Motorola Announces the New Moto G
by Joshua Ho on July 28, 2015 10:25 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Qualcomm
- Motorola
- Mobile
- Moto G
- Snapdragon 410
Today, Motorola announced the successor to their Moto G, which has been their most successful phone in recent memory. It’s still called the Moto G, but this is the 2015 model which brings some long-needed updates to keep the Moto G fresh. These changes are far-reaching, and range from the SoC to the camera and design. In order to understand the new Moto G at a high level I’ve attached the specs below for those interested.
| Moto G (2014) | Moto G (2015) | |
| SoC | Snapdragon 400 1.2 GHZ A7 | Snapdragon 410 1.4 GHz A53 |
| RAM | 1GB | 1/2GB |
| NAND | 8GB NAND + microSD | 8/16GB NAND + microSD |
| Display | 5” 720p IPS |
5” 720p IPS |
| Network | 2G / 3G | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 4 LTE) |
| Dimensions | 141.5 x 70.7 x 11mm, 149g | 142.1 x 72.4 x 6.1-11.6mm, 155g |
| Camera | 8MP Rear Facing (Sony IMX179) f/2.4, 1.4 micron 1/3.06" sensor | 13MP Rear Facing (Sony IMX214) f/2.0, 1.1 micron 1/3.06" sensor |
| 2MP Front Facing | 5MP Front Facing | |
| Battery | 2070 mAh (7.87 Whr) | 2470 mAh (9.39 Whr) |
| OS | Android 4.4 (At Launch) | Android 5.1 (At Launch) |
| Connectivity | 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS |
2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS |
| SIM | MicroSIM | MicroSIM |
| Launch Price | $179 (1GB/8GB) | $179 (1GB/8GB) $219 (2GB/16GB) |
Although specs are important, one of the most immediate changes to the Moto G this year is the new design. Instead of the all-plastic design that we were accustomed to with the previous two Moto Gs, the new Moto G has a new, grippier plastic back cover. The generally refreshed design helps a lot with distinguishing this model from previous years, and generally helps to increase the value proposition associated with the smartphone. Outside of design, there are a few key changes at a high level such as the camera, SoC, more RAM on the 16GB SKU, and water resistance. The battery is also bigger, at 2470 mAh compared to 2070 mAh of the last generation.
When it comes to the camera, it seems that this unit is directly shared with the Nexus 6’s camera, although it doesn’t seem to have the more expensive voice coil motor that is needed to enable OIS. There’s also a 5MP FFC, which should is a big step up from the 2MP FFC of the previous generation. The SoC moves from the Snapdragon 400 of previous generations to the Snapdragon 410, which means a move to the Cortex A53 on the CPU side. Given just how much higher the IPC is for the Cortex A53, general computing performance should improve here much like we saw with the Moto E moving to A53. The move from 1GB to 2GB of RAM is also a huge boon for multitasking performance, although this is only available on the more expensive 16GB variant. The 8GB variant will remain with 1 GB of RAM. The addition of IPx7 water resistance should also help greatly against water damage, as this means that the Moto G 2015 should be able to spend 30 minutes under a meter of still water without damage, although I still wouldn’t recommend trying to test that functionality.
The new Moto G is available online today from Motorola, Best Buy, and Amazon. The 8GB variant will start at 179.99 USD, and the 16GB variant will be available from Motorola’s website. The new Moto G will also support Motomaker, which allows for extensive color and material customization of a new smartphone.
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Shadow7037932 - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
Sooo, when can we expect a review?Mondozai - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
Hopefully never. This phone is already outdated. You can get better phones for cheaper from Lenovo or Xiaomi. You can import from Aliexpress with guaranteed return policies. There's no excuse anymore for Motorola.In India, which bought up a lot of these phones in the previous generations, this phone is 12K INR. Lenovo's K3 Note is 10K. You can get a similarily specced phone from Xiaomi for almost half the price.
Only uninformed Westerners will overpay for this phone. And its not like there are not better options in the West either(oops there are).
heffeque - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
Yeah... uninformed westerners that receive Android updates regurlarly "just like Lenovo or Xiaomi" (obvious sarcasm).zodiacfml - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
At first I thought, this isn't the best effort from Motorola. Yet, as I can see from various news sites, they seem to have focused on other things such as the camera system, waterproofing, and better build. I have the first gen Moto G and it has Android 5.1 which is classy of Motorola.jospoortvliet - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
Besides, when were launch prices realistic? Within a month, prices will be about USD 20 lower, making the phone a very nice deal. I do agree esp the SOC is a bit mediocre and 2GB ram should be minimum but besides that, it looks like a good phone.tipoo - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
The Xiaomi Mi4 is a nice piece of hardware, I was looking into it...But it was still on Kitkat, which is kind of crazy. Word is they release a lot of updates to MiUI,but aren't nearly as fast on Android version upgrades, if they provide them at all.hamoboy - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
Did you ever consider that uninformed Westerners might be willing to pay a bit more for:1) Better support, quicker updates and fewer bugs. Motorola phones are well known these days for being supported for longer, and getting updates sooner than most value phone brands.
2) A ROM that's very close to stock, with less crapware and customizations that aren't very well thought out (like that abomination that is ZenUI).
3) Decently balanced hardware that gives good battery life. Once again, the Zenfones, which are amazing value for their specs, have crap battery life. I should know, I bought one.
That's definitely worth at least $30 USD more to me, which is about the price difference you mention.
Shadowmaster625 - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
The screen is a smart choice. But there should only be one SKU for 2GB of RAM. 1GB is crippling nowadays. You can pretty much count on every single task swap to result in an annoying reload.tipoo - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
Yup. I have the first Moto G, can confirm that, 1GB is super annoying. The processor speed would be fine if it had more RAM.Impulses - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
I'll believe it, going from an OG EVO to a dual core EVO 3D, I always thought the doubling of RAM made more of a difference... Way less app/page reloading as you switch from one thing to another.