Motorola Moto G is dead, and new Moto E is its killer;

The Moto G is perhaps Motorola's best selling smartphone ever. Since the day it came out in the market in 2013, it has been a best seller, much loved by consumers due to the value it provided with its low price and yet extremely good performance. But in the last few months, the phone was under pressure from new challengers like the Yu Yureka, Asus ZenFone 5 and Xiaomi RedMi Note.
We recently talked about how Moto G was no longer the best buy in its price category. You can read about it here. But even though we said that the Yureka and the Note were better products, we also noted that there was one trump card that the Moto G had -- the pure Android experience with Android Lollipop. This was still one of the reasons to buy the Moto G.
But now even this no longer applies. The Moto G, wounded and beleaguered, is killed by its sibling -- the new Moto E that offers the same pure Android experience with the similar hardware. In fact, in the case of 4G version of the phone, which may or may not launch in India though if it does the price is going to be less than that of the Moto G, the Moto E is going to have faster processor than the one in the older and more expensive phone. The 4G will also support 4G connectivity, which the Moto G can't.
Sure there are differences. But first let's talk about the similarities between the new Moto E (3G version), which will sell for Rs 6,999, and the Moto G that sells for Rs 12,999.
Both these phones are powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. Both also have 1GB RAM and both use Android Lollipop. Both also have the similar plastic body, similar fit and finish and are likely to have similar performance.
Now the differences. The Moto G is bigger with its 5-inch screen. The new Moto E has a 4.5-inch screen. The resolution is also higher on the Moto G screen -- 720p vs 540p -- though considering the smaller size of the Moto E, the pixel density would be similar.
Then, the Moto G has more internal memory -- 16GB vs 8GB -- and has a better rear camera, which can click 8-megapixel images compared to 5-megapixel ones that Moto E would click.
But here is the catch: The extra that Moto G offers over the new Moto E is incremental and is definitely not worth the premium of Rs 6,000. More importantly, the areas where Moto G scores over the Moto E are also the areas where its competitors score over it.
What does this mean? It means that people who want a better camera already have an option in the form of Yu Yureka, which has a fantastic camera. Similarly, people who want a bigger screen can opt for the Xiaomi RedMi Note, which has a 5.5-inch screen.
The Moto G has already been surpassed by others in its hardware, camera, screen, battery life etc. But it continued to be a good buy because it offered people pure Android experience on decent hardware. The old Moto E wasn't in the same league earlier.
But now, people who want the pure Android experience at affordable prices can simply get the new Moto E. It is possible that I am mistaken in my assessment and that I may revise my opinion after actually using the new Moto E. But I have a very strong feeling that the new Moto E is going to offer the Moto G like experience at almost half the price, making Motorola's best-selling smartphone irrelevant in the coming weeks.