THE BEST CHEAP iPHONE ALTERNATIVE

The design leaves a little to be desired, but not much else does. Source: NewsComAu

APPLE’S next big iPhone release is this Thursday. But as great as each new iPhone is, Apple’s smartphone is always one of the most expensive on the market. So what if you want an excellent phone for much less?

Enter the 2015 Motorola Moto G.
It’s the third iteration of Motorola’s budget friendly Moto G series,
which aims to offer as little compromise as possible at an affordable price.
This year’s model packs a 5-inch 720p screen, quad-core processor, water-resistant design, 4G connectivity, 16GB of storage and a 13-megapixel camera taken straight out of Google’s Nexus 6 — all for just $369. Or roughly $630 cheaper than an 16GB iPhone 6.
The first thing you notice about the new Moto G is just how fast and smooth it is. With most low-end smartphones you’re usually faced with a slow, laggy mess of a phone, full of manufacturer installed apps that do nothing but make it even slower.
Thankfully, Motorola has chucked in a decent 1.4Ghz processor, which makes things perfectly snappy and gives you nothing but pure Android with no unnecessary apps in sight.
The result is a phone, that even with a cheap price tag, can do all your basic daily tasks like listening to Spotify, scrolling through Facebook and browsing the web without a hitch. It’s no powerhouse like the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 though, so don’t expect it to be able to play all the latest graphically intense games.

The little dimple under the camera makes it easy to hold for small hands. Source: NewsComAu

The pure Android experience is a welcome relief. In Google’s latest version of Android, things finally feel as slick as iOS or Windows Phone, and can easily be ruined and bogged down by manufacturer skins over the top. The only modifications done by Motorola on the Moto G are all to do with gestures and how you interact with the phone, with none of the design aspects touched or useless apps added.
Little things like Moto Display on your lock screen adds icons from your apps that have notifications which you can tap to see more if you want to. It’s a much cleaner way to do lock screen notifications and something that’s genuinely useful.
Then there’s gestures like twisting the phone twice to bring up the camera or the always listening (when the screen’s on) Google Now feature. They’re things that make using your phone easier that aren’t often seen on a phone at this price.
Battery life is fantastic on it too, easily getting through the day after throwing whatever I could at it. It even outlasted the iPhone 6 Plus and LG G4, both phones that traditionally have great battery life.
But of course, with such a slim price tag, there comes compromise.
The first I noticed is the display. After using phones with brilliant screens like the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 for a period of time, going back to a phone with a 720p resolution at 5-inches leaves a lot to be desired It’s not just the resolution either, colours aren’t vivid and it certainly ruins the rest of the seemingly premium experience of the Moto G. In saying that, it’s better than most of its rivals in that price point.
The 13-megapixel camera also is a long way behind the best in the market. In optimal outdoor conditions you can certainly take some commendable pictures, but in conditions any worse than that, it will leave you disappointed.
But again, for the $369 Motorola is asking for the Moto G, it’s extremely hard to fault it. I would even go as far as to say that while using the Moto G, aside from when I wanted to take photos, I never found myself desperately wanting to run back to the iPhone 6, LG G4 or any of the other $1000+ phones I have on my desk. If you’re after a budget-friendly device, this is your phone.