This is the Moto G 2015

Last week I was given early access to the new Moto G, the 2015 model. As I have been using the 2013 model as my daily driver, I’m a good judge of how this phone line has evolved.

Tl,Dr; I’m incredibly impressed. It feels like a flagship phone even though it’s at a cheap price.

Specs

This applies to the 16gb model

16gb storage + SD card

2gb RAM

Snapdragon 410

2470mAh Battery

4.97 inch screen

720p resolution 13MP rear camera, 4.9MP front, 1080p video Waterproof

The one thing I first noticed was the phone was larger. It’s now about 5 inches which puts it at a little larger than the original. The bezels on this phone are smaller, with the screen itself being noticeably larger. Icons and text are all larger and easier to press on this phone.

There is already an SD card in the back of the phone. It still uses replaceable back plates, though the ones I got were much nicer. There’s a texture on the back that makes it pleasant to hold. The ridge texture also makes it way to to the power and volume buttons.

Additional hardware notes are it’s dual front speakers that have good sound quality, and that it does not appear to have a notification LED.

Software

This phone runs Lollipop 5.1.1, making it up to date. It’s likely it’ll get upgraded to M once that is available later this year. In the meantime, I can’t complain. Lollipop really shines here, unlike on the original. (Republic Wireless, the Moto G could use some love!)

Moto does include some custom software. The FM radio, Migrate, gallery, camera and a few other customizations to make it stand out. It also includes the conglomerate Moto app, tying it’s gesture, display, and automation features in one app.

Gesture support is subtle, but useful. Two twists launch the camera, and two chops toggle the flashlight. It saves you time trying to navigate the UI when all you want is a particular action.

The other features in the Moto app follow that spirit. Silencing your phone while in a meeting and showing notifications as they come in are simple ways for your phone to work on your behalf.

Battery Life

Battery life is really impressive. I’ve been spending the last few days trying to find ways of draining the battery, but I’ve had trouble doing that. It lasts more than all day without trouble. It could easily last a few days, or even more if I was more considerate about battery usage and enabled battery saver.

Performance

Based on the original, I didn’t expect much from this phone. My original has trouble with apps that require a lot of RAM. Chrome, Feedly, and many games often caused that phone to slow down or lag. Even the home screen can take a second to reload.

Yet this phone seems to have been cured of its ancestor’s ills. 2gb of RAM have given it incredible performance. Every animation is smooth and every app runs without issue. I can browse several tabs in Chrome without feeling pressure to close several.

I can count on one hand the times I’ve seen jank or a frame stutter, and I don’t know how to reproduce such a rare occurrence. Even high quality games like Riptide GP2 run smoothly.

I put this phone through the ultimate test this weekend as my laptop decided to break (which is why I didn’t edit the hands on video above). I was still able to read and edit documents, send emails, and manage files thanks to this device without any problems. It did everything I wanted quickly and without delay.

Camera

With a 13 megapixel rear camera, you would expect this phone to take great pictures. Below are a few photos I’ve taken with it, and you can judge for yourself. The camera app is not as fast as other phones at launching and shooting, but it’s good enough.

If you look at the last photo close enough, you can see the squirrel. This high res camera allows you to take some very good pictures without needing to rely on zooming, which still creates blurry and pixelated photos.

Moto Pulse

Along with the phone, I received the Moto Pulse, their apparently new Bluetooth headset. Unlike the Hint, this isn’t intending to be inconspicuous. The over the ear phones connect wirelessly and do a good job of playing sound from your phone. I’ve used Bluetooth earbuds in the past, and I couldn’t notice a difference in sound quality between either one.

What I did notice was the headphones were a bit unwieldy. They did not conform to my head very well and I had to occasionally readjust them. While they market adjustable heights and rotation as features, they got in the way of me fixing the headphones.

The device itself has a few buttons on its right backside: power, volume, and playback toggle. If you long press on the toggle, you activate Google Search and can speak a command through a mike.

I haven’t had much battery life testing, so I can’t refute its claim of 18 hours, but given the Moto G’s great battery life I wouldn’t doubt them.

Conclusion

Motorola’s original concept for the Moto G was simple: make a modern phone as cheap as possible without removing features. In the past this has come at the sacrifice of speed and performance. Now, there’s no compromise. The new Moto G is surprisingly capable given it is a budget phone. It feels like a flagship phone.