Moto E VS Micromax Unite 2 VS Lava Iris X1: Best Budget Phone

Motorola Moto E, Micromax Unite 2 And Lava Iris X1 are the hottest affordable phones in the Indian smartphone market and they offer some really good features at a really competitive price of around Rs. 7000. All these three phones have more similarities than differences, which makes it even harder for a buyer to decide which one is the best choice among these three.

We are here to help you make up your mind with all the information you need so that you can make a more informed decision about which if these three fits your needs the best. Not all users need same features, so it varies from user to user, which is why we compare these phones in details and give you our verdict. So lets start with our comparison of Moto E VS Unite 2 VS Iris X1 on all practical aspects like features, performance, build, software, hardware, gaming, battery life etc.

Build Quality, Hardware And Design

When it comes to build quality and hardware design, the phone that comes on top among the Moto E, Unite 2 and Iris X1 is the Moto E. Its nicely designed, is grippy, compact, feel sturdy and has least amount of flex or squeakiness. The Unite 2 and Iris X1 feel a bit flimsy and delicate compared to the Moto E. In terms of design and appearance, the Iris X1 also looks very classy and stylish, but the silver sides are plastic, the rear is a thin plastic and it does not feel that sturdy. The Unite 2 is nice to hold, has a nice finish, but does to feel too solid when put next to a Moto E which feels way more sturdy compared to the other two phones. Also there is Gorilla glass 3 on Moto E which makes it even tougher and scratch resistant.

Winner: Moto E, Runner Up: Iris X1

Display Quality

When it comes to display quality, the display on Moto E, which is a qHD display, has pretty accurate colors and nice resolution. The compact size of the screen, which is 4.3 inch makes it highest pixel density phone among these three.

After the Moto E, we find the display of Iris X1 in the second position with rich contrast, high brightness and clear and accurate colours. It comes with lower resolution of 854×480 on a 4.5 inch panel, which makes it slightly less appealing compared to Moto E.

Micromax Unite 2, which has the largest screen size among the three, also has a resolution lower than the Moto E and similar to Iris X1 at 480×800 pixels, which gives it the lowest pixel per inch (PPI) density among the three. Not only that, it also has a slight yellowish feel or warm colours which makes it look less appealing compared to the other two phones.

Winner: Moto E, Runner Up: Iris X1

Camera Performance

If you are fond of taking pictures, Moto E is not something which will please you. The 5 MP fixed focus camera at the rear of the Moto E is just about average and can not record videos at higher than 480p. Also there is no front facing camera, so the Moto E is simply not for buyers seeking a good camera phone.

Micromax Unite 2 on the other hand has a 5 MP rear and 2 MP front camera, also supports HD 720p video recording. The quality is pretty decent and the pictures come out good.

Lava Iris X1 has an 8MP rear camera and a 2 MP front facing camera, but the picture quality with rear camera is not strikingly different from Unite 2. The quality comes out good, it also records HD videos. The front facing camera is also good.

Winner: Unite 2 & Iris X1 (its a tie)

Performance, Gaming & Benchmarks

When it comes to performance, the Micromax Unite 2 with its 1.3 GHz Quad Core CPU delivers the best performance among these three phones. Its also fairly good at graphics performance. We tested all three phones on Antutu and Nenamark 2 benchmarks. The scores we got on Unite 2 were highest on Antutu in the range of around 17,000.

While on paper, the Lava Iris X1 sounds fairly powerful at 1.2 GHz quad core CPU and 1GB RAM, but in reality, the performance is not close to the Unite 2. We tested with Antutu and got a score in range 13,000 which is very close to that of Moto E which scores close to 12,000 on Antutu.

Moto E has a dual core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon CPU and is fairly efficient and fast too. But its slowest among the three as the other two phones use mightier chip-sets and quad core CPUs while the Moto E is a dual-core CPU.

When it comes to CPU and GPU performance, gaming performance and benchmarks, the Micromax Unite 2 is a clear winner.

Winner: Micromax Unite 2

Battery Life

In terms of battery life, all three phones are very impressive. But with its lower power consuming CPU and better battery optimization, small display, the Moto E stands out in terms of battery life among the three.

If you are a moderate user, Moto E battery should last between 1 to 2 days, while for heavy users, the battery may last more than 12 hours which gives you one full day of usage.

We also find Mcromax Unite 2 very closer to Moto E in terms of battery life, and the Iris X1 is also not that far behind.

Winner: Moto E, Runner Up: Micromax Unite 2

Software & Features

When it comes to installed Android version, all these three phones run latest Android Kit Kat 4.2.2 which is a big advantage. But when it comes to long term software support and updates, we believe the Moto E is the best bet. It has a track record of timely updates on its previous devices and have also promised update to next major Android version, which is Android 5.0 or Android L. So if you want to get Android L update in future, Moto E will be the best option.

Micromax Unite 2 has a very unique feature which is regional language support. It is important for some user who are not comfortable with English language on their phones.

Winner: Moto E

Verdict: Best Value For Money

All these three phones are very closely priced at around Rs. 7000. Just like one size does not fit all, one phone does not cater to all sort of users. So lets me give you some pointer which phone you should buy and why.