$180 Moto G is the budget smartphone to beat

Sometimes you just want a phone.

Premium, high-caliber smartphones are a nice luxury, but it’s an investment that many people aren’t willing to commit to, particularly when there’s always a better – and sometimes bigger — phone on the horizon.

Enter the second generation of the Motorola Moto G (MSRP: $179.99): a smartphone whose best feature isn’t its display or its camera, but rather, its value.

When the first iteration of the Moto G arrived last year, it ended up being somewhat of an industry game-changer: The device single-handedly propelled Motorola back into the smartphone big leagues, particularly in overseas markets. The reason? The Moto G was packed with competitive hardware, designed with ease-of-use in mind, and was priced at well under $200.

The 2015 version picks up right where its predecessor left off—in other words, if you manage your expectations, the Moto G will pleasantly surprise you in a number of ways.

While the Moto G isn’t exactly the thinnest smartphone on the block, its size never feels chunky in the hand or in the pocket. Though it lacks the sleek, sexy textures of a high-end aluminum phone, this year’s model makes up for it with its comfort and durability.

The Moto G’s visage is comprised of a 5-inch, 720p screen dressed with Gorilla Glass. You won’t be gazing at Full HD 1080p content, but frankly, given the rest of the phone’s hardware, you don’t really need to.

All in all, Motorola should be commended for outfitting an entry-level phone with materials befitting a more expensive one. The end result of that decision is that holding and operating the Moto G is an altogether pleasant experience.

Much like its predecessor, the second generation Moto G arrives without heaps of unnecessary bloatware—there are no redundant apps that can't be uninstalled.

Notably absent, however, is 4G LTE, which is one of the biggest concessions made in the efforts to keep the Moto G’s costs down. Still, the upside (other than affordability) is the smaller footprint data usage leaves on the phone’s battery life.

In fact, thanks to measures like that one, battery life is one of the Moto G’s strengths. The 2070mAh battery clocked 5.2 hours of life while under a heavy load of work. While these results fell short of the first generation’s 5.5-hour performance, it’s still laudable, especially when compared to the ubiquitous iPhone.
One area where last iteration of Moto G faltered was its camera, and this generation hasn’t done much to improve on last year’s lackluster model.

The rear-facing camera snaps 8-megapixel photos at a relatively fast clip, but the speed is often due to the fact that the camera doesn't provide any kind of real autofocus support. When you touch the screen the camera takes a shot, regardless of whether your subject is in focus or not — leading to frequently blurry pictures.

Don't expect low-light content to look very good either. What's more, the camera's aggressive noise reduction software absolutely crushes any and all detail you might otherwise find in photos under these conditions.

Capturing video is an equally tumultuous endeavor. The camera tends to produce blurry, juddering video regardless of your subject's lighting.

In addition to the camera's fundamentally poor performance, the software itself is about as barebones as can be. ISO and exposure settings are non-existent, white balance controls are nowhere to be found, and there isn’t even a timer. Aspiring photographers are better off considering posher phones.

Although the Moto G only packs 8 or 16GB of storage space, it supports up to 32GB of expanded space via a microSD slot underneath the hood — an increasingly rare, but welcome, feature in smartphones.

The Moto G's Snapdragon 400 processor is outfitted with 1.2 GHz of quad-core processing power, which is identical to the first generation's computing specs. And, much like the first iteration of the Moto G, you can expect some trade-offs in the performance department.

I found no issues with basic tasks like web browsing and Facebook messaging, but high-end gaming and video streaming tend to drag along with some noticeable hiccups.

Ultimately, if you're a dedicated phone-gamer or a stickler for high-octane performance, steer clear of the Moto G. It's simply not built for you.

However, if you spend more time on your laptop or tablet and don't get much usage out of your phone on a day-to-day basis, you'll find a lot to love about the Moto G. Simply put, it is an effortless, user-friendly experience that delivers on its (admittedly modest) promises.

You don’t have to search long to uncover the Moto G’s shortcomings, but if you meet them in the middle, it’s easier to embrace the phone for what it is.

The Moto G is a smartphone for consumers who find value in simplicity rather than bells and whistles. Its lack of bloatware, its comfortable design, and its outstanding battery life add up to a phone that's here to please the crowd rather than outshine the competition.

If you're hoping to do more than basic point-and-shoot photography, you might want to explore other options—the absence of a decent camera is sure to have shutterbugs shying away from it. If respectable performance and a reasonable price are important to you, you could certainly do much worse than the Moto G.

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