The Moto G (2015) Review
by Brandon Chester on August 19, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Camera
One of the most notable improvements to the 2015 Moto G is its new rear-facing camera. The 2014 Moto G used Sony's IMX179, while the 2015 model adopts IMX214. The sensor size increases from 1/3.2" to 1/3.06" and the resolution increases from 8MP to 13MP. The aperture is also much wider, moving from F/2.4 to F/2.0, which can help offset the lower sensitivity of the smaller pixels. An overview of the Moto G's cameras can be found in the chart below.
| Camera Specifications | |||
| Moto G (2015) | |||
| Front Camera | 5MP (2560x1920) |
||
| Front Camera - Sensor | S5K5E2 (1.12 µm, 1/5") |
||
| Front Camera - Max Aperture | F/2.2 | ||
| Rear Camera | 13.0MP (4224x3400) |
||
| Rear Camera - Sensor | Sony IMX214 (1.12 µm, 1/3.06") |
||
| Rear Camera - Focal Length | 3.6mm (26mm eff) | ||
| Rear Camera - Max Aperture | F/2.0 | ||
While the Moto G lacks the voice coil motor from the Nexus 6 which is needed to enable OIS, the rest of the camera stack is effectively identical. The one difference on paper is the Moto G's shorter focal length which will give images a wider field of view.
Coincidentally, the move from IMX179 to IMX214 is the exact same change made between the Nexus 5 and Nexus 6. Whatever differences there are between the image quality of the 2015 Moto G and the Nexus 6 in good lighting rests primarily in the hands of their image signal processors. The Nexus 6 will obviously have a low light advantage due to its inclusion of OIS to lengthen shutter times, and we'll get to the low light differences after covering image quality with generous lighting.
In this daylight scene the Moto G performs very well. The exposure is very good, although I feel that it underexposed slightly while the Nexus 6 overexposed slightly. The Nexus 6 definitely has an edge when it comes to the sharpness of grass and foliage, as well as the preservation of textures such as the walls of the building and the pavement of the road. It's also worth noting that there's some lens distortion occurring on the Moto G which is causing color fringing along the white edges of the building windows, although at a normal viewing size it's barely noticeable. I think the Nexus 6 took an overall better photo, but only slightly better, with the Moto G doing a better job than any other mid-range device I've tested during the day.
Low light image quality is where things start to fall apart on the Moto G. While it's difficult to see in the small preview above, looking at the full size image reveals a great deal of color noise throughout the entire image, which doesn't exist on the Nexus 6. The Moto G took a 1/15s exposure, while the Nexus 6 was longer at 1/12s. 1/12s actually isn't very long for a device with OIS, and the difference in ISO value was not very large between the two devices either which means that Motorola's lacking quality has more to do with a simple lack of chroma noise reduction more than anything else. Chroma noise is by far the most distracting type of artifact in photos, and unfortunately it makes the Moto G unsuitable for photography in low light.
Video Quality
Video recording is a great test of a device's ISP as there's only a very short timespan to do processing on each frame that is captured. Since the 2015 Moto G and the Nexus 6 use the same image sensor this allows us to take a look at the differences in video quality between the ISPs in Snapdragon 410 and Snapdragon 805.
The Moto G records 1080p video at 30fps. Video is encoded with an average bitrate of 17Mbps using the H.264 high profile. For this comparison I limited the Nexus 6 to 1080p rather than UHD recording to make it an apples to apples comparison.
The most obvious advantage the Nexus 6 has is the stability of the video. While one might think this is due to the inclusion of OIS, the Nexus 6 isn't using the OIS for stabilization, and this is really just a case of superior EIS enabled by the superior ISP. As for the video quality itself, it's clear that the Nexus 6 is sharper across the frame and has greater detail on the various types of foliage in the area. The Nexus 6 also manages a better exposure, with the Moto G's video being too dark, with muted and just generally inaccurate colors. It appears that like the low light photo scene, the Moto G's video recording abilities are hampered by its ISP.
WiFi Performance
Like almost all of the low end and mid range devices I've tested recently, the Moto G ships with support for 802.11n on the 2.4GHz band. This single spatial stream implementation has a max link speed of 72Mbps.
The Moto G's WiFi speed is roughly the same as all other mid range devices. The Zenfone 2 is once again an exception to the rule, but 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. I really hope we start seeing 5GHz support in mid range 802.11n phones though, rather than the ever increasingly crowded 2.4GHz band.
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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 cardsdragonsqrrl - 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.