The Moto X name hasn’t changed in
2014, but rest assured, this updated
Android smartphone packs enough new
specs to deserve its own Moto X+1 or
Moto X2 title.
With a larger screen, a better but not
perfect camera, surprisingly useful first-
party apps and, of course deeper
customization, the original Moto Maker
returns with a competitive price.
It’s just $99 on-contract and on sale
for as little as $1, or $499 (£419.99,
AU$534). Don’t let Motorola’s low ball
price fool you either. Like its low-key
name, the Moto X 2014 has a deceptive
asking price.
Motorola’s flagship phone is slightly
bigger in every sense, enough to make it
one of the best Android premium
phones next to the more expensive
Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8.
Moto X 2014 upgrades to 1080p and
Motorola does a nice job showing it off
Availability and price
The Moto X 2nd generation launched on
September 16, but that was the AT&T
release date in the US. It came out for
Verizon on September 26. Both carriers
sold the 16GB phone on-contract for
$100 and 32GB version for $150.
On sale, it’s been reduced to $1 during
the holidays. However, Motorola’s Moto
Maker website still lists the phone for
the starting price of $99 and unlocked
beginning at $500.
In the UK, the new Moto X GSM
unlocked edition became available at
the end of September for £420 through
Motorola’s official website. Bumping the
internal storage from 16GB to 32GB
takes it to £460.
Wood and leather adds to the price.
Moto X 2014 with a premium back
costs $425 and £439.99 for the 16GB
version and $175 and £479.99 for the
32GB edition, based on the original
pricing.
Android 5.0 Lollipop, announced
alongside the Motorola-made Nexus 6,
has arrived on Moto X, at least from
some carriers. Both the unlocked
version and Verizon variant benefit from
this early upgrade. AT&T customers
with Moto X 2nd generation have to
wait for the Android Lollipop update.
Nexus 6, by comparison, has a larger 6-
inch screen, a camera with optical
image stabilization, dual front-facing
speakers and a bigger battery. But it’s
also much more expensive at $650
(likely around £520) and loses that one-
handed appeal.
Display
There’s more to the Moto X 2014 now
that the display literally measures up to
its competition. It’s 5.2 inches, the
same size as the new Sony Xperia Z3and
a hair larger than the 5.1-inch Galaxy
S5.
That’s up half an inch from last year’s
4.7-inch Moto X, a size that Motorola
left to the likes of Apple and its, by
comparison, pint-sized iPhone 6
display.
With a little reach and large enough
fingers, the new Moto X is still a one-
handed phone that almost ventures into
two-handed territory. Yet it doesn’t
compromise much on the display when
compared to a phablet.
5.2 inches may be too big for some
hands. Others will find it just right
It’s again protected by Corning Gorilla
Glass with the same AMOLED
technology behind it, but the 1080p
Full HD resolution makes for a much
crisper screen with 423 pixels per inch.
You won’t want to go back to the
original’s 720p and 316 ppi display
specs.
This sharper display is put to the test as
soon as the new Moto X is booted up
thanks to the bright and colorful default
wallpapers that Motorola included with
the handset. It really sets the tone for
this premium smartphone experience,
especially next to the still 720p Moto G
2014.
Moto Active Display returns with to light
up individual pixels and save battery life
It stands bezel-to-bezel with the
Samsung Galaxy S5 in this regard,
though it lacks the Super AMOLED
display.
In a few cases, we found the
Moto X screen harder to read outdoors.
But keep in mind that Motorola has
made its smartphone much cheaper
than anything in its class.
The Moto X 2014 makes up for its
direct sunlight shortcomings with a
better way to conserve battery life by
default. The return of the extremely
efficient Motorola Active Display means
that waving your hand over the phone
or taking it out of your pocket brings
up the current time and simple
notification icons in white.
The rest of
the screen remains off. The popular,
always-on microphone is here as well,
giving you a way to cut to the chase
with voice commands.
Tapping on any notifications icon, like
Facebook, lets you peek at what’s going
on
Tapping an Active Display icon reveals
more information about the
notification, like the gist of your latest
emails or Hangout messages. It’s a
great use of AMOLED’s ability to
selectively light up individual pixels and
it sure beats an ambiguous blinking
status light on a phone.
Design
An all-new aluminum metal frame
means that Moto X 2nd generation is
stronger than its predecessor, not just
bigger than before. Plastic is no longer
binding together Motorola’s flagship
device. It’s closer to the build material
of the iPhone 5S, sturdier than the
pliable iPhone 6 Plus and, most
importantly, doesn’t feel as cheap as
the metal-looking polycarbonate
Samsung Galaxy S5.
What’s surprising is that despite the
Moto X’s naturally larger size care of
the 5.2-inch display, Motorola once
again used tricks to minimize the
overall dimensions, and it worked in its
favor. For example, there’s very little
bezel around the edges and the soft
buttons are on-screen, as opposed to
the capacitive buttons used by Samsung
devices.
Put aside the plastic: Moxo X 2014
sports an all-metal frame.
This makes the Moto X 2014 roughly
the same size as the Galaxy S5 and,
remarkably, even the iPhone 6. Its
official measurements are 2.9 in (72.4
mm) x 5.5 in (140.8 mm) with a sloped
0.2 in (3.8 mm) to 0.4 in (9.9 mm)
curve.
The S5’s width and height are 2.9 in
(72.5 mm) x 5.5 in (142 mm) with a
narrower overall depth of 0.3 in (8.1
mm). iPhone 6 is nearly as big: 2.64 in
(67.0 mm) x 5.44 in (138.1 mm) x 0.27
in (6.9 mm). As much as I appreciate
the iPhone’s home button and Touch
ID, it has half an inch less screen real
estate to show for its almost-as-tall
dimensions.
More where that came from: The soft
leather back had a small abrasion out of
the box
Moto X’s premium frame thins out
along the corners, but forms a fairly
thick bow shape at the center for a
curved back.
This leaves plenty of room
for a top-center 3.5mm headphone
jack, an adjacent nano-SIM card slot
and bottom-placed micro USB port.
Along the thinned-out sides, there’s just
enough depth for a volume rocker
that’s smooth and power button that’s
accented with ridges.
This makes it
easier to tell the two stainless steel
buttons apart in your pocket.
Moto Maker returns with additional
customizations to match the now-
premium Moto X with even more
personalization. Leather, for example, is
now among the choices that can back
your phone in one of four colors. It
joins last year’s four wood options and
17 plastic colors. Black or white fronts
and 10 accent colors for the front-
facing speaker grills and rear Motorola
logo dimple round out the most
pressing Moto Maker decisions.
Two days in my pocket around Chicago,
the leather has worn considerably
Cradling the Moto X backed in soft
leather is a delight, but it’s also the
most delicate material within Moto
Maker. Yes, the Moto 360 smartwatch
uses the same genuine leather sourced
from Horween Leather Company, but
the supple material bruised more easily
in our pockets than on our wrists.
That’s what’s great about Moto Maker,
though. It’s filled with more options
than your standard one-size-fits-all
smartphone in case that doesn’t work
for you.
Moto X weighs in at 144 grams vs last
year’s 139 grams. Considering the
aluminum metal frame and 5.2-inch
screen, that’s a worthy trade-off. Of
course, there are beefier specs too
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