Moto G (3rd gen) review: Good as gold

Performance

The Moto G (3rd gen) packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset with 1.4GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, Adreno 306 GPU and 2GB of RAM. A version with one gig of RAM is also available, though we highly suggest that you spend an extra $40 and get the top-end Moto G.

Naturally, we kick off our performance routine with the GeekBench 3 test, which gauges the multi-core CPU performance. The does quite well here, especially when compared to similarly priced offerings..

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Huawei P8lite
  2813
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  2717
• Meizu m2 note
  2649
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  2423
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2375
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  1589
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  1486
• Alcatel Idol 3 (4.7)
  1447
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  1171

The compound AnTuTu 5 test puts the Moto G (3rd gen) in line with similarly equipped competitors. The device's chipset does better than its predecessor's, but doesn't quite match the performance of some of its rivals.

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  42301
• Huawei P8lite
  35205
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  35038
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  32217
• Meizu m2 note
  32054
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  24293
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  22761
• Alcatel Idol 3 (4.7)
  22321
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  18245

BaseMark OS II 2.0 is quite intensive benchmark, which puts to the test CPU, GPU, memory, system and browser performance. The Moto G posted an average score on this instance.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  1094
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  883
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  799
• Meizu m2 note
  794
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  619
• Huawei P8lite
  600
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  565
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  526

The single and multi-core CPU breakdowns from the BaseMark OS II 2.0 once again put the faster Xperia E4g on top, but the Moto E is quite comfortable at the runner-up spot.

Basemark OS II (single-core)

Higher is better

• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  1485
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  1481
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  1462
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  1453
• Huawei P8lite
  1443
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  1397
• Meizu m2 note
  1346
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  1123

Basemark OS II (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Huawei P8lite
  11873
• Meizu m2 note
  11635
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  9866
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  8592
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  5912
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  5607
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  5600
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  5001

Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) comes with Adreno 306 GPU in charge of graphics. Our previous tests indicates it's as good as the previous Adreno 305 unit, meaning that it is not that great.

The 1080p offscreen performance on the other hand is quite disappointing, but that's to be expected. The onscreen performance naturally gets better as the resolution drops to 1280 x 720 pixels. While the Moto G won't break any performance records, it is OK for the class and will do the job for gaming and watching movies.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  27
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  15
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  14.9
• Meizu m2 note
  12
• Huawei P8lite
  10
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  5.8
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  5.3
• Alcatel Idol 3 (4.7)
  5.2
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  5.2

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  27
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  26
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  25.8
• Huawei P8lite
  16
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  12
• Meizu m2 note
  12
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  10.8
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  9.7
• Alcatel Idol 3 (4.7)
  9.5

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  13
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  6
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  5.84
• Meizu m2 note
  2.3
• Alcatel Idol 3 (4.7)
  1.8
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  1.8
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  1.7

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  13
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  12.2
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  12
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  6.3
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  4.1
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  3.9
• Alcatel Idol 3 (4.7)
  2.7
• Meizu m2 note
  2.3

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  12565
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  5105
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  5062
• Meizu m2 note
  3946
• Huawei P8lite
  3648
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  3142
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  1866
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  1851
• Alcatel Idol 3 (4.7)
  1578

Finally, the web browsing experience, courtesy of Chrome, turned out quite good. The Moto G is snappy web browsing platform, offering smooth and hassle-free experience.

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  6360
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  12272
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  13609
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  13623
• Alcatel Idol 3 (4.7)
  14246
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  15988
• Huawei P8lite
  16743
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  18665

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
  1486
• Alcatel Idol 3 (4.7)
  1437
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  1359
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  1171
• Motorola Moto E (2015)
  1136
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  1085
• Huawei P8lite
  981
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  501

Even though it is anything but a benchmark-crushing monster, the new Moto G delivers fluid system experience, great web browsing and solid gaming experience. Overall, the Moto G (3rd gen) offers a lot more than we hoped for in terms of hardware oomph.