Motorola Moto G 3rd Gen review: A perfect smartphone for a budget hunter

Motorola announced the third-generation handset under the G series, and it seems to be an impressive upgrade to the older siblings. The device, compared to the second gen handset, boasts of a better processor, a superior camera and higher RAM. So will the Moto G 3rd Generation make a mark among its rivals in the same segment? The Motorola Moto G 3rd Gen is definitely a pleasant welcome as compared to the earlier two G handsets. Motorola has upped the specifications by a huge chunk, but has also managed to keep the price well below the ‘expensive’ tag.

Built with the similar display panel as that of the second gen handset, the Moto G 3rd Gen sports a 5-incher HD display panel with a Corning gorilla Glass 3 protection. Below the display lies a slightly better chipset—a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset with an Adreno 306 graphics processor. The next-level Snapdragon processor will definitely keep the user interface smoother, giving the user a better experience when playing around. The Moto G 3rd Gen has been announced in two variants—while one is an 8GB with 2GB of RAM, and the other is a 16GB with 2GB of RAM. However, the price differences between the two are just Rs 1,000, and we still wonder why Motorola even thought of the lower-end device as the price difference is just a small margin, and anyone would pick the 2GB RAM variant.

Moving on, the Moto G 3rd Gen now sports a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP camera as opposed to the earlier versions which had a 5MP/1.3MP and an 8MP/2MP camera respectively. The camera sports an automatic autofocus and gives you the freedom to click snaps quicker than before. The rear camera also sports twin LEDs with dual-tone flash for superior portrait pics of human subjects against the background. The rear camera can also record full HD 1080p videos at 30fps, with HDR enabled. Other standard features include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, A-GPS, GLONASS, FM Radio, USB Host and a non removable 2470mAh battery.

What’s new: Apart from the new SD410 chipset and upscaled camera sensors, the Moto G 3rd Gen has received an IPx7 certified water-resistant body. This means; you can use your phone in light to moderate rains, or even afford to drop it into a pool of water and still safely use the smartphone post the drowning. Motorola claims that the Moto G 3rd Gen can be dunked underwater at around three meters for a 30-minute period without any damage. The only catch is that you should ensure that the rear panel is fitted properly by pressing and moving your finger around the back to seal it properly. The smartphone user interface will visually guide you during the initial setup. The Moto G 3rd Gen has also incorporated a few features from the Moto X series—gesture-based camera and flash. By moving your wrist in a twisting fashion, you can start the camera without unlocking the smartphone. By doing a chopping action, you can switch the flash on and off too.

The Moto G 3rd Gen also shows you a soft glimpse of notifications and the time without actually pressing any buttons or unlocking the phone. Sadly, we found this a little too sensitive, and it would popup even if the smartphone was moved. So if it is in your pocket, you know what… As for the operating system, the Moto G 3rd Gen comes with Android Lollipop v5.1.1, out of the box. The company is one of the first ones to release the updates for the operating system after Google rolls out the same from their gates. The Android interface is completely stock, with almost no bloatware, making the smartphone’s user interface faster, smoother and lighter as compared to some of its rivals in the segment.

The Moto G 3rd Gen has a rugged build—thanks to the sturdy body and the textured rear panel, which offers you great grip. The handset retains the same thickness as that of the second generation Moto G at 11.6mm and weighs around 155g. The smartphone, though it features a 5-inch display, surprisingly does not feel large in your hands. The front panel consists of two front-facing stereo speakers, ensuring complete audibility, unlike most handsets, which have either rear-facing or downward-facing speakers, forcing you to cup your hands behind it for clarity in the audio.

The display is an HD IPS display panel—so don’t expect as sharp videos that you could see on your friend’s full HD high-end smartphone. Although the display sports a resolution of 720x1280 pixels, the quality is highly satisfactory. Viewing angles are good, colours are vibrant and outdoor visibility is not compromised.

The rear panel sports the 13MP camera with a dual-tone twin LED flash. Below the rear panel lies three slots—two for the micro SIM cards and one for the micro SD card slot to expand the internal storage further by 32GB. The smartphone also supports USB OTG for additional storage extension using USB pen drives. The Moto G 3rd Gen supports 4G LTE, which is another boon to those who are looking for a near future-proof smartphone for high-speed data connectivity ahead.

The Moto G 3rd Gen is fuelled by a 2470mAh battery which is good enough to run the handset for a complete working day. However, it depends on how you use it and what mode of connectivity you prefer. Yes, using 3G or 4G for streaming videos and other content can reduce the battery life a lot, but if you stick to switching back to 2G when not needed, you could end up with a few hours of runtime more. Motorola claims around 24 hours on mixed usage.

Inside the box, Motorola ships the handset, charger, USB cable and a user manual. Optional accessories for the Moto G 3rd Gen are Motorola shells, which include Black, Navy, Cabernet, Golden Yellow, Lime, Cherry, Blue, Turqouise, Raspberry and Chalk colours. Motorola also has flip Shells for the Moto G in various colours, which include Turquoise with Dark Teal, Blue with Navy, Raspberry with Cabernet, Crimson with Cherry, and Licorice with Charcoal.

On the performance front, the Moto G 3rd Gen is pretty fluid. From casual use to gaming, the smartphone will not put you down. However, we did notice that the device warms up a little after a long play of games or streaming of content when using in 3G mode. However, that is hardly a cause for concern as it is normal for a smartphone to heat up a little when in extensive use. The user interface is pretty fluid and thanks to no bloatware; the device has plenty of room for more of your personal apps.

On the camera front, the 13MP camera has an average performance. As stated earlier, the camera app has an autofocus mode that works automatically when you hold the phone steady. The autofocus is quick, and you can simply touch the screen to shoot the subject. Sadly, you cannot choose to manually focus on a particular part, by default, as you need to pull up an option for manual focus, which comes along with EV controls too. It’s not bad, but it would have been great if the option was a sticky control on the screen for you to choose. You have to head to the settings to bring up the option. The camera is pretty fast, and you can shoot single photos in a snap or touch and hold for burst of images. You could make use of a third-party camera app to suit your comfort. As far as the image quality is concerned, the 13MP sensor does a fair job. Images are good enough, colour and light balance is well maintained. But we did see below average performance in low-light conditions, which spews out a little grainy image, but it goes unnoticed. Check out some of the images clicked from the Moto G 3rd Gen below. Click on the image for full resolution.

To sum up, the whole experience with the handset, we would state that the Moto G 3rd Gen is a good welcome as compared to the older series. An upgraded display and chipset along with an IPX7 body are a great deal for budget smartphone hunters. We would recommend this handset for those who are looking for a rugged smartphone with assured timely Android updates. The Moto G 3rd Gen is available in two variants—the 8GB handset with 1GB of RAM retails at Rs 11,999, while the 16GB handset with 2GB of RAM retails at Rs 12,999.