Motorola Moto G 2014 Review

Update: You can now read our Moto G (2015) review!

Introduction

Who knows how well Motorola is competing in the high-end segment of the smartphone market, but we absolutely know that they’ve become a standout leader in the entry-level sector. And how is that? Well, they managed to deliver an affordably priced smartphone last year with the Moto G – one that won over many people due to its low, outright cost, but without seeing a whole lot of compromises to its performance.

Back for round two, the phone’s successor takes the same approach of catering to those on a tight budget, but it’s now sporting a larger chassis due to the increase in size of its display. On top of that, it receives the usual set of hardware upgrades in the process – so it’s very much bears the traditional qualities of any successor. Stickered with the same starting cost of $179.99 outright, the new Moto G aims to continue being the darling in the entry-level segment of the market.

The package contains:

• Wall charger
• Quick start guide

Design

This year’s model retains the same design language as before, but it’s now become a handful to operate due to its increase in size.

What’s most apparent with the design of the new Moto G is its overall increase in size. Quite frankly, gone is the comforting feel of the original’s size, which made it the perfect size for one-handed usage. Instead, we see its footprint upped to 5.57 x 2.78 x 0.43 inches – a significant increase over its predecessor’s size. In fact, it’s just as large as the new Moto X!

Going with the same plastic construction, we still appreciate the fact that it employs a superficial level of customization courtesy of its replaceable back cover. Our particular review unit sports a uniform look with its all-white casing, but the various Motorola Shells for the phone allow us to customize its look a little bit. In terms of construction, it feels slightly better than the original model, but don’t think for a moment that its matches the sturdiness of the new Moto X.

Indeed, the phone doesn’t deviate from the design language established by its predecessor, evident by the subtle arch of the chassis, button placements, and that oh-so snug dimple in the rear where the Motorola logo is placed. For an inexpensively priced thing, we can’t expect a whole lot, but the overall package is still a pleasant one.

Along the right edge of the phone, we have its power and volume buttons, which are raised slightly and offer decent tactile responses. The microUSB 2.0 port is situated in the rear just like last time, while the 3.5mm headset jack and noise canceling microphone are placed on the top. Below the earpiece, we have its light and proximity sensors – while nearby to the right of the earpiece is the LED notification light. Unlike the Moto X, the new Moto G sports two front-firing speakers. Meanwhile, removing the rear plastic casing grants us access to its microSIM and microSD slots.

Display

Increasing in size, the display continues to be detailed, but we’re most surprised by how well this IPS panel is able to precisely reproduce colors.

The phone’s larger dimension is attributed to the bigger 5-inch 720 x 1280 (720p) IPS display that Motorola has decided to bless the new Moto G with. Needless to say, this decision gives it a size akin to today’s contemporary, high-end flagships. Certainly, its 294 ppi pixel density figure isn’t outstanding, but it’s still nonetheless effective enough to make out some fine details in the web browser.

Interestingly enough, even though the IPS panel has weaker viewing angles than the AMOLED display in the new Moto X, the panel present here is able to best its sibling in the department of outdoor visibility and color reproduction. Starting with the former, the screen manages to churn out a maximum brightness output of 390 nits, which is indeed marginally better than the result we’ve seen from the Moto X, but it’s still something that requires shielding when it’s viewed under direct sunlight.

Moreover, we’re most astounded by its accurate color reproduction – one that clearly is more spot-on than Motorola’s flagship in the Moto X. To be fair, however, its color temperature of ~8200 K makes the screen exhibit a cooler tone at various viewing angles. Despite that, it accurately reproduces varying degrees of color gradients more precisely than the Moto X’s display. For what it’s worth, we’re generally content with the overall quality of the Moto G’s display.

Motorola Moto G (2014) 360-Degrees View

Interface and Functionality

Going with a vanilla Android 4.4.4 KitKat experience, it’s the kind of thing that doesn’t try to mask the core experience with redundancies.

In standard fashion, Motorola continues to favor a vanilla Android experience with its latest Moto G smartphone. Running Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box, it delivers a pure experience that doesn’t try to overwhelm us unlike some of the other customized experiences out there. Essentially, we’re presented with a rich and intuitive experience that intricately adheres to the foundational principles of Google’s mobile platform – so there are no competing services to contend with here.

Out of the box, we’re given all of the staple Google apps we come to expect from any device running the stock experience. However, it’s not without a few apps from Motorola’s portfolio. More specifically, it’s packaged with services such as Motorola Alert, Motorola Assist, Motorola Connect, and Motorola Migrate. We’ve seen these services before on other Motorola smartphones, like the Moto E and Moto X, so there’s nothing terribly new here that we haven’t seen before. All told, they’re merely extra services that help to enhance our experience with the handset – and without being too obtrusive in the process.

An advantage of going with stock Android is that Motorola pledges to provide a guaranteed upgrade to Android L when the time comes. Based on the company’s track record, we’re fairly certain the turnaround time for that will be spiffy – so that’s an inviting incentive if you opt to go with the Moto G.

Messaging

Going with the stock Android keyboard, we’re able to effortlessly tap away writing up long messages thanks to the keyboard’s responsiveness, spacious layout, and spot-on auto-correct feature. Even with the modest hardware underneath the hood, it’s still able to exhibit a decent response.

Processor and Memory

Basic tasks are handled well, but don’t think for a moment it has the power to effectively run certain games smoothly.

Strangely, you’d think a successive smartphone would receive some sort of upgrade to its processing power, but that’s not the case here with the new Moto G. Rather, it’s powered by the same quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC coupled with 1GB of RAM and the Adreno 305 GPU. Naturally, it’s effective for basic operations, but it’s hardly the kind of gear equipped to handle more advanced functions – such as playing some of today’s modern 3D gaming titles. The benchmark scores alone prove it.

Offered in 8GB and 16GB capacities, this year’s model sees the presence of a microSD card slot from the onset to boost our storage needs. Even though we’re required to remove the rear casing to access it, the presence alone is more than sufficient to please us.

Internet and Connectivity

Indeed, Motorola added support for 4G LTE connectivity to the original model several months after it initially launched, but the new Moto G once again lacks the faster connection from the beginning. Therefore, we’re left to surf the web using HSPA+ speeds, which isn’t too terrible considering that it can obtain a maximum downlink speed of 21.1 Mbps. Paired with its spacious 5-inch display, 720p resolution, and moderate navigational control, we’re able to navigate through pages without any major fluff. Yeah, it might not be the smoothest with kinetic scrolling, but heck, it’s never to the point too choppy either.

Our particular review unit is a GSM model that’s meant to play nicely in the US, seeing that it supports the 850, 1700 (AWS), and 1900 MHz UMTS/HSPA+ bands. Alternatively, there’s a global model that will feature dual-SIM slots as well. Aside from the lack of NFC connectivity, the Moto G is stuffed with the usual arsenal of connectivity features – these include aGPS with Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi.

Camera

It’s not the prettiest, nor the ugliest with its quality, but the handset’s updated camera see a few improvements to its overall quality.

Not surprisingly, the new Moto G is outfitted with higher count cameras. To be more exact, it now features a larger 8-megapixel snapper in the rear with an f2.0 aperture lens – and also a higher 2-megapixel one on the front.

Motorola pretty much recycles the camera interface, since it’s nearly identical to the one found with last year’s model. Compared to the competition, it’s light on features – and almost non-existent with manual controls. That’s not to say that it takes away from the experience, since we have popular modes, such as panoramic and HDR modes, in tow with the shooting experience.

We’re delighted to say that the Moto G is a decent performer – just as long you have enough lighting in your shots. In particular, with outdoor sunny conditions, our photos offer good details without too much over-sharpening, proper exposure, and a natural color reproduction.

Under lower lighting situations, though, you may often get some blurring if you don’t have a steady hand. Additionally, images are more noisy looking – while fine details become extremely subdued. We’re not too shocked by the results, just because this characteristic is something that affects nearly all devices. In combating things, its single LED flash casts the perfect amount of lighting to our shots.



Having only 720p video recording at 30 FPS, we’re neither impressed nor totally disappointed by the results. For what it’s worth, the 720p videos it captures are decent enough to accept – though, it’s a little light with the details and it’s under-exposed. Most people will deal with the quality, but we’re just irked to the reasoning behind its lack of continuous auto-focus.

Multimedia

For an entry-level offering, the Moto G doesn’t hold back in the multimedia content department.

Since this is a vanilla Android experience, the only music player present here is the Google Play Music app. With the aid of its dual front-firing speakers, the Moto G churns out a resounding 74.2 dB of power – a tally that nearly matches the Moto X’s speaker. More than audible to the ear, its quality is pleasantly complemented by its high-toned and crisp audio output.

It’s almost hard to imagine that we’re dealing with a smartphone categorized as an entry-level option, just because it has all of the qualities needed to present us with an enticing video watching experience. Having support for a variety of codecs out of the box, videos come to life thanks to the display’s rich qualities and its smooth playback.

Call Quality

Despite a little bit of distortion through the earpiece, call quality is reasonably pleasant.

Listening through the earpiece, voices have a subdued, muffled tone to them. Naturally, it distorts them slightly, but for the most part, we’re able to comprehend our conversations without a whole lot of repetition from our callers. Likewise, the same qualities are present when switching over to the speakerphone. Oppositely, our callers have a better time on their end, seeing that they mention having an easy time making out our clear toned voice.

Battery

The battery capacity remains unchanged, and the results are pretty much average.

Another intriguing revelation with the new Moto G is that it’s sporting the same 2070 mAh battery from before. Having this in tow, we’re able to get an easy one-day of battery life with normal usage – albeit, power users will need to recharge the phone at some point. Putting it through our very own battery benchmark test, this year’s Moto G is able to achieve a tally of 6 hours, 17 minutes before calling it quits. It’s a valiant mark, but nothing extraordinary in comparison to the elites.

Conclusion

After playing around with the new Moto G, there’s no hiding who is the target audience that Motorola is trying to cater to with the phone. Sporting the same $179.99 outright price as before, we’ll hand it to Motorola for keeping its cost very low and affordable.

The Moto G is a simple, yet customizable designed phone that presents users with all of the core features of Android – without the redundancies of overbloated software features in tow. Therefore, if you’re looking to get something basic, preferably one that doesn’t require your signature on a contract, the Moto G is an option that you should check out.

Indeed, it’s not for everyone, but for those on a pinch, it certainly gets the job done. Even though it’s not one hundred percent in all categories, the overall package, combined with its low cost, makes it a formidable option in the entry-level segment.

Software version of the review unit:
Android Version: 4.4.4
Kernel Version: 3.4.42-g6c9aef2-00110-gd543d01
Build Number: KXB21.85-17