It’s a Moto G, minus some Motorola software
Let’s just get this out of the way: There’s very little difference between the “regular” Moto G and the Google Play edition Moto G. It’s worth arguing that a GPe version of the Moto G (at this point in time) doesn’t really make sense. In fact, you lose some functionality, not being able to use Motorola’s custom camera and “Assist” apps, to name but two. On the other hand, you get some easy unlocking capability, if that’s how you roll.
Otherwise? That’s it. Same $179 (or $199 for 16GB) phone, sans contract. No LTE data. Same removable back cover (you’ll have to go to Moto directly for different colors). Physically, these are the same phones.
It’s also worth a quick mention that the Google Play edition box is showing the same launcher as the Nexus 5, which some folks have taken to calling the “Google Experience Launcher,” or GEL. But just like every other Google Play edition device we’ve seen, that launcher isn’t actually on the phone. Is that a nod toward a Google Play release of that app? Dunno. It could well just be a marketing error. For now, it is what it is.
This Moto G has Android 4.4.2 already installed (with a slightly lower build number than the Moto Moto G, for what that’s worth), so no waiting for an update, or installing one first-thing, as most Moto Gs have already seen their over-the-air update roll out.
And that’s that. Peep the video after the break for more.