The new Moto X, will it be the Moto G of the high-end market?
We already know that Motorola have come on leaps and bounds in the smartphone space over
the last year or so. The Moto G was a massive hit; it sold by the bucket load here at Clove
and the 2nd Gen Moto G has proven just as popular in recent months. That’s the lower
end of the market taken care of, so what about the high-end?
The original Moto X didn’t go down all that well with consumers, it was by no means a
bad device, in fact a very good one, however it just didn’t seem to sell particularly
well. This time round Motorola have devised a phone
that packs some big specs behind an even bigger screen, which still gives you a clean and
smooth Android experience. Motorola also offers a couple of extra built-in apps and features
that actually serve a purpose – not many phones out there can boast that. Before we
get in to the review here’s the main talking points:
• 2.5 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801
• 2 GB RAM • 16 GB internal memory
• 5.2 AMOLED capacitive touch screen • 13 megapixel rear camera
• Bluetooth 4.0 • Wi-Fi
• GPS • MicroUSB with USB host
• 3G / 4G • Miracast (screen mirroring)
Last time around Motorola didn’t go all out for the latest processors or camera technology,
instead what they managed to do was produce a phone that was as close to pure Android
as you could get get without it having ‘Nexus’ branded on the back. Without an Android ‘skin’
so to speak, the older Moto X didn’t need all the extra power that HTC and Samsung were
putting under the hoods of their devices. This year it’s a different story;. Motorola
have decided to play the game in 2014 so the new Moto X comes out of the box with a cracking
set of specs. If you run down the feature list there’s no denying this is a high-end
phone. Just like last year Motorola have included
the bowed back; at its thickest the Moto X is now 9.9mm and that drops down to just 3.8mm
by the time your finger makes it to the edge. On the front the aluminium frame also adds
to the sensation that this phone is a premium product, weighing in at 144 g also helps give
it a solid feel. Holding other devices such as the Z3 leaves
me a little concerned that I’m going to drop them, with glass front and back that
won’t be good news. One of the great things for me on the new Moto X is a seemingly minor
touch – the Motorola logo on the back, situated underneath the rear camera, is in a little
dimple that my finger comes to rest in when on a call, adding that extra bit of security
that you won’t be dropping it. The screen is a window to a world of entertainment
that Google Play offers, it also brings to life those pictures of the new addition to
your family, birthday celebrations and those colourful walks only Autumn can bring. At
5.2 inches the 1080p full HD AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 (424 ppi)
gives you pictures that look crisp and sharp. Other media such as YouTube and Google Play
Movies will offer a great viewing experience. With music services such as Google Music All
Access, Spotify and others, it would have been good to have not just one front facing
speaker but two; something Sony and HTC have done very well. Sadly the new Moto X won’t
be getting any party started or keeping it going. The 3.5mm headphone jack centred on
the top will be where you’ll want your music coming from.
Placed to the right of the earpiece is where the front facing camera is found, this isn’t
designed for anything other than video calls so at 2 megapixels you’ll do just fine.
Flip the phone over and the 13 megapixel camera is where you’ll be capturing those special,
funny and odd moments. With 1080p and 4K recording capabilities, plus slow motion support, you’ve
got a modern camera that also has a flash running around the outside of the lens, a
ring of flash if you like. Nano SIM cards seem to be the way forward
these days and the Moto X is no different here. There is no Micro SD support which could
well be a deal breaker for some; I’m a big user of cloud storage so the approximate 10GB
available from the 16GB base storage is plenty for me, however for those who aren’t sold
on cloud services this could be a big deal. The 32GB configuration is currently only available
from Motorola directly in the UK. The processor tends to be a focal point of
Smartphone’s at the moment, has it got this processor, why hasn’t it got that but for
what you’re going to be doing with the Moto X the 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor
more than does the job and thanks to a near pure Android operating system you won’t
really need anything more. Getting around the Moto X is as a smooth experience
and with nothing behind the curtain holding the performance up and I haven’t had the
dreaded force close box pop up or had to sit it down and wait for it to catch up with me.
The 2GB of RAM helps with the multitasking side of things, some devices do have more
but the Moto X doesn’t need it, it’s all very well having 3GB of RAM but on a device
that has no bloatware, you simply won’t ever need it.
If you have ever used a Nexus device before you’re pretty much going to take to the
Moto X like a duck to water. The only added extras to Android KitKat 4.4.4 is a handful
of apps that actually bring some added benefit, take a look at other devices and you’ll
have a ton of stuff you probably won’t use and will struggle to get shot of.
Under the Moto we have four features, Assist, Actions, Voice and Display.
Active Display, formally Active notifications gives you a heads up of emails, Google+ notifications
and missed calls as you hand reaches out for the Moto X thanks to the host of sensors Motorola
tucked away. Instead of hitting the power button I reach out and the screen lights up
Give one of the icons a touch and you’ll get a preview, if you have got a pin lock
set up you will need to unlock it to read it, connect a Moto 360 or other trusted Bluetooth
device and your screen is always unlocked. You can also decide which apps you get notifications
for. Moto Voice
The always listening feature of the Moto X is a huge selling point; you can even change
the command word from “OK Google” to anything you like. I’ve gone with “Hi Professor
X” and from there I can search the weather forecast, call someone or work out how much
that 25% off a nice new coat is actually going to cost me. All this can be done whilst it
sits next to you on a desk or when your hands are free.
Your voice can also be used to unlock your phone, check voicemails with the command “take
a selfie” the front camera will spring in to action and count down from three before
taking a picture. A command that I use quite a bit is “Whats going on” and this gives
you a list of notifications. Moto Assist
Keeping your phone quiet and the screen off at night, silent with an option to set up
an auto-reply at work and when behind the wheel your Moto X can read out text messages
and play music via Google Music or Tunein Radio. Professor X is so clever that he’ll
know when I’m driving Actions will give you the option to activate
wave to silence, twist for quick capture plus the ‘reach for your device to trigger Moto
Display’ and every single one of them will prove very useful. The four IR ports on the
front of the Moto X will see to these very useful features.
The camera of any smartphone is a talking point and sadly Motorola haven’t really
given us anything to talk about, OK it has a 13 megapixels and a f/2.25 lens at the back,
you can bring the camera to life with the flick of your wrist, take a shot from anywhere
on the screen and you get HDR mode, Panoramic mode and you can choose 16:9 aspect ratio
for a total 9.7MP resolution or you can do 4:3 at the full 13MP. Best Shot will also
help sift through pictures and give you the best one. These options, including the flash
are accessible by swiping right on the screen. My walk here in Bournemouth
came across some beautiful autumn colours, you will get some solid snaps but when the
light starts fade away you’ll see lots of noise and the flash, although bright it will
wash out colours and I’m sure many people would have liked to have seen image stabilization
instead of a very bright flash. As for the Gallery app, it couldn’t be any
easier to get around and they have also included the option to make video highlights. You might
just have seen the same thing with HTC and their Zoe feature, you can also do this with
Google+. Here’s how it works, and I think you’ll have some fun with this:
1. Snap a load of pictures and videos 2. Tap on “Highlights” from the left hand
side menu 3. Tap the album you want to work with
4. Choose which pics or videos you want to have in your highlight.
5. Decide how long it will be and what music will accompany it.
6. Hit the save button and share your masterpiece with your chums
As with any smartphone though, they aren’t going to replace your main camera and for
taking quirky pictures of the everyday the Moto X passes the test. There is also an option
when editing a video to add some slow motion effect, this would have been better placed
in the main camera app as opposed to the Gallery app.
How long a battery lasts depends on the size of it and what you’re going to be doing
with it. Here we have a 2300mAh engine, heavy use from YouTube, playing games or having
it connected to numerous other devices will see the battery slip away and you needing
to plug in to the National Grid. I have been happy thus far with how my Moto
X has performed, I have it connected to a Moto 360, check out Google+ and make a few
calls in with browsing the web and playing the odd game. It won’t be as good as what
the Sony Z3 has to offer, it will though see you get through the day but you will need
to plug it in at night. Some have been a little critical that there
is no wireless charging, does it matter, not really to me at least. As with my Moto 360
it would be just that little easier but then at night my phone is just left by the side
of my bed. I’ve always carried a portable charger with
me, Motorola have produced the Turbo Charger that they say will boost your battery with
8 hours worth of juice in just 15 minutes, I always have a wall charger with me anyway.
If you’re looking for a phone that has a superb camera the simple answer is no. If
however you are looking for a phone that has a fantastic display, powerful and smooth performance,
no skin but with useful extras then yes, the Moto X 2014 is well worth looking at.
Motorola have worked hard on improving the original Moto X and as many have said before
me, this is one of the better Android handsets on the market. With no skin comes a clean
OS that will see updates quicker and fewer apps or extras that serve no purpose and take
up space.