We know that specs and numbers are only part of the story, but nowhere is that truth more evident than in this showdown between the Motorola Moto E and the Samsung Galaxy S5. Somewhat surprisingly, the budget smartphone manages to leave the more expensive one in the dust, at least for basic functionality.

Motorola is launching the Moto E as an alternative to today’s feature phones, which some people still cling to mostly because of the price and partly because of simplicity and speed. But with a price tag of $129, the Moto E is definitely a serious contender in that market. Users will be able to afford a mobile phone without having to sacrifice the benefits of an Android smartphone in their pockets.

But the Moto E apparently isn’t the underdog that it appears to be, if one goes simply by hardware specs alone. The video below shows the small smartphone side by side a Samsung Galaxy S5. When it came to menial tasks, like unlocking the device or launching apps, the Moto E didn’t exactly blow the Galaxy S5 out of the water, but it did perform just as fast or noticeably faster. On the one hand, it is proof of how Samsung’s TouchWiz can be a burden even on the most capable handset in the market. On the other hand, it is also a testament to Android 4.4’s ability to scale down even on underpowered devices, like the Moto E that only has a dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor and 1 GB of RAM.

But don’t expect the Moto E to outperform the Galaxy S5 in more resource intensive activities. But feature phones, which Motorola’s smallest darling is poised to replace, aren’t exactly known for their prowess in multimedia, games, or heavy processing. This is simply proof that Android can comfortably supplant that feature phone market, of course, for the right price.

VIA: SlashGear