Good news, Moto G 2015 also knows as the Moto G3 has received yet another maintenance update which the January 2017 security patch update. After its launch it was said that Motorola Moto G3 will not receive security patch updates on a monthly basis making the device vulnerable. But Moto G3 has received the January security patch update even much earlier than the Moto G4 Plus whic is still running the December security patch.
Previously Moto G3 got two maintenance updates simultaneously which installed July and October security patch updates. It is a wise idea to keep your android phone updated with android security patches as they increase device security.
The build number of new update is 24.216.12.en.03 and it only weighs 11.1 MB in size and takes hardly ten minutes to install. It is just a security patch update and doesn't include any UI enhancements. From security point of view this update should not be skipped at any cost.
To update your Moto G3 with the January security patch update go to 'Settings>About phone>System updates'. After getting the OTA update notification tap 'YES I'M IN'. Select Wi-Fi or mobile network and download the OTA and install it.
It is clear that Moto G 2015 also known as Moto G3 is not getting the android 7.0 Nougat update. But recently Motorola released two maintenance updates for this 3rd generation of Moto G at the same time. These two updates are just security patches which fix the android vulnerabilities up to October 2016. These two updates also come with stability fixes. The first OTA update has the build number 24.71.2.en.03 and weighs only 12.9 MB. This is the July 2016 security patch update and hardly takes 10 minutes to install.
The other update having build number 24.201.5.en.03 is the October security patch update and weighs 63.7 MB. This OTA update installs in 10 minutes. These are the important security updates for your Moto G3 and you shouldn't skip these updates at any cost. So if you are seeing a notification on your phone then tap 'YES, I'M IN' and let the phone update itself. Make sure the battery is charged to 60% or above.
Users of Moto G 3rd Generation (Moto G 2015) have started receiving the android 6.0.1 update in India. The new update size is 371 MB which also includes the android security patch up to March 1st, 2016. So after installing this update your Moto G3 will be more secure against security threats like the stagefright. Apart from this security update, we can now activate the camera by pressing the power buttons two times. This is a new feature for activating the camera on Moto G 2015, the other being twist to capture.
Also, you can now turn on and off the sound of a camera shutter. A dedicated shutter tone button can be found in camera settings. The update size is approx 371 MB and it will take around 15-20 minutes to install completely. Since it is an official OTA update then your data will be safe while updating. So no need to backup data.
This is a minor update which fixes several bugs and improves device's performance. There are no changes in UI and all the features are same. This is a security update that you should not skip. The update is currently rolled out in India but will soon be available in United States. The software version is 24.61.55.en.03.
How To Update Moto G 3rd Generation To Android 6.0.1
Note: Before updating make sure that the phone is charged to more than 50%.
If you have already received the OTA notification then tap 'Yes I'm in'. After the phone finishes the download tap 'Install now'. Your phone will restart to update itself. Don't disturb the upgrading process and keep your phone aside for 10-15 minutes. The phone will boot to home screen after the upgrading process has finished.
If you haven't received the notification. Then go to 'Settings>About phone>System updates'. Wait for few seconds to let your phone check for updates. The OTA is being released in phases so it can happen that you may receive the OTA 2-3 days after reading this article.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow has now started rolling out on different devices. Recently Moto 2015 received the android M update in India, North America and Canada. There is not much difference if we talk about the look and feel. It is similar to android 5.1 Lollipop in appearance. But android 6.0 has some good features that will help to get most out of your smartphone. One of the best features of android M is the ability to use any Sdcard as internal storage. Today most phones have 8/16 GB internal storage. This storage may get full if you store all of your data like photos, videos and files on it. If you don’t want to run out of space then you can use any Sdcard and make it your phone’s internal storage. Please note e that USB OTG drive can't be used for the same purpose.
In android 2.3 we were able to move some apps from phone to Sdcard, but this feature was completely removed in later versions. After several years android 6.0 Marshmallow brought this feature back which will change the way we used micro SD cards in the past. For a Sdcard to become the internal storage of your phone it should have faster read/write and data transfer rates. You should use either Sandisk Ultra or Samsung Evo. Both of these micro storage devices are of class 10 having a reading speed of 80 Mbps. You can grab them here Sandisk Ultra|Samsung Evo.
Pre-Requisites
Before doing anything take a backup of your files stored on the internal storage of your phone. The files can be moved to Sdcard if you want, but taking a backup is safer which will help you reverse any unwanted file loss event.
How To Use Micro SD Cards As Internal Storage In Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Insert the micro Sdcard in the slot.
A popup will appear in the notification panel.
Tap ‘Setup’. A setup screen will open. Here select ‘Use as internal storage’ and tap ‘NEXT’.
Now tap ‘ERASE & FORMAT’. Wait for the process to finish.
Finally after the format, you will be given two options to move your phone’s data.
Tap ‘Move now’ and then tap ‘NEXT’. It takes more time to transfer the data if your micro sd card is not of class 10. You should select ‘Move later’.
It will take few minutes in moving the data to new internal storage.
The phone's original storage will not be accessible and no longer visible in file manager apps.
Manually Move Data To New Internal Storage
You should use a USB OTG drive to copy all your files to new internal storage. But USB OTG drive is not visible in most file managers if your phone is running android 6.0 Marshmallow. Only ES files explorer can access the USB disk.
Download and install ‘ES file explorer’.
Connect the USB disk to your phone.
Open ‘ES file explorer’ and tap the menu on the top left corner.
Here select ‘Local’ and then tap ‘USB1002’.
Now copy the files from here and paste them into new internal storage.
You should eject the Sdcard before removing. Go to ‘Settings>Storage & USB’. Tap the eject button next to Sdcard.
Advantages Of Using Sdcard As Internal Storage In Android M
You can remove the storage device anytime and keep it safe.
Internal storage can be expanded up to 32/64 GB via micro Sdcards.
Recently Moto G 3rd Generation has received the official android 6.0 Marshmallow update in India. The android 6.0 for Moto G 2015 was first released in the North America and Canada. If we talk about the look and feel of android M on Moto G3 then I would say nothing has changed much because the look and feel are exactly the same as that of android 5.1 Lollipop. But in the new software version 24.11.25.en.US and 24.11.25.en.03 you will several performance enhancements. The new firmware has features like Doze mode, Do Not Disturb, Moto display, Inbuilt file manager, new wallpapers, improved volume controls, ability to use sdcards as internal storage, app permissions and app links.
We will do a brief review of Moto G 2015’s android 6.0 software update later. Till the time we are here to discuss a storage issue that most users are facing right now after updating to android M. This issue is related to USB OTG drives. Whenever we connect a USB OTG drive to our Moto G3 then file manager apps like ‘ES File Explorer’ and ‘Asus File Manager’ are not picking up the USB OTG. I have checked Asus file manager and it is no longer supporting the USB OTG and is unable to access it. This may be due to the new app permissions feature and developers may fix this soon. You can see in the screenshot below that Asus file manager is unable to access the USB on the go drive.
Fix USG OTG Not Showing In File Manager Apps After Updating Moto G 2015 To Android 6.0
Till now I have a solution to access the USB OTG drive on Moto G 3rd Gen. Since in the first paragraph, I have mentioned that the android 6.0 software update for the Moto G3 has an inbuilt file manager. Whenever you connect a USB OTG drive to your phone a popup appears in the notification panel. Here you need to tap ‘Explore’ to view the files stored on the USB drive. The inbuilt file manager is capable of doing all basic file operations like cut, copy, paste, move and folder creation.
The USB drive is also not visible in the ‘ES File Explorer’ home page. But it is not like that. If you open the ‘ES File Explorer’ and tap the menu on the top left then you will find an option ‘Local’. When you tap this it will expand and will show you the connected USB OTG drive. Tap this drive to explore it and from here you can copy or move files from this directory.
If you have any questions then ask via comments, and if you liked the article then please share it.
Good news for the Indian users of Moto G 3rd Generation. The phone has finally received the android M (android 6.0) Marshmallow update in India after its official release in the North America and Canada. The new android 6.0 for Moto G 2015 includes various software enhancements and performance improvements. The update is being sent over the air and it weighs only 445.5 MB. To check for the updates, you should go to 'Settings>About phone>System updates'. The software version is 24.11.25.en.03. From the UI point of view, nothing has changed much. But if you explore the new firmware you will find many useful features of android M on your Moto G 2015.
What's New In The Android 6.0 Update For Moto G 3rd Gen
1. Use SDcard As Internal Storage: You can now use any sdcard as an internal storage of your Moto G3. Android M allows you to format the sdcard in such a way so that it can be used as internal storage for the phone. So if you are running out of storage space then you can use your sdcard.
2. App Permissions: You can now control app permissions. You can disable certain permissions for android apps. However, all permissions can not be disabled without root access. Check out the video below.
3. Smart Volume Controls: Now you can control the phone's ringtone, media volume and alarm volume with one press of volume button. No need to go to settings.
4. Do Not Disturb: You can enable 'Do Not Disturb' so that your phone can't bother you when you are busy.
5. Inbuilt File Manager: With android 6.0 update on Moto G 3rd Gen you are getting an inbuilt file manager. You can access in 'Settings>Storage and USB'. Tap on any storage device and finally tap 'Explore'. This basic file manager is capable of doing all basic file operations on your phone.
Other features include 'App Standby' and 'App Links'. In 'App Links' you can select default applications for certain functions.
If you have received the update then do share your experience via comments.
It seems that Motorola is giving a Christmas gift to the users of Moto G (3rd Gen) by rolling out the android 6.0 Marshmallow update. The update has been released to the unlocked version of Moto G 2015 XT1540 in North America and Canada. The new software version is '24.11.25.en.US' and the update weighs nearly 460 MB which is not a big deal to download over Wi-Fi. However currently we are not posting the release notes but once they are available we will notify you. Currently, we can only show you the glimpse of what will be the new features in the android 6.0 Marshmallow for the Moto G (3rd Gen).
What's New In Android 6.0 For The Moto G 2015
You will get all the features of android M after installing it on your Moto G 2015. The most interesting features of this new OS include the ability to use the external sd cards as internal storage. It is a useful feature that is also very useful for the users of the 8 GB Moto G3 model. The second feature is the 'Permission Control'. Now you can control the app permissions by simply disabling them for apps. This will increase your security and prevent the apps from unnecessarily accessing your personal data and phone's hardware resources.
You will not find the 'Motorola Assist' and 'Motorola Migrate' apps on your phone after updating because Motorola has already confirmed the retirement of these apps with the launch of android Marshmallow. Other features include the 'Doze Mode', 'Now on Tap', 'Android Pay', 'Direct Share' and 'Simpler Volume Controls'.
Warning:
Before updating make sure to enable 'Allow OEM unlocking' in 'Developer Options'. Because we can't say whether after updating your phone Google will trip 72-hour lockout or not. If 'Developer Options' is not visible then go to 'Settings>About phone' and tap on 'Build number' 10 times to unlock it. Read more about factory reset protection. After updating to android 6.0 you can disable this 'OEM unlock' to enable factory reset protection.
How To Update
If you live in North America and Canada then you can get this update. Just go to 'Settings>About device>System updates'. If the update is available then you will receive a notification. Tap 'YES, I'M IN' and follow the instructions to download the OTA. Make sure you have a Wi-Fi connection.
Motorola Moto G 3rd Generation is a budget android smartphone. Motorola has already started to roll out the android 6.0 Marshmallow update for Moto G (3rd Gen) in North America and Canada. The phone features a quad-core CPU, Adreno 306 GPU and 2 GB RAM. Overall the Moto G3 is a good phone with some unique features like water resistance and a gesture activated LED torch. You can read Moto G3 Review. This tutorial tells about some tips, tricks in Moto G3.
Motorola Moto G 3rd Generation Tips, Tricks And Hidden Secrets
1. Karate Chop:
This is a very useful function in Moto G3 which allows us to turn ON the LED flash that can be used as a torch in the dark. This feature can be used anytime whether the phone is locked or unlocked. To turn ON the LED flash as torch just hold the phone and perform a karate chop two times. The phone will vibrate before activating the torch. It can be turned off by again performing a karate chop.
2. Twist For Quick Capture:
This action launches the camera quickly. You don’t have to push any button or unlock the phone. At any instant hold the phone and twist your wrist twice so that the phone’s screen should face in an upward direction. This launches the rear camera. A reverse action will launch the front camera. You can even capture photos and record videos when the phone is locked.
3. Take Screenshots:
Taking screenshots on Moto G3 is very simple. At any instant simultaneously press the ‘Power’ and ‘Volume Down’ button. Go to gallery app to view the captured screenshot.
4. Create New Home screens:
Creating new home screens in Moto G 3rd Generation is rather tricky than easy because there is no direct option to create one. By default, you have 2 home screens the third one is for the Google app. To create a new home screen just open the app drawer and long tap any app and drag it to the extreme right to the phone’s screen. This is new home screen just drop the app here. A home screen is automatically removed when all apps, widgets and shortcuts are removed from it.
5. Make App Folder:
App folders can only be created on home screen. App folders are useful to keep one kind of apps at same location such as Google Apps. To create app folder, you should have at least one app on the home screen. Now open the app drawer, long tap any app and drag it over to the other app on home screen. The folder will be automatically created. Tap the folder then tap ‘unnamed folder’ to rename it.
6. Enable Screen Notifications:
Motorola Moto G 2015 doesn’t have an LED notification light. But Moto G3’s screen notifications beat the LED notification in every aspect. Whenever a notification arrives it appears as interactive icons on the screen. To check the notifications, you just have to shake the phone once without pressing any button or unlocking the screen. To enable screen notifications, go to ‘Settings>Display>Screen notifications’. Here select ‘Moto Display’.
7. Enable Adaptive Brightness:
When adaptive brightness is enabled then the screen’s brightness will automatically adjust itself by getting data from the light sensor. This feature saves battery in indoor and outdoor locations. To enable it go to ‘Settings>Display>Adaptive brightness’.
8. Enter Recovery Mode:
To enter recovery mode on Moto G 3rd Generation please read this article.
9. Enable Vibration During Calls:
To make your phone vibrate during incoming calls go to ‘Settings>Sound & notification’. Scroll down and enable ‘Also vibrate for calls’.
10. Mount USB OTG Drive:
Moto G 2015 has OTG support. You can connect USB storage devices to it for file transfer. You should have an OTG cable or an OTG USB drive. Just connect it to the phone and start copying or transferring files. Use ES file explorer.
11. Enable Battery Saver:
Moto G3’s battery saver extends battery life by disabling Wi-Fi, vibration for calls and background data. It also limits phone’s performance. However, Moto G 2015 has a 2470 mAh which is capable of powering it for a full one day so using the battery saver is not necessary. But if your battery goes below 15% then you should activate it. Scroll down the notifications slider with two fingers and tap the battery icon. Now tap the ‘3 vertical dots’ on the top right and select battery saver. Now turn it on, then tap ‘Turn on automatically’ and select ‘at 15% battery’. Now you can turn it off it will automatically activate when the battery percent reaches 15%. When the battery saver is enabled then the upper and lower part of the screen turns orange.
12. Block App Notifications:
You can block app notifications from various apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, Google+ apps. So that no one can see them. When notifications are blocked then they won’t appear on the screen. To do this go to ‘Settings>Sound & notification’. Here scroll down and tap ‘App notifications’. You will see the list of all apps here. Tap any app to block the notifications including ‘Priority’ and ‘Sensitive’ notifications.
13. Disable Cellular Data:
By default the mobile data is enabled. So it may cost you money because apps keep syncing in the background. To disable it just slide down the notifications panel and touch any of the SIM. Now in SIM settings, you will find ‘Cellular Data’. Disable it.
14. Music Player For Moto G3:
The default music player on Moto G 2015 is the Google Play Music which is not much good. You can try the Walkman Music Player For Moto G3.
15. Video Player For Moto G 2015:
Similarly the default video player of Moto G is limited. You can download Sony Movies App.
16. Save Contacts To Phone Storage:
To save contacts to phone storage you have to manually import them from the vCard file. You should backup your contacts on the old phone as a vCard file and then transfer it to Moto G3 in the internal storage’s root directory. Now go to ‘Contacts>Settings>Import/Export’. Choose ‘Import from storage’. Locate the file to import the contacts to phone storage. They will not be saved to Gmail account. Another option is to keep the contacts always stored in the SIM.
17. Enable/Disable Factory Reset Protection:
Factory Reset Protection is a special security feature in which Google locks your phone for 72-hours after a factory reset in recovery mode. However, resetting the phone from ‘Settings’ menu is completely safe. Please read about Factory Reset Protection.
18. Change Camera Resolution:
By default camera resolution is set to 9.7 MP. You can change it to 13 MP. Open the camera then open its settings by swiping on the left side of the screen. Find the ‘L’ icon and change the resolution. See the image below.
19. Play Retro Games On Moto G3:
You can play retro games by using their emulator apps on Moto G3. The tutorial list is given below.
The chrome browser in Moto G3 has an ability to save web pages as PDF files without special extensions. Read this article.
21. Quickly Uninstall Apps
To quickly uninstall apps just open the app drawer and long tap the desired app. Now you will see two options on home screen. Drag the app to the 'Uninstall' option and tap 'OK'. App will be uninstalled within few seconds
There were 21 tips and tricks for the Motorola Moto G 3rd Generation. More tips are coming soon. Please share the article if you liked it.
Motorola Moto G Turbo is the upgraded version of the Moto G 3rd Generation android smartphone. Moto G 2015 was launched in July 2015 while the Turbo Edition has been recently launched on 10th Dec 2015. Both these android smartphones are exactly same in appearance and most hardware specs. The Moto G Turbo now packs an octa-core CPU with turbocharging support. The device can be charged to give 6 hours of backup in just 15 minutes as said by Motorola.
With the launch of Moto G Turbo edition, Motorola has left many android users in a confusing state. They are unable to decide which phone to choose between the two. This post will tell you whether you should buy or upgrade to Moto G Turbo edition or not.
Moto G 3rd Generation vs Moto G Turbo Edition: Which Should You Buy?
Processor: The Moto G 2015 has a 1.4 GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor while Moto G Turbo Edition has an octa-core CPU. I have found the regular Moto G processor fast enough which is capable of running heavy apps and games without lags. App multitasking is very smooth. So, using an octa-core CPU in place of a quad-core is only beneficial if you are going to run heavy games and multiple apps simultaneously.
GPU: Moto G Turbo is backed by a Qualcomm snapdragon MSM8939 chipset which features the Adreno 405 GPU. Adreno 405 GPU is better than Adreno 306 which is the graphics processor in Moto G 3rd Generation. So, you will get good 3D graphics and smooth gaming experience on Moto G Turbo edition.
RAM/Memory: Both the latest version of these smartphones have exactly 2 GB of RAM. So, there is almost no difference.
Conclusion: -
Well gaming on the Moto G Turbo is definitely better than regular model. But gaming on the Moto G 2015 is also very good. You can use any of the two and see that there are no lags in gaming. Moto G 3rd generation is capable of running any android game without lags. So only consider the newer Turbo Edition if you are a hardcore gamer and want slightly good performance in android gaming.
Upgrading from the regular version to the turbo version for this reason is not at all a wise decision. The snapdragon 615 chipset features an octa-core CPU with Adreno 405 GPU, so heating issues can be felt on the screen and the back panel while gaming or using Wi-Fi for longer times.
Moto G Turbo Specs That Are Exactly The Same In Moto G3
The regular and the turbo version of Moto G share a set of same hardware specifications that are listed below.
Camera: Both smartphones have the same 13MP rear camera and 5MP selfie camera.
Storage: Both the phones have 16 GB onboard storage which can be further expanded to 32 GB.
Battery Capacity: Both smartphones have exactly the same 2470 mAh battery which is non-removable. Battery supports USB OTG function.
Connectivity: Both these phones share a common set of connectivity options like Bluetooth, 2G/3G/4G LTE, Wi-Fi (only b/g/n), Dual SIM support, GPS and radio.
Display: The display is replicated from the regular version to the turbo version of Moto G. The display is 5 inches IPS LCD touchscreen with 294 ppi. The resolution is HD 1280x720 pixels. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which is also replicated. You may want to install a tempered glasssee it how.
Android OS: Both these android smartphones are currently running android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS. A planned upgrade to android 6.0 Marshmallow is scheduled for both of these phones in January 2016 (expected).
Which Features Make Moto G Turbo Different From Moto G 2015
The Turbo Edition model has some unique features that can not be found in the regular version. The list is stated below.
IP67 Certification: Moto G Turbo is IP67 certified which means it is dust and waterproof. While Moto G3 is only water resistant. I really missed the IP67 certification in Moto G3 which I mentioned in this post. Dust is the ultimate enemy of mobile phones. So, having a dust-proof android phone is a good choice, because your phone will repel dust and will keep itself clean.
Turbocharging: The Moto G Turbo edition comes with a turbocharger which can charge it's battery really fast. 15 minutes of turbocharging can make the phone ready for 6 hours. This is Qualcomm's quick charge technology which is not supported by Moto G 3rd Generation. This feature becomes useful when you do not have enough time to charge the phone. The only disadvantage is that phone becomes hot after a quick charge. However, using a normal 5V USB charger will prevent overheating of battery. Turbocharging feature will not work with a normal 5V charger.
CPU & GPU: I have already mentioned above about CPU and GPU. The Moto G Turbo has an octa-core CPU with a better Adreno 405 GPU. So gaming and multitasking are better in turbo edition than the regular Moto G. However, this is not a solid reason to buy or upgrade to Moto G Turbo Edition.
Why Should You Buy Moto G Turbo If Most Of The Specs Are Same
The only solid reason that makes me buy this phone is the not much price difference between the regular and turbo edition which is just $22 dollars (INR 1500). So, caring not much about $22 dollars, I would prefer Moto G Turbo. Because it is coming with an octa-core cpu, Adreno 405 GPU, turbocharging support and IP67 certification.
Is Turbocharging, Upgraded CPU/GPU And IP67 Certification A Reason To Buy Or Upgrade To Moto G Turbo
No, above-mentioned features are not at all solid reasons to buy this phone. You can read more below.
Turbocharging: This is not a useful feature. The 2470 mAh is capable of providing a one day backup. This battery pack is capable of giving 10 hours of continuous video playback. The battery can last 2 full days if you use your phone 6 hours daily i.e 2 hours each for telephony, web browsing and video playback per day.
So, turbocharging is only useful when you don't have much time to charge the phone. The regular Moto G3's battery take 2 hours to fully charge. It doesn't matter how busy you are in day to day life, you will definitely give this much of time to your phone to charge it.
CPU/GPU: The Turbo edition packs the snapdragon 615 chipset. It has an octa-core CPU with Adreno 405 GPU. The device will heat up during heavy gaming and long Wi-Fi usage sessions. The gaming experience would be definitely better than the Moto G 2015 but device overheating may encountered.
I have personally used Moto G 3rd Generation and played most heavy games without lags. So, this is also not a solid reason, but totally depends on user needs.
IP67 Certification: Having a phone which is dust and waterproof is good. But it is also not a solid reason to buy this phone. Since water damages are accidental so you are assured that your phone won't be damaged by water. The regular version and the turbo version both are waterproof phones if the back cover is properly installed.
Moto G Turbo is dust-proof also. You can make your older Moto G3 dust-proof by buying a phone cover. A phone cover will protect your phone from dust and shocks. Both these phones have Gorilla Glass 3.0 protection which is also dust-proof. So this is also not a solid reason. But it is really a good feature for the people who want to keep their phones dust free.
Should You Upgrade From Moto G 3rd Generation To Moto G Turbo Edition
If you are the owner of a regular Moto G3 and planning to upgrade to Moto G Turbo then this is not a wise decision. Because Moto G Turbo is just another Moto G3 with mild changes. It doesn't have full HD display, a 5GHz Wi-Fi support, an upgraded battery, nearly all hardware specs are same except the CPU and GPU. The turbocharging and dust resistance feature are not much useful for an advanced user.
Verdict
Moto G Turbo Edition is overall a good phone with an upgraded Snapdragon 615 chipset, turbocharging and IP67 certification. So, if this phone is going to be your new phone then spending additional $22 dollars, for it is a good idea. But people who are already using Moto G3 will not experience much difference, so it is better not to upgrade.
If you have any questions then you can ask via comments.
Recently I have seen that the boot animation on Moto X and Moto G 3rd Generation has changed completely. Previously the boot animation on Moto G 2015 was a rolling yarn and the Motorola logo evolving as collection of fabric stitch. This stitch boot animation has now completely vanished from Motorola phones and now you see the older one (revolving earth) on your Moto G3.
So what’s the reason behind this boot animation change? People are complaining that this boot animation change happened as a result of factory reset or hard resetting their Moto phones in recovery mode, but I would say this is not the reason. In this post I will tell you the correct reason behind this.
Why Motorola Boot Animation Changes On Moto G 2015 And Moto X
The reason behind this is simple, Motorola keep pushing boot animation updates to their phones. There is an app installed on your Moto G3 ‘Motorola Boot Animation’ which shows you startup animation when your phone starts up. This is the reason why the stitch boot animation changed on Moto G 2015, this animation was available from July 1st to 31 October 2015. People who bought Moto G 3rd Gen after 31st October will not see the stitch startup.
How To Get Back Stitch Boot Animation On Moto G 2015
Note : Use this procedure at your own risk, as this is the manual method of flashing a system update on your phone. Motorola keep updating the boot animation, so reverting back to an older one is not a wise decision because it will automatically change with the official release of Motorola Boot Animation.
If you own a smartphone that has the Corning Gorilla Glass protection then installing a Tempered Glass Screen Protector is a must buy thing for it. It protects the original phone’s screen from accidental breakage and also protects it from shattering. A tempered glass screen protector once installed on your phone’s screen will protect it from scratches and save the screen from breaking. Since it is very cumbersome and expensive to replace a broken Corning Gorilla Glass, its better to protect it with TGSP, because it is much more easy and cheap to replace a broken TGSP.
So here we go, this tutorial will teach you to install the TGSP on Moto G (3rd Generation), but it can be used for any other smartphone from Samsung, Motorola, Windows Phones or even iPhones.
Requirements
A good quality Tempered Glass Screen Protector for your phone. Please note that these glass screen protectors are smartphone specific.
Your phone ofcourse.
About Tempered Glass Screen Protector
A Tempered Glass Screen Protector is a multi-layered glass screen guard specially designed for your phone’s screen which protects the Gorilla Glass from breaking or shattering. In case of a fall it absorbs all the impact’s energy and may or may not break into smaller granuels, depending upon the force of impact. You will get following things with the package.
The glass screen itself.
Guide Stickers : You may get 2-3 guide stickers, these stickers will hold the TGSP in place so that it correctly sticks to the phone’s screen without leaving uneven space on the screen.
Dust Absorber Sticker : This sticker is used to remove tiny dust particles from the screen.
Dry and Wet Cleaners : These cleaners cleans the screen completely without leaving any dirt.
Warning : Installing a Tempered Glass Screen Protector is a work of patience, its a win or fail situation. Do not remove the protective plastic film from TGSP unless you are told to do so.
How To Install Tempered Glass Screen Protector On Your Phone
Place the phone on a firm location, so that it can’t move. Avoid slippery surfaces.
Stick the guided stickers on the Tempered Glass Screen Protector on any side.
Now start aligning the Tempered Glass on your phone’s screen and see that it correctly fits on the phone’s screen. This is a hit and trial sequence, do until you correctly manage to fit it on the screen.
When the correct fit is achieved, its time to fix the TGSP in place so that it can not move here and there. Just stick the guide stickers with side of the phone and finally stick them with the surface. See the image below.
Finally make a check to see that the TGSP is right in place, just lift it up like you open a door and see it should come on the exact place.
Now gently lift the Tempered Glass and keep it aside, adjacent to phone’s screen without disturbing the guide stickers.
Now start cleaning the screen. First use the ‘Wet Cleaner’, clean the screen thoroughly but gently, then use the ‘Dry Cleaner’. Finally after cleaning make sure that screen is free from any debris, even a tiny dust particle will ruin the process.
Now use the ‘Dust Absorber’ sticker. Keep sticking it to different portions of the screen so that it will pickup tiny dust particles and make the screen ultra clean.
Finally check the screen, it should be completely clean without any dust particles. If you find any then repeat the cleaning process.
Final Step
Now carefully remove the plastic film from the Tempered Glass Screen Protector and do not touch the back of the glass screen.
Gently put it over the cleaned phone’s screen without disturbing the guide stickers.
It will automatically start to stick itself to the screen. Use a plastic card to set the TGSP, if you encounter any bubbles or spots then use plastic card to set them, a gentle swipe with a plastic card will fix all bubbles and spots.
Finally the TGSP is installed.
Now start removing the guide stickers from the glass screen protector gently.
Scratch Test
I have tested the Tempered Glass Screen Protector against scratches. I used normal keys but failed to give any scratch. But do not push it hard while testing.
Screen Sensitivity
I haven’t found any issues with the touch screen sensitivity. The screen is responsive without any touch delays. The screen’s colours and brightness are intact.
Motorola Moto G 2015 is the latest Motorola smartphone in the Moto G series. You can either call it Moto G3, Moto G 2015 or Moto G 3rd Generation, all means the same thing. The previous two versions of Moto G series were so popular that they completely changed the mid segment smartphone market. Since then many popular brands like ASUS, Lenovo, Gionee, Xiaomi, OnePlus etc. started to bring their mid-segment smartphones in the market. But with the launch of Motorola Moto G 2015, it is clearly visible that Motorola is going to repeat the history again.
This time, Moto G3 came with some unique features that can’t be found in other android smartphones within the same price range. In this post, I am going to review Motorola Moto G 3rd Generation and will also tell you why you should buy this phone.
Motorola Moto G(3rd Gen) 2015 XT1550 Hands On And Review
1. What’s In The Box
The Moto G 2015 retail box contains dual USB charger, headset, USB cable, a couple of user guides and the handset itself. Below is a list of Moto G 3rd Gen variants.
XT1540 (Single SIM) - US, Canada, Latina America
XT1541 (Single SIM) - Europe
XT1542/43/44 (Dual SIM) - Brazil, Latin America
XT1548 (Single SIM) - US (Sprint, US Cellular, Virgin Mobile)
XT1550 (Dual SIM) - Asia, Australia
2. Build Quality
The phone body is composed of good quality plastic that is durable enough against accidental breakage or opening from either side. Since the phone’s design is water resistant, there is no reason for it to break during accidental falls.
The phone’s design is sturdy, slim and looks like a nexus device.
Moto G3’s back cover is also made of plastic with a durable and grippy finish. The back cover has got a line pattern which accompanies good grip in the hand.
The back cover also has rubber seals inside it, which prevents the water from getting in. Once this back cover is installed properly, the Moto G3 becomes water resistant.
The phone is light weight due to its polycarbonate body.
The front part of the phone is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, so scratches will not be a problem for this.
The Moto G (3rd Gen) has got IPX7 certification with which it can survive under water for 30 minutes at 3 feet deep without any problems.
Overall a build quality is good and I have not found any issues while holding the phone in hands.
3. Design
Coming to the front part of the phone you will see a big earpiece, front camera for selfies, light sensor and proximity sensor.
At the top a secondary noise cancellation mic and a 3.5 mm headset jack is located.
At the bottom you can see a big mono speaker with built in mic and a micro USB port for data cable and battery charging.
The volume rocker and the power button are present on the right side of the handset.
Coming to the back, the 13 MP rear camera with dual CCT LED flash and a Motorola Logo is situated.
The camera strip with Motorola logo is customizable. The strip can be changed to different colors along with the back panel.
The Moto G3 weighs only 155 grams and is just 11.6 mm thick. It weighs 6 grams heavier than its previous generations, but this does not make much difference.
Moto G 2015 has a non-removable battery. If you open the back cover then you will find two SIM card slots, both of them are LTE and a microSD card slot.
Hardware Specifications
1. CPU
The Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen) is backed by a 64-bit Quad Core 1.4 GHz Qualcomm cortex A-53 CPU which is an integral part of the Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 410 chipset. The same processor can be found in most mid segment android phones, but is a faster SOC than its previous generations. But at this price range, a quad core CPU is acceptable. The CPU can handle multitasking easily, so you can browse while listening to the music without even lags. The cortex A-53 CPU also handles the FULL HD video playback without delays. The chipset has built in light sensor, proximity sensor, accelerometer and sensor hub.
2. GPU
The Adreno 306 GPU allows Moto G 2015 to run the heaviest android games like the GTA San Andreas, Modern Combat 5, Asphalt 8, FIFA 15, Mortal Kombat X, only NOVA 6 showed some lags during gameplay, but rest of the games run smoothly. While playing for longer, the Moto G may heat up but this is completely normal. You can check the Moto G3 gaming review below.
3. RAM/Memory
Moto G 2015 comes in two variants, one comes with 1 GB RAM and the second one comes with 2 GB RAM. I prefer the 2 GB version as there is not much price difference between the two. 2 GB RAM ensures that the apps I am installing have enough memory to run without slowing or crashing the phone. Almost 1.3 GB RAM is always free if you haven’t installed any apps. This much amount of RAM can allow a user to run and switch between multiple apps even faster than its previous generations.
4. Storage
The Moto G (3rd Gen) as I told you above comes in two variants, one is the 8 GB model and another one is the 16 GB model. So, I suggest anybody to go with the 16 GB model with 2 GB RAM because there is not much price difference between the two and you should be running your phone without lags for more than 2 years. So buy the 16 GB model. The user available storage on Moto G 2015 is around 12 GB and can be further expanded to 32 GB via microSD card. The Moto G (3rd Gen) fully supports OTG function, so you can either connect USB flash drives or buy a separate USB OTG drive specially designed for android phones. You can grab one here SanDisk OTG For Android
5. Display
Motorola Moto G’s display stands tall with a 5 inches HD IPS touchscreen covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The resolution is HD 1280x720 pixels and screen has 294 ppi which is pretty good at this price range. The viewing angles are great and I can not complain much in this price range. The screen is able to produce vibrant colors and is bright enough to display darker blacks. The screen’s superior color production can be seen while watching a Full HD (1920x1080) video. The Moto G 2015 display gives immersive experience while watching movies. Since the display is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, then you need to take care of it and should prevent accidental drops, in this case, a powerful blow to the screen may completely break the glass, so invest some money in tempered glass, you can get one here, Moto G3 Tempered Glass Protector
6. Camera
The camera’s are superior this time as compared to its previous versions. The Moto G has a 13 MP f/2.0 rear camera with dual tone CCT LED flash and 5 MP front camera. The camera can be activated just by twisting your wrist while holding the phone. The camera UI is minimal and contains features like Night Mode, Auto HDR, resolution selection, Auto focus, panorama, slow motion video, burst mode, manual focus, and exposure. The camera can capture photos within a blink of an eye. It can also be activated from lock screen.
The camera quality is awesome while taking photos outside. If you take photos inside then they will come somewhat noisy but capturing photos with the camera flash delivers high-resolution photos without color loss. Moto G 3rd Generation has a stunning camera when it comes to an outdoor photo shoot.
According to my usage, there are three most useful camera features found in Moto G 2015 which are listed as follows.
Quick Capture: While the phone is in your hand, twist your wrist two times so that the phone’s screen should face the floor, this will activate the rear camera while if you do the reverse the front camera will be activated. With this useful feature, you can activate camera anytime despite being locked.
Bar Code Reader: The Moto G’s camera automatically decodes the QR codes when they come in the viewfinder. Isn’t it a nice feature, this feature is hidden and not even described on GSMARENA’s review of Moto G (3rd Gen).
Manual Focus and Exposure: You can manually choose to focus on any object and manually increase brightness around that object.
Slow Motion Video: You can also capture slow motion video with your Moto G.
Coming to the 5 MP selfie camera, I can say that you can capture awesome selfies with good brightness. You can also record videos from it. The selfie camera is capable of capturing bright images without loss of colors, so images don't look grainy even indoors with good lighting.
Camera Samples
Click on any image to view it in full resolution.
With Camera Flash
In Dark
Normal Indoor Light
Moto G 2015 Camera Sample With Flash
7. Connectivity
Except the NFC, Wi-Fi (ac), and IR port the Moto G has all the basic connectivity options like the Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi hotspot, screencast. Both SIMs are LTE compatible. The 2015 Moto G has quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 3G. The GPS location services are managed by AGPS and GLONASS. It also has FM radio with stereo and RDS support. Moto G doesn't support dual-band Wi-Fi this time, especially the 5 GHz frequency.
8. Battery
The new Moto G ships with a 2470 mAh battery which can easily last a whole day with mixed usage. The battery performance is backed by battery saver mode when there is less battery juice left. The battery has an endurance rating of 76 hours and can easily cover a whole day even with heavy usage. The battery is non-removable. The Moto G battery is powerful enough to deliver 10 hours of continuous video playback or 9 hours of continuous web browsing. The stock charger is a dual USB charger and takes around 2 hours to charge the Moto G’s battery completely. Quick charge is not supported by Moto G (3rd Gen). With the dual USB charger of Moto G, you can charge two phones simultaneously.
9. Android OS and UI
The new Motorola Moto G runs stock android 5.1.1 Lollipop and has recently got the 'stagefright' update in various countries. The UI is completely stock without any modifications, with a recent Google app update, the Moto G UI has changed to android Marshmallow’s style UI. The phone does not contain any bloatware app, which is a plus point as these apps can not be uninstalled and drain the battery and lower down phone’s performance, but Moto G 2015 is completely free from bloatware. It does contain some Motorola apps like ‘Motorola Migrate’ and ‘Moto Assist’. Motorola Migrate will be retired with the official release of android 6.0 Marshmallow for Moto G (3rd Gen).
10. Software Features
Karate Chop: This action activates the LED flash to be used as a torch. Just hold the phone and perform a quick karate chop twice. The LED torch will be activated. Do it again to switch it off. This is an extremely useful and the quickest way to use the camera flash as LED torch. It doesn’t matter whether the phone is locked or unlocked, the karate chop will work in both situations.
Twist To Quick Capture: This is a camera feature, as I have told you above. Hold the phone and twist your wrist two times so that the screen faces the floor. This will activate the rear camera and the reverse will activate the front camera, again it doesn’t matter whether the phone is locked or unlocked.
11. Speaker Sound and Call Quality
This time, Motorola has put a mono speaker in the Moto G 2015 with an inbuilt mic. The mono speaker is not bad at all, and it is very loud and clear, also you can hear clear bass while watching full HD movies. Call quality is also very good and is free from noise. The call dialer app is good enough and automatically tells the ISD codes of the phone numbers that you type, but they are always not correct especially when you are dialing a mobile number within your country. The calling app interface is basic with useful buttons like hold, speaker, disable mic and add a new call. The conference call feature is supported in Moto G 2015.
12. Headset Sound Quality
The headset sound quality is not much good because the headset is a basic one. It has no bass, so I recommend you buy another headset for listening music. Go for earbud type headset as that of Samsung or Sony if you want good quality sound. The Moto G has inbuilt equalizer. The default music player is the Google Play Music.
13. Benchmarks
I really do not believe in benchmarking apps as these are just apps which contain pre-installed figures for various mobile chipset. Apart from these benchmarking apps I prefer using the phone myself and try to find the cons. But after using it for more than a month, I can say that Moto G’s performance is mind blowing. I have tested games like real racing 3, Modern combat 5, EA UFC, Asphalt Nitro. None of the game lagged except the Nova 6 which gave some frame drops while playing. The 1.4 GHz 64 bit quad core processor, 2 GB RAM and Adreno 306 GPU are enough to run any android game at max settings without lag.
14. Notification LED
Moto G 2015 does not notification LED but has active screen notifications features. Whenever notifications arrive like a call or message, the screen notifies you via interactive icons and, believe me, these screen notification are far better than having a notification light, because a notification light just glows and doesn’t tell what kind of a notification has arrived, but the Moto G’s screen does it well.
15. Water Resistance Test
Moto G (3rd Gen) has got IPX7 certification, so the phone is waterproof against accidental drops in water and liquid spills and exposure to rain water. You should know this that Moto G has no way from where water can get in its circuit boards except the SIM and sd card slots, to cover these 3 slots Moto G has given watertight rubber seals in the back cover. If you use any other cover instead of the original Motorola back cover then your phone will be damaged due to water.
Another important thing to note that besides having the original back cover properly installed, water can get under the back cover. This is normal, you will see that water is everywhere except the SIM slots and the sd card slot, which will appear dry because the rubber seals have done their job well and prevented the water from getting in. See the image below.
In the above image, you can see that water is there on the Moto G's body, but it is totally waterproof. Also, you can see that the slots are completely dry which shows that the original Moto G back cover rubber protection seals has done their job well and prevented the water from getting in, these three slots are the only way for water to get in, once these slots are blocked your phone becomes waterproof. Just wipe the phone with a cloth.
Note: Never use other back covers which do not have rubber seals. And always make sure that you have properly installed the original back cover.
16. Moto Maker
With Moto Maker, you can customize your Moto G 3rd Generation before buying. You can choose the color of the back panel, camera stripe, front colour, leather cases and cover and directly buy it from Motorola. But Moto Maker service is only available in the USA.
Missing Apps
Motorola Moto G is missing some apps like the file manager and the video player is not accessible anywhere except the Gallery app also, the Google Play Music is not that good. So, I have a good music and video player for Moto G 2015 you can download the apk and install it.
Apart from regular android gaming I am a great fan of retro games like NES, SNES, Playstation, DOS, CPS1, MAME. I play these games on Moto G and they run very smooth without hiccups and lags. You can read the tutorials below to play these retro games on your Moto G3.
After reviewing the new Moto G, we have found following conclusions that prove it an overall good performer in the mid-segment smartphone range.
Good screen quality with built-in light sensor. Better colour production from its previous generations.
5 inches HD IPS touchscreen with Gorilla Glass 3 protection and 294 PPI density.
A 64 bit CPU with 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage and Adreno 306 GPU which is a good hardware combination to get the desired performance while running various apps or games. No lag issues are found.
Moto G (3rd Gen) is upgradable to android 6.0 Marshmallow which is the biggest plus point of this phone, other phones at this price will not even see a glimpse of android 6.0.
Good rear and front camera with minimal camera UI and all useful functions with Full HD video recording.
Overall good speaker sound and call quality with active noise cancellation.
A whole day running battery with a capacity of 2470 mAh. The phone fully supports OTG function.
Water resistance feature ensures protection from accidental drops in water and liquid spills. Has an IPX7 certification which allows the Moto G to survive 3 feet under water for 30 minutes. Can be taken outside on a rainy day.
Dual 4G SIM capacity with smart SIM selection feature.
Unique software features like Karate chop and twist for quick capture makes it unique among the crowd, though inspired from Moto X but yet useful.
Cons
What I don’t like about this new Moto G is that the camera becomes miser when it comes to autofocus. This may be due to the recent update. But using the manual exposure and focus fix this problem. The indoor photos are noisy without camera LED flash. The camera is good for the price.
The new Moto G lacks the newer 5 GHz Wi-Fi connectivity, but if your router only supports 2.4 GHz frequency then this topic is not much of concern.
Verdict
Overall Motorola Moto G 2015 is an excellent smartphone within its price range with some unique and useful features. The phone will get android 6.0 Marshmallow update which is a solid reason to buy this phone because with latest android OS you will be getting more app features. I am recommending this phone to anyone who wants a smartphone which is good in hardware, design, free from bloatware, waterproof and is upgradable to latest android OS.
Buy Now
If you feel that this review helped you then you can buy this phone anytime by clicking the link below.
As an android user, you are familiar with what android system recovery. In android system recovery you can factory reset the phone, update phone software from zip. Well basically the android system recovery mode on your Moto G 2015 is best used for factory data reset and for wiping cache partition. As you know, if you use the factory data reset option in your phone's 'Security' settings then it will take longer to wipe your phone.
How To Enter Recovery Mode On Motorola Moto G3 (2015)
Android 6.0 Marshmallow has gone official now and it has already been released for the majority of Nexus devices. After Nexus devices, Motorola phones come second in line to receive the latest android OTA update. Because Motorola phones run the stock android OS so they get updates faster and after Nexus devices. Android M is coming with some awesome features that were absent in all previous versions of android. Some of the remarkable features are smarter battery with doze mode, controlled app permissions, verified boot etc. For complete android 6.0 features go here.
What's New In Android 6.0 Marshmallow For Motorola Phones
Doze Mode : This new feature monitors your phone and puts it into a deep sleep when it’s not being used, which can extend battery life substantially.
Now on Tap : We love Google Now, and it’s improved in Android M. Simply long press the home button to bring up the Google Now feature and display information based on whatever you’re doing at the time.
Android Pay : Android M allows you to bring up Android Pay with a simple tap and easily make purchases without having to open a separate app.
Direct Share : Share your photos, news, links, etc. with your favorite contacts easily and quickly.
Simpler volume controls : A more intuitive way to control ringtone and media volume.
Changes To Moto Enhancements
With the launch of android 6.0 for Motorola phones, Motorola would be removing the 'Moto Assist' app because you will find an option in Moto phones as 'Do not disturb' under 'Sound and notification' settings which will do the same work as Moto Assist.
Motorola will also be retiring Motorola Migrate as a part of android M upgrade because android 6.0 provides many options to duplicate user data
List Of Motorola Phones Getting Android M Update
Here is the complete list of Moto phones that will be receiving the official android M upgrade via OTA.
