MOTO G3 (3rd generation) 2015 - 2017 Complete Review : Marshmallow and Lollipop

START!
If you’ve read my fix on BlueStacks, then I mentioned there that I use it to test and play Android apps on my PC. And finally, I’ve saved enough money to buy my first ever android phone which is Motorola Moto G3 (3rd Generation). First of all, how did I ended up buying Moto G? Well, The Big “G” search for ‘best cheap android phone ‘is the answer. The most infamous websites and reviewers said it’s the best cool gadget I can get for my money. As always I swallowed it and bought the Moto G3.
Ok, now how am I going to review the Phone? Well. Hahaha, I don’t know. Ok, let's go with my priorities first and then yours. I try it and post the results whenever possible. You can request to check something works or not in Moto g3
My previous experience with Phones
Here are my previous owned phones and comments.
1. Sony K810i – Rock Solid! Amazing
2. Sony K850i – This was like a brick in hand and pocket.
3. Nokia 5800 Xpress Music – The sound was crisp and loud. The build was bad, though. Back panel falls off all the time.
4. Nokia Asha 200 (currently using) – Average phone. But it is hard to type on it. Hangs a lot.
Now to my 5th phone and my first ever true Smartphone.

MOTOROLA MOTO G 2015 (3rd Generation) BLACK

Quick Specification at a glance (I guess you already know it and let’s make it short)

MOTO G3 2015
DISPLAY	5” 720P (HD) display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
Memory	2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory
Camera	13MP Rear and 5MP front
Battery	Non-removable 2470mAh
Bought Price	Approx 199$ or 127 £ or 1274 ¥ or 179 € (Price converted from my currency)

Day 1

Primary Analysis (What’s inside the box?)

The box is small. Inside the box is the phone and below it USB charger, USB wire (it can also be used to connect PC and phone) A headphone and some paper manuals. Yeah, that’s it.
Initial Assessment
The Phone has a textured back. It gives grip, but it’s not easy to hold as every reviewer said. My hand is big; still I can’t firmly hold it and reach the top left corner with my thumb. Maybe it’s not the ideal size for me to hold. The phone is not too thin or thick. And doesn’t feel too much weight or feel light.

Turn it on!

Ok, it’s time to turn it on. The power button is on the right side. Switched it on! Voila! It boots. The phone goes to the Main UI so fast. It gave me some quick setup functions, and we are ready. The battery was at 40%. It preloaded with Chrome browser, YouTube App and Gallery and some basic apps. I forgot to tell its stock Android. App loading and switching is fast and no lag issue.
Ok, it’s time to insert my Micro SD card and SIM (This phone is Dual SIM supported). No issues with adding the chips.  Ok, SD card is detected. I was trying to open SD card. Searched to open SD card for 20 minutes. Guess what? No options to open. There is no inbuilt file manager in it. I gave up and come back to my PC and search for the fix. Hmm....The stock Android doesn't have inbuilt File Manager. We have to download manually it from Google play store. Okey back to phone again. Playstore app is there. Opened it and searched for ‘file manager’ and downloaded an App called ‘Es File Explorer.' Opened the app and guessed what? No SD card mounted. Huh? I remember, it detected early. A quick notification is now popped out. "SD Card removed unexpectedly." Huh? Thought it’s a glitch. Turned off the phone and booted again. Opened the file manager now. Yeah, it’s now working properly. Opened a music file and started to play a music file. Works fine. Wait! Stopped at 35 sec. Huh? Error notification again! "SD Card removed unexpectedly"! What the #@$? Turned off the phone.  Removed the back panel. Physically re-inserted the SD card again. Phone turned it on. BHaaa! Same error message ‘"SD Card removed unexpectedly" after detected it for 1 minute. Repeated the process of “Off ‘“ insert SD card” “on” for about 7-8 times more. The problem persists. OK, I gave up. Removed the SD card and put it aside.
I didn’t expect to get welcome like that. Maybe there some fix for it. I don’t know it now.

Basic Operations

Okey. Decided to check the call quality and call reception which is the top priority for me. Dialed the number of home. Asked brother to take the phone when rings and told him to talk with lower sound every time. The call reception and call quality are excellent.  I can hear it with clarity. And he can hear it well too. OK, no problem with calling and reception.

Gaming

OK, time to fire a game. Downloaded a game called “Death Race: Crash burn” and played it for some time. No lag when loading and in UI. But during Gameplay, it lagged 4-5 time during the first stage.  I didn’t play next stages.

Audio and Video playback (without Headphones)

Played a song and the sound is not loud or quiet. It stands in between both. But the sound is clear. Next Decided to test video playback. Connected the phone to PC and transferred the movie Avatar (720P) and two other videos (1080p) to the internal memory. Started with the 720p movie. It works like a charm. The color and brightness are good. The viewing angle is also good. It’s interesting to see that the sound was loud during gaming.
 Next are 1080p videos.
I played it with a doubt whether it works or not? To my surprise, the two 1080p video also worked very well and no issues.  So the 1080p and 720p video playback is supported.

Audio and Video playback (with Headphones)

The headphone is average. But it’s ok as I didn’t expect it to be stellar.

Camera

As a previous owner of two Cybershot phones, I don’t care about the camera gimmicks of companies. I learned my lesson. If you want to take the best pics, buy the real camera. After all the overall quality of an image produced is the result of camera+the one who takes the photo. Moto g camera image quality is good. Blame me for bad pictures.
Here's a picture I took it with all lights turned off (under pitch black in my room).

Battery and heating

The battery dropped from 40% 15% in 2 hours after several on and off due the previous issue of the SD card. Then a power save mode notification pop up came. Then I plugged the charger. It says it needs 2 hours for full charge. And to conclude today the phone does heats slightly. I guess its normal temperature and a matter of perception since I haven’t used a phone like this never before.
Here is battery life after a full charge.

LOLIPOP 5.1

MARSHMALLOW 

Popular applications Tested

Clash of clans - works fine
Gods of Rome - works fine on Med graphics. lags in high graphics
Arcane Legends - works fine
Cut the Rope - works
Dead Trigger 2 - Works on low graphics. starts lag on med and high graphics

Benchmarks

AnTutu v 6.0.1

USB OTG

***Not yet tested
Disclaimer: I’m not doing the water test and drop test! LOL!
Updates 1/20/2016
Updated my Moto g3 to Android OS 6 Marshmallow.Battery life added below after update. A significant upgrade I say.
Initial impressions after update
Phone speed increased slightly. App loading speed increased slightly. There is no option to turn off camera sound in options. Need to check battery life.
On the side, a bee sting left a hole through the protective plastic layer in the top front facing speaker.Oh gosh!
Benchmarked with AnTutu Benchmark v.6.0.1 ( after marshmallow update!) Score added below benchmarked apps section

New update July 2017

Phone is still working, and here's some notes

1. Camera is getting out of focus when use for close shots
2. Battery life drastically decreased
3. Its no longer getting OS update (No Nougat update)- Its frustrating.