Moto G (3rd generation)

Moto G (3rd generation)

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Codename	Osprey
Manufacturer	Motorola Mobility
Slogan	Choose the phone that's always there for you
Series	Motorola Moto
First released	28 July 2015 (2015-07-28)
Predecessor	Moto G (2nd generation)
Successor	Moto G (4th generation)
Related	Moto X Style Moto X Play
Type	Smartphone
Form factor	Slate
Dimensions	142.1 mm (5.59 in) H 72.4 mm (2.85 in) W 11.6 mm (0.46 in) D
Weight	155 g (5.5 oz)
Operating system	Android 5.1.1 "Lollipop" Upgradeable to 6.0.1 "Marshmallow"
System on chip	Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
CPU	1.4 GHz 64-bit Quad-core
GPU	Adreno 306
Memory	1 or 2 GB LPDDR2/3 RAM
Storage	8 or 16 GB, microSD card slot
Removable storage	microSDXC up to 32 GB
Battery	2470 mAh Li-ion non-removable
Display	5.0" (129 mm) 1280 x 720 (294 ppi) 720p with Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Rear camera	Sony IMX214 Exmor R CMOS 13 MP, f2.0 aperture, dual CCT dual tone flash, 1080p video recording @ 30fps, and slow motion recording up to 59.32fps.
Front camera	5 MP, f2.2
Sound	Earpiece, loudspeaker, 2-mic support
Connectivity	Micro USB, 3.5 mm headset jack
Development status	In production
Website	https://www.motorola.com/us/products/moto-g

The third generation Moto G is an Android smartphone developed by Lenovo's Motorola Mobility division, unveiled in India on July 28, 2015, and released the same day.

Specifications

The third-generation Moto G has a 5-inch display with HD resolution of 1280x720p and features Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a 13-megapixel camera similar to the one from the Nexus 6 with many features including HDR and an on-screen exposure setting option, a quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, and the latest version of Android, 6.0.1 "Marshmallow". The phone back is removable, and made of textured plastic. The back also comes in multiple colors available in Motorola's Moto Maker website. The Moto G 3rd-generation is water resistant through the use of nano-coating and internal rubber gaskets, giving it an IPX7 rating. This waterproofing gives the phone the capacity to resist being submerged in up to one meter (or about three feet) of water for 30 minutes at a time with the back cover secured correctly. The low-end model comes with 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM, while the high-end model comes with 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM. This phone also features a 2470 mAh Li-ion non-removable battery. Both models support LTE.

At launch, the phone ran a near-stock Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system, although it has since been upgraded to Android 6.0 Marshmallow, preloaded on new devices and upgradable via an OTA update for devices already on the Lollipop 5.1 OS. The Android Marshmallow 6.0 update for the Moto G 3rd-generation was first widely rolled out in North America starting on December 24, 2015. The phone has both a single-SIM and dual-SIM variant, availability of which vary by market.

Variants

Model	Carriers/Regions	CDMA bands	GSM/GPRS/EDGE bands	UMTS/HSPA+ bands	LTE bands	Notes
XT1540	US (unlocked), Canada (all carriers or unlocked), Latin America (Tigo, Movistar Mexico)	N/A	850, 900, 1800, 1900	850, 1700/AWS, 1900, 2100	B2 (1900), B4 (1700), B5 (850), B7 (2600), *B12 (700), B17 (700)	Single SIM
XT1541	Europe	N/A	850, 900, 1800, 1900	900, 2100	B1 (2100), B3 (1800), B7 (2600), B8 (900), B20 (800)	Single SIM
XT1542/43/44	Brazil, Latin America	N/A	850, 900, 1800, 1900	850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100	B4 (1700), B7 (2600), B28 (700)	Dual SIM (XT1543/44), DTV (XT1544), XT1542 variant is a single-SIM model on plan with Movistar Colombia.
XT1548	US (Sprint, US Cellular, Virgin Mobile)	800, 850, 1900	850, 900, 1800, 1900	850, 1700, 1900	B2 (1900), B4 (1700), B5 (850), B12 (700), B17 (700), B25 (1900), B26 (850), LTE-TDD: B41 (2500)	Single SIM
XT1550	Asia, Australia	N/A	850, 900, 1800, 1900	850, 900, 2100	B1 (2100), B3 (1800), B7 (2600), B8 (900), B28 (700), LTE-TDD: B40 (2300)	Dual SIM

*Band 12 is available with the Android M update.

A Moto G Turbo Edition with a faster eight core Snapdragon 615 processor, 2 GB of RAM, IP67 rating, and Quick Charging was revealed for sale in Mexico, Colombia, and India on 13 November 2015,.

Reception

The 3rd generation Moto G received a very positive reception upon release. The Moto G's performance from its 1.4 GHz Snapdragon 410 paired with either 1GB or 2GB of RAM was significantly faster than the 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 410 with 1GB of RAM in the Moto E, and almost as quick as devices powered by the more powerful 1.5 GHz Snapdragon 615 such as the Huawei P8 Lite, which has been attributed to the Moto G's largely bloat-free build of Android 5.1 "Lollipop". While the 2nd generation Moto G was regarded as a "sidegrade" rather than a true successor to the 1st generation (since it retains largely the same specifications), the Moto G 3rd generation was considered a big improvement over its predecessors. The rear camera's photo quality (except in low-light conditions) was much lauded considering the Moto G's budget price (sharing the same sensor as the much more expensive Nexus 6) and its predecessors' poor camera performance. The IPX7 water/dust resistance (unique among smartphones in its price range at the time) was also praised by reviewers. Ars Technica proclaimed "the fact that the Moto G is so competent drives home the superfluousness of so many flagship phone features—the move from 720p to 1080p to 1440p and beyond, faster SoCs, ever-thinner metal-and-glass slabs. Those things are all nice to have, but you’d be hard-pressed to argue that any of them are essential," referring to the surprising value of the 3rd-generation Moto G considering its price.

There have also been some criticisms of the 3rd generation Moto G. For example, the IPS LCD screen's calibration was poorer than its 2014 predecessor. Despite brighter, more vibrant colours and wider viewing angles, the display still suffered from "muted" greens and "washed-out" outdoor performance. Low light camera performance was also criticized (with similar criticism also being leveled at the Nexus 6, which shares the same camera sensor). The low-end configuration with 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM leaves little more than 4GB out-of-the-box for user-accessible storage, although this was partially addressed with the inclusion of a Micro SD card slot expandable officially up to 32GB and unofficially up to 128GB. The lack of RAM on the low-end model has also been said to significantly reduce multitasking performance. The criticisms aimed at the low-end model would not be so much of an issue for the 3rd-generation Moto G if the higher-end model had been available in all markets, as some countries only have the lower-end model available.

An Image taken using Moto g3 HDR Mode ON

See also

• Comparison of smartphones

External links

• www.motorola.com/us/products/moto-g — official Moto G site