The second generation Moto E has a 4.5-inch qHD LCD screen, 1.2 GHz quad core processor, 1GB RAM, storage of 8GB (5.47 GB is user accessible) with microSD card slot (supports expandable storage of up to 32GB). It also has a water-resistant coating which protects it from light water splash; however, the phone itself is not water resistant. It is available in either 3G or 4G LTE. The 3G version has a Snapdragon 200 SoC while the 4G LTE version runs a Snapdragon 410 SoC.

The rear camera is a 5 MP shooter, but does not have a LED flash; it also has a VGA front-facing camera. It has a 2390 mAh Li-ion battery which is not user replaceable. It does not have a LED notification light as it uses Motorola’s Moto Display technology, and it’s the first budget phone to include this. It also features a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display, making it scratch resistant but not shatter resistant. It does not feature a removable back cover; the SIM and Micro SD card slots are located under a removable plastic outer band – the “Motorola Band”, which Motorola calls “accent bands”.