Motorola

Moto E (2nd-gen)

Review in pictures

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Thick and curvy, heavy yet ergonomic

Unlike most smartphone successors which are leaner and lighter than their previous iterations,

the new Moto E bears similar measurements as its predecessor

It has a waistline of 12.3mm and tips the scale at 145g

However, that doesn’t make it seem bulky or thick, since the curved rear and matte finish is able

to offer superb handling

With a 4.5-inch display unit, it can also be used with a single hand comfortably

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Doesn’t give away its budget roots

The textured band around the edges also improves grip

In terms of buttons and ports, the Moto E (2015) follows the standard convention

The band along the edges also serves another purpose – removing it exposes the slots for

inserting a pair of SIM cards and a microSD card

You can also swap the Motorola Band, available in multiple hues that can be purchased

separately, to add a dash of personality to the phone

Thanks to nanocoating, the phone is impervious against water splashes

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Bigger viewing area, but not necessarily better

Motorola has traded the 4.3-inch display available on the original Moto E for a slightly

bigger 4.5-inch IPS display panel

However, the qHD resolution remains the same, resulting in a pixel density of 245ppi

The display reproduces sharp text and brilliant visuals

But viewing angles seem to be limited, and we struggled reading it under direct sunlight

With a protective layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, the device is amongst the rare

options in its segment to safeguard the display against scratches or minor knocks

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Offers a taste of Lollipop…

Amongst the very first

devices that come

preloaded with Google’s

latest mobile OS, i.e.,

Android 5.0 Lollipop

Like previous offerings

from the brand, the device

offers a stock interface,

and thus allows you to fully

enjoy the new Material

Design language

Lollipop, along with the

visual changes, also brings

several performance

improvements under the

hood

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… which is made even sweeter with Motorola’s enhancements

The Moto E comes with

features that are shipped in

Motorola’s flagship devices

Moto Display displays

notifications on a lock screen

when it’s taken out of the

pocket or touched

With Moto Assist, the phone

can be automated for modes

like meeting and sleeping

Motorola Alert allows the

user to share their location

with friend and family, along

with setting up an

emergency mode

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The shooters are better than its predecessor…

The biggest disappoint in the

first-gen Moto E was its

camera

Its successor fares a little

better. Even though it also

packs a 5MP sensor, the

addition of autofocus makes a

lot of difference

While its predecessor didn’t

have a front camera, the new

model sports a VGA

secondary shooter

The camera interface remains

minimalistic – allowing for

quick captures

The phone can record videos

in 720p at 30fps

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… but not the competition

The camera offers excellent colour

fidelity

It also captures sufficient amount

of details, which is good enough

for social sharing

Sadly, it struggles in low-light

conditions

Lack of LED flash is also felt while

capturing low-light shots

The VGA snapper is fine for video

calls, but you can’t expect to

dazzle your Instagram followers

with selfies

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A fine performer

Instead of a dual-core chipset, the handset comes powered by a Qualcomm

Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor ticking at 1.2GHz

The processor is complemented by a gigabyte of RAM, while Adreno 306 GPU

takes care of graphics

Able to deliver lag-free usage, though apps don’t open instantaneously

The experience of playing casual games is smooth, however there are noticeable

jerks when running graphics-heavy titles such as Riptide GP2

The mobile also suffers from heating issues

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Double the storage than its previous iteration

The paltry 4GB storage of

the Moto E (1st-gen) was

also a big complaint

against the device

Its successor is able to

change that by offering

twice the amount of

storage

Out of 8GB, users will be

able to access 4.6GB

You can also extend the

memory up to 32GB via

microSD cards

Sadly, the Moto E misses

out on USB OTG support

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A daily driver (quite literally) in terms of battery

The second-gen Moto E sips

juice from a 2,390mAh Li-ion

embedded battery

The battery empowers the

device to last a day with

general usage

If you are using battery-

draining features like 3G,

GPS or Wi-Fi Hotspot, then

the phone is able to just last

a day

You can also enable the

battery saver mode to

extend the battery life

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At a glance…

Measures 129.9 x 66.8 x 12.3mm

Weighs 145g

4.5-inch display with qHD resolution

1.2GHz quad-core processor

1GB RAM

8GB in-built storage with support for

microSD cards

5MP rear camera

VGA front shooter

3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS

2,390mAh Li-ion battery

Android 5.0 Lollipop

Pros and cons

Superb build quality

Gorilla glass protection

Latest iteration of Android

Motorola enhancements

Average hardware

No support for 4G connectivity

Pricing & verdict

Price:Rs 6,999

“The new Moto E is able to carry forward the legacy of its predecessor and brings forth a decent set of specs along with the lure of Android Lollipop, plus some premium niceties in terms of software – all at the same price tag of Rs 6,999. However, it's up against formidable opponents in the form of the Lenovo A6000 and Xiaomi Redmi 2, which offer better hardware.”