Review: good build quality and near-stock load of Android 5.0.2 make the Moto E the best phone you can get for $150
Review: The new Moto E is the most phone you can get for $150 — The first Moto E cut too many corners, but this one can hold its own. — The new Moto E with LTE.
Context & Ripple Effects
Motorola's February announcement of the $149 LTE Moto E with a bigger screen set the stage for this verdict: the first Moto E cut too many corners, but the second generation holds its own, pairing good build quality with a near-stock Android 5.0.2 loadout.
The review lands mid-stream in Motorola's budget push — the same window where reviewers found the Moto G 2015 sluggish despite 4G speeds — so the E is no longer just an entry-level fallback; it competes inside Motorola's own lineup.
First-order effects
- Budget-phone buyers at the $150 price point get a device with clean software and LTE, directly undercutting the compromise-laden experience reviewers documented on the Moto G 2015.
Second-order effects
- The E's LTE and bigger screen squeeze the Moto G from below, forcing Motorola to justify the G's higher price on camera and performance grounds rather than connectivity alone.
Third-order effects
- If budget hardware keeps converging on premium specs, software-update commitments become the real differentiator — a gap later made visible when reviewers flagged that even the pricier G5 Plus offered no guarantee of timely updates.
The trend: Budget Android handsets are eroding the spec gap with flagships through near-stock software and LTE, while timely update promises — not hardware — become the lingering fault line.