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Motorola Moto G vs Motorola Moto X vs Google Nexus 5: specs comparison

posted by Chris P. / Jan 14, 2014, 2:33 AM

Motorola Moto G vs Motorola Moto X vs Google Nexus 5: specs comparison

After months worth of anticipation, Motorola's foray into the low-end smartphone market is now a reality, thanks to the just-outed Moto G. The Moto G largely takes its design cues from the Moto X, though it's admittedly a stripped-down, slightly less-chic version of it, communicating its humble price tag. But what a price tag it is! Starting at $179, the Moto G is a true value proposition, pitting it in the increasingly popular super-high value proposition niche, along with the likes of the Nexus line, and even the Moto X. And though it's less expensive than Google's latest and greatest Nexus 5 and the Moto X, it's likely that the general public will still try and draw parallels between the two, in an attempt to estimate whether shelling out the extra bucks isn't going to get them a palpably better, higher-end experience. This is precisely where we and our handy specs comparison tool get in, and you can see the Moto G, the Moto X and the Nexus 5 battle it out side-by-side right below.

Of course, it goes without saying that, ultimately, the Moto G is the underspec'd device in this particular test. However, seeing as it features the Snapdragon 400 chipset, it's fair to say that it should deliver a more than decent user experience. Having said that, let's go ahead and see how the trio compares on paper.

Motorola Moto G vs Motorola Moto X vs Google Nexus 5

Display

Display size

4.5 inches

4.7 inches

5.0 inches

Resolution

720 x 1280 pixels

1080 x 1920 pixels

Pixel density

329 ppi

316 ppi

445 ppi

Technology

IPS LCD

AMOLED

IPS LCD

Screen-to-body ratio

64.51 %

70.63 %

70.89 %

Colors

16 777 216

Camera

Rear

Yes

Main camera

5 megapixels

10 megapixels

8 megapixels

Hardware Features

Autofocus

Optical image stabilization, Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)

Specifications

Aperture size: F2.4; Focal length: 30 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.6"; Pixel size: 1.4 μm

Aperture size: F2.4; Focal length: 30.4 mm; Sensor size: 1/3.2"

Flash

LED

Software Features

Touch to focus, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, Burst mode, HDR, Panorama

Touch to focus, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, HDR, Panorama

HDR, Panorama, Face detection, Burst mode, Scenes, ISO control, White balance presets, Touch to focus, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging

Video recording

1280x720 (HD) (30 fps)

1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps)

1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)

Features

Optical image stabilization, Video light

Front

1.3 megapixels

2 megapixels

1.3 megapixels

Video capture

1280x720 (HD) (30 fps)

1280x720 (HD)

Design

Dimensions

5.11 x 2.59 x 0.46 inches (129.9 x 65.9 x 11.6 mm)

5.09 x 2.57 x 0.41 inches (129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4 mm)

5.43 x 2.72 x 0.34 inches (137.84 x 69.17 x 8.59 mm)

Weight

5.04 oz (143 g)

4.59 oz (130 g)

Features

Interchangeable covers

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Qualcomm Snapdragon 400

Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974

Processor

Quad-core, 1200 MHz

Dual-core, 1700 MHz, Krait

Quad-core, 2260 MHz, Krait 400

GPU

Adreno 305

Adreno 320

Adreno 330

RAM

1 GB LPDDR2

2 GB LPDDR2

2 GB LPDDR3

Internal storage

8 GB

16 GB

32 GB

OS

Android (5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.3, 4.4.2, 4.4, 4.3)

Android (5.1 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.3, 4.4.2, 4.4, 4.3, 4.2.2)

Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.2, 4.4)

Battery

Capacity

2070 mAh

2200 mAh

2300 mAh

Talk time

13.00 hours

17.00 hours

Stand-by time

10.0 days (240 hours)

12.5 days (300 hours)

Music playback

60.00 hours

Cellular

LTE (FDD)

Bands 13, 5, 4, 2

Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20

UMTS

850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz

800, 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz

GSM

850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz

CDMA

800, 1900 MHz

Data

HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS

LTE, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS

LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS

Multimedia

Screen mirroring

DLNA, Wireless screen share, SlimPort, TV-out

Shopping information

MSRP price

$ 179

$ 399

FEATURED VIDEO

Options

33 Comments

1. AppleHateBoy unregistered

Moto G has the Adreno 305 GPU according to Wikipedia. The CPU consists of four Cortex A7s clocked at 1.2 GHz. Thank God it doesn't use the cheapo Mediatek processors.

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 9:33 AM 8

7. saiki4116

Posts: 413; Member since: Mar 31, 2011

The So called cheapo MediaTek Processors can do 1080P Recording. Even Before Moto started the mission of connecting next Billion with this cheap Device, they have connected many people.It's just the companies who are buying these(MediaTek) processors are not doing much software optimization,cause of limited R&D, they were not giving good experience with Sensors, especially Navigation and Camera. I have seen a dual core MT6589 touting MMX Canvas(10K INR) outperform a Galaxy S2(25K INR) while loading TempleRun. The OS is near AOSP and these phones are more responsive in general usage(even though they have Less RAM) then many samsung phones. Now Moto solves all the problems in these type of Phones, i.e they are offering Better Build Quality,Software optimizations.Currently in India arrogant Samsung is selling Gran Quattro with same processor(I guess it's Quad A5) at 15K,If MOTO undercuts or matches these,it would Sell.If they price Higher at around 19K, then people will flock to buy Nexus 4 currently selling at 22K.I am sure that India would not get 199$ equivalent price(i.e near 12K) because of hefty Taxes levied by the Govt.8GB without SD card expansion, I want to see a person who buys that, as Cloud services are not that popular in India(because of less BB penetration).

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 12:30 PM 1

9. varuntis1993

Posts: 49; Member since: Jun 13, 2012

Hey ! first and foremost MTK 6589 is a quad core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz so you must have seen MMX canvas HD or canvas 4 and Moto G has Qualcomm snapdragon 400 8926 and not 200 which is in galaxy grand quattro and I think Adreno 305 supports full hd but don't know why full hd is not there. And I wish it had a external sd card and as for pricing we can expect it around 15-16k.

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 2:50 PM 0

11. saiki4116

Posts: 413; Member since: Mar 31, 2011

Actually 6572(6589 slipped out,because it's the MTK chipset, I hear always now) is the one I am mentioning, dual core A9 one.After Seeing that I had suggested to my friend to Buy Xolo A700, and He is still Happy with that Purchase, it used to outperform my S advance in gaming, but most of the times it is limited by Low RAM. Yeah Adreno 305 supports 1080P, It's performance will be notch lesser than last year's Flagship Adreno 225 GPU found in Nexus 4(Bundled with S4 Pro). I know Quattro has 200 i.e Quad core A5,but A5 or A7 single Threaded performance is lower than A9. A good Dual core A9 is way better than Quad A7 as most applications are not that multithreaded, But the battery Efficiency is better than in A7 due to small Die Size and newer architecture that is designed with battery efficiency as prime feature.

posted on Nov 14, 2013, 12:41 AM 0

12. varuntis1993

Posts: 49; Member since: Jun 13, 2012

dude nexus 4 has Adreno 320 which is much powerful than any Mediatek processor gpu and its all about optimisation and how well they optimise the software to produce better results and about the single threaded and multi threaded performance we have to see benchmark test. yeaa I know samsung doesn't have any good mid range phone right now and choosing b/w micromax and xolo I will go for xolo. Right now I also prefer to have micromax and xolo phones in the price range of around 8-15k but not more than that.

posted on Nov 14, 2013, 5:14 AM 0

15. ihavenoname

Posts: 1693; Member since: Aug 18, 2013

Long text, bros.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 2:35 AM 0

33. frybread

Posts: 1; Member since: May 07, 2014

Both are great phones, and if you're choosing for republics wireless, make sure to use the promo link as well (20 off at checkout): (copy & paste) republicswireless.com/promo I went with the moto X, even though it was 2x as much. Having a great camera is worth it.

posted on May 07, 2014, 11:00 AM 0

27. RandomUsername

Posts: 808; Member since: Oct 29, 2013

TL;DR

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 12:45 PM 0

28. Sesameopen

Posts: 109; Member since: Aug 02, 2013

Same...

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 2:13 PM 0

2. g2a5b0e unregistered

The Moto G has a smaller screen & battery, but is bigger in all three dimensions & weighs more than the Moto X? o_O

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 9:38 AM 4

3. JerryTime

Posts: 468; Member since: Nov 09, 2013

I was scratching my head on this one as well haha.

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 9:49 AM 1

4. adrialk

Posts: 20; Member since: Sep 04, 2013

The answer is it costs $179 Off Contract. It takes $$ to make lightweight, compact phones.

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 11:16 AM 11

5. kabhijeet.16

Posts: 883; Member since: Dec 05, 2012

+1 to you Sir... Donno why people are scatching their heads.. Its so obvious

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 11:29 AM 6

6. good2great

Posts: 1042; Member since: Feb 22, 2012

this is what i don't like about android... all three phones are released with three different versions of the OS. smh...

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 11:32 AM 0

10. squallz506

Posts: 1075; Member since: Oct 19, 2011

I only see one version of android per phone.

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 6:42 PM 4

8. Multisitio

Posts: 1; Member since: Nov 13, 2013

Great idea to choose Brazil for the launch. But there's a major problem here: It sure isn't gonna cost $179 in Brazil. In fact, 8GB model is to cost 650 reais - ie 280 USD. Forgive me if I'm wrong Mr Woodside, but isn't that MORE THAN 200??? Substantially so, I'd say. And USD 343 for 16GB - we're almost in Sammy and Apple territory (well actually they cost even more with the absurd Brazilian premium.)

posted on Nov 13, 2013, 12:54 PM 0

29. asclepius

Posts: 1; Member since: Jan 23, 2014

Why are you getting mad at Dennis Woodside? He's not the one who sets the retarded import tax on consumer electronics in your country. Blame that female you elected. The Moto G costs $179 in countries with sane and reasonable import taxes.

posted on Jan 23, 2014, 1:05 AM 1

13. kenemu

Posts: 26; Member since: Oct 22, 2011

1. 720p screen is fine on 4.5 inch. 2. no 1080p video recording is fine , managerable file size. 3. 1g ram? well lets see, probably still ok. 4. no lte, real deal breaker for me. 5. only 8g storage! come moto you can be much more generous than this. 6. 2070mha batt, probably on par while lte is missing. 7. usd 180 off contract, fair enoguh, but i dont mind paying a bit more for better specs.... overall a mediore device priced reasonably.

posted on Nov 14, 2013, 6:58 AM 0

14. Tech_Junkie1996

Posts: 43; Member since: Aug 29, 2013

Its actually an excellent device priced cheaply. Think about this, the Galaxy S2 when it came out was well over $300. For that price you got specs that most $300 phones still give; an example of that is the HTC Desire 601 on Virgin Mobile. That phone has roughly the same specs as the S2, with a worse camera, and is $279. When this is taken into consideration, the Moto G is an excellent deal; you get $300 specs for a little over half that. Also, your argument on LTE is slightly unnecessary, this is a global phone; most countries oustide the North America and Western Europe do not use LTE; they use the slightly slower HSPA + and HSDPA channels.

posted on Nov 30, 2013, 4:31 PM 0

21. TerryCrowley

Posts: 194; Member since: Jul 31, 2011

Are you high? When the Galaxy S2 first came out it was the same price as todays current flagships at around $500 USD.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 5:56 AM 1

16. TerryCrowley

Posts: 194; Member since: Jul 31, 2011

As someone who's used both Nexus 5 And Moto X extensively I got to say take the spec sheets with a grain of salt when it comes to battery life. the Moto X has faired far better than the Nexus 5 in real life usage, so people should keep that in mind if they're worried about the battery life on the Moto G.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 2:39 AM 0

17. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

Nexus 5 > Moto X by a thin hair.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 2:49 AM 2

22. PootisMan

Posts: 266; Member since: Aug 02, 2013

I don't know. I've had both and the Nexus 5 wins by more than a thin hair.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 8:41 AM 1

23. jellmoo

Posts: 2530; Member since: Oct 31, 2011

I've had both as well, and I'd say that the Moto X wins by a somewhat thick hair. It all depends on what you value.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 9:44 AM 1

24. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

Moto's software is the best aspect of the Moto X, but the exclusives found on the N5 are worth it imo, especially screen recording.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 10:11 AM 0

25. jellmoo

Posts: 2530; Member since: Oct 31, 2011

Again, it really depends on what you value. Screen recording isn't a feature I would use. Doesn't make it a bad feature per se, just one of limited value to me. On the other hands, I consider Active Notifications to be absolutely incredible, and pretty close to a "must have" feature for me. I think the target audience is really important when considering these devices. The Moto X is a much more consumer friendly device. It comes with more direct features for the casual consumer. The Nexus 5 appeals more to users looking for raw power or hackability. Despite their similarities, they really do cater to different groups.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 10:26 AM 0

18. abhishekrocks

Posts: 6; Member since: Apr 19, 2012

processor clocked in MHz really.......what are u doing PA

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 3:35 AM 1

20. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

Lolol.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 5:12 AM 0

19. MC_A_DOT

Posts: 8; Member since: Jan 10, 2014

All brilliant phones. Well done Google.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 3:58 AM 2

26. Augustine

Posts: 1043; Member since: Sep 28, 2013

The slimmer Moto G is very appealing as a value phone. Unfortunately, the lack of LTE and 42Mbps HSPA+ detract somewhat from an otherwise excellent proposition. But I don't see the point of having the tech specs of the EU Nexus 5 when the tech specs for the other phones are for the US versions.

posted on Jan 14, 2014, 10:46 AM 0

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