We’ve got our hands on one too and while it’s too early to do a review of any kind, these are our reasons why you’d like to pick one of these up.
1. Beautiful Design
I know, I know – it’s not a major change and looks pretty much the same. But hey, the original Moto G didn’t look bad at all neither did the 2nd gen variant. So, why fix it when it’s clearly not broken? I like the tapered angles and design implementation which makes it a very comfortable phone to hold. Although it has grown in size, it is definitely in the same spirit. In the little time I’ve already spent with the 3rd gen Moto G, I’m definitely starting to like it more, though I wish it was slightly lighter.
2. Customize At Will
Moto Maker was a stroke of brilliance by Motorola and I really feel most manufacturers can benefit by implementing something similar. Moto G finally gets a taste of it and users will get to choose from a myriad of color options for the back panel and accents, as well as engraving their names for an extra $5 only. Sweet! Speaking of back panels, the one on the black unit we have is nice and textured, which not only helps with grips, but also gives it a nice sporty look.
3. Clean Android OS Experience
Motorola also has stuck to offering near stock Android experience on their products. The Moto G is no exception, with Android OS v5.1.1 (Lollipop) preloaded on it with very little bloatware. In fact there are only 2 Moto apps on the unit we have (which may differ for different regions) and both the Moto and Migrate app are quite useful. The Moto app has some added functionality to their DND modes for events like Sleeping and Meetings, but we can talk a little more on that in a separate post. The lock screen ‘glance’ notifications are here too as well as gestures to launch the camera and turning the torch on.
4. Water Resistance
This might not be a big deal for most folks, but for someone like me who has to put up with an entire season dedicated to rains, it’s a great feature. Motorola has thus made the 3rd gen Moto G one of the cheapest phone with an IPX7 certification. Even if you don’t live near the equator, you’d appreciate a phone which can withstand the occasional spill, while you were enjoying your favorite coffee at your local café.
5. Camera UI Finally Has Manual Exposure
Finally the UI gets controls to manually adjust the exposure on the spot where you tap. This will give more control when you want to manually take control a shot you want to take, especially when lighting isn’t favorable. Everything else in the UI is pretty much the same and users of previous Moto phones will feel right at home.
6. Improved Hardware
Well, this shouldn’t come as a shock. The whole point of releasing an update is to load a phone with better hardware and yes, the Moto G does have that with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 401 SoC with 2 variants for ROM and RAM. There is an 8 GB internal storage variant which has only 1 GB of RAM and a 16 GB variant blessed with 2 GB of RAM. Naturally, the latter is more expensive out of the two, but who would want to buy an 8 GB model where only about 4 GB is usable? Even the 16 GB variant we have got had about 11.8 GB of usable storage. The biggest improvement, however, is the battery. This years Moto G has a 2,470 mAh battery compared to 2,070 mAh for last years model. If this means that the phone can easily last one full day of heavy use with some to spare, then the rest of the specs might take a backseat. At least, for me.
TL;DR Version
An improved battery, 4G LTE support, water resistance and finally Moto Maker to boot. For a starting price of $179.99 (unlocked) there isn’t a better budget Android with these specs. It’s still early to do a full review, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far. If you have any questions regarding the device, do join us in our forums. I will be posting a full review once I’m done and also some helpful tips and tricks in the interim.
