The Moto G (2015) Review

by Brandon Chester on 8/19/2015 8:00 AM EST
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  • mmrezaie - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Which one: Should I go with this, Moto X Play, or new Nexus 5?
  • boozed - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I think you should get the iPhone 7 mini.
  • mmrezaie - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I was almost going to get iphone for battery balance but I really cannot take he appalling interface!!! I understand others may disagree with me.
  • RaLX - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I agree with you, the iPhone is a nice piece of hardware but iOS feels now noticeable rigid, restricted and antiquated compared with Android 5.1+.
  • Samus - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    I think Android is suffering from "Metro-syndrome" where it's interface is changing so radically that it's actually jarring to jump between versions or support the damn things in the workplace. Every single Android phone is different.

    If Google knew what was good for them, they would do what Apple does and a) put an end to carrier/manufacture bloatware b) standardize the interface, specifically, the settings menu c) standardize the stock apps such as Calendar, Contacts, Mail.

    Ask any IT department and they will unanimously tell you they'd rather support iOS, WinMo or even Blackberry devices over Android because at least they are all standardized.
  • jospoortvliet - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    I do not disagree but it doesn't take away the point that the new iOS interface is already outdated compared to Android 5.x/material design.
  • LoganPowell - Friday, November 27, 2015 - link

    Well, I think choosing a phone really depends on someone owns preference. But between the two...I recommend going to for the highly rated phones (like http://www.consumerrunner.com/top-10-best-phones/ for example)
  • barleyguy - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - link

    Android is an open source OS. Google has no legal standing to tell the carriers to do anything, or not do anything. They could bribe them, which they have in some ways done by having "Google Play Editions".

    As far as a phone recommendation in the $200 range, my choice would be the LG G2. I realize it's 2 years old, but it's a faster SOC than the phone reviewed in this article, obliterates it in GPU performance, has excellent battery life, and has a 1080p screen.
  • Brianbeastsu - Sunday, August 23, 2015 - link

    Ive been thinking of getting the G2 but feared it would feel completely dated and slow......Just as a nice backup device....I have nexus 6 now but for instances where I need long life I thought it would be a nice and cheap alternative......Has any phone ever had better battery life? Anyone that I have talked with that owned it says its incredible
  • mwarner1 - Monday, August 24, 2015 - link

    If you mean the LG G2 (and not the 2nd gen Moto G) it won't feel underpowered at all - the SoC is the still very fast Snapdragon 800 and the 1080P IPS display is really very good. I have owned both the G2 and G3 and personally I much prefer the G2.
  • shadarlo - Monday, August 24, 2015 - link

    While the G2 is a great phone that I've had since nearly the launch, I am VERY ready for a new phone. I just don't see too many in this generation worth buying.

    For $175 or so that the G2 can be had for on sales it definitely blows away the current mid-tier phones.
  • phoenix_rizzen - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link

    Except that managing iOS devices is a royal pain in the arse that requires bucketloads of money spent on software, hardware, and tech time. When a school district *needs* a full-time person (usually 2-3 if you want any kind of fast turn-around) doing nothing but managing iOS hardware and software, there's something wrong with the management tools. Apple Configurator is a joke. The MDM tools from various sources aren't much better. Any way you cut it, iOS device management is a time consuming money pit.

    Android management isn't much better, and the tools are very basic, but they are improving. The biggest problem is that what works for OEM X doesn't always work for OEM Y, and what works for Device A from OEM X doesn't always work for Device B from the same OEM. :( If you standardise on a single device from a single OEM, things aren't too bad.

    Have no experience with BB10 or WinPhone management.

    ChromeOS is really the only one that is easy to manage, even using the free tools from Google. As much as I dislike Chromebooks in general, the management tools are light-years ahead of anything available for the other mobile devices. (Unless you can afford 6-digit yearly licensing fees, in which case there's MDM software that comes close.)

    Even with the horrible management tools, dealing with Android devices is still much better than dealing with iOS devices. We tolerate them on our networks; but we do everything we can to discourage people from buying them.
  • RaLX - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    BTW, I would wait for the Nexus 5 before making any decision.
  • mmrezaie - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Google usually messes the battery life so much. I bought the new moto e for the sole purpose of battery life, but it has some issues of its own.
  • Pissedoffyouth - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    No, installing crap like Greenify and things makes people whinge about battery life. Everyone who complains always runs these "battery saving 5000" apps and wonder why their phones are crap?
  • Solandri - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    The battery in my 2013 Nexus 5 began dying prematurely. It'd start off the day at 100%, get to 50% by around 3pm, then it'd go from 50% to dead in the next hour. Google eventually replaced it with a new phone under warranty. But as part of the troubleshooting process, they asked me to do a rundown test with the phone in safe mode. Safe mode disables all apps and services which weren't installed on the phone by default. All the default functions (phone, camera, etc) still work.

    The damn thing lasted just shy of 3 days even with a bad battery. It's made me seriously reconsider what apps I install on my phone.
  • eek2121 - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    Get an HTC One M8. Install CM12.1 on it. Even on stock I was getting 24 hours on a charge, and i'm a heavy user, browsing the internet for hours every day. Love this phone.
  • Devo2007 - Sunday, August 23, 2015 - link

    I've always wondered what effect Greenify, Amplify, etc really have on battery life. Sure, sometimes random wakelocks can impact battery life, but unless someone is specifically seeing something draining the battery if makes me wonder if these apps do more harm than good.
  • Devo2007 - Sunday, August 23, 2015 - link

    ... Of course, the moment I express concerns like this, I usually tend to get shot down pretty quickly as someone who has no idea what I'm talking about
  • mmrezaie - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I meant for Nexus phones.
  • boozed - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I'm sorry that my joke wasn't more obviously a joke!

    You asked which non-existent phone you should buy. I don't even know whether Apple intends to produce an "iPhone 7 mini". Nobody knows how these hypothetical phones will compare, and you also provided no information regarding your requirements.
  • Samus - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    The simplicity of the interface and the support behind it are the most attractive features of the iPhone. This coming from someone who works in IT managing enterprise-scale infrastructure. A lot of my friends in IT that used to laugh at me over my iPhone have either slowly migrated or are too stubborn to give it a shot.

    Given the opportunity, I think almost any Android or WinMo diehard would switch to an iPhone if they just tried it for awhile. The pro's simply outweigh the con's and the only reason Android sells is because of general acceptance, low price or simply put, Apple hate.

    And I get it, Apple is an easy company to hate, but don't hate a superior product. Android is catching up, but it's still behind in key areas. The few things it does better than iOS really don't matter when you consider the gaping holes it has.

    Every old iPhone I've ever had, I gave away to a friend who had been using an Android device, usually a nice one like a Nexus or a Galaxy S III. And every single one of them still rocks that old iPhone.
  • amdwilliam1985 - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    Yeah, I know what you mean.
    Granted, phone to phone comparison, there probably isn't a single phone that can beat iPhone in all/most categories. Overall, iPhone is a good balanced phone that I would recommend to everyone(especially non-tech people, both of my parents uses iPhone).

    As for myself, I can't stand iPhone for more than 5 minutes. I've played with every generation of iPhone, and I am always impressed by it [for like 5 minutes]. I'm like, damn, this is such nice phone, and then, damn this is such BORING phone.

    So in conclusion, if you just want a phone that works, iPhone is on the top the recommend list. So, I wouldn't mind using iPhone as my daily driver if it's like for free. If i have to pay $400+ for my smart phone, then it better keep me interested for more than 5 minutes.

    Kind of like buying a car, I will just recommend and/or go for Toyata/Lexus, because I just want a car that works and I'm not a car junky.
  • grant3 - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    " the only reason Android sells is because of general acceptance, low price or simply put, Apple hate."

    Low price is a pretty legitimate reason to prefer a device...

    This whole "the only reason people don't use iphone/macs/etc. is because they hate apple" is as a worthless, overdone meme, and should be trashcanned along with "the only reasons people buy iphone/macs/etc. is because they're sheeple who only care about image".

    FYI, the phone which receives the highest ratings for user satisfaction is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (beating out iphones). Maybe, just maybe, we can give credit to people for generally picking devices which suits them.
  • Brianbeastsu - Sunday, August 23, 2015 - link

    I am also in a similar field and as far as contol is concerned the Iphone is definatly superior. THat being said I love the way the Iphones are built so after being a longtime android user made the switch to the Iphone 6 plus. For what I use it for the Iphone jsut couldnt hold a candle to android(Stock android, all nexus devices I dont know muich about the others out there like samsung or LG). I had Chrome force close on me more in the first 15 days with it then 5 years with android.

    ALl that being said, I know I am a unique user when I recently switched carriers and did a data use audit I was close to 40 gb a month(not a brag cuz its not cool haha just fact). When my mom, friends who dont like to tweak and tinker with technology ask me what tog et I alwasy explain that if you want something to make calls and is easy to use with no learning curve at all go with the iphone.

    Lastly you mention cost but forgot about why apples stuff sells in general...........Apple is OUT of their minds with their prices right now and sadly everyone keeps buying their stuff without even researching the market because its in large partr a fashion accessory....which is why beats headphones fits in their ecosystem so well.....marketing genius when you could buy Audio Technica 50x's for 11/4 of the price and 10x the quality.
  • ajfink - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Completely different price ranges. The Moto X Play and new Nexus 5 will have much higher performance, better screens, better cameras, a few more bells and whistles, but are obviously more expensive.
  • cknobman - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I'm getting the Moto X Pure. Was going to try and get a OnePlus 2 but the stupid invite system and wait has pissed me off.

    Moto X pure is going to be an awesome device for $400.
  • amdwilliam1985 - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    Moto x starts at $400 for 16GB, right?
    With no microSD card, 16GB will not work, what's the price for 32GB? $450 or $500?
  • duynguyenle - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    Both the 2015 Moto X Play and Moto X Style has MicroSD card slot for up to 128GB cards
  • dragonsqrrl - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - link

    Based on the current leaked specs for the Nexus 5, I would without a doubt choose it over the Moto X Play. 5.2" 1080p display, ~3000mAh battery, front facing stereo speakers, USB type C... Google gets it.
  • Pissedoffyouth - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I was going to get this but got the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 instead. If you're in Europe, that smokes this phone in every way for cheaper. £125 for 5.5 1080p screen, SD615, 2GB RAM/16GB.

    only £4 for unlock code on ebay too.
  • kspirit - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I love it when you guys post reviews this soon after the device comes out. <3
  • spbx - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    everyone forgot that this using vanilla android with fasr updates from motorola. I just hope that still remains even lenovo changed moto software dept.
  • EnzoFX - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Yeah this is definitely a selling point to consider. Aside from the practicality of the device, the balances it strikes, those flip covers that are so functional and popular too haha, it's about the only thing in it's price range that promises an almost stock interface and prompt updates. It's like having Nexus device. This is why I consider Motorola. Shame about the display this time around though... wonder how bad it really is side-by-side.
  • Moto1 - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    No
  • Moto1 - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    No fast updates! I have FIRST gen and ZERO updates. F@#k Motorola
  • Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    Unless you bought your phone non-carrier-locked, you're blaming the wrong entity. I'm not saying Motorola has been as expeditious as I would have liked, but if your phone is still on KitKat it's Cricket or whomever's fault.
  • hans_ober - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Can you try charging it with a different (high amp) charger and report back? Most people aren't gonna use the charger included.
  • Brandon Chester - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Actually it's likely that they will. Consumers buying these phones are not likely to have several chargers from previous devices laying around, and any that they do have would obviously be of a similar wattage because most OEMs ship these sub-5W with their non-flagship devices.
  • hans_ober - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Ok you're right, but it would be really nice (and helpful) if you could update the review with a high amp charger, which would show an improvement one could gain from getting a better charger, since the phone is not the limiting factor.. Some other markets are shipping ~1A chargers.
  • christofftofferson - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    How come the Nexus 6 doesn't use OIS for video?
    Technical limitation?
  • Brandon Chester - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Using OIS for video introduces its own visual problems with the OIS having to reset once it reaches its maximum angle of accommodation. It's arguably worse looking than just using EIS because it happens so quickly that it almost looks like a stutter, and is quite jarring.
  • christofftofferson - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    Ah. I see.
    Thanks for the response and great review
  • bug77 - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Just as a note, Motorola has decided to go with the 32bit version of Android for this iteration of Moto G. Rumour has it this is because they wanted to be more memory efficient on the 1GB model, but that's just speculation.
  • hans_ober - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    It's probably that. They needed to take care of the 1GB model; and didn't want to develop a separate software stack for the 2GB 64bit.
  • tipoo - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Yeah that's likely the reason, the old G is pretty bad with 1GB on 32 bit as it is, 64 bit would likely make it significantly worse.

    Not creating a 64 bit build for the 2GB is probably just laziness though.
  • hans_ober - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    How is the audio output? Cross-talk, can it drive headphones? Camera speed?
  • kspirit - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    The important questions!
  • Shadowmaster625 - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    These phones are pointless. The market is already saturated with hardware that is better than this. You can buy a LG G2 for just over $100 and it blows away this joke in every conceivable category.
  • T1beriu - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Sorry, but your comment is pointless unless you point us towards that "just over $100 G2" that you're talking about.
  • kmmatney - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    They are in the $115 - $130 range on Swappa (at least the Sprint version). Of course that is used - but the phones I've bought from Swappa all looked brand-new when I received them. You can also get a used Galaxy S4 for ~$130, and will come with 2 GB of RAM and 16GB of storgae, and will be faster.
  • Moto1 - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Nope, sorry
  • amdwilliam1985 - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    Moto G 2015 will probably beat Galaxy S6 and Note 5 in general phone usage speed test, lol. So Galaxy S4 is probably not a good comparison to.
  • 3DoubleD - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    It is not clear in the charging section whether the Moto G is limited to 2.75 W charging internally, or whether it is because a 2.75 W charger was used (because it was shipped with one). Could one conceivably use a 5 W or 10 W charger and cut the charge time in half or a quarter? This is not clear. I honestly didn't know they made 2.75 W chargers, the smallest charger I've ever seen is 1 A @ 5 V.

    Also, how crippling is this GPU performance? From what I can tell, an Adreno 305 is about 1/4 of the speed of the Nexus 5 (2013) in offscreen testing with Basemark X. But this doesn't describe the context of what it is like to use an Adreno 306 device. Does the UI studder? Does video playback work flawlessly? Does it play most games? Are there any notable games it does not play?

    Also, I take issue with the comment that waterproofing is not a desirable feature because you can't use the display while wet. That is an insane comment to make! Most people would like some piece of mind that if their phone gets a little wet it won't become an expensive paper weight. That is a huge feature, especially considering the target market for this phone - a group that may likely be careless with their phone that it needs to be inexpensive and waterproof. So I'll say this in the comments since it wasn't said in the review: Motorola, good job making this phone waterproof.

    Lastly, I don't think Motorola was praised enough for adding a bigger battery at the cost of not decreasing the thinness of the device. Phone manufacturers frequently shift the balance the wrong way, and finally Motorola stepped up and did it right.

    Despite all of my question and critiques, I really appreciate the timely review! Thanks!
  • hans_ober - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Yeah, nice to see Moto worked on the battery and didn't go for 'omg 7mm slim' type of device.
    Thick phone > dead slim paperweight.
  • Brandon Chester - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    1. It's just that the phone is shipped with a 2.75W charger. I will be listing a charge time using a 5W charging block, but to my knowledge there's no quick charge support so there's no additional advantage to using an even higher wattage QC 2.0 block

    2. You can play 2D games and very simple 3D ones like temple run, but there's not much hope for what one would call AAA mobile games. My big issue is the lack of GPU performance in mid range Android devices ends up limiting the availability and quality of those games on Android as a whole.

    3. At no point did I ever say that waterproofing was not a desirable feature, or anything of that sort. I said it's nice to have, but I don't think it's a selling point. There's no evidence that any significant number of consumers are buying devices specifically because they're waterproof, so I don't think my observation was incorrect.

    4. Not everyone shares the opinion that devices should get substantially larger to fit bigger batteries.
  • hans_ober - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Thanks. Yeah, theres no QC 2.0 support, but using 5W and even 10W chargers has reportedly cut short charging time. No harm in adding QC 2.0 to the graph too; it will show max possible charge rate, with the phone as bottleneck.
  • Brandon Chester - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I'm just trying to kill the phone's battery now so I can charge it.
  • hans_ober - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Having a bad time? :)
  • hans_ober - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link

    Update on charging time?
  • 3DoubleD - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Thanks for the response!

    1. The 5W charging time would be great! Thanks for adding that.

    2. I agree, it is too bad they are hamstringing the GPUs in these devices. Three generations of Moto G including the same GPU is pretty disappointing. It seems Motorola is keeping customers interested in AAA gaming on their more expensive phones, which is understandable. From what you are saying, it sounds like the poor display calibration and poor visibility in sunlight would be more apparent to non-gamers than the GPU.

    3. What I'm referring to is your comments in the concluding remarks: "The waterproofing is definitely a neat addition, but I think in most cases it's just a nice thing to have rather than a selling point. Once waterproofing is accompanied by the ability to use the display when it's really wet I'll be a lot more interested in it." I suspect many people will see waterproofing as a selling point (AKA a desirable feature) just from a pure ruggedness standpoint. Instances where people are deciding between several mid-range Android phones and pick the Moto G based on it being waterproof are probably more likely than decisions based on many of the other specs.

    4. My problem with device thinness is that the benefit of thinner and thinner devices is dubious, yet the benefit for keeping the same thickness, or even increasing it, is substantial. I don't think a objective argument can be made for why a 6.9 mm phone is better than a 8 mm phone or even an 11.6 mm phone (like the Moto G). Even the subjective 'design' argument is pretty shaky, considering everyone was swooning over smartphone designs that first made it to 10 or 11 mm.

    So as leading reviewer of phones and a spokesperson for the masses, I'd challenge you to develop a metric for phone thickness that equally considers 'thin design' with ease of use and battery life. IMO manufacturers hit the thin-enough-to-be-usable limit years ago. Let's stop praising thinness-at-all-costs in reviews (as is typical in a flagship Android or iPhone review) and start making a big deal when the design needlessly sacrifices battery life for thinness.
  • djc208 - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Seems to me the one major category that is missed between those two phones is support. More and more I'm just as interested in how it will be supported, and I wonder how well the Zenphone will be supported against future OS updates. I'd tend to lean toward Motorola for long term support. LG brought be in with great hardware but turned me off with crappy software support.
  • Moto1 - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Zero support from Motorola. Emailed and called and all I get is generic replys-not related to my question. I bought the first moto g in anticipation of fast updates and have had zero-which sucks cause I was promised 5.0 over a year ago.
  • Machete - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    False, we have a 1g Moto G in family and it was updated to 5.0 months ago.
  • tipoo - Sunday, August 23, 2015 - link

    Must be your carriers fault. My first gen G has been rocking 5 for months.
  • tipoo - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    MicroSD and 2GB RAM were the two things I sorely missed in my first gen G, so this looks like a fair upgrade. Honestly, it's all the phone most people need. Even the weak GPU runs most modern Android games well. The RAM was always the bigger issue than the processing speed, and the minor bump to the latter will be a nice bonus.

    Now just bring Moto Maker for the G to Canada and take my money, Motorola!
  • YukaKun - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    So... Is this better than my SGS2? Y know the CPU is better, but is the camera and GPU?

    I'm having a considerable loss in battery life as of late (from 3 days to just 2) and the S2 is still running anything I need it to (GMail, GMaps and other "light" stuff) with no hiccups. So in my mind, instead of getting a battery replacement, maybe jumping to the MotoG 2015 might be a good idea.

    Cheers!
  • a1exh - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Battery replacements are soooo cheap for the SGS2 though. If it is still going and you're happy. The SGS2 camera was better than the MotoG 2013
  • a1exh - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    As a MotoG 2013 customer I wanted the 2015 to be great. But it isn't. So the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 is looking like the PAYG phone to get in the UK only it is a bit big
  • mkozakewich - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Devices like this really highlight the need for colour correction on Android. If it can fill the full sRGB gamut, the only thing left is to tell it where to put the colours. There's no reason something like this shouldn't be able to pull a dE2000 of 1.

    I remember the review of the Stream 7. Since it ran Windows, they were able to run a correction suite on it, and it ended up with a really good score despite its inability to saturate the blues.
  • Cod3rror - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I wish Motorola hadn't released two different versions (1GB / 2GB). I knew what would happen and what I expected is exactly what happened... almost all retailers and carriers in Europe/UK are stocking only the 1GB version and 2GB is nowhere to be found. Plus, because of the weak Euro, the 2GB version, if ordered from Motorola UK, comes out at 300 euro, which is very expensive. But don't get me wrong, even if it cost almost the same, the retailers and carriers would still stock the cheaper version.
  • dan.swain - Saturday, September 12, 2015 - link

    I agree with you, My wife has the Moto G 2015 16GB. Got it from Moto website the sales experience was terrible but I couldn't just buy the 16Gb in a shop so frustration ensued. The phone itself is great though, my wife can get multiple days out if it. At just over £200 it seemed a better deal than £200 Apple wanted for a refurbished IPhone 5c.
  • wurizen - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    It seems like this review confirms my suspicion of the new Moto G 2015 regarding the back cover flush gate. Feeling the back cover of a phone inch forward or push inwards when gripping it is a sign of a cheap phone to me. And we know that this is a cheap, budget phone, but, the Moto G 2014 doesn't have this issue. I am also looking at the profile picture of the Moto G 2015 and it looks bulkier than the Moto G 2014. Or it seems bulkier because the removable back cover of the 2015 is not halfway but below the Power and Volume buttons. Whereas, the Moto G 2014's back cover is exactly halfway from front to back, so it goes halfway up from the Power and Volume buttons making the phone--on a design perspective--look and feel balanced!

    What makes me sad is that I don't think Motorola had to sacrifice this decrease in "Phone Feel" and "Phone Ergonomics" or "Phone Design." Whatever you wanna call it.

    I mean, did the design of the Moto G 2015 change because Motorola wanted it to be waterproof? Or, did Motorola purposely make a fatter Moto G 2015 so people will buy their other more expensive phones? Let the conspiracy theories begin!

    My other gripe is that Best Buy, which is the only store I know in the U.S. that carries the Moto G unlocked version doesn't even have the new Moto G 2015 on display so customers can feel and hold it in their hands. I mean, imagine Samsung or Apple doing this? It would never happen. Yet, Motorola is letting Best Buy not have a display version. I also asked if they had the phone on sale and if they could open a box and let me hold one. But, they said that they didn't have any available. I then asked if they had sold out and they said, yes.

    Also, there is no white version available at Best Buy and no 2 GB/16 GB variant available. Just the 1GB RAM and black one.

    Can someone tell me why this is? What kind of marketing scheme is at work here?
  • Demon-Xanth - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    The reason why no 2/16 variant is that they are basically sold out everywhere. I'm guessing production focused on the black 1/8 due to anticipated demand. They aren't mythical devices. Just selling like cold beer at a county fair. Yes, I will be replacing my ATT XT1045 with a retail 2/16 when I can. The only problems I've had have been I'd like more RAM, a better camera, less "extra apps", and updates that aren't delayed until the second coming of christ. This covers all of them.
  • stlc8tr - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    "I don't think anyone buying a device like the Moto G will have adopted an 802.11ac router at this point anyway due to cost reasons."

    An AC router is roughly $75 on Amazon. It's not exactly a huge outlay so I think more points should be deducted for the lack of 5Ghz support. The 2.4Ghz band can be very crowded so being limited to only 2.4Ghz is a serious flaw, IMO.
  • Moto1 - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Dude, its 179$. Seriously?
  • stlc8tr - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    Yes, I'm serious. In my neighborhood, there are so many 2.4Ghz WiFi networks that using my 2.4Ghz WiFi is hit or miss. I can't even use a Chromecast as the streaming times out half the time.

    So I avoid any devices that are 2.4Ghz only.
  • neogodless - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    As this is a phone, could you comment on the speaker quality at all? It sounds like it still has stereo speakers like the 2014 model. Are they the exact same?
  • hans_ober - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    They're not stereo, bottom is a loudspeaker.
  • neogodless - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link

    That's too bad! The 2014 had stereo. In the search for "no compromises" including stereo speakers, I ended up with a Nexus 6.
  • ipkh - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Can you measure minimum brightness? I like to use my phone at night and an idea of how dim these phone screens can get would be helpful.
  • hzhackenbush - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    I wish the new Moto G supported VoLTE and T-Mobile's band 12. The only non-flagship, less expensive phones T-Mobile does support for this functionality are not very good values relative to all the phones without it, like the new Moto G, ZenFone 2, Idol 3, etc. The $100 T-Mobile Lumia 640 does support VoLTE and LTE band 12 (and Wi-Fi Calling 2.0), but the apps I might want to run aren't available for Windows phone.

    Otherwise, on T-Mobile, as LTE band 12 is being rolled out now, non-LTE band 12 phones could become obsolete much sooner than phones with band 12, because the band 12 signal penetrates buildings better and travels farther in rural areas, AOTBE.

    Even the iPhone 6/6+ doesn't support T-Mobile's LTE band 12. However, the T-Mobile branded Nexus 6 does (with VoLTE, Wi-Fi Calling 2.0, etc.). Hopefully the new, smaller, less expensive Nexus 5 will have those features and be sold through T-Mobile like the Nexus 6.
  • jabber - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Yeah I run a totally stock Nexus 4 and I can go two days easy on a charge if I don't use it like a Gameboy. This is on a nearly three year old battery.

    No battery gimmicks, just make sure I only keep the apps on the phone that I actually use.
  • Dwcdad - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Running my new moto g 3gen. Have the 2gig model. So far good little phone. At the price a great phone.
  • StrangerGuy - Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - link

    Phones like this are exactly the reason why Samsung is failing so hard to sell S6s. Far better utility, software and cheaper prices while only sacrificing marginal real world camera/SoC performance and display quality.
  • esoel_ - Thursday, August 20, 2015 - link

    Not a word on software? Is this running vanilla android? Are all motorolas still running vanilla android? Are they getting updates?
  • Brandon Chester - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link

    At this point the software situation is essentially the same on all Motorola devices so you can check out my comments in the recent Moto E 2015 review for the small changes that Motorola makes to "stock" Google Android. http://www.anandtech.com/show/9129/the-moto-e-2015...
  • maktovic - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - link

    Charging time seems wrong. The Moto G 2015 that I have charges from 0 to 100% in 2.5hrs with the charger that came along with the phone
  • MarkHunt - Thursday, September 24, 2015 - link

    Stay away from Motorola if you want fast Android OS updates- it's a myth that they provide them quickly. When they do get round to it, they infuriatingly do it country by country over a period of months. Best get a Nexus phone.
  • Aritra Ghatak - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link

    I know it's a bit too late but just a bit of thought on the newly launched Moto G Turbo with Snapdragon 615 A53 1.5GHz + A53 1GHz and all the rest specs matching Moto G 2015. I think this should mean a further great battery life with much enhanced graphics performance. I especially want your opinion Brandon and others' remarks are also welcome.

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