Moto G - 3 Generation

The smartphone industry has a specifications
problem and the tech press must share a large
part of the blame. We are living in a world
that's obsessed with octa-core processors, 13-
megapixel cameras, and gigabytes of RAM, but
we don't spend enough time talking about the
thing that really matters - how it feels to use a
phone on an everyday basis.
In a bizzaro alternate reality where the iPhone 6
launch happened in India and Apple hosted a
Q&A at the event, we bet the first question Tim
Cook would have been asked is how the
company expects to sell a flagship phone that's
"just" dual core with "only" 1GB of RAM.
Thankfully, most sensible people don't judge
the iPhone based only on its specifications -
Apple has never even officially acknowledged
half of them, unlike most other manufacturers
who alternate between talking about the "price
to specs ratio" and the "experience" depending
upon which device they are talking about and
whether they are the segment leader at that
point or playing catch-up.
However, when it comes to entry-level
smartphones, people rarely look beyond
specifications. There seems to be an
expectation that the customer in this segment
is someone who doesn't care about things like
stability and user experience, worrying only
about how good the phone's spec sheet looks.
That's not to say that specifications of a device
don't matter at all and can be completely
disregarded. For the longest time entry-level
smartphones came with sub-par hardware, so
now that you can get a sub-Rs. 10,000 ($170)
phone with specifications that were found on
flagship level smartphones not too long ago,
it's natural that people are excited.
This excitement, though, often tends to slip into
the territory of unhealthy obsessions, where
many have been happy to disregard the
unpredictability of the latest Mi, Yu, and other
self-proclaimed flagship killer only because
they pack premium specs - the actual everyday
experience of the end user be damned. At the
same time, smartphones that trade
specifications for a stable, if unglamorous, user
experience find few takers even within the tech
press. The flat response to last year's Android
One smartphones is perhaps the best example
of this phenomenon.
The rise of companies like Lenovo (which
incidentally now owns Motorola), Xiaomi, and
Micromax has been rightly hailed, but the fact
is that they have a long way to go in terms of
matching the stability of software that
companies like Apple , Motorola , HTC , and for
all its bloat even Samsung, consistently
manage to ship devices with. Some of these
upstarts use paying customers as beta testers,
saving money on actual testing, which allows
them to undercut the competition in terms of
price. Suddenly, devices by companies that
follow a more traditional approach and respect
their users' time and money start looking
expensive in comparison.
Which brings us to the Moto G 3rd gen . The
smartphone boasts of relatively modest
specifications when compared to the likes of
the Lenovo K3 Note and Xiaomi Mi 4i , but
packs in other goodies like water resistance
that can potentially be a lifesaver (the phone's
life) and a software experience that's extremely
stable compared to some of the other
smartphones at this price point. We used the
Moto G 3rd gen as our primary smartphone for
the best part of one week and found it to be a
reliable companion. Let's look at the various
aspects of the phone in detail.
Design and display
The Moto G 3rd gen has a design that's
quintessential Motorola, but it still has a unique
touch. While the smartphone doesn't exactly
stand out from the crowd in terms of looks, the
in-hand feel is really good and wouldn't be out
of place on a more expensive device. The
textured back strikes the right balance between
design and functionality - it looks good and
provides enough friction to offer a secure grip,
without being rough like the finishes we've seen
on some other smartphones.
The back of the Moto G 3rd gen is removable
but the battery is sealed off to allow for the
IPX7 water resistance, probably the standout
feature of the device considering its price
point. If you are spending your hard-earned
money and buying a smartphone, picking one
that can stay safe in the rain and survive
accidental spills, over one that has a full-HD
display or an octa-core processor is a good
trade off to make in our book. Motorola claims
the Moto G 3rd gen can survive underwater at a
depth of 3 metres for up to 30 minutes, which
sounds like enough of a safety net for most
day-to-day usage scenarios - just don't go
swimming in the deep end with this
smartphone in your pocket.
In the time that we spent with Moto G 3rd gen
we kept thinking the phone was 'tiny' and had
to remind ourselves we were actually using a
device with a 5-inch display. That's as much a
testament to our familiarity with large screens
as it is to the excellent screen-to-body ratio of
the Moto G 3rd gen. Motorola has retailed the
720p display on the new Moto G, which means
it is not sharp as some of the other
smartphones we've seen in this price bracket.
You are unlikely to look at the screen and go
"wow", but it doesn't suffer from any pixelation.
The display, which comes with Corning Gorilla
Glass 3 protection, has decent viewing angles
and we didn't experience any problems in
terms of legibility outdoors under bright
sunlight.
Software, performance, and battery life
The Moto G 3rd gen runs near-stock Android
5.1.1, which means that it scores over its rivals
in terms of day-to-day performance. While
some love octa-core processors, we prefer a
stable, non buggy experience, even if it's
running on relatively modest hardware. The
likes of Lenovo and Xiaomi, as well as Indian
brands such as Micromax's Yu have often
traded specifications for the sake of
experience, but that's something that you can't
accuse Motorola of doing.
Admittedly the company has played it safe by
sticking to near-stock Android, but if that's
something that people are happy with, why
change a winning formula? This stock Android
connection has allowed the company to ship
OS updates faster than Google's own Nexus
devices get them, so if you value always being
on the latest Android version, you have another
reason to purchase a Motorola smartphone like
the Moto G 3rd gen.
The Moto G 3rd gen comes with the Moto
Display feature earlier seen on the Moto X
(Gen. 2) , which means you can see the time
and other notifications on the lock screen
without waking the phone up. The smartphone
detects when you pick it up and automatically
shows this information without you having to
do anything, which is a nice touch. However, it
can be a little overenthusiastic at times, as we
noticed every little bump in the road kicked off
Moto Display when the Moto G 3rd gen was
lying on its back on the passenger seat while
we were driving.
We tested the 2GB RAM/ 16GB storage model
(Rs. 12,999), and given the fact there's a
difference of only Rs. 1,000 between the two
variants, we have to question why the lower-
end (1GB RAM/ 8GB storage) model exists at
all, and if it will find any takers. Our strong
recommendation is that you get the higher end
version. The Moto G 3rd gen comes with 4G
support on both SIMs, and we enjoyed high-
speed data connectivity on Airtel's 4G network.
Call quality and performance of the loudspeaker
were satisfactory.
We didn't experience any performance issues
even when playing games such as Asphalt 8,
and the phone didn't heat up during extended
gaming sessions. However, we could feel the
screen warm up a bit when using 3G for
extended periods under the sun and this could
be a problem for some. The phone's settings
suggest USB OTG support, but we couldn't get
our drive to work with the Moto G 3rd gen .
( Update 2nd August 2015 : We tried to use the
same drive once again with the same Moto G
unit and this time it worked just fine, so make
what you will of this. It's also worth pointing
out that we haven't noted any issues with the
drive itself.)
The Moto G 3rd gen also supports quick
gestures to switch on the flashlight (shake the
phone twice) or open the camera app (twist
your wrist twice while holding the phone), which
some might find useful.
In terms of battery life, we got 10 hours and 46
minutes of continuous SD video playback,
which is about average for a phone powered by
a Snapdragon 410 SoC. While a single charge
of the Moto G 3rd gen might not get you
through a heavy day of usage if you are largely
outdoors on 3G or 4G networks, you should be
able to get through a day without much
problem if you connect to Wi-Fi networks at
home and at work, with cellular data used only
when you are commuting.
Camera
The Camera app that ships with the Moto G 3rd
gen is in autofocus mode by default, which
means you take pictures by tapping the screen.
You can go to the app's settings and switch on
the focus and exposure controls, and a reticule
comes up on screen that you can slide around
to focus on particular objects. There's also a
dial that you can use to adjust exposure
settings. This is a welcome addition, but it's
not as intuitive as the usual tap-to-focus
convention (admittedly you can use a third-
party app if that's what you prefer). The app
also has an HDR mode, though you can't use it
in combination with the focus and exposure
controls.
In terms of image quality, the Moto G 3rd gen
captures good detail outdoors and in well-lit
conditions. However, the low-light performance
could have been better. The front camera is
more than adequate to keep the selfie-
obsessed happy.
The Moto G 3rd gen can record full-HD videos
and slow-motion videos at 720p. In terms of
quality, the regular videos look fine but the
slow-motion ones seem a little grainy even
when shot in daylight.
Verdict
If you are buying a smartphone to impress
others, the Moto G 3rd gen probably isn't for
you because there are no standout
specifications to boast about. Having said that,
casually dunking your phone in a glass of water
while talking to your friends would be sure to
catch their attention. On a serious note, though,
we are happy to see water resistance make an
appearance at this price point, and it's about
time this feature became standard across all
smartphones.
That's not the only reason we recommend you
get the Moto G 3rd gen - while the camera and
battery performance are indeed at an
acceptable level, we particularly liked the
overall stability and experience that the
smartphone offers; something we believe users
at every price point deserve.