Motorola Moto G vs Moto E Specs Head to Head





If you are looking to purchase an affordable smartphone capable of providing an above-average Android experience, then Motorola is the company to go to. The phone maker that was recently acquired by Lenovo has two such smartphones in their portfolio: the Moto G and the Moto E, the later one being the more affordable option.

In an attempt to help you choose which of the two smartphones is more appropriate to your needs, we've put them head to head in a Moto G vs Moto E specs battle.

Our loyal readers may know from our previous versus articles that the Moto G vs Moto E specs battle will be divided into ten rounds where the smartphones will be judged in terms of Dimensions, Display, Memory, Processor, Camera, Operating System, Connectivity, Design, Battery Life, and Price. Each round is worth one point and the smartphone that manages to score most points is declared the winner of the battle.

Dimensions

Because we're dealing with two smartphones with sub 5-inch screens you will notice that both terminals are pretty compact.

The Moto G is 129.9 mm tall, 65.9 mm wide, 11.6 mm thin, and weighs 143 grams, while the Moto E measures 124.8 x 64.8 x 12.3 mm and has a weight of 142 grams.

The Moto E is more compact than the Moto G, therefore it wins the dimensions round.

Display

The Moto G features a 4.5-inch IPS LCD screen with 720 x 1280 resolution, 326 ppi, and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The Moto E packs a slightly smaller 4.3-inch display with 540 x 960 resolution, a Gorilla Glass 3 layer, and a pixel density of 256 ppi.

Because the Moto G has the higher resolution display it snatches the Display round.

Memory

We all know that the amount of storage is pretty important for a smartphone. You'll need it to install new apps and games, copy your music collection or favorite TV shows, or just for the photos and videos you capture with the smartphone's camera.

The Moto G comes with either 8 or 16 GB of native storage and, unfortunately, it doesn't have support for microSD cards. On the other hand the Moto E has only 4 GB of internal storage, but it accepts microSD cards up to 32 GB.

Because the Moto E can store a maximum of 36 GB of data, while the Moto G is limited to 16 GB, the cheaper device wins this round.

Processor

Because we're talking about two affordable smartphones they aren't underpinned by high-end chipsets.

Moto G is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8226 Snapdragon 400 chipset based on four 1.2 GHz Cortex A7 cores and an Adreno 305 GPU. Because the Moto E is a lower end device, it features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 with dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex A7 CPU and Adreno 302 GPU.

It's obvious that the Moto G has the more powerful processor, therefore it wins another point.

Camera

Sometimes the best camera is the camera you're carrying with you, therefore it's pretty important to have a decent camera on the back of your smartphone.

The Moto G sports a 5 MP primary cam, with autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama, and support for recording 720p@30fps videos. It also has a user-facing 1.3 MP.

Moto E's camera on the other hand is a bit rudimentary. It has a 5 MP sensor, geo-tagging, and records 854 x 480 videos at 30 fps. Unfortunately it doesn't feature LED flash, autofocus, or other features worthy of a modern smartphone. It's also worth noting that Moto E doesn't come with a front-facing cam either.

There's no doubt that the Moto G wins the camera round.

Operating System

Motorola's latest smartphones were all highly appreciated for bringing an almost unaltered Android interface and the same happens with Moto G and Moto E.

While the Moto E was launched pre-loaded with Android 4.4.2 KitKat, the Moto G arrived with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Fortunately, Motorola moved pretty fast and upgraded the Moto G to Android 4.4.2 KitKat soon after the same firmware update was rolled out for their Moto X flagship.

It's almost impossible to separate the two smartphones in terms of operating system, both being capable of providing an above-average Android experience, with almost no lag and a smooth transitions.

Connectivity

Connectivity-wise the Moto G arrives with HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, and microUSB 2.0.

On the other hand the Moto E packs HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, and microUSB 2.0.

Did you spot the difference? Neither did we, because there's no difference between the two in terms of connectivity options. This round ends as tie.

Design

Both devices fit perfectly into Motorola's design philosophy for 2014, bringing a slightly curved back and round corners.

Even though the design of the smartphones is fairly similar, the Moto G comes with narrower bezels making it look more elegant. Even the speaker and the earpiece are less visible on the Moto G adding up to the elegance of the smartphone.

Anyway, both smartphones look way above expectations when you get to hold them in your hand, but the Moto G is visibly more beautiful. The Design round goes to the Moto G.

Battery Life

The Moto G packs a non-removable Li-Ion 2070 mAh battery, while Moto E is kept alive by a non-removable Li-Ion 1980 mAh battery.

In our tests the Moto G was able to get through around 24 hours of moderate usage. Even though it has a slightly smaller battery, Moto E performed similarly in our tests, also managing to stay awake through 24 hours of moderate usage.

Because the two device have almost the same battery life, this round ends as tie.

Price

Because we're talking about affordable smartphone, we'll also have to compare their prices.

On Amazon, the Moto E 4 GB has a price tag of $129 without contract, making it one of the best affordable smartphones in the wild. The off-contract price of the Moto G has been set at $179 for the 8 GB model. If you want the 16 GB model, you'll have to pay an extra $20.

Because it's $50 cheaper, the Moto E wins the Price round.

Conclusions

This is the end of the Moto G vs Moto E specs battle, therefore we'll have to see which of the two smartphones managed to score most points.

Because the Moto G and the Moto E are similar in terms of Connectivity and Battery Life these two rounds ended as tie.

The Moto E won when it came to Dimensions, Memory, and Price, because it's more compact, it has support for microSD cards, and because it's $50 cheaper. Three points for Moto E.

The Moto G managed to score four points after winning the Display, Processor, Camera, and Design rounds. It managed to overtake the Moto E in four rounds because it has a higher-resolution display, a more powerful CPU, higher quality camera, and because it has a sleeker design.

In our opinion the Moto G has won the battle, but you are entitled to think otherwise. Feel free to share your opinion about the Moto G vs Moto E battle in the comments section below.