Is the 2014 Moto X a true contender for the top spot?

[Guest James Norton]

Last year's Moto X was one of the most anticipated phones for us at MoDaCo or at least it was for me personally. The ideas that Motorola put into the device intrigued me and as soon as was possible, I got my hands on one. My anticipation was swiftly followed by crushing disappointment. Yes, the original Moto X was a superb size and the overall software experience was amazing, but the materials, screen, battery and camera all disappointed.

When Motorola announced the new Moto X I tried to be more level headed, but failed miserably. Once again I could feel myself filling up with excitement. So how did we do this year?

Lets start with the hardware specs shall we. Unlike the original Moto X there are no issues with the hardware specs. I never personally had a problem last year, but many did. Motorola have managed to get a Snapdragon 801, 2Gb RAM and 16 or 32gb internal storage into the new Moto X and that is just fantastic. The main camera has gone from 10 to 13 megapixels and the battery is a tad larger at 2300mAh.

Despite the screen swelling to be a 5.2" full HD Super AMOLED affair, the Moto X fits into the hand just beautifully. Its curved back and light weight combine to make it one of the best handling phones I have used in some time. Yes, it is much larger than the original, but this year's Moto X impresses with how easy it is to handle.

The software build is just what I would expect from a Motorola device. Largely stock Android with some useful additions now wrapped up in their Moto app. The extra features are the same as we had last year with voice control including when the screen is off and active display among other things. Usefully you can set your own trigger phrase for waking up the Moto X.

So how does it do? To put it simply, this is the fastest Android device I have ever used. Everything on the Moto X is super fast, super responsive and just a joy to use. Motorola's software enhancements have done the trick again and make the device both fast and useful.

Combine these positives with the new materials and build that Motorola are using and we have a simply lovely device. The metal edge around the body of the phone looks great and feels fantastic. The new plastics are a solid notch up on last year and you can spec various wood backs and even leather if you fancy it through Moto Maker.

If only I could end this piece here, recommend you buy the Moto X and get back to barking commands at the touchless controls. Unfortunately, the Moto X has a bit of a dark side.

I found the battery of last year's Moto X to be too weak for my usage. This year's phone promises to be better. It is, but not by a lot. I have managed to drain the Moto X battery in 10 hours from 100% to it switching off with less than 2 hours screen time. That was an extreme example, but on average, I cannot get more than about three hours screen time out of the battery and that is the best case. Considering I use around three hours per day, the Moto X is the first high end Android phone in some time that doesn't last me a day on battery without fail. For my usage, on a device like the Sony Xperia Z3 I end up with around 35% battery remaining at the end of a day and on my iPhone 6+ I typically get through a day with over 40% remaining.

This might be a personal thing and it might just be my particular Moto X, but I find the screen very yellow, or is it green? Hard to tell. Either way, I am not a fan of the screen at all. Unfortunately it is hard to photograph the colour, but it feels very strange to me and nothing like other AMOLED screens I have used recently. Of course the benefit of this AMOLED panel is that Motorola could deploy their active display once again which remains the best system for notificat

Motorola tell us they have improved the camera. And they have. That does not mean it is a good camera though. Lets get some perspective here, the Moto X has a nice camera that captures images quickly enough most of the time and is extremely easy to use and fast to open. The problem is that the images it captures are inconsistent at best and often very blurry and poor.

Taking multiple captures in quick succession often leads to slightly different white balance choices and focus is extremely inconsistent. Sometimes it will focus perfectly on the subject being captured, but mostly, the Moto X just gets it wrong. In perfect lighting conditions, the Moto X will do a decent enough job, but with any drop in light all its problems become quickly exacerbated and the quality of the output degrades rapidly.

Whilst the Moto X has a better camera than most lower end phones, its inconsistencies make it feel worse. I cannot capture a scene and have any idea what the output will be like. Manually setting the focus and exposure point helps, but even then photos are not always properly focussed and the results are inconsistent.

To get an idea of what it can do, take a look at the camera samples here and just click on any image to view it at full resolution.

Overall then, I have not quite fallen for the Moto X. It has some wonderful attributes including great software, a lovely size and shape, superb build quality and material choices and, for those that care, a really loud single mono speaker.

Its downsides outweigh those positives for me. Motorola have brought the Moto X in at a cheaper price point than most flagships and at £419.99 it seems to represent decent value. Be warned though that there is no microSD card expansion and that base model only includes 16Gb of internal storage of which less than 11Gb is available. Upgrading to 32Gb costs £40 and it is another £20 for a leather or wood back, making a fully pimped out Moto X £479.99.

I really want to love the Moto X. Maybe next year.

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[Guest glossywhite]

I own the 2nd gen Moto G (5") and when I read the Ars Technica review of the 2nd gen Moto G, and it strongly implies (and I tend to agree) that the Moto G 2nd gen's camera (8MP) is - overall - BETTER than the more expensive 2nd gen Moto X... which would lead anyone to wonder *why* you'd consider paying 2x+ the price, when the camera is not so good?

I also have to say that I own the Lumia 630 too, and the Nokia camera app is unrivalled on Android, bar none, even when it's 5MP *without* a flash, it picks up details other phones (my 1st gen Moto G included) can't pick up WITH a flash. Nokia **know** photography, and I am very surpised noone else has matched them yet. Mind you, they have Nokia - who make the hardware, and themselves, who make the camera app (or any combination of both, if they like - they own them both).

 

~~ 2nd Gen Moto X only has MONO speaker too, whereas the 2nd gen Moto G has front-facing *stereo* speakers.

~~ 2nd Gen Moto X doesn't have SD card slot, whereas 2nd Gen Moto G *does*

Here's the full, detailed review:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/review-the-new-moto-g-doesnt-change-much-but-still-a-steal-at-179/