Moto G (3rd Generation) review: a waterproof, pure Android experience

When it was launched last year, the 2nd generation Moto G did a commendable job of serving the mid-level Android phone segment. This time around, Motorola reprises this popular smartphone as it enters its 3rd generation, now with the mandatory 4G wireless, better cameras, a notched-up processor and built to take on the country’s monsoon.

This new phone is built around the proven Snapdragon 410 mobile platform that brings 4G capability, quad-band GSM, a 13 megapixel main camera and 5 megapixel front camera. Out of the box this 5-inch phone feels very comfortable in the hand, especially with the textured back that proves to be grippy. The IPS screen is vivid, with good viewing angles and graphics that are as sharp as 294 ppi can deliver.

The Moto series of phones have always vaunted the ‘pure’ Android version, implying no addition of third party tools and add-ons that can potentially bog down a phone. The installed Lollipop 5.1.1 proved to be butter smooth with everything from the UI to application launches being served up enthusiastically. This phones comes in two variants: 1GB of RAM with 8GB of internal storage, and 2GB of RAM with 16GB of internal storage. At a meagre Rs 1,000 differential, it’s really a no brainer which of the two is more bang for the buck.

Up from the previous generation

Scoring over its predecessor, this phone also brings 4G support in its dual Micro SIMs--something that should pan out in the near future with telecoms already starting to roll out their LTE services en masse. Par for the course is Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (although the speedier, newer-generation ‘ac’ WiFi spec would have been much nicer.)

Perhaps the most welcome addition in this phone is the IPX7 protection rating: it is designed to be water resistant, submerged for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter. Which means it can easily survive a dousing in the rain or even an accidental free fall into a bucket of water. This particular lifesaving feature should hopefully start a trend among its peers.

Continuing from its predecessor, the new Moto G has several features built into the UI that makes the phone easier to use, among them gestures for quickly launching often-used apps. For example, holding the phone and twisting your wrist a couple of times fires up the camera so you don’t miss that photo op. Similarly, a double chop toggles the flashlight on and off. These inclusions aren’t groundbreaking, but it certainly brings an added dimension of convenience.

On photography

The camera was quick to respond, and the rotary dial that swipes in from the left edge lends quick access to changing photo quality, HDR/Landscape modes, flash settings, timer and the like. The focusing reticle in the viewfinder also has concentric dial that quickly lets you change dial the scene exposure, and dragging the entire reticle to another area causes the camera to refocus on the scene.

The camera doesn’t have any of those ‘beautification’ modes or photo effects, which is a downer if you’re into that sort of thing. But if you’re looking a pure camera smartphone  experience, this phone does a fair job--nothing too spectacular though. From close-up indoor shots to brightly lit outdoor scenes, the image quality from its 13MP primary camera was tonally balanced and sharp. A strange thing we noticed, though, was the final captured image being slightly darker compared to what is seen in the viewfinder.

The 5MP front camera also turned out decent shots, albeit with the barrel distortion that is inherent to virtually all front shooters, which tends to make close up portraits jowlier than natural. But the wide angle does make for great group selfies.

Another peeve we had was with the user interface adopting on-screen buttons instead of touch buttons on the phone frame itself: in most applications about 7.5 percent of the screen is forfeited as a result. The only time you can use the entire screen is when an app specifically runs in fullscreen mode, such as YouTube or an image viewer.

Our takeaway

With the 8 to 12K smartphone price band being so immensely competitive, it’s interesting to see how this phone slots into the larger scheme of things: stacked up against competing devices like the similarly-sized Xiaomi Mi 4i or the larger Lenovo K3 Note, it’s clear that this phone doesn’t trump on specifications (it is overshadowed on resolution, processing speed and battery capacity despite costing more than its ilk.) So if it’s a pure Android experience you are after, with waterproofing, in a comfortable 5-inch form factor, this phone does cut it. But if it’s more bells, whistles and silicon specifications you need, there are numerous other alternatives to consider.

What we liked: Waterproofing, quick and snappy pure Android experience, no-frills but effective camera

What we didn’t: On-screen buttons eat away screen real estate, should have had better specifications for the price