Wrap Up: Striking the Right Balance

Inside the Moto G is a 7.87 Wh (2,070 mAh) lithium-ion battery, which is sealed inside the device and can't be removed. Initially this may seem like an issue, but in my usage I found the Moto G's battery life to be excellent. Whether I was browsing the web on HSPA+ or Wi-Fi, checking social media, taking photos, or making phone calls, I was always left with plenty of juice by the time the day was up.

Unless you're doing a lot of gaming or CPU intensive tasks on the Moto G, it could be possible to get two days of light usage out of the handset. If you are gaming, naturally your expected life will be reduced to somewhere around four hours, which is a decent but not excellent result. Also worth mentioning is Motorola's battery saver mode, which doesn't do much apart from restrict mobile data usage when the battery starts to get low.

In our battery life rundown test, where we loop a 720p video in airplane mode, at 75% brightness, until the phone dies, the Moto G achieved an acceptable result of just under eight hours.

Final Thoughts

The Moto G is a budget Android smartphone done right, finding success in a number of levels starting with suitable performance across the OS. The Snapdragon 400 SoC is surprisingly powerful, and when combined with a skin-free Android build, it was able to deliver a smooth user experience. Even relatively high-end 3D gaming is possible on the Moto G, adding to the handset's versatility.

The display is another major positive: at 4.5-inches with a resolution of 1280 x 720, it punches well above its weight. It may not have the latest and greatest technology packed into it, but it does a great job at displaying images and text. This combined with decent battery life, you will be able to use the display without having to micromanage.

No device is ever perfect though - the Moto G's storage options are particularly disappointing, topping out at 16 GB without a microSD card slot - but at this price point ($179-$199) you can't expect everything to be top-notch. Where it counts, the Moto G delivers, making it one of the best budget Android smartphones on the market today.

85
TechSpot
score

Pros: Fantastic performance. Excellent value for the money. Great display is complemented by an ergonomic design. Decent battery life.

Cons: Internal storage tops out at 16 GB, with no microSD card slot option. Camera is unsuitable for indoor or low-light photography.

Other reviewers said: 83

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