Acer’s Liquid Zest Plus challenges the Moto G

2013 was a good year for the Motorola brand. That was the year that Motorola Mobility, under the care of Google, took its first step to making a comeback in the smartphone industry after breaking off from a struggling Motorola back in 2011. The first Moto X was introduced that year, which initially didn’t start off so well due to a mix of high expectations, disappointing reality, and a price tag that didn’t suit that reality when compared to the competition. It didn’t take too long, however, for the price to drop down to something more appropriate; after that, people started to notice the Moto X.

But the Moto X wasn’t the only device that Motorola Mobility would release that year. In November of 2013, Motorola Mobility released an extremely affordable mid-range device that would completely turn expectations for mid-range  Android devices on its head. The Moto G was one of the first Android devices that was not only affordable, but didn’t have atrocious performance. In fact, for the money you were paying, you ended up getting a pretty good deal.

2014 and 2015 would prove that Motorola, whether under Google’s wing or Lenovo’s, dared not sully Moto G’s name. The updates and price have been consistent from what we’ve grown to expect out of the device, and at this point it feels safe to say that the Moto G is one of the best, if not the best, mid range Android smartphone on the market.

But, as with everything, there’s always a chance that something better could come along.

Acer held an event yesterday in New York, which was primarily to showcase their new line of PCs and laptops. But nestled among the computers, a smaller gadget made an appearance: a new smartphone.

Acer isn’t exactly a stranger to the smartphone game, but they’re not particularly known for their smartphones, either. The new mid-range smartphone, the Liquid Zest Plus (“You’re not fully clean until you’re Zestfully clean!”), features a 5.5-inch 720 x 1080p display, quad-core MediaTek MT6735 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (with microSD support for up to 32GB), 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, and will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Aside from the .5-inch screen size increase, the Acer Liquid Zest sounds nearly identical to the Moto G 2015. However, there is one eye-catching feature that Acer has up its sleeve for the Liquid Zest: a massive 5000 mAh battery, which Acer says allows the phone last for 2 days.

With the two mid-range devices being so close to each other spec-wise, it would be a hard sell if the prices weren’t comparable as well. While the exact price of the Liquid Zest has yet to be announced, it will apparently be less than $250. The current generation Moto G costs $220 for the model that would closest resemble the Acer Liquid Zest’s specs. The Moto G does offer a cheaper model with 8GB and 1GB of RAM for $175.

I think part of the reason that the Moto G was able to become such a sweetheart in the mid-range smartphone category is because it was the first smartphone of its kind, so I’m not sure if the Liquid Zest Plus’s one defining feature will be enough to “dethrone” Moto G as the king of mid-range devices. The Moto G may not have a 5000 mAh battery, but its 2470 mAh battery is supposed to get you through the day. The Moto G is also waterproof and offers some unique personalization options with Moto Maker, while the Acer Liquid Zest does not. With that in mind, I do think that its gargantuan battery and larger screen (even if it is 720p resolution) definitely make it worth a look over the Moto G if those are important features for you to have in a phone.