If you are reading this, you must think I'm crazy! Hold on however, as you might just be surprised (I definitely was). Below are 10 reasons why I decided to sell my Galaxy S4 and keep my moto g as my primary device (and I have no regrets). (Just FYI, I am on AT&T with about a year + 4 months left on contract) TLDR at bottom
1. It's Faster 9 times out of 10: Wait... WHAT? Yes, I %#@& you not, this little guy outperformed my super-premium flagship Galaxy s4 in almost every category. Real world tests: Opening dialer, messaging, multitasking, camera, clock, and gallery were all about a second faster on the moto g. It also booted up on avg 6 seconds faster. Thanks Touchwiz...
2. Build quality: I know most people will throw a cover-up case on either phone (the moto g grip case looks amazing though), but it's been a little hard to find a moto g case locally, so I've been going naked. The phone feels great in the hands and is quite a looker. The soft-touch back feels great, as well as the curves, and it makes my Galaxy s4 look like a plastic toy in comparison. I actually always thought the galaxy s4 was a little too thin for my personal taste.
3 . The money ALONE is worth the trade:. Let me explain. Yes, the moto g is $179 off contract (I bought the $199 16gb version), which in itself is AMAZING, but that is not what I'm talking about here. With contract services, mine being AT&T, I paid $199 for the Galaxy S4, PLUS an additional $40/month just for the right to own the phone. Add in my $45/month family share plan and I'm paying $95/month for 24 months, PLUS the $199 up-front cost. Do the math and you are paying $1160 JUST FOR THE PHONE. The moto g costs $199. Moving on.
4. Freedom of choice: Since the moto g is unlocked, I can go with several options. For example, I can use AT&T's new $45/month prepaid plan with unlimited talk + text + 300mb data, or go with Straight Talk's $45/month unlimited everything. As noted in the comments, you can use any gsm carrier, not Verizon atm. I can do whatever works best for me.
5. No root required for WiFi tethering: I HATED that AT&T charged you extra just to use WiFi tethering. With my moto g, it is enabled out of the box. I just popped in my AT&T sim card, turned on Wifi tethering, and I was good to go. No loops to be gone through
6. Battery life is much better: It's getting quite cold where I live, so battery life is going to be less than ideal for any phone, but I compared both of them together for 3 days doing the exact same functions, and the difference was shocking. I expected the moto g to be a little less than the galaxy s4, because I really thought my galaxy s4 was doing well. Here are my averages:
Galaxy s4: I normally lose 5% every hour, so about 20 hours on battery before she quit. (3-4 hrs on-screen time)
Moto g: I was loosing about 3% every hour, and got anywhere from 30-40 hours before it died. (4-5 hrs on-screen time)
Now you have to take into consideration the moto g is pushing about 100 less ppi, on a smaller screen, and calls were made over HSPA+, not 4G. But still. Wow.
7. The lock screen: I know this will seem stupid, but with the AT&T version at least, putting custom ROMS on the Galaxy s4 was pretty much impossible. I saw one version just released a few days ago. So that took what, almost 6 months? So for 6 months, not matter what I wanted to change on my lock screen, my stupid missed calls and messages ALWAYS popped up in that ugly big box on the Samsung widget, and you couldn't delete that widget. With the moto g, you can pretty much do whatever you want and it plays nicely.
8. One-handed use: I really loved the Galaxy s4's screen. Believe me. It is BEAUTIFUL. It's better than the moto g's, no doubt about it. However, the moto g is just so easy to use in one hand, and the fact that I'm still getting 329 ppi (more than the iPhone 5), with better battery life, makes the switch much easier for me.
9. Motorola + updates: Being an American, I guess I'm just a little biased, but I really appreciate what Motorola (An American company) is trying to do. Their president is a really likable guy, and he has a passion for his customers, not just money. You can tell, as the moto g has just a 5% profit per unit, while the Galaxy s4 is around 30%. Take a look at this interview if you want more info, I think you will enjoy it. I know the moto g wasn't made in America, but they have plans to move all their phones here soon. Also, the moto g is getting Android 4.4 in a few weeks, while my AT&T Galaxy S4 was stuck on 4.2.2. My case was a problem I believe, but the AT&T rep said the rollout had not "reached my region" yet. I'm in Florida...
Interview: MKBHD Hangout with Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside! - YouTube
10. Finally. The phone just works: This phone is for the person who doesn't want to have features thrown in their face, and just wants a great smartphone that is reliable and just works. Opening apps, playing games, browsing the web, and making phone calls is just an enjoyable experience. The UI stays out of your way, and the phone is pretty snappy.
I have to throw in some bad things about the moto g, so here we go: I'm not saying the moto g is MUCH better than the Galaxy s4, because on paper, it clearly isn't. And if I wasn't on AT&T, I might have flashed a custom rom with better battery life, and a snappier UI, and been on my way. But for the reasons above, I think the moto g is better FOR ME. Here are a few things that might turn you off from the moto g.
1. The camera. It's not BAD, but it's not going to get you anything better than facebook-worthy pictures.
2. No NFC or IR blaster.
3. No 4G. It's not as bad as you think, at least if you are on AT&T or T-mobile, as they use HSPA+. I didn't notice a difference on speed with mine, but if you are using Verizon, the 3G vs 4G speed would probably be a bit of a turn off.
TLDR; The moto g stays out of your way and gives you what you need in a very fast, very reliable package. It's also WAY cheaper (see reason 3). I would recommend it to anyone.
If you read all the way through, thanks! I hope you got some useful information out of it. Please comment and let me know what you think. I've had the moto g 16gb version for about a week now, and I would love to answer any questions you may have.
Happy holidays
1. It's Faster 9 times out of 10: Wait... WHAT? Yes, I %#@& you not, this little guy outperformed my super-premium flagship Galaxy s4 in almost every category. Real world tests: Opening dialer, messaging, multitasking, camera, clock, and gallery were all about a second faster on the moto g. It also booted up on avg 6 seconds faster. Thanks Touchwiz...
2. Build quality: I know most people will throw a cover-up case on either phone (the moto g grip case looks amazing though), but it's been a little hard to find a moto g case locally, so I've been going naked. The phone feels great in the hands and is quite a looker. The soft-touch back feels great, as well as the curves, and it makes my Galaxy s4 look like a plastic toy in comparison. I actually always thought the galaxy s4 was a little too thin for my personal taste.
3 . The money ALONE is worth the trade:. Let me explain. Yes, the moto g is $179 off contract (I bought the $199 16gb version), which in itself is AMAZING, but that is not what I'm talking about here. With contract services, mine being AT&T, I paid $199 for the Galaxy S4, PLUS an additional $40/month just for the right to own the phone. Add in my $45/month family share plan and I'm paying $95/month for 24 months, PLUS the $199 up-front cost. Do the math and you are paying $1160 JUST FOR THE PHONE. The moto g costs $199. Moving on.
4. Freedom of choice: Since the moto g is unlocked, I can go with several options. For example, I can use AT&T's new $45/month prepaid plan with unlimited talk + text + 300mb data, or go with Straight Talk's $45/month unlimited everything. As noted in the comments, you can use any gsm carrier, not Verizon atm. I can do whatever works best for me.
5. No root required for WiFi tethering: I HATED that AT&T charged you extra just to use WiFi tethering. With my moto g, it is enabled out of the box. I just popped in my AT&T sim card, turned on Wifi tethering, and I was good to go. No loops to be gone through
6. Battery life is much better: It's getting quite cold where I live, so battery life is going to be less than ideal for any phone, but I compared both of them together for 3 days doing the exact same functions, and the difference was shocking. I expected the moto g to be a little less than the galaxy s4, because I really thought my galaxy s4 was doing well. Here are my averages:
Galaxy s4: I normally lose 5% every hour, so about 20 hours on battery before she quit. (3-4 hrs on-screen time)
Moto g: I was loosing about 3% every hour, and got anywhere from 30-40 hours before it died. (4-5 hrs on-screen time)
Now you have to take into consideration the moto g is pushing about 100 less ppi, on a smaller screen, and calls were made over HSPA+, not 4G. But still. Wow.
7. The lock screen: I know this will seem stupid, but with the AT&T version at least, putting custom ROMS on the Galaxy s4 was pretty much impossible. I saw one version just released a few days ago. So that took what, almost 6 months? So for 6 months, not matter what I wanted to change on my lock screen, my stupid missed calls and messages ALWAYS popped up in that ugly big box on the Samsung widget, and you couldn't delete that widget. With the moto g, you can pretty much do whatever you want and it plays nicely.
8. One-handed use: I really loved the Galaxy s4's screen. Believe me. It is BEAUTIFUL. It's better than the moto g's, no doubt about it. However, the moto g is just so easy to use in one hand, and the fact that I'm still getting 329 ppi (more than the iPhone 5), with better battery life, makes the switch much easier for me.
9. Motorola + updates: Being an American, I guess I'm just a little biased, but I really appreciate what Motorola (An American company) is trying to do. Their president is a really likable guy, and he has a passion for his customers, not just money. You can tell, as the moto g has just a 5% profit per unit, while the Galaxy s4 is around 30%. Take a look at this interview if you want more info, I think you will enjoy it. I know the moto g wasn't made in America, but they have plans to move all their phones here soon. Also, the moto g is getting Android 4.4 in a few weeks, while my AT&T Galaxy S4 was stuck on 4.2.2. My case was a problem I believe, but the AT&T rep said the rollout had not "reached my region" yet. I'm in Florida...
Interview: MKBHD Hangout with Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside! - YouTube
10. Finally. The phone just works: This phone is for the person who doesn't want to have features thrown in their face, and just wants a great smartphone that is reliable and just works. Opening apps, playing games, browsing the web, and making phone calls is just an enjoyable experience. The UI stays out of your way, and the phone is pretty snappy.
I have to throw in some bad things about the moto g, so here we go: I'm not saying the moto g is MUCH better than the Galaxy s4, because on paper, it clearly isn't. And if I wasn't on AT&T, I might have flashed a custom rom with better battery life, and a snappier UI, and been on my way. But for the reasons above, I think the moto g is better FOR ME. Here are a few things that might turn you off from the moto g.
1. The camera. It's not BAD, but it's not going to get you anything better than facebook-worthy pictures.
2. No NFC or IR blaster.
3. No 4G. It's not as bad as you think, at least if you are on AT&T or T-mobile, as they use HSPA+. I didn't notice a difference on speed with mine, but if you are using Verizon, the 3G vs 4G speed would probably be a bit of a turn off.
TLDR; The moto g stays out of your way and gives you what you need in a very fast, very reliable package. It's also WAY cheaper (see reason 3). I would recommend it to anyone.
If you read all the way through, thanks! I hope you got some useful information out of it. Please comment and let me know what you think. I've had the moto g 16gb version for about a week now, and I would love to answer any questions you may have.
Happy holidays
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