I have been using Motorola Moto G (2015) since April 2016. It’s been nearly three years. Three years in the smartphone industry is like a decade or more. There have been so much changes. Finger print sensors are technology of the past. Everyone loves bokeh effect, face recognition and hates notch. I have not have such dilemma as my phone does not offer those options.
I am working as full time IT professional. I use my phone to receive numerous text message in Viber, regular phone calls and occasional Skype and Facebook Messenger message and calls during my office time. After office, I watch videos on YouTube. I have no social media apps in my phone. I take occasional photos with my phone. There are some hiccups here and there but they are minor.
I consider following things important for my phone.
Battery
Battery life of a phone is the most important thing for me. As I do not install unnecessary apps, it helps me lot to save battery life. When I travel, I take my Mi Powerbank (10,000mAh) which is sufficient for 2-3 extra full charge. Also I do not enable my location service until I use maps.
Apps & Notifications
I only install apps those I use. I go through my apps every 3-4 weeks and uninstall any unused apps. I like to install only one of similar apps (ex: Evernote, Onenote). I have no social media apps in my phone. It saves my time and data. I have turned off all notifications except few. I want to make sure I take control of my life. I do not want to go with the flow and follow the trends. When I need to use any social sites I try to use my laptop. When I need to post photos to Instagram (very rare), I install the app, post photos and delete the app. I turn off my WiFi and data connectivity before I go to sleep.
Camera
I take selfies very rarely. I take photos when I visit some place. I backup the photos on my Google Photos and delete the photos and videos from the phone. Thus I do not need much storage on my phone. I am not unsatisfied with my phone’s camera. I think it’s OK. Sometimes, I feel urge to upgrade my phone only because the stunning camera of new phones. Then I think it’s only a photo.
Security and Privacy
I am very aware of the security and privacy of my personal data. I know the difference between my public and private data. I prefer authentication app for two step verification. I know my phone is not updated which is a security risk. That’s why I install apps only from Google Play store. I try to check every app settings in detail. Most of the people do not care about their privacy until they are affected by it. So I try to reduce my risk.
User Experience
I like dark theme as it is comfortable on my eye. I installed Nova launcher and enable its dark theme. I have also dark/night mode of all the supported apps like YouTube, DuckDuckGo etc. Moto G offers very clean UI which is very smooth and does not lag over time. I am quite satisfied with it.
Till now, I have wanted to upgrade my Moto G3 several times. Then I have given a thought and decided not to upgrade because there is not any major problem and I do not need to spend my valuable earnings on redundant tools. Hopefully I will upgrade my phone in near future only I after I find real value for my money.