A Quick Look at the Moto X - Motorola's New Flagship
by Brian Klug on August 1, 2013 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Qualcomm
- MSM8960
- Motorola
- Mobile
- Android 4.2
- Moto X
- S4 Pro
Thoughts on Moto X
My initial thoughts with the Moto X are that it's a great device, easily one of the best feeling, sized, and shaped devices of this year. The screen is big enough without the device being bulky, and Motorola says that over 70 percent of the front surface of the Moto X is display. I'm still not a fan of AMOLED, but in this case a lot of the features (active display) do need it to be power efficient. The customization options are novel and unique, even if they're limited to AT&T in the USA for the time being. The idea of a wood-backed phone excites me since it means each device will be unique and have different wood grain, and having some way to differentiate one's handset from all the other black squares out there would be awesome. Having the same device available on all the US operators is also a huge win for Motorola, who has been otherwise stuck to endless Verizon exclusives that dramatically limit the reach of its flagships, even if the Moto X isn't a single SKU solution for all the operators (I do not have cellular banding information for each variant). Even now though, we saw the announcement of some Verizon Motorola Droids that basically include the same hardware platform and a number of features from the X.
The fruits of Google's interaction with Motorola are a bit more unclear. The Moto X runs a primarily stock UI, but it isn't entirely free of operator interaction – there's operator branding and light preloading, of course nowhere near the level that you'd get on a phone that goes through the normal interaction, but calling this "unadulterated android" still isn't factually correct, and it's definitely not Nexus with all that operator branding. I find myself puzzled as well that the Moto X isn't running Android 4.3. For other OEM partners, I can understand not having the absolute latest version of the platform running because of UI skinning and features, with a stock UI and operating under Google's umbrella, it's just a bit harder for me to explain away, especially given how far along Samsung and HTC allegedly are with 4.3 builds.
The last bit is pricing. The rumor and buildup led me to believe that Moto X would be priced like the midrange device the silicon inside misgives it for, but at $199 on contract it's priced just like a flagship halo phone with a quad core SoC. I realize specs aren't the be all end all for everyone, but I was hoping the Moto X would be the realization of an Android for the masses movement and platform direction from Google with the price to back it up, which would've been $199 with no contract. I have no doubt we'll see the Moto X move down in cost quickly, and it's premium, it's just surprising to see $199 out of the gate for what is a midrange platform (8960Pro) right now.
I need to spend more time with the Moto X to really pass judgment. I've popped my personal SIM in and will use it as my daily driver for a while and give it the full review treatment.
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kwrzesien - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
I agree that the 16 GB is a deal killer, especially at this premium price. It would have been nice to see Moto change the memory game by making 32 GB the base memory size at $199 and a 64 GB model for $249. This would radically alter the memory pricing structure of every competing Apple iOS product. It would also leave enough space on board for plenty of media after the OS and apps are loaded. I like the 50 GB of Google Drive space, clearly that is the feature that Google is pushing as a replacement for the MicroSD card. And I agree with them while on your home network (WiFi/LTE/4G). But where this fails is when traveling over seas or anywhere without a strong & free internet connection.Changing to 32/64 GB internal memory would mitigate both, keeping it "premium" and selling the "just works" approach the fashionistas prefer over nerds swapping out cards.
darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Apple doesn't see this phone as competition.elotrolado - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
not if you don't want something that bigRoph - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
No MicroSD slot = no buy. 0% chance that you will get a single penny from me moto.darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Get used to it. All phones will be like this soon.Krysto - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
Yup. You can thank Microsoft for that, and them charging for the FAT file system, which is INSANE that it's not under FRAND yet. Here's a convicted monopolist with a 90 percent market share in PC's, and it gets to charge everyone for "allowing" other devices to be recognized by its OS. It's stupid. It should be a FRAND patent at the very least, if not free for everyone to use.Devfarce - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
This really seems to be the first Android phone that has been designed for experience and not just for specs. I think that as a whole, the smartphone community has become obsessed with specifications and fringe performance cases and less about real world performance and usability. I've used a GS4 and it stutters and lags in some of the most used stock apps; Messages is the biggest offender in my opinion with visible lags between when the keyboard renders onscreen and when the text history redraws above it. Obviously a quad core CPU isnt the solution. Neither is 1080p. 720p in a phone is still incredibly rich and detailed. Even more important is color accuracy, gamut and contrast. Not driving 125% more pixels for greatly diminishing returns in clarity and a persistent blueish hue.People want long battery life, quality construction, hardware visual appeal and smooth performance. Like it or not, this is why Apple still makes the best product. HTC is close with the One but their legacy of poor execution has scared away a lot of buyers. The GS4 is an impressive phone on paper but doesnt have an overall theme. It feels like a bunch of independent, half baked ideas that have been cobbled together and the hardware is nothing to get excited about. A friend has had one for about 2 months and it's in pretty rough shape with scratches and this odd crease in the extreme corner of the screen. They have marketed the snot out of their products and they sell. It's also easier to SELL ALL THE CORES in the aggressive environment of in-store, comission based sales.
Early benchmarks puts 3D performance ahead of the GS4's BenchmarkBoosting shenanigans. Good code will take advantage of the GPU horsepower. Dual core is currently the apex of SoC design from a power vs performance perspective. Apple will likely have dual core in the upcoming iPhone and perhaps even the next iPad again for the battery life and optimized performance they are able to deliver. Is that a mid-range phone as well? Say what you want about specs, but optimizing experience is everything. Kudos to Moto for making a serious effort at delivering that premium experience.
sherlockwing - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
So called "Premium experience" is no match for a HTC One or GS4 Gpe.sherlockwing - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Not to mention the shameful scam of charging highend price for mid-range silicon and last year's screen tech.darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
You know this how? Oh, you don't. Are you aware Android OS and apps can't really make use of quad core?