Motorola Announces the Moto X Style
by Joshua Ho on July 28, 2015 10:50 AM EST
Today, Motorola also announced their new flagship phone, the Moto X Style. Following the trend of larger screen sizes, it seems Motorola has taken this trend to its logical conclusion by cramming a 5.7” display into the phone, which really places this squarely in the phablet space rather than smartphone space despite the 76% screen to body ratio. The design has also been refreshed for this year to distinguish this device from the previous Moto X if size wasn’t enough of a differentiator. As always, the spec table is below to provide perspective on the changes between each device.
| Moto X (2014) | Moto X Style | |
| SoC | Snapdragon 801 2.5 GHz | Snapdragon 808 1.8/1.44 GHz Cortex A57/A53 |
| RAM | 2GB LPDDR3 | 3GB LPDDR3 |
| NAND | 16/32/64GB NAND | 16/32/64GB NAND + microSD |
| Display | 5.2” 1080p SAMOLED |
5.7” 1440p IPS |
| Network | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 4 LTE) | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 6 LTE) |
| Dimensions | 140.8 x 72.4 x 3.8-9.9mm, 144g | 153.9 x 76.2 x 6.1-11.06mm, 179g |
| Camera | 13MP Rear Facing (Sony IMX135) f/2.33, 1.1 micron 1/3.06" sensor | 21MP Rear Facing w/ PDAF f/2.0, 1.1 micron 1/2.4" sensor |
| 2.1MP Front Facing | 5MP Front Facing w/ LED Flash | |
| Battery | 2300 mAh (8.74 Whr) | 3000 mAh (11.4 Whr) |
| OS | Android 4.4 (At Launch) | Android 5.1 (At Launch) |
| Connectivity | 1x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, NFC |
2x2 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, NFC |
| SIM | NanoSIM | NanoSIM |
Other than the display and the dimensions, one of the most obvious changes is really the camera. Motorola is really focusing on camera this year as a key point of differentiation, going as far as to proclaim that their camera is superior to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus during their launch event. It seems that their first step to doing this is to equip the Moto X Style with a 21MP camera. Although not stated in the launch event, it isn’t a far leap to guess that this is either OmniVision’s OV21840 or Sony’s IMX230 as both are of similar spec.
At a high level, there are also significant changes to the SoC as we see a bump to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 and a bump in RAM to 3GB to improve multitasking and memory management. It seems that Motorola’s NLP and sensor hub remain, although it isn’t disclosed whether this is still a TI solution for NLP and an STM sensor hub.
The display is also a major shift in Motorola’s component choices, as the 5.7” 1440p display is actually an LCD panel rather than AMOLED, which is what Motorola usually favors with their high-end smartphones. There are also dual front-facing stereo speakers mounted above and below the display, with the extra bezel for display drivers mounted directly below the top speaker to accommodate the on-screen buttons comfortably.
Overall, the Moto X Style is a significant departure from the Moto X (2014), which in turn was a major departure from the Moto X (2013). It remains to be seen whether Motorola’s bet on a phablet-sized phone will pay off, but it certainly could be a major competitor with phablets launching in the near future.
The Moto X Style will be available in September, and will be offered on Motomaker. A Pure Edition that works on all 4 US carriers will be offered for sale unlocked in the US as well. The standard colors will be white and black, with options for customization via Motomaker for leather, wood, and silicone finishes. The price will start 399.99 USD for the Pure Edition.
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Impulses - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
What kinda hairs do you grow? :p It's 11mm taller and 7mm wider, that's a huge difference in the hand... Basically the difference between having to adjust your grip or use a second hand to reach the notification shade, or not needing to do either (and that's even with large hands, I'm 5'11" and have long fingers).Impulses - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
Not that it didn't tempt me, at least mildly (particularly because I could still renew and get it cheaper than it'd be to go contract-less)... Same for this X Pure and even the X Play, size still kills them all. Only phone that has seriously tempted me to upgrade the N5 was the Z3c but it would've required a carrier change.I might be taking a closer look at any/all of them if it weren't for persistent rumors of another N5 this fall. If they do nothing else but bump the battery capacity and bump the SoC I'm in... I'd like weather sealing or a better camera but better battery life is the only thing I crave.
A N5 with better battery life that still has wireless charging would allow me to stop carrying the USB battery pack so often, seems like low hanging fruit but every single Android OEM seems intent on forsaking the mid size flagship space to Apple.
Ziich - Saturday, August 1, 2015 - link
The g4 and the style are practically the same sizementing - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
probably not confirmed yet, but according to dpreview, it's the sony IMX230 sensorhttp://connect.dpreview.com/post/6329651553/motoro...
pepone1234 - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
5.7"? Oh please no...jhh - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
One of the reasons the Verizon versions are late to get upgrades is the special software. In particular, the HD voice is part of a Verizon-specific dialer interface. Does this get lost in a "Pure Edition"?leoblaze9 - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
at first i was like "yay the moto x is back" and then i read the screen size and was quickly disappointed.BMNify - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
Ridiculous screen size, Motorola has lost the plot, the original Moto X had the best form factor and handling, the second gen. made it bad, the 3rd gen makes it a dinner plate phablet.Impulses - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
They're just chasing numbers and sales figures, if I had to guess. Anyone have any figures for sales of the two different sized iPhones? Would love to have that handy...FwFred - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
Yes, would love to see that. Apple has a bunch of customers used to 3.5/4" screens, so maybe it wouldn't be the best data point though.