Motorola Moto E 4G review

A while back we reviewed the 3G variant of Motorola's budget smartphone Moto E, which performed well but lacked some integral features such as a speedy processor, 4G connectivity and a good camera which can be found in many affordable options these days. To meet such market needs, Motorola has introduced the 4G variant of the smartphone with a faster processor and the 4G LTE support. However all other aspects are as it as expect the price. Let's check out the 4G variant of Moto E, which changed the budget smartphone landscape in the country.

Design

Moto E 4G has rounded edges, which makes it easy to handle with hand

The Moto E 2^nd gen. 4G is exactly identical in look and feel to its 3G variant. The smartphone have an ergonomic construction; rounded curves, soft touch back which feel good to hold. You thumb easily reaches the volume and power rockers placed at the right edge which offers a good tactile feedback on pressing. When compared with Yuphoria and Redmi 2, Moto E 4G feels a bit heavy in hands but overall it’s quite sturdy, not at all cheap and is the cutest kid of the Motorola’s family.

The variety of bands with Moto E 4G t give it a new look

Likewise Moto E 3G, you can also upgrade the design of 4G variant by the changing the rubberised band that wraps around the edges and hides the dual SIM card and microSD card slots. This band can also protect your phone’s edges from scratches and minor damages if it accidentally slips from your hands. And you get a variety of colourful options in the market to give your Moto a refreshing new look.

Display

The display is bright but not the sharpest in this price bracket

Likewise design, Moto E 4G is equipped with the same 4.5” IPS LCD capacitive display, which packs a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels and has a pixel density of 245ppi. It’s certainly not the best screen in this price bracket as competitors such as Redmi 2, Yuphoria, Lenovo A6000 features a 720p screen at somewhat less or same price.

The difference in the resolution gets visible when you view videos and pictures on the Moto’s display as it is less sharp than the displays on the competitors and also has a warmer tone. However it is fairly bright to consume the content in daylight conditions and Motorola has also added Gorilla Glass 3 which can protect your screen from accidental damages.

Performance

The real difference in the two variants of Moto E second Generation is in the computing performance. The 4G edition is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 SoC whereas the 3G is backed by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 CPU. In day to day performance, Moto E 4G delivers a better performance than the 3G variant and even feels faster than the Redmi 2 and Yuphoria.

Android 5.0.2 lollipop works buttery smooth on the Moto E 4G

With the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop and 1 GB RAM, the smartphone is quick to load applications and most of the time is quite smooth, even with 8 to 12 applications running simultaneously in the background.

We also ran the standard benchmarks to test the computing performance of the smartphone. Moto E 4G beats Yuphoria in Antutu  (which is performed to test the overall computing performance) with a decent score of 21,546. The smartphone scored 1607 in Vellamo benchmark, which is also higher than Yuphoria's score but it loses the game in the same benchmark’s Multicore test to check the CPU performance. Yuphoria also wins in 3D Mark and Quadrant with just a smaller margin which tests the graphic performance of the smartphone.

(Both the smartphones have the same graphic unit- Adreno 306)

Camera

Moto E 4G packs the same camera sensor (5 Mp rear and VGA front) as seen in the 3G variant. And as we mentioned in the review of Moto E 3G, The pictures come out to be of average quality with lack of details. The low light shots are grainy and you don’t even have a flash light to take pictures in dark. Besides this you have regular features such as Panorama, HDR, Burst modes, and Quick Capture.

We do not recommend Moto E 3G/4G if you love to take pictures from your phone. You can go for Redmi 2 which clearly beats the Moto E’s camera. Otherwise, Yuphoria is also a better shooter that Moto E.

Battery

Moto E 4G is backed by a 2390 mAh battery which in our standard battery test (video playback at Full brightness and Wi-Fi on) lasted for 6 hours 55 minutes. It lasted longer than the Yuphoria, which is backed by a 2230 mAh battery, Moto E 3G variant and the Xiaomi Redmi 2. In day to day usage, the smartphone survived for a little more than 13 hours in which we browsed internet, made calls, texted, played music and some gaming. And during our review, we did not face any issues with the call quality on the smartphone.

Moto E 4G review