The original Moto G was Motorola’s best-selling phone ever and remains the only phone we’ve given 10/10. That’s a tough act to follow. The Moto G 2 aims to improve on that success.
The basic formula remains the same, but the changes are clear to see. It has a bigger 5-inch screen, improved cameras and front-mounted stereo speakers, but crucially it still costs less than £150 SIM-free.
All that means the Moto G 2 to take the mantle of best budget phone on the market, but is it really enough to make owners of the original 4.5-inch Moto G want to upgrade? That’s less clear.
The imminent step up to Android 5.0 Lollipop should make it even slicker, though.Watch our Moto G 2 video reviewMoto G 2(2014): Design& Features
The Moto G 2 doesn’t look dramatically different from the original. There’s no One M8-style aluminium body or glass back like the Xperia Z3, but then we never expected that. It’s all plastic with a glossy finish on the front and soft-touch matte on the back.
It’s a pretty standard approach to design for cheap Android phones, but like the Nexus 5 it manages to avoid making the plastic design look or feel cheap. There’s no troubling signs of poor build quality and it feels like it can withstand a few bumps scrapes.
The back still has the same soft touch finish and slightly curvy body, which makes it nice to hold. It’s not as comfortable as the original, though, mainly due to it being wider. At 11mm thick and 149g it’s slightly thicker and heavier, though it’s no chunkier than most 5-inch phones.
Motorola offers the new Moto G in black and white, but it supports a number of colourful replaceable back shells. It’s a nice option if you find the standard ones a bit drab. The only problem is the rear-cover isn’t the easiest to remove, so you need be careful when removing the cover. It’s something we’d like to see Motorola fix in future versions.
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Behind the cover you’ll find the same 2, 070mAh non-removable battery and the micro SD card slot, which was missing from the 3G-only model of the original Moto G but added for the 4G versions.
You’ll also find the surprising new inclusion of Dual SIM card slots. There’s room to keep two micro SIM cards, which can be useful if you are one holiday and want to use a local SIM to make cheaper calls or if you have a business and personal number. Motorola also sets aside settings dedicated to the Dual SIM where you can manually switch between the two. Additionally, you can use intelligent calling where the phone learns which SIM to use depending on the call.
The most surprising element of SIM card support, though, is the lack of 4G LTE support. No 4G made sense last year when networks were new and limited, but Motorola corrected that with the Moto G 4G edition. Why it’s gone backwards now is puzzling in the extreme.