Motorola Moto G (2014) review: Baby steps

Performance

The new Motorola Moto G packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM 8226 chipset with 1.2GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU. The GPU is Adreno 305, clocked at 450MHz. The device's silicon is the default setup for most mid-range Android smartphone over the past year, and has proven to be a decent performer.

GeekBench and AnTuTu showcase the raw CPU power of a smartphone. The new Moto G did as expected on both occasions.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• HTC One mini 2
  1526
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  1492
• Sony Xperia T3
  1373
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  1175
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  1171
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  1106

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  19912
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  19016
• HTC One mini 2
  18641
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  18245

We tried out the anti-cheat version of the popular Basemark OS II benchmark and we found that the Moto G doesn't use any tricks to climb up the score table.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• HTC Desire 820
  605
• Sony Xperia T3
  535
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  526
• HTC One mini 2
  517
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  495
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  452
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  452
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  394

Basemark OS II (single-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  1701
• Sony Xperia T3
  1465
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  1435
• HTC One mini 2
  1304
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  1192
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  1131
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  1123

Basemark OS II (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  12771
• Sony Xperia T3
  5759
• HTC One mini 2
  5182
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  5012
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  5001
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  4887
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  4875

Adreno 305 is widespread GPU solution in the segment. The benchmark results of the Moto G are on par with similarly equipped devices.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  9.8
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  6
• Sony Xperia T3
  5.9
• HTC One mini 2
  5.8
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  5.8
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  5.8
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  5.7

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  15.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  13.3
• Sony Xperia T3
  11.2
• HTC One mini 2
  11
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  10.8
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  10.8
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  10.3

BrowserMark 2.1 tests HTML 5 performance, while Mozilla's Kraken 1.1 is JavaScript-centric. The new Moto G did well in both benchmarks when compared to its peers in the segment.

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  12416
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  12470
• Sony Xperia T3
  13738
• HTC One mini 2
  15684
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  15988
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  16118
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  16129

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  1085
• Sony Xperia T3
  978
• HTC One mini 2
  945
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  911
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  883
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  588

Overall, the hardware performance of the new Moto G met our expectations. The device is not a powerhouse by any means, but will handle daily tasks without breaking a sweat. The stock Android UI felt fluid and responsive the entire time.