NEW YORK: Motorola launched the latest Lollipop update for its Moto G devices, both 1st gen and 2nd gen. While our experience with the older Moto G was good, it turns out that the experience is even better on the 2nd gen Moto G aka the Moto G that was launched in 2014.
Interestingly, even though both the devices have same hardware specifications, the update seems different on both the phones.
First let’s talk about the hardware. Both the Moto G (1st gen) and the Moto G (2nd gen) use the same core hardware. This means they both have Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. It is a quad-core processor running at 1.2GHz. This means both also have the same Adreno 305 graphics processor. The amount of RAM in both devices is also same at 1GB.
But despite having the same version of Android, the 1st gen Moto G has lacked features such as ability to change the app drawer background in KitKat. This remains same in Lollipop but its users can take some solace from the fact that after the latest update, users of the second gen Moto G can also no longer change the background.
Yet, the Lollipop is slightly better on the Moto G (2nd gen). With the Lollipop update, the phone has received an app drawer similar to that of Nexus phones, i.e. apps placed on an elevated white frame. Whereas apps in Moto G (1st gen) still sit on the pitch black background.
The differences don’t end there. The transition animation is also different. The 1st gen Moto G shows a simple animation, while the newer one shows an animation with a little more flair when users open the app drawer.
Another thing that may make owners of Moto G (first gen) feel cheated is the action of long press on home screen. Although, it does give option to change the wallpaper on both the phones, on the Moto G 2nd gen it looks much cooler. Plus it provides widget options and Google Now settings by long pressing on home screen.
However, it seems the step motherly treatment to the old Moto G is not new. Even with the Android KitKat, the older Moto G lacked a few software flourishes and features compared to the newer phone. So yes, Lollipop is not the same on both the phones. But then neither was KitKat.
