Motorola took the wraps off its new range of flagship mobile phones in style, with multiple unveilings in different cities across the globe. The new Moto X will be available in three versions, Moto X Style, Moto X Pure, and Moto X Play.
Here’s what you need to know about all three models.
The Moto X Style is Motorola’s flagship phone for the US, featuring top tier specifications with prices starting at $399. It features a 5.7″ QHD display, 21MP rear-facing , Snapdragon 808 processor, microSD card slot, stock Android with minimal Moto software tweaks, 5MP wide-angle front-facing camera, NFC, and the world’s fastest battery charge time. When launched, the Moto X Style will be available directly from Motorola, Best Buy, and Amazon. Purchasing this device will be a direct, end-to-end Motorola experience. The Style will be available in a number of colors and options thanks to availability through Moto Maker.
The Moto X Pure is basically the Moto X Style for other countries aside from the US. It costs the same $399, and has the same feature set.
The Moto X Play is a whole different thing. It comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC featuring a 1.7GHz octa-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM. Just like the Moto X Style, this will also feature 4G LTE support, Android 5.1.1 with the same Motorola software features, 21MP rear and 5MP front facing camera. But the Play will come with a staggering 3,630mAh battery which according to Motorola will offer a 48 hours of mixed use time. The Moto X Play is expected to come in 16GB and 32GB variants only with the option to expand the storage via a microSD card slot.
At the launch, Motorola spent a considerable amount of time talking up the Moto X’s new 21 MP camera, going so far as to call it “best in class.” In addition to the 1/2.4-inch 21 megapixel CMOS sensor, the camera features an f/2.0 lens and includes dual-LED flash. It’ll shoot video up to 4K UHD at 30fps and 1080p at 60fps with HDR video available too. The front camera, meanwhile, gets a 5 megapixel sensor and its own LED flash.
Enter camera rating website DxOMark who just published their review on the Motorola Moto X Style/Pure Edition’s 21MP camera. According them, the Moto X Style using a Sony IMX230 image sensor was able to produce some highly competitive results, only 3 (out of 100) points shy away from the Samsung Galaxy S6/Edge and actually tying with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. With a DxOMark score of 83 points, the Moto X Pure Edition now ranks second place, ahead of both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
But if this bit of news have just convinced you to throw away your current shooter and rush out to buy the new Moto X, we suggest you wait for more real-world examples that will come in soon. DxOMark test results are a good starting point when it comes to comparing camera performance, but many other factors will determine which is right for you in the field, including usability, screen quality and general responsiveness. You also need to take into account features such as 4K video which iPhones don’t currently support and any extra cropping capability the Moto X Pure Edition may gain from all those extra megapixels.
