Review: Motorola Moto G 3rd generation (2015)

A Motorola, now in the possession of Lenovo, seems to have taken new paths. the bet for Android pure with almost no continuous modification; already the proposal of aggressive pricing and not highly competitive. with the arrival of Moto E second generation, it was already becoming clear that the manufacturer would keep it as an entry model and raise the bar for its other lines. With the launch of third generation Moto G the scenario was confirmed and the device went up a level, at least in price. Could it be that in other aspects, the cell phone followed the growth? The answer is in this review:

Layout and Finishing

Along with the rise in price came the face of a cell phone with better finish. On the front, a few improvements: the two speakers remain, but they are more discreet, especially in the black version of the smartphone. The new M is more: it's 141.5 x 70.7 x 11 mm of the second model, against 142.1 x 72.4 x 11.6 mm of the current model, this made the edges more apparent and messing with just one hand is no longer so easy.

The cases now have a diagonal texture, which combined with the new finish on the side, gives the phone a nice grip. The main change is precisely on the back, the camera, the flash and the brand Motorola gained an interesting detail, standing out from the rest of the device's construction. Despite growing up, he continues firm and fits well in the hands.

This finish on the side is more visible depending on how you choose your device in the Motorcycle Maker; in the silver version, the similarities with the second generation of the Moto X.

A Motorola kept the great balcony in the texture of the power button, while the volume buttons are smooth; that way it's easy to tell which is which. They are on the right side of the device, while on the bottom is the entrance microSD and, at the top, the jack for the headphone or TV antenna. On the side is the secondary microphone, which is responsible for eliminating noise when you are on a call; it works very well, by the way.

In calls I made in very busy and noisy places, the person listening said they were hearing only my voice, as if they were in a quiet place.

Underneath, the battery is still sealed and the inputs for the SIM cards and memory card are neatly arranged at the top. The device still won water and splash resistance, with certification IPX7, which guarantees up to an hour and a half submerged in up to 1 meter of depth.

Fabric

A Motorola decided to keep the screen size and resolution… and ended up sinning. Raising the cell phone level, but not improving one of the smartphone's main highlights was a mistake.

putting the Moto G 3rd generation next to LG Prime Plus, a cheaper device, with a display of the same size and resolution, we were able to notice striking differences. The white of the screen M it's more yellowish, and it's easier to see the pixels. Interestingly, both devices use the technology IPS LCD. On the other hand, the rest of the colors are much more vivid.

the range of brightness it is very good, making the screen dark in environments with no light and allows you to view the content even under the strong sun. O viewing angle also leaves nothing to be desired. The screen experience is very similar to the one I had with the Moto G 2rd generation, but for a device that costs from R$850,00, I expected a little more.

speed and performance

The new M It has a quad-core processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 1.4GHz, a more recent chip that proved competent during use. Two versions of the device have only 1GB of RAM, there is also a version with 2GB.

I tested the version with Digital TV, that have 1GB de RAM. O multitasking it's not one of the highlights, as you might imagine; when switching between applications it is normal to have to wait 1 to 2 seconds for the blank screen to be left aside and the application content to actually appear.

If this is an important aspect of your current usage, it is a good idea to consider the version with 2GB de RAM, which will certainly improve this scenario.

Multitasking aside, the device does a good job when it comes to performance. The animations do Lollipop run well, thanks to the set of Adreno GPU 306 (which also evolved) and the processor Snapdragon 410 da Qualcomm, as well as the speed of general navigation on the cellphone. The device also runs games with peace of mind, without stuttering.

Unlike the second generation, it does not have a stereo speaker. I also missed the addition of support for NFC, which only appears from the line Moto X on.

System

Motorola continues to embrace the philosophy of android the purest possible. There is no bloatware on the mobile; the only pre-installed apps are very useful: the Motorola migration to help you when transferring all the data from your old cell phone and the application Motorcycle, which brings together the main software features of the smartphone.

From the "Moto" you can configure the Assist, which automates functions on the device according to the scenarios in which it is inserted. For example, you determine what times you usually sleep and wake up and then the device takes care of leaving it on silent, with the option of notifications only for your favorite contacts.

In this same app you can define if you want the gestures work: there is a function to quickly shake it twice to activate the flashlight and the well-known gesture of turning around the wrist to activate the camera. Finally, you can also configure the details of the Motorbike Fabric, which displays the time when you take your phone out of your pocket and shows you notifications at a glance.

Dual SIM + 4G/LTE:

All Moto G models are now dual SIM and have 4G. Motorola manages to offer the best experience for devices with two SIM cards, identifying the operator of the number you are about to call and sending messages, indicating which is the best choice of use. Also, switching between mobile connection between one carrier and another and resetting your favorite carrier options is very easy. On other devices, such as the Zenfone 5, performing these tasks is more complicated than it should be.

Aside from these tricks, the Android is the same as that found in the line devices Nexus: o Google Now is easily accessible, the notification bar can be expanded to display quick settings, the useful Smart Lock, among the other original features of the robot.

Camera

The new M has a camera 13 megapixels with opening f / 2.0 e dual LED flash. The app's interface remains minimalist and as we said before, the camera can be activated by rotating the wrist twice. There are two small buttons, one to switch between the main and front camera and the other to start a recording. Dragging your finger from left to right displays advanced options. To take a picture, just tap anywhere on the screen.

One of the interesting options is to change focus and exposure manually, allowing greater control over the lighting of the photo. There is also a feature to “improve the quality of photos in dark environments” e Auto HDR.

Photos taken under ideal lighting conditions are good and they present themselves very well on the cell phone screen itself. Photos taken in environments with artificial lighting tend to have more washed out colors. The quality can vary a lot, depending on the conditions. For a user who wants to record moments to post on Social media coordinator ou Facebook, the camera does the job well, but don't expect fantastic photographs.

The front camera of 5 megapixels does a good job for selfies. The manufacturer brought a front flash feature, which lights up the phone's screen to give it a boost when the lighting is lower. I couldn't see many differences when the function was activated.

Finally, the cell phone is capable of recording in 1080p ou 720p in slow motion, the quality of the captured sound surprised me, even.

Battery Life

The new generation got a battery upgrade. now she has 2470 mAh, against the 2.070 mAh of the previous model. THE autonomy still is one of the highlights of the device, allowing virtually a day of intense use away from the outlet.

On one of the days, I used the device most of the time in 4G connection, I browsed for several hours, took a lot of pictures, exchanged messages constantly and played music on Spotify pretty much all the time; I reached 10 hours of use with 20% battery remaining. On an ordinary day, where the Wi-Fi is more constant, it reached the end of the day with 40% of its charge remaining.

Price and availability

O Moto G 3rd generation was presented and reached the Brazilian market in the last week of July. One of the highlights was the arrival of the Motorcycle Maker, which allows you to customize various aspects of the phone: you can choose the colors of the front, the back cover and the detail on the camera part.

• The most basic model, with 8GB of internal space and 1GB of RAM, costs R$849,00 in up to 10 installments (or R$ 806,55 in cash).
• The option with 16 GB internal space and 1 GB of RAM goes for R$889,00 in up to 10 installments (or R$ 844,55 in cash).
• The version with 16 GB internal space, 1 GB of RAM and Digital TV costs R$929,00 in up to 10 installments (or R$ 882,55 in cash).
• The model with 16 GB of internal space and 2 GB of RAM costs R$979,00 in up to 10 installments (or R$ 930,05 in cash).

The value goes up, if you include more cases and personalization with text engraving.

Conclusion

O Moto G 3rd generation takes on a new level due to its price, but not all features followed this evolution. The main one is the screen, which could have gained more attention.

Adding a model with 2GB of RAM was also very welcome, but the ideal would be for this to be the option starting from the basic model. The camera got interesting improvements, the processor was upgraded, it got a better finished construction and the customization options of the Motorcycle Maker are very interesting.

the autonomy of battery It is one of highest points and Pure Android with some useful tricks complete the great experience of using the device.

O new Moto G meets important features for different user profiles: all models are Dual SIM, have 4G, entry to cmicroSD card and there is a model that supports digital TV.

It is a very competent device in its proposal, which now stands more clearly between the Moto E and Moto X.

The price went up more than expected and the cost benefit is no longer the same as in previous years. Still, it's a cell phone that worth the investment by the characteristics comprehensive that serves very well the user who wants a cell phone with two chips, 4G connection and a battery that lasts a whole day.

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Technical Specifications

• Processor: Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 (Quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53);
• RAM memory: 1 or 2 GB;
• Screen: 5-inch IPS LCD with a resolution of 720 x 1280 (294 ppi) pixels and Gorilla Glass 3 protection;
• Camera: 13 megapixels, autofocus, dual LED flash with CCT technology;
• Frontal camera: 5 megapixels;
• Battery: 2470 mAh;
• Connectivity: 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS, GLONASS, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro USB 2.0;
• GPU: Adreno 306;
• External memory: microSD card support up to 32GB;
• Internal memory: 8 or 16 GB;
• Dimensions: 142.1 x 72.4 x 11.6 mm;
• Weight: 155 g;
• Platform: Android 5.1.1 Pure Lollipop;
• Sensors: 2 accelerometers, proximity, hub sensor and ambient light sensor.