Moto G (3rd Gen) vs Mi4i : Which is a better phone?

Earlier this year, Xiaomi launched the Mi4i and it was a fairly successful mobile for Xiaomi in India. Xiaomi Mi4i was applauded for its design, price, spec and price, while it was criticized for not having an expandable storage. Yesterday Motorola launched the 3rd iteration of its most popular smartphone; the Moto G. Moto G 1st gen was a revolutionary mobile that torn apart the mobile industry and made a strong statement that price and specifications need not be high for a decent smartphone. Now that we have the 3rd Generation of Moto G, let us pit it against the Mi4i and check out which one comes out as a winner.

Under the Hood

The Moto G is powered by a quad core 1.4 GHz Snapdragon 410 processor with 2 GB of RAM. Mi4i is powered by an octa core 1.7 GHz Snapdragon 615 processor. While on the papers, Mi4i may look powerful, in reality it has a UI that is heavy and lags a lot. Normally MIUI is blazing fast on Xiaomi devices, but the Mi4i shows signs of tardy responsiveness. While we have not really tested the stock android on Moto G, gut feeling that it will be faster. However going by history, KitKat was faster on Moto G 1st generation when compared with Lollipop.

Memory

Mi4i has 16 GB and 32 GB variant, while the Moto G comes only with 8 GB and 16 GB variant. An 8 GB smarphone does not make any sense these days. Yet, I would give it to the 16 GB Moto G, because it has an expandable storage slot unlike the Mi4i. Memory can be expanded by upto 32 GB on a Moto G 3rd Gen, giving it a maximum of 48 GB storage including system partition.

Display 

Both Mi4i and Moto G 3rd Gen have 5 inch screen. But the Mi4i has a 1080p display while the Moto G 3rd gen still hangs on to the ancient 720p screen. The Mi4i has intelligent screen contrast adjustment when on direct sunlight, while we don’t see any of that kind with the Moto G. So Mi4i definitely has a better display.

Battery

Battery on both the mobiles gives me a mixed feeling. The Mi4i has a 3120 mAh battery whole the Moto G 3rd Gen has just 2470 mAh battery. But then the display resolution and stock android may give the Moto G 3rd gen a better battery life. Again, this is based on intuition and the reality could be different. So we are undecided on this department.

Build quality and design

Both these phones are made of plastic and are sturdily built. However the Mi4i has a flush unibody design as compared to the curved design in the Moto G 3rd Gen. But Moto G comes with IPx7 grade water resistant certificate. Thanks to its nano coating, the Moto G promises to be sturdier for a rugged daily use.

OS and User Interface 

Mi4i runs on MiUi v6 based on Android Lollipop while the Moto G 3rd generation, like any other Moto G mobiles gives you a near stock android user experience. Though MiUi has loads of features, it looses out to Stock Android on speed and responsiveness.

Price

The 16 GB Mi4i is sold for Rs 12999 while the 32 GB retails at Rs 14999. The 16 GB is available on open sale and also both white and grey colors are available. The 32 GB however is still sold on flash sales model and only the grey color is available. Both black and white colors are available on the Moto G. The 16 GB sells for Rs 12999 and the 8 GB for Rs 11999. Moto G is available exclusively on Flipkart, while the Mi4i is available on multiple online retail stores.

Verdict

Advantages of Mi4i

• Brilliant display
• Larger battery
• Stylish Design
• Feature rich UI
• Tidy and functional camera app
• Great imaging quality – Read our review here
• Faster charger

Advantages of Moto G

• Expandable storage
• Service centers and serviceability
• Water resistance
• Sturdy construction
• Stock Android Experience
• Ease of purchase (Availability)
• Brand reliability

Ease of availability, brand reliability, expandable storage and water resistance gives Moto G an upper hand. While a strong developer community, brilliant screen and stylish design gives Mi4i an advantage. At GadgetDetail, Rounak, Giri and Deva voted for Moto G 3rd Generation, while Amarendra stood strongly behind Mi4i for the reasons mentioned earlier. With a vote of 3-1, Moto G takes this fight. Do let us know your thoughts

Do note that this is purely based on paper specifications of Moto G 3rd gen phone as we are yet to try this phone. We will update this once we do actual hands-on testing of Moto G 3rd gen.