's perfect).
This is going to be a dealbreaker for many potential Moto G buyers in the US. Unless you bring it to T-Mobile, its network speeds simply don't cut it for a mainstream smartphone in 2014. However, the LTE chip omission does make sense. Motorola is looking to court a more global audience with this device, and the Moto G is still going to look mighty impressive in emerging markets where LTE hasn't been widely adopted yet. It's a bummer for the US, but Google is looking to court the next billion users, after all.
Even without true 4G speeds, it's hard to be disappointed with the package Motorola has presented here. The Moto G is a whole lot of phone for under $200 - that it can even be in the same discussion as some of the more recent top-end phones is an achievement in and of itself. Relative to its asking price, it's a beast.
Software
Like the rest of Motorola's latest crop of smartphones, the Moto G lets stock Android do most of the work on the software side. It focuses on enhancing Google's solution rather than skinning it, so what we have here is something that looks and acts just like Android 4.4 KitKat, only with some minor camera UI changes and a few Moto-specific apps thrown in.
Android has matured into a much more robust and feature-packed OS over the last few years, so it shouldn't be a surprise when I say that it's still great here. We'll have to see how Motorola's approach changes as it comes under Lenovo's rule, but prior to its sale it found the sweet spot between leaving stock Android alone and spicing it up with its own software.
Since the Moto G launched back when Motorola was a Google company, the Goog's apps are front and center here. That's fine, and it means that you won't have to deal with any unnecessary duplicate apps if you're already buying what Google's selling.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
A few of the useful Moto-made tricks that were first introduced with the Moto X are here too. The Moto Assist app, which enables hands-free usage while driving, and lets you auto-reply to texts and auto-silence your phone during pre-set quiet hours, is still a nifty Tasker alternative. The Motorola Migrate app still gives you an easy way to transfer all of your files from your old phone onto your new one. One addition this time around is an FM Radio app, which works well enough, but requires a wired headset to be used - the headphone cord acts as the FM antenna.
But since the Moto G opts for a Snapdragon processor instead of the Moto X's customized X8 chip, most of the X's fancier features are absent here. Motorola's 'Touchless Control' voice-activated commands are nowhere to be found, for instance, nor is its 'Active Display' notification tech. Yes, you'll have to actually wake the Moto G from sleep to see if you've gotten any texts. Tragic, I know.
Those omissions are excusable on a phone of this price, though, and the Moto G's anti-skin approach keeps the phone from getting in its own way. I'd much rather have this than the redundant and sometimes messy overlays of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, to be frank. One thing I will note is that the unlocked Moto G has just about no bloatware, while carrier versions like Verizon's are filled with the stuff. It's annoying, but thanks to recent versions of Android, easily fixable.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
Camera
The Moto G's camera has a bit of an Odd Couple situation going on, as it pairs a fast and user-friendly UI with an inconsistent, mediocre shooter. The former is lifted right from the Moto X, and is just as stripped-down as it's always been. Tapping anywhere on the screen takes a photo, while swiping up and down controls the zoom and holding down your thumb takes burst shots.
All of the app's functions are contained in one radial menu, which can be accessed via a swipe from the left edge of the display. Bring it up and you'll get options for HDR, flash, tap to focus and exposure, slow motion video, panorama view, geotagging, aspect ratio, and changing your shutter sound.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
This is all basic stuff -- though I'll note that Motorola has added the useful ability to drag around your focus point before shooting, as well as a new aspect ratio toggle that lets you switch from 16:9 to 4:3. The slick little wrist flicking motion that used to open to Moto X's camera app has been removed, but those other improvements help make the Moto G's camera UI a slight step up from the Moto X's.
Having more features isn't the point here; being easy to use is. And this UI is still very good at staying out of your way, taking care of all the technical mumbo jumbo, and letting you snap your pics. It's especially accommodating for one-handed use, which fits perfectly with the G's overall profile. It'll never have as many tricks as some of the other flagships out there, but its simplicity is refreshing.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneThis makes it all the more disappointing that the actual pictures you take with the Moto G just aren't very good. It's very obvious that this is one area where Motorola made sacrifices to reach that $180 price point, as it cuts the Moto X's 10-megapixel camera down to a meager 5-megapixel shooter here.
The quality of those shots is strangely inconsistent - shots in well-lit, outdoor settings can be perfectly acceptable, but too often I was presented with poor white balance, excessive amounts of noise and other hyperactive post-processing effects. Low-light photos were especially middling, and were typically hampered by unacceptably low shutter speeds. The 1.2-megapixel front-facing shooter is fine enough for your everyday Skype call, but suffice it to say that the Moto G doesn't fix all of the annoyances that typically come with cheap Android phones.
Battery Life
There isn't too much to say here, as the Moto G's battery is neither outstanding nor unacceptable. Its 2,070 mAh pack will get you around a full day of ordinary use, but it doesn't go above and beyond other phones of this caliber. Like most everything else here, it's an improvement over other sub-$200 smartphones; the fact that it's non-removable is disappointing, though.
Conclusion
The Moto G is the kind of phone people need to buy and support if they really want to boost the collective quality of low-end smartphones. It is an outstanding bargain regardless of who you buy it from, and it destroys any other phone in its price range on almost every level. It is more akin to a slightly dated flagship than it is to a traditional budget device.
However - and this is a big however - its lack of LTE is a killer. If you live in a region where true 4G is the standard, I'd recommend pinching a few more pennies and picking up a more modernized bargain like LG's Nexus 5. That device is up-to-date in every way, and it doesn't suffer from limited storage space and poor camera quality as much as the Moto G does
Still, Motorola and Google deserve to be commended for the value they've created here. Let's just hope the rest of the smartphone world follows their lead.
Pros:
Tremendous value
Sharp, vibrant display
Clean software
Surprisingly capable performance
Cons:
No LTE support
Limited storage space
Mediocre camera
Choppy web browsing
Individual Ratings: *
Service, Warranty & Support
Ease of Use
Design
Performance
Value
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
Those are the words that'll dictate your opinion of the Moto G. Taken on its own, Motorola's mainstream gambit is more or less a flagship phone from a year or so ago, with some modernized design cues added in. It's built well, plenty fast, and fit with a sharp, beautiful display.
It's also $180. Unlocked. And when paired with a Verizon prepaid plan, it drops down to just $99.
(Ed. note: According to Verizon and/or the Internet, this phone is locked to a VZW prepaid plan for at least six months in order to recoup the cost. We think that might only be if you activate the phone on a prepaid plan, however, as we had no issues activating it directly on one of our editors' postpaid plans.)
For most people, buying a phone is all about maximizing value -- and with price tags like that, the Moto G suddenly morphs from a capable midrange handset to one of the biggest steals on the market today.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
It's not unprecedented, but by offering this handset at this price point, Motorola just might liberate us from the hunks of old plastic we're usually forced to carry around if we want a sub-$200 phone. It could be a market-changing device - if it's any good. Let's take a look.
Build and Design
The primary point of comparison for the Moto G is the Moto X, the one flagship phone Motorola launched during its 'a Google company' era before getting shipped off to Lenovo. Generally speaking, the G is a stripped down version of the X, omitting some flashier features here and changing up some spec details there.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
This all starts in the design. The Moto G is more or less a pudgier version of its more expensive cousin, like the Moto X if it went on an ice cream binge and didn't get off its couch for a few days. Its back is composed of the same sort of smooth polycarbonate material, and its sides are similarly plastic. It's comfortably curved around its top and rear, with the same rounded edges and little back dimple that I can't stop running my finger across. (Really, I love the back dimple.)
That it rips most of its cues from the Moto X is a good thing, as the Moto G has the same mix of understated yet handsome looks. It's simply a class above the other kinds of phones you'd see in this price range.
Nevertheless, a Moto X mini this is not, and the Moto G does have some of the annoyances you'd expect from a phone this cheap. It's heavier than the X, for one, at 5.04 oz total. Much of that heft feels shifted towards its bottom, so if you're like me and rest your phone on your pinky when you're holding it, you're going to feel some strain after a while.
That curved, polycarbonate back is just a little chunky in general. It's a bit fatter, longer, and heavier than devices of a more premium caliber, though it's by no means an anchor in the hand. It is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, however, and it didn't take long for us to smudge up the Moto G's rear.
The front and sides of the Moto G aren't fused together the way they are on the Moto X; instead, the plastic edges form little protruding 'lips' around the side of the display. Those can be a bit of a nuisance when you press the phone up against your face during a call, and they do prevent side-to-side scrolling from being as smooth as it is on something like the Nexus 5. Some dust and other debris can accumulate in there too. None of those things are dealbreakers, but they're little nitpicks you'll have to live with.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
Only one side of the Moto G is adorned with any physical keys. A plastic power button and volume rocker sits on the right edge of the phone, and they're cheap-feeling compared to the rest of the hardware here. The front of the device has the usual three-pronged set of capacitive keys, while the right side is completely barren. A standard headphone jack and micro-USB port are on the phone's top and bottom, respectively, while the speaker and camera lenses rest above that dimple on the back. That rear panel is removable, and underneath it is a slot for your micro-SIM.
There are really no wacky signature tricks here (outside of the dimple), just a clean and co
For the price.
Those are the words that'll dictate your opinion of the Moto G. Taken on its own, Motorola's mainstream gambit is more or less a flagship phone from a year or so ago, with some modernized design cues added in. It's built well, plenty fast, and fit with a sharp, beautiful display.
Those are the words that'll dictate your opinion of the Moto G. Taken on its own, Motorola's mainstream gambit is more or less a flagship phone from a year or so ago, with some modernized design cues added in. It's built well, plenty fast, and fit with a sharp, beautiful display.
It's also $180. Unlocked. And when paired with a Verizon prepaid plan, it drops down to just $99.
(Ed. note: According
to Verizon and/or the Internet, this phone is locked to a VZW prepaid
plan for at least six months in order to recoup the cost. We think that
might only be if you activate the phone on a prepaid plan, however, as
we had no issues activating it directly on one of our editors' postpaid
plans.)
For most people, buying a phone is all about maximizing
value -- and with price tags like that, the Moto G suddenly morphs from a
capable midrange handset to one of the biggest steals on the market
today.
It's not unprecedented, but by offering this handset at this price
point, Motorola just might liberate us from the hunks of old plastic
we're usually forced to carry around if we want a sub-$200 phone. It
could be a market-changing device - if it's any good. Let's take a look.
Build and Design
The primary point of comparison for the Moto G is the Moto
X, the one flagship phone Motorola launched during its 'a Google
company' era before getting shipped off to Lenovo. Generally speaking,
the G is a stripped down version of the X, omitting some flashier
features here and changing up some spec details there.
This all starts in the design. The Moto G is more or less a
pudgier version of its more expensive cousin, like the Moto X if it
went on an ice cream binge and didn't get off its couch for a few days.
Its back is composed of the same sort of smooth polycarbonate material,
and its sides are similarly plastic. It's comfortably curved around its
top and rear, with the same rounded edges and little back dimple that I
can't stop running my finger across. (Really, I love the back dimple.)
That it rips most of its cues from the Moto X is a good
thing, as the Moto G has the same mix of understated yet handsome looks.
It's simply a class above the other kinds of phones you'd see in this
price range.
Nevertheless, a Moto X mini this is not, and the Moto G
does have some of the annoyances you'd expect from a phone this cheap.
It's heavier than the X, for one, at 5.04 oz total. Much of that heft
feels shifted towards its bottom, so if you're like me and rest your
phone on your pinky when you're holding it, you're going to feel some
strain after a while.
That curved, polycarbonate back is just a little chunky in
general. It's a bit fatter, longer, and heavier than devices of a more
premium caliber, though it's by no means an anchor in the hand. It is a
bit of a fingerprint magnet, however, and it didn't take long for us to
smudge up the Moto G's rear.
The front and sides of the Moto G aren't fused together
the way they are on the Moto X; instead, the plastic edges form little
protruding 'lips' around the side of the display. Those can be a bit of a
nuisance when you press the phone up against your face during a call,
and they do prevent side-to-side scrolling from being as smooth as it is
on something like the Nexus 5. Some dust and other debris can
accumulate in there too. None of those things are dealbreakers, but
they're little nitpicks you'll have to live with.
Only one side of the Moto G is adorned with any physical
keys. A plastic power button and volume rocker sits on the right edge of
the phone, and they're cheap-feeling compared to the rest of the
hardware here. The front of the device has the usual three-pronged set
of capacitive keys, while the right side is completely barren. A
standard headphone jack and micro-USB port are on the phone's top and
bottom, respectively, while the speaker and camera lenses rest above
that dimple on the back. That rear panel is removable, and underneath it
is a slot for your micro-SIM.
There are really no wacky signature tricks here (outside
of the dimple), just a clean and compact phone that's easy to pick up
and use. It's like the anti-Droid, in that sense.
I
t
isn't very colorful, though. Motorola is selling a number of different
colored cover shells to try and infuse each Moto G with some more
personality, but there's no Moto Maker shop support, so the level of
customization isn't as deep as it could be. Our unit came with an
all-black coating, which is a tint we've seen hundreds of times before.
t
isn't very colorful, though. Motorola is selling a number of different
colored cover shells to try and infuse each Moto G with some more
personality, but there's no Moto Maker shop support, so the level of
customization isn't as deep as it could be. Our unit came with an
all-black coating, which is a tint we've seen hundreds of times before.
But again, that's a nitpick, and just that we're actually
comparing the Moto G's design to that of the Moto X makes it a success
at this price point. It even one-ups the X in the sense that it's a
truly one-handed device, something that's still a rarity among
higher-end handsets these days. Yes, it has issues that wouldn't fly on a
modern flagship, but it's all about keeping expectations in check here.
And for a $180 smartphone, this is probably the highest-end design
we're going to get.
Display
That same sentiment applies to the Moto G's display, which
is just fantastic for what you're paying. On paper, it's a 4.5-inch IPS
LCD panel, coated in Gorilla Glass 3, with a 1280x720 resolution that's
good for around 326 pixels per inch. Off paper, you'd have to be
looking closely to notice any major differences between this screen and
the ones on the latest Droids or the Moto X. The display is typically
where "cheap phones" make their biggest sacrifices, but Motorola made it
a point to not fall into that trap with the Moto G.
They succeeded. Everything is as sharp, clear, and bright
as you could ask for on a panel in this range. Viewing angles are great,
and the contrast here is especially praiseworthy, as the deepest blacks
and lightest whites here can compete with those on handsets three times
as expensive. Its bezels aren't exactly thin, but they aren't large
enough to be a distraction either. And that Gorilla Glass coating keeps
the whole thing sufficiently sturdy and scratch-resistant.
The only issue with this picture is that it's very blue.
It's immediately noticeable, and it causes the screen to be too dark for
our liking on auto-brightness settings. This, combined with the notable
contrast levels, almost makes it feel as if the Moto X has an OLED
display like the one you'd find on a Samsung Galaxy S4. The overall
color calibration just seems to be a bit off by default, which is
disappointing given how much the rest of the display excels.
That's just about the only significant fault we can find,
though, and even then it's excusable given the value you're getting
here. Is 720p going to blow anyone away in a world where 2K phones are
on the horizon' Of course not. But again, expectations. This is a
display that you'd find on a phone priced around $100 on contract, so it really goes above and beyond anything we're used to seeing in this segment of the market.
Performance
Let's not mince words: You can do things on the Moto G
that you simply cannot do on any other phone in this price range. The
1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC and 1GB of RAM here make running
through all the menus and home screens of Android an absolute breeze.
Most apps load within a second, and they almost always run
without any noticeable hitches. For the many people who will buy the
Moto G for casual use, you'll be more than satisfied with the horsepower
you're getting.
That's not to say that the Moto G can't hold its own when
pushed beyond the limits of everyday use. It pumped through games like Riptide GP2, Grand Theft Auto III, and Real Racing 3 without
breaking a sweat. More intense in-game situations will bring out the
occasional chug, but the four ARM Cortex A7 cores and Adreno 305 GPU
that make up the Moto G's SoC aren't weaklings, and they'd fit right in
on a flagship from a year or so ago. What's more, they rarely let the
phone heat up beyond a comfortable level.
Not everything is as chic as the Moto G's design. One
issue is web browsing performance. For whatever reason, the Moto G can
plow through a modern HD game without much issue, but it stutters and
spazzes out every other time you use Chrome. Sometimes it refuses to
open up web pages altogether. To be fair, Chrome is a mess on many
Android devices, but it's sloppier than usual here. That's odd,
especially considering the Moto G launched when Moto was still "a Google
company."
Two is the lack of storage space. Just 8GB of memory is
listed for the $180 Moto G, and only 5.5GB of that is usable right out
of the box. Google naturally pushes you to the cloud by giving you 50GB
of Google Drive space free for two years, but that doesn't really change
the fact that you just won't have room for many apps - especially
without a microSD slot in sight. Motorola is selling a 16GB Moto G for
just $199, so that's the no-brainer option if you can spare the extra
Jackson.
Then there are the little nitpicks that are to be expected
on a phone this inexpensive, but are still annoying either way. The
Moto G's speakers are just alright, for one, and can get rather choppy
on higher volumes. The same sentiment goes for the phone's call quality,
which fluctuates between acceptable and awful depending on your signal
strength. It'll do for the everyday users this device is aimed at, but
we could see it bothering heavy callers after a while. Most of the other
little things - like WiFi or Bluetooth 4.0 connection strength and
range - are above-average, however.
But now we come to the Moto G's Big Problem, the thing
that's less its Achilles' heel and more its terminal illness: the lack
of 4G. Yes, the Moto G has no LTE support whatsoever, meaning that an
HSPA+ connection is the fastest you'll get with it. We were stuck with
Verizon's 3G network during our test period, and the speeds were
predictably and consistently subpar for a modern-day device. You'll be
itching for a WiFi signal whenever you use this phone.
(Ed. note 2: HSPA+, in the right
areas on T-Mobile or AT&T, is actually totally fine! I mean, sure,
it suffers from reduced latency and bandwidth compared to a good LTE
signal, but hey, nothing's perfect).
This is going to be a dealbreaker for many
potential Moto G buyers in the US. Unless you bring it to T-Mobile, its
network speeds simply don't cut it for a mainstream smartphone in 2014.
However, the LTE chip omission does make sense. Motorola is looking to
court a more global audience with this device, and the Moto G is still
going to look mighty impressive in emerging markets where LTE hasn't
been widely adopted yet. It's a bummer for the US, but Google is looking
to court the next billion users, after all.
Even without true 4G speeds, it's hard to be disappointed
with the package Motorola has presented here. The Moto G is a whole lot
of phone for under $200 - that it can even be in the same discussion as
some of the more recent top-end phones is an achievement in and of
itself. Relative to its asking price, it's a beast.
Software
Like the rest of Motorola's latest crop of smartphones,
the Moto G lets stock Android do most of the work on the software side.
It focuses on enhancing Google's solution rather than skinning it, so
what we have here is something that looks and acts just like Android 4.4
KitKat, only with some minor camera UI changes and a few Moto-specific
apps thrown in.
Android has matured into a much more robust and
feature-packed OS over the last few years, so it shouldn't be a surprise
when I say that it's still great here. We'll have to see how Motorola's
approach changes as it comes under Lenovo's rule, but prior to its sale
it found the sweet spot between leaving stock Android alone and spicing
it up with its own software.
Since the Moto G launched back when Motorola was a Google
company, the Goog's apps are front and center here. That's fine, and it
means that you won't have to deal with any unnecessary duplicate apps if
you're already buying what Google's selling.
A few of the useful Moto-made tricks that were first
introduced with the Moto X are here too. The Moto Assist app, which
enables hands-free usage while driving, and lets you auto-reply to texts
and auto-silence your phone during pre-set quiet hours, is still a
nifty Tasker alternative. The Motorola Migrate app still gives you an
easy way to transfer all of your files from your old phone onto your new
one. One addition this time around is an FM Radio app, which works well
enough, but requires a wired headset to be used - the headphone cord
acts as the FM antenna.
But since the Moto G opts for a Snapdragon processor
instead of the Moto X's customized X8 chip, most of the X's fancier
features are absent here. Motorola's 'Touchless Control' voice-activated
commands are nowhere to be found, for instance, nor is its 'Active
Display' notification tech. Yes, you'll have to actually wake the Moto G
from sleep to see if you've gotten any texts. Tragic, I know.
Those omissions are excusable on a phone of this price,
though, and the Moto G's anti-skin approach keeps the phone from getting
in its own way. I'd much rather have this than the redundant and
sometimes messy overlays of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, to be
frank. One thing I will note is that the unlocked Moto G has just about
no bloatware, while carrier versions like Verizon's are filled with the
stuff. It's annoying, but thanks to recent versions of Android, easily
fixable.
Camera
The Moto G's camera has a bit of an Odd Couple
situation going on, as it pairs a fast and user-friendly UI with an
inconsistent, mediocre shooter. The former is lifted right from the Moto
X, and is just as stripped-down as it's always been. Tapping anywhere
on the screen takes a photo, while swiping up and down controls the zoom
and holding down your thumb takes burst shots.
All of the app's functions are contained in one radial
menu, which can be accessed via a swipe from the left edge of the
display. Bring it up and you'll get options for HDR, flash, tap to focus
and exposure, slow motion video, panorama view, geotagging, aspect
ratio, and changing your shutter sound.
This is all basic stuff -- though I'll note that Motorola
has added the useful ability to drag around your focus point before
shooting, as well as a new aspect ratio toggle that lets you switch from
16:9 to 4:3. The slick little wrist flicking motion that used to open
to Moto X's camera app has been removed, but those other improvements
help make the Moto G's camera UI a slight step up from the Moto X's.
Having more features isn't the point here; being easy to
use is. And this UI is still very good at staying out of your way,
taking care of all the technical mumbo jumbo, and letting you snap your
pics. It's especially accommodating for one-handed use, which fits
perfectly with the G's overall profile. It'll never have as many tricks
as some of the other flagships out there, but its simplicity is
refreshing.
This
makes it all the more disappointing that the actual pictures you take
with the Moto G just aren't very good. It's very obvious that this is
one area where Motorola made sacrifices to reach that $180 price point,
as it cuts the Moto X's 10-megapixel camera down to a meager 5-megapixel
shooter here.
The quality of those shots is strangely inconsistent - shots in well-lit, outdoor settings can
be perfectly acceptable, but too often I was presented with poor white
balance, excessive amounts of noise and other hyperactive
post-processing effects. Low-light photos were especially middling, and
were typically hampered by unacceptably low shutter speeds. The
1.2-megapixel front-facing shooter is fine enough for your everyday
Skype call, but suffice it to say that the Moto G doesn't fix all of the annoyances that typically come with cheap Android phones.
Battery Life
There isn't too much to say here, as the Moto G's battery
is neither outstanding nor unacceptable. Its 2,070 mAh pack will get you
around a full day of ordinary use, but it doesn't go above and beyond
other phones of this caliber. Like most everything else here, it's an
improvement over other sub-$200 smartphones; the fact that it's
non-removable is disappointing, though.
ConclusionThe Moto G is the kind of phone people need to buy and support if they really want to boost the collective quality of low-end smartphones. It is an outstanding bargain regardless of who you buy it from, and it destroys any other phone in its price range on almost every level. It is more akin to a slightly dated flagship than it is to a traditional budget device.
However - and this is a big however - its lack of LTE is a killer. If you live in a region where true 4G is the standard, I'd recommend pinching a few more pennies and picking up a more modernized bargain like LG's Nexus 5. That device is up-to-date in every way, and it doesn't suffer from limited storage space and poor camera quality as much as the Moto G does
Still, Motorola and Google deserve to be commended for the value they've created here. Let's just hope the rest of the smartphone world follows their lead.
Pros:
- Tremendous value
- Sharp, vibrant display
- Clean software
- Surprisingly capable performance
- No LTE support
- Limited storage space
- Mediocre camera
- Choppy web browsing
Individual Ratings: *
Service, Warranty & SupportEase of Use
Design
Performance
Value
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
IMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phonet isn't very colorful, though. Motorola is selling a number of different colored cover shells to try and infuse each Moto G with some more personality, but there's no Moto Maker shop support, so the level of customization isn't as deep as it could be. Our unit came with an all-black coating, which is a tint we've seen hundreds of times before.
But again, that's a nitpick, and just that we're actually comparing the Moto G's design to that of the Moto X makes it a success at this price point. It even one-ups the X in the sense that it's a truly one-handed device, something that's still a rarity among higher-end handsets these days. Yes, it has issues that wouldn't fly on a modern flagship, but it's all about keeping expectations in check here. And for a $180 smartphone, this is probably the highest-end design we're going to get.
Display
That same sentiment applies to the Moto G's display, which is just fantastic for what you're paying. On paper, it's a 4.5-inch IPS LCD panel, coated in Gorilla Glass 3, with a 1280x720 resolution that's good for around 326 pixels per inch. Off paper, you'd have to be looking closely to notice any major differences between this screen and the ones on the latest Droids or the Moto X. The display is typically where "cheap phones" make their biggest sacrifices, but Motorola made it a point to not fall into that trap with the Moto G.
They succeeded. Everything is as sharp, clear, and bright as you could ask for on a panel in this range. Viewing angles are great, and the contrast here is especially praiseworthy, as the deepest blacks and lightest whites here can compete with those on handsets three times as expensive. Its bezels aren't exactly thin, but they aren't large enough to be a distraction either. And that Gorilla Glass coating keeps the whole thing sufficiently sturdy and scratch-resistant.
The only issue with this picture is that it's very blue. It's immediately noticeable, and it causes the screen to be too dark for our liking on auto-brightness settings. This, combined with the notable contrast levels, almost makes it feel as if the Moto X has an OLED display like the one you'd find on a Samsung Galaxy S4. The overall color calibration just seems to be a bit off by default, which is disappointing given how much the rest of the display excels.
That's just about the only significant fault we can find, though, and even then it's excusable given the value you're getting here. Is 720p going to blow anyone away in a world where 2K phones are on the horizon' Of course not. But again, expectations. This is a display that you'd find on a phone priced around $100 on contract, so it really goes above and beyond anything we're used to seeing in this segment of the market.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhonePerformance
Let's not mince words: You can do things on the Moto G that you simply cannot do on any other phone in this price range. The 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC and 1GB of RAM here make running through all the menus and home screens of Android an absolute breeze. Most apps load within a second, and they almost always run without any noticeable hitches. For the many people who will buy the Moto G for casual use, you'll be more than satisfied with the horsepower you're getting.
That's not to say that the Moto G can't hold its own when pushed beyond the limits of everyday use. It pumped through games like Riptide GP2, Grand Theft Auto III, and Real Racing 3 without breaking a sweat. More intense in-game situations will bring out the occasional chug, but the four ARM Cortex A7 cores and Adreno 305 GPU that make up the Moto G's SoC aren't weaklings, and they'd fit right in on a flagship from a year or so ago. What's more, they rarely let the phone heat up beyond a comfortable level.
Not everything is as chic as the Moto G's design. One issue is web browsing performance. For whatever reason, the Moto G can plow through a modern HD game without much issue, but it stutters and spazzes out every other time you use Chrome. Sometimes it refuses to open up web pages altogether. To be fair, Chrome is a mess on many Android devices, but it's sloppier than usual here. That's odd, especially considering the Moto G launched when Moto was still "a Google company."
Two is the lack of storage space. Just 8GB of memory is listed for the $180 Moto G, and only 5.5GB of that is usable right out of the box. Google naturally pushes you to the cloud by giving you 50GB of Google Drive space free for two years, but that doesn't really change the fact that you just won't have room for many apps - especially without a microSD slot in sight. Motorola is selling a 16GB Moto G for just $199, so that's the no-brainer option if you can spare the extra Jackson.
Then there are the little nitpicks that are to be expected on a phone this inexpensive, but are still annoying either way. The Moto G's speakers are just alright, for one, and can get rather choppy on higher volumes. The same sentiment goes for the phone's call quality, which fluctuates between acceptable and awful depending on your signal strength. It'll do for the everyday users this device is aimed at, but we could see it bothering heavy callers after a while. Most of the other little things - like WiFi or Bluetooth 4.0 connection strength and range - are above-average, however.
But now we come to the Moto G's Big Problem, the thing that's less its Achilles' heel and more its terminal illness: the lack of 4G. Yes, the Moto G has no LTE support whatsoever, meaning that an HSPA+ connection is the fastest you'll get with it. We were stuck with Verizon's 3G network during our test period, and the speeds were predictably and consistently subpar for a modern-day device. You'll be itching for a WiFi signal whenever you use this phone.
(Ed. note 2: HSPA+, in the right areas on T-Mobile or AT&T, is actually totally fine! I mean, sure, it suffers from reduced latency and bandwidth compared to a good LTE signal, but hey, nothing's perfect).
This is going to be a dealbreaker for many potential Moto G buyers in the US. Unless you bring it to T-Mobile, its network speeds simply don't cut it for a mainstream smartphone in 2014. However, the LTE chip omission does make sense. Motorola is looking to court a more global audience with this device, and the Moto G is still going to look mighty impressive in emerging markets where LTE hasn't been widely adopted yet. It's a bummer for the US, but Google is looking to court the next billion users, after all.
Even without true 4G speeds, it's hard to be disappointed with the package Motorola has presented here. The Moto G is a whole lot of phone for under $200 - that it can even be in the same discussion as some of the more recent top-end phones is an achievement in and of itself. Relative to its asking price, it's a beast.
Software
Like the rest of Motorola's latest crop of smartphones, the Moto G lets stock Android do most of the work on the software side. It focuses on enhancing Google's solution rather than skinning it, so what we have here is something that looks and acts just like Android 4.4 KitKat, only with some minor camera UI changes and a few Moto-specific apps thrown in.
Android has matured into a much more robust and feature-packed OS over the last few years, so it shouldn't be a surprise when I say that it's still great here. We'll have to see how Motorola's approach changes as it comes under Lenovo's rule, but prior to its sale it found the sweet spot between leaving stock Android alone and spicing it up with its own software.
Since the Moto G launched back when Motorola was a Google company, the Goog's apps are front and center here. That's fine, and it means that you won't have to deal with any unnecessary duplicate apps if you're already buying what Google's selling.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
A few of the useful Moto-made tricks that were first introduced with the Moto X are here too. The Moto Assist app, which enables hands-free usage while driving, and lets you auto-reply to texts and auto-silence your phone during pre-set quiet hours, is still a nifty Tasker alternative. The Motorola Migrate app still gives you an easy way to transfer all of your files from your old phone onto your new one. One addition this time around is an FM Radio app, which works well enough, but requires a wired headset to be used - the headphone cord acts as the FM antenna.
But since the Moto G opts for a Snapdragon processor instead of the Moto X's customized X8 chip, most of the X's fancier features are absent here. Motorola's 'Touchless Control' voice-activated commands are nowhere to be found, for instance, nor is its 'Active Display' notification tech. Yes, you'll have to actually wake the Moto G from sleep to see if you've gotten any texts. Tragic, I know.
Those omissions are excusable on a phone of this price, though, and the Moto G's anti-skin approach keeps the phone from getting in its own way. I'd much rather have this than the redundant and sometimes messy overlays of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, to be frank. One thing I will note is that the unlocked Moto G has just about no bloatware, while carrier versions like Verizon's are filled with the stuff. It's annoying, but thanks to recent versions of Android, easily fixable.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
Camera
The Moto G's camera has a bit of an Odd Couple situation going on, as it pairs a fast and user-friendly UI with an inconsistent, mediocre shooter. The former is lifted right from the Moto X, and is just as stripped-down as it's always been. Tapping anywhere on the screen takes a photo, while swiping up and down controls the zoom and holding down your thumb takes burst shots.
All of the app's functions are contained in one radial menu, which can be accessed via a swipe from the left edge of the display. Bring it up and you'll get options for HDR, flash, tap to focus and exposure, slow motion video, panorama view, geotagging, aspect ratio, and changing your shutter sound.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneMotorola Moto G Cheap Android Phone
This is all basic stuff -- though I'll note that Motorola has added the useful ability to drag around your focus point before shooting, as well as a new aspect ratio toggle that lets you switch from 16:9 to 4:3. The slick little wrist flicking motion that used to open to Moto X's camera app has been removed, but those other improvements help make the Moto G's camera UI a slight step up from the Moto X's.
Having more features isn't the point here; being easy to use is. And this UI is still very good at staying out of your way, taking care of all the technical mumbo jumbo, and letting you snap your pics. It's especially accommodating for one-handed use, which fits perfectly with the G's overall profile. It'll never have as many tricks as some of the other flagships out there, but its simplicity is refreshing.
Motorola Moto G Cheap Android PhoneThis makes it all the more disappointing that the actual pictures you take with the Moto G just aren't very good. It's very obvious that this is one area where Motorola made sacrifices to reach that $180 price point, as it cuts the Moto X's 10-megapixel camera down to a meager 5-megapixel shooter here.
The quality of those shots is strangely inconsistent - shots in well-lit, outdoor settings can be perfectly acceptable, but too often I was presented with poor white balance, excessive amounts of noise and other hyperactive post-processing effects. Low-light photos were especially middling, and were typically hampered by unacceptably low shutter speeds. The 1.2-megapixel front-facing shooter is fine enough for your everyday Skype call, but suffice it to say that the Moto G doesn't fix all of the annoyances that typically come with cheap Android phones.
Battery Life
There isn't too much to say here, as the Moto G's battery is neither outstanding nor unacceptable. Its 2,070 mAh pack will get you around a full day of ordinary use, but it doesn't go above and beyond other phones of this caliber. Like most everything else here, it's an improvement over other sub-$200 smartphones; the fact that it's non-removable is disappointing, though.
Conclusion
The Moto G is the kind of phone people need to buy and support if they really want to boost the collective quality of low-end smartphones. It is an outstanding bargain regardless of who you buy it from, and it destroys any other phone in its price range on almost every level. It is more akin to a slightly dated flagship than it is to a traditional budget device.
However - and this is a big however - its lack of LTE is a killer. If you live in a region where true 4G is the standard, I'd recommend pinching a few more pennies and picking up a more modernized bargain like LG's Nexus 5. That device is up-to-date in every way, and it doesn't suffer from limited storage space and poor camera quality as much as the Moto G does
Still, Motorola and Google deserve to be commended for the value they've created here. Let's just hope the rest of the smartphone world follows their lead.
Pros:
Tremendous value
Sharp, vibrant display
Clean software
Surprisingly capable performance
Cons:
No LTE support
Limited storage space
Mediocre camera
Choppy web browsing
Individual Ratings: *
Service, Warranty & Support
Ease of Use
Design
Performance
Value
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
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