Moto G 4G — Mini Review

Hardware

The Motorola Moto G 4G is almost identical to the original Moto G 4G: same screen, processor, RAM, Camera and even the chassis size and weight has remained the same. The major difference, as the name suggests, has been the inclusion of a 4G radio to the phone, enabling it to connect to LTE networks. There was also a decision to include a microSD card slot to allow people to have more storage than the 8GB internal storage offered on the original Moto G.

While the screen is still a little dark sometimes, the camera could do with an upgrade and the processor/RAM combination isn’t quite perfect, the Moto G still has a great hardware base. Everyone is aware that an update is about to be announced, but whether that is a 3G-only device as was the case with the Moto G remains to be seen.

Many people will have handled the Moto G by now, it’s a good solid phone, a little thicker than most handsets, but at this end of the price range, it’s expected. This thickness adds to the feel that the phone is well made, there’s no way for anyone to feel it’s flimsy, rather giving it a sturdy presence reminiscent of a Nokia 5110, although we don’t recommend inflicting the sort of treatment on the Moto G 4G that many have anecdotally given that aforementioned Nokia handset.

Battery life

The big question on most people’s lips is about the battery life once the phone began switching to 4G. The answer to this is the same with any connection – if you’re in a good signal area and the phone has connection to a 4G tower, the battery life doesn’t suffer.

But there’s exceptions to every rule – and that’s not just with 4G phones. If you’re in an area with poor signal, be it 3G, 4G or in the future: 5G and your phone is constantly switching back and forth looking for signal, your battery life suffers.

In practice, I found the Moto G 4G battery life amazingly good. I even used it as a de-facto Wifi hotspot for a while leaving the hotspot on and it lasted for almost the full day – something I have never experienced with another phone.

Camera

The camera on the phone hasn’t improved since our original review. In good light, the phone takes a decent, if not pretty good shot, but in low light it struggles, it’s also a bit slow. So, if you have good light, time to focus and frame your shot, it takes a pretty notably impressive picture – if not, it’s not the best results.

The camera interface has to be one of the better ones I’ve used, it has all your settings a simple swipe away. It’s very close to the format of the Nexus camera software but with a few tweaks, and good ones. The whole screen is your shutter button (Take notes Google, that massive shutter key has to go), the phone focuses and takes the shot in one tap, something I recently began enjoying on the LG G3.

There’s a good balance of features like Panorama, Slow Motion Video, and the drag to focus option which lets you drag a box around the screen that will let you focus on anything within the frame. There’s even digital zoom if you’re inclined to use it. There’s no deep dive stuff included like white balance, exposure settings, but the phone takes decent enough samples to make a decent shot on its own. The HDR mode is also about all you need to turn a decent shot into a great one if you need it.

Moto G 4G Video Sample

Connectivity

Connectivity is obviously the big seller on the Moto G 4G, the phone comes with the usual Bluetooth, Wifi and 3G, this is all well and good, but the big spec bump on the Moto G 4G is the 4G.

The Moto G 4G comes with a pretty decent antenna – the reception was exceptional in places I’ve traditionally only received fairly ordinary, bordering on patchy signal. The Moto G 4G comes with a full array of 4G bands : 800/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz (B20/B8/B3/B1/B7), essentially giving full 4G coverage to most areas in Australia.

There’s a notable exception to this, which is specific to me – no Optus 4G signal in Canberra. With no 2300MHz LTE radio reception I was unable to use Optus 4G on the Moto G 4G, but I did try it on the 1800MHz network in Sydney and found it connected fine. Vodafone connected but had issues picking up the APN settings initially, but once I went outside the phone picked up the signal and I was able to walk around with great reception. Telstra was best, with a quick pickup of APN settings and then it was all systems go.

Overall, the Moto G 4G will connect to anything you want – with that one notable exception – with no issues.

Software

Android OS

When we first reviewed the Moto G 4G, the phone had just been released and came with Android 4.3, it has since been updated to the latest version of Android: 4.4.4. The update came through quite quickly once Google released it and Motorola looks set to continue updating the First-Gen Moto phones for quite a while, at least as long as the hardware supports it according to Motorola chief Punit Soni – a promise you’ll be hard pressed to get from any other manufacturer outside a Nexus phone.

Skins

Notably, all the Moto products are as stock Android as possible. The main difference between the software look on a Moto phone (E, G or X) is the Google Now Launcher. With Android 4.4.4 on board, the Moto G can even overcome this limitation, but it’s not really a limitation, the Motorola stock launcher is all you could really want, but hey, it’s Android – install whichever launcher you want.

Bundled Apps

There’s been a few changes to the Moto G stock app load since we last looked at the Moto G. Motorola has not rested on their laurels when it comes to adding features and functionality.

Moto Alert:
Motorola has expanded availability of their Moto Alert service that they launched on the Moto E back in May. Moto Alert allows you to set up to three contacts who can be notified when you’re in need of emergency help, want to schedule a meet-up, or want someone to follow you.

Moto Assist:
Motorola has in the last few days added Home and Driving modes that were introduced on the Moto X, to the Moto Assist service. Home and Driving modes let the Moto Assist app read out your incoming text messages or the caller ID information, as well as replying to them using only your voice, while you’re driving down the road or sitting watching the TV at night.

The only other major update of note is the inclusion of their Motorola Spotlight Stories, which includes two stories: Windy Day and Buggy Night. These apps are simply a bit of fun on the Motorola handsets, much like the changing Boot Animations, which Motorola update from time-to-time. They’re whimsical, and show that Motorola is trying to do something a little extra for their customers than just supplying a utilitarian device, it’s something fun.

Apart from that, the Moto G 4G is basically a stock Android device, there’s no cruft or bloatware pre-installed. Of course, the Moto G 4G is only available outright, with no carrier software load, but at this stage of the game, it’s unlikely the Moto G 4G will be on-sale from a carrier anytime soon so enjoy the clean interface.