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  • erikiksaz - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Now this is why I love anandtech. Sum up all the specs in a chart (instead of of a 5 min video parroting back all the specs), and educate me on all the aspects of the phone that other websites simply do not cover.

    Thanks for the great preview.

    Any more details on the color reproduction, sound quality/loudness of the speakers?
  • JoshHo - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    The speakers are definitely quite good in quality, but I need to try some subjective comparisons and collect some data to really get a better idea of how sound quality is on the speaker.
  • imaheadcase - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    The one thing i don't like on my moto x is the speakers, you can't sit it on a flat surface because they are on back and muffles sound. kind of annoying when you want to watch videos on lunch break.
  • imaheadcase - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Oic it HAS a front speaker? excellent news!
  • craighamilton - Saturday, December 6, 2014 - link

    The Moto X is not very popular if you look at consumer based reviews (such as
    http://www.topreport.org/phones/ which is my favorite).
  • JoJ - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link

    Hi Josh, I'm new to your phone reviews, though not to this site, thank you for many years of providing great reference everyone, especially also the commenters here..

    Is it possible to test phones' speaker abilities by just putting them in a not so huge anechoic chamber? DIY, but I know you'd do a decent job, and providing some straight uncompressed recordings?

    Several sites offer quite detailed measurements, but I'm not expert at understanding these, and differences all seem to fall within possible error margins. I'm simply thinking that a really good relative comparison would be to just soundproof a closet and run some tracks, preferably also from high resolution lossless files, at a range of volumes and microphone distances. Some real dynamic range classical, "noise war" pop, some operatic recitative is great for pinpointing hard to hear enunciation, maybe patch a phone in on speaker, to a conference call. Just enough so review readers could take, say, a half hour listen. Since so many have great headphones now, and many of those are studio monitor quality in flatness of response, I think this would work well.

    As a kid, I very nearly took my studies to pursue a interest in sound engineering, but that's a very long time ago, however I remember many psychoacoustics reviews linking attention and perception of quality to both sound and video quality, basically perceived visual acuity would improve with greater audio fidelity, and similar correlations.

    We spend a lot of time, now, with our phones. So much I have deliberately forgone use of anything but a very basic candy bar Nokia, just coming to six months now, exclusive use of a simple not even series 40 model, literally the flash ram is wearing out, it's so cheap. This is my last week or so!

    My point is, that even with phablet phones, viewing a video, is something you often share, and so hearing comparison at a meter between phones would persuade me over anything other than a real deficiency in the screen. Poor audio has been the thing that I find causes my companions or colleagues to have difficulty understanding, not video, provided the video is smooth.

    So having a idea of what these phones can sound like, for conferencing or music, at a meter or so, just as a comparison, forget graphs and numbers, would be really cool.

    Please forgive me, if I have missed out on the parts of your test regime, which might give me a idea, but I'd be persuaded by any well managed real life sample, over test reports. To a certain extent, it feels like the eighties again, or before then, really, when getting any decent sound was a result, and the word "audiophile" was invented to excuse the measurebating.

    I hope I'm not suggesting the all too obvious, instead just calling out a wish, but I was thinking the other day, about television reviews. About only one surprised me, to see something distinctly better, through YouTube's 1080 setting, and that as of a limited production Panasonic plasma, their last ever plasma. That seemed to shine through the obviously degrading signal chain. I am sure that great audio performance would shine through as well.

    Are speakers generally deprecated? I mean, do most users .. no, most review readers, pay less attention to speaker ability, because they presume they'll be using their (very good) own headphones? If I was writing reviews, and selling adverts or anything to do with it, I'd be on the case to find out some numbers and opinions.

    Thanks again & best from me,

    ~ joj
  • fokka - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    i wanted to say the same thing, but you beat me to it.

    i hate having to read paragraphs of text, just to be able to tell what specs some device has. it's even worse when comparing different devices.

    here we always get a nice chart, often comparing the reviewed piece of tech with its predecessor or competing products. this way i have a good overview in a matter of seconds.

    thank you.
  • JoJ - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link

    I agree with that, for sure!

    But I'm hijacking this early bit of the thread to as something dumb, that's kinda similar in terms of frustration with websites, or rather browsers: what happened to having text wrapped when you scale it on a phone or any other device for that matter? Opera Mini and Mobile used to do that, just fine. Okay, it did mess with layout a bit, but never so badly. Now I see no word wrap at all, and even in this Surface Pro 2, I don't have width enough when zoomed to appease older eyes, still keeping the page from overflowing... I simply do not want to horizontal scroll! Has anyone any ideas? I have tried lots of browsers, for sure, but no luck. Story of touch compatibility on a Surface is another thing altogether: I delayed the last Patch Tuesday because of the BSOD issue, and there's a few IE11 updates there. But, if a lot of things do not dramatically improve with IE11, I am going to write a very lengthy demand for a refund. That bad. On a metered connection and it won't recognize I darn well closed those thirty windows, two freaking shutdowns ago... and that's just one issue of many, and I really do wan to love this device...

    Anyone know what happened to text wrapping for mobile browsers?

    Why is - to my mind at least- such a vital usability feature not highlighted in reviews?

    I am windows centric, but could care less about which platform I use, when it comes to usability.
  • hahmed330 - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Yeah awesome and highly professional preview... Moto X looks really promising considering how much attention to detail they have put in each and every solution. Motorola shames Samsung when it comes to attention to detail.
  • Peroxyde - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Because other specialized "mobile" sites do quicker review. They shoot the phone with a bullet and check after if the phone is still working.
  • ehfeng - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Agreed. Great article, one that few, if any, other publications would be capable of producing.
  • kpkp - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Little bug:
    "and the power button has a ridged pattern to it to distinguish it from the power button"
  • JoshHo - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Bug fixed, always seems like there's one typo that gets through...
  • VulgarDisplay - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    I have LOVED my original Moto X so far. I would buy this Gen 2 phone, but the original is still absolutely fast enough for everything I use it for, and the battery lasts me for 10 hours of heavy usage.

    Maybe Gen 3 will be time for a new phone.
  • ankushrajput - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    I'm a new fan of Anandtech. I had read Anand's words of praise for Joshua in his signing off article and after reading this article, I realize he was so right. I love the amount of detail in your articles. Just wish you do more reviews of mobile devices, including mid-range devices. And yes, I'm waiting for an in-depth review of the new Moto devices launched today.
  • CrystalBay - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Yeah good preview JoshHo !
  • Frenetic Pony - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    This phone looks sexy as hell, and considering every phone now has these specs at least that's a differentiatior.
  • sr1030nx - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    I would love to see this running Windows phone.
  • lostboykev - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    This was a great first impression. You're the only one I've come across that noted the camera sensor. Not only that but went in depth with everything new an similar about the phone. Back to the camera. This is a no buy for me. I have the original moto x. Which has a bigger sensor and less megapixels allowing greater individual pixel size. Not to mention how old this Sony sensor is. I cant justify the phone being a camera enthusiast. Even if it can perform better, not sure since I've used the LG G3, I still can't live with that 1.1µ (micro) pixel size. I'm sticking with bigger is better; in fact newer is better too!
  • modulusshift - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    You have the original Moto X, and think it's somehow better than the G2's camera? I don't think you've ever seen pictures from the other smartphones from last year, the Moto X had the worst camera performance besides the Nexus 5.
  • piroroadkill - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Huge, pathetic battery, no microSD, bleh.
  • JBVertexx - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    I am cringing reading this article. There are pronouns missing antecedents, run-on sentences, and incohesive paragraphs throughout. Really, I couldn't even finish it the writing is so bad.
  • melgross - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Seems as though you have a serious cognitive problem you need to get looked at. Even with some errors the article is well written and easy to understand.
  • JBVertexx - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Serously? Who has the cognitive problem?
  • smorebuds - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    So where do you go for your grammatically perfect tech reviews?

    And like pitchers in the NL, it's nice when they are decent hitters but the pitching is far more important. In this case I'd put far more emphasis in Josh's ability to analyze smartphones than his grammar/writing skills (which are more than sufficient anyway... I mean, have you ever tried reading a DailyTech article?).
  • JBVertexx - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Usually, Anandtech has the best writing of any of the tech review sites, which is why I read it every day. I'm just calling this one like it is.
  • RunAroundInCircles - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    You could always try the constructive criticism approach. You know, instead of bashing his writing with your first words. Try by giving credit where credit is due first, then suggesting improvements, and explaining how improvements can be made. I think you'll find that you will generally receive more agreeable responses.
  • JBVertexx - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    There was no credit due with this - it clearly was not edited - should not have been published like it is on this site.
  • Chaser - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    If you have any friends at all that sincerely liked you, thank them.
  • JBVertexx - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Lots of friends buddy. This was legit criticism, so if you can't handle the heat,....
  • saliti - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Meh..........
    Smart phones aren't exciting anymore. The only flagship that I like is the Note 4 because of vast improvements in S-Pen. For normal usage I would rather buy a cheap phone with Mtk 6592 in it.
  • Phrozenspite - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Does the camera have optical image stabilization?
  • JoshHo - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    No, it's EIS only.
  • CrystalBay - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Moto Nexus X (6) is rumured to have OIS
  • RunAroundInCircles - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    After getting my current G2, OIS is a must for me personally. It improves low light shots to compensate a little for the (physically) small pixels in this sensor and makes the difference between a blurry mess and a decent shot in normal conditions.

    I also will not be purchasing another phone without either micro SD expansion or ideally larger faster storage. This NEEDS to become a priority in mobile. Hate to say it be the one to say it but 16GB or even 32GB just does not cut it anymore. How can apple be the only ones consistently offering a larger storage model (albeit at severely inflated price points, with wallet searing profit margins). And before any replies with 'the cloud has solved all my storage needs', come live in regional Australia, there are plenty of areas where there is no mobile service at all, let alone the data caps to use it.
  • modulusshift - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    The Moto X is legendary in storage performance, because of the use of F2FS as covered last year in the AnandTech review. I admit the size is still an issue, but Moto is squared as far as speed, I promise. I can't wait to see what other hidden tricks the engineers slipped in.
  • gg555 - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Yeah, I really would like to have OIS too and think of it as a must have feature. I'm a bit torn, because I also want good noise cancellation. Phones have been going backwards for a long time with noise cacnellation. The Nexus One used the Audience noise cancellation chip, which was great, but it never appeared in another Nexus phone. The iPhone 4 also had the Audience chip, but it was dropped in subsequent iPhones. Most people use Qualcomm's inferior Fluence noise cancellation these days (except Samsung, which has consistently used Audience in it's flagship phones). So Motorola's four microphone noise cancellations sounds very tempting. It will be hard to find a feature like this in another phone.

    By the way, your G2 has the Audience chip, but like other manufacturers it was dropped in the G3. It's horrible to see flagship phones go backwards.
  • alinsiddiqui - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Motorola's website says the Moto X has only one speaker and the top is actually an earpiece, yet your article says that the Moto X has stereo speakers. You sure you're not wrong on that?
  • JoshHo - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Apologies, it seems that I spoke too soon on this issue. I have corrected the article.
  • gg555 - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Wow, that's a disappointment. It's one of the features that tempts me about this phone. Seems like the way Motorola designed the earpiece and speaker to look identical is almost a deliberate attempt to mislead people.
  • gg555 - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    I'm confused though, because Motorola's website says, "front-facing and at bottom." Why "and"? If there's only one speaker, should it just say, "front-facing at bottom"?
  • spikebike - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Please motorola, er, lenovo. Please stop making disposable phones that turn into a useless brick when the battery dies. Such nice design and specifications could easily lead to a phone that would be useful, at least for secondary use for 3-4 years. If it's going to cost $500 it shouldn't ($20 a month for 2 years) I shouldn't have to throw it away to replace a $15 battery.
  • semo - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    This must be planned obsolescence and I feel that it won't stop until smartphones are treated like fashion items. The S5 is almost the same phone, yet it has a microSD slot, removable battery and even has the option for Qi. If Samsung can do it, why can't Motorola?
  • agent2099 - Sunday, September 7, 2014 - link

    The s5 is $300 more
  • jhh - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link

    I used to think that replaceable batteries were a good idea, until I actually needed a new battery. This was the days of flip phones, but I doubt much has changed. The OEM battery was no longer available when a new one was needed. This left third-party batteries as the only exception, and their lifetime was much worse than the original. Since every cell phone seems to use its own form-factor, by the time a new battery is needed, the manufacturer has also discontinued the battery. I suspect that the third-party batteries ar also old at that point.
  • steven75 - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link

    You and your subtle yet true facts! ;)

    Also the external USB battery packs and cases solved this issue long ago.
  • Klug4Pres - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link

    "This was the days of flip phones, but I doubt much has changed."

    While your concern is valid, I think the situation with phones that have sold in high volume may be better than would be the case with a random flip phone. Some third-party battery suppliers seem to have a decent reputation.
  • jjj - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    If they payed me i wouldn't use a phone without microSD. It just kills media creation(pics and vids) and consumption.They might as well get rid of the cam too.
    That being said good job on the slightly lower price compared to other phone makers from the old guard.
    It's funny how Moto X still feels like a midranger even if on paper if has high end specs. Just can't shake the feeling that it is a lightweight phone. Maybe the branding needs to be changed, might be hard to sell high end under it.
    The design of the front , not a fan, very dirty and looks like it's been through a war or something.It also makes it look bulky even if the dimensions are not bad for the screen size.
  • nevertell - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Why are they lagging behind HTC and Samsung in the SoC department ?
    I'd love to have this phone if it had a 64 bit SoC. Then again, I'm sort of a developer so I need a feature complete device with a feature complete SoC.
  • jeffkibuule - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Umm.. because none of the 64-bit Qualcomm SoCs currently available perform better than a Snapdragon 801? You want the Snapdragon 808 and 810, and those aren't due until next year as they were designed around 20nm, not 28nm.
  • louisejhocker - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    just as Larry answered I didnt even know that people able to get paid $6104 in a few weeks on the internet .
    go to this site>>>>> paygazette.ℭOM
  • randomlinh - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    "although dual front facing speakers are now used instead of a single rear facing speaker"

    Hrm... other sites are saying it's not dual front speakers, only the bottom is. Top is still just an earpiece?
  • JoshHo - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    I distinctly recall being told that the Moto X had stereo speakers but it seems they were mistaken. I'm correcting this now.
  • gg555 - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Why would they put stereo speakers in the new Moto G and not the X? Are you sure about this?
  • Stochastic - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Hmm, $500 off-contract is a bit steeper than I would have liked, especially since you probably have to spring an extra $100 to get the 32 GB version. Honestly, I wish Motorola offered a no-frills version with the same specs but without the voice and sensor features at a reduced price point. Nevertheless, the attention to detail is impressive, and overall this seems like a well-rounded phone.

    Also, nice write-up Joshua! One thing I think you really excel at is explaining technical things to a layman such as myself. Anandtech has always been technical, but some of the writers just assume that their audience has the background knowledge to understand everything without explanation. You tend not to do that.
  • Stochastic - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    To be fair, I think most of the staff do a good job of this, too.
  • jeffkibuule - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    32GB version is $50 more.
  • emailrob - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    To an extent, that's the new moto g IS their no frills version without the additional sensors. I have the current moto X, but am disappointed and don't think I'll be upgrading. Maybe even a downgrade to the moto G (I did have the original one).

    I'm overall disappointed with the price point and the battery life.
  • rocketbuddha - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    In 2013 MotoX with a 720p and dual core Krait 300 based SOC (plus its custom processor) had a launch price of $579. At that time other flagships at price point were 5" + FHD screens with better SOC S600/S800 with bigger batteries, expansion etc. Atleast this time Moto geniuses came to planet earth :D

    I would not be surprised it ended up like its predecessor with 299$/$349 (16/32) special flash sales that cropped up multiple times this year. Wait for 3 mths and you will see that happen :D

    Touche abut Josh's writing. This is the kind of extra detail that Anandtech alone provides among most sites and keeps it distinctly original amongst the techno babble.
  • trevorftard - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    The current moto x uses a nanoSIM FYI.
  • Klug4Pres - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Tiny, non-replaceable battery, no sd card, poor camera, year old SoC. Specs are not the only thing, but you still have to be competitive. Does Motorola actually want to sell phones? It seems as though they are content just to demonstrate a few peripheral technologies.

    Oh well, they are a patriotic buy for US citizens.
  • smorebuds - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Hyperbole much? 801's been shipping in devices for like 6 months.
  • coburn_c - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    5.2 inches is a great size for a screen, 2300mAh is not a great size for a battery. 2300mAh in a 5.2 is a disturbing size for a battery.
  • Mugur - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Nice preview.

    All in all the phone seems ok, with a few caveats: small battery and the front looks too similar with Samsung's S3, S4, S5... And this is not a compliment. :-)
  • Zoomer - Saturday, September 6, 2014 - link

    Moto Maker will likely let you customize it to black. Wish the speaker grills are black or laser cut holes, however.
  • passive - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    The original Moto X used Nano SIM as well (having had to cut my old SIM down manually, I know this quite well). The comparison table is wrong.
  • irev210 - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    If you aren't familiar with Horween Leather it's basically the best leather money can buy. A handful of japanese tanneries are the only competition to Horween.

    They started business in Chicago in 1905 and have been in the same place ever since. They use VERY old school vegetable tanning methods and very high quality hide. I recommend looking at some tour photos or blogs about horween and where they make their leather.

    As for durable - I walk on horween leather (100% leather, no rubber) just about every day (old school, I know). So when you said "although a few years of intensive use may make the latter a terrible idea" I was extremely surprised. The horween leather would likely hold up better than standard plastic or many other materials. It took me a long time to figure out that most leather used sucks and high quality leather is extremely durable.

    Horween leather is extremely expensive. It's extremely surprising that Moto is using Horween - it's very unusual.

    Hope this is helpful information.
  • Zoomer - Saturday, September 6, 2014 - link

    Josh might be commenting about the smell, since leather is porous. Leather cleaner/conditioner and Cedar phone mats anyone?
  • apertotes - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Motorola presented a great smartphone, but it is not the Moto X.
  • melgross - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Held back by bad timing poor distribution and, most importantly, bad execution. The phone really wasn't all that good.

    I'll be really interested to see whether this one is as good as Moto says it is.
  • brianc400 - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Correction: Motorola Mobility is still owned by Google. The sale to Lenovo has not closed yet. "Expected by year end."
  • StormyParis - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Darn. If only they made a phablet version of that.
  • techmaniac - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    <Sigh> still no microSD card slot. Looks like I'll have to pass on this one as well.
  • thejesse - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    "While Motorola has been acquired by Lenovo, it’s clear that the Motorola I saw today is still very much the same Motorola from the Google era."
    While Lenovo has agreed to acquire Motorola that acquisition has NOT taken place. This is still "the Google era."
  • lscarval - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Correction: the original Moto X also uses a Nano SIM.
  • Arbie - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    @techmaniac - ditto that on the lack of micro-SD. No interest here either.

    Also, I'm amazed that people think a metal phone is "better" when it so obviously makes the basic function (send & receive radio signals) less robust. Why would anyone favor a device that has to jump through *major* technological hoops just to get even with a simpler design? And, why doesn't AT point this out?

    But then, I also wonder why the first half of every AT phone article is about look & feel. To me these are almost insignificant compared to reliability, storage, battery life (and replacement) etc.

    Perhaps I should just be glad that among our leading concerns now is feeling the lip when you swipe your phone screen. Nirvana is imminent.

    Sorry to be snarky... you guys try hard, but I think you lose focus sometimes and can't see the forest for the gimmicks & gloss.
  • jeffkibuule - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Because when spending hundreds of dollars on a device, people don't like the feeling of *cheap* plastic.
  • Psybuster - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Curious about this too...the plastic on the edges of the original X weren't bad at all IMO. Wouldn't signal quality be better off without the aluminum band, despite the additional tuner?
  • JoshHo - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    That's the surprising part. The external antenna ends up more sensitive than an internal antenna would be.
  • Zoomer - Saturday, September 6, 2014 - link

    The leather band is a large antenna. The internal antenna would likely be closer to other electronics, as well as being physically smaller. Both no good.
  • rocketbuddha - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    It the Apple and HTC effect.

    Worse! With most US Carriers, pushing users to tiered data plans and with the latest leak from the iCloud of private/nude fotos of Hollywood celebrities, I cannot imagine the dimwits who swear by the "Cloud" over uSD, are serious, especially the ones who pooh!pooh! uSD over the cloud.

    And removable battery makes it easier for end users to replace when they go bad. A basic 101 that any company that wants to reduce calls to its replacement center can hop on. It is a crime that they saddle non-removable battery of <2500 mA for a phone of this size.
    Add to it the repairability of phones with removable batteries is generally far above with the non-removable ones.
  • steven75 - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link

    MicroSD memory is the slowest and least reliable flash storage type. Anandtech has already covered this fact.

    The thing that kills it is the public does NOT want to manage files among two volumes. Sure some ultra geek types do, but 99.9% of everyone else does not. People want ease of use over everything else, and I mean everything. Look how many people spend $150 on a single cup coffee maker that is beaten in quality by a $25 Aeropress. The public ain't care, son!
  • erikiksaz - Saturday, September 6, 2014 - link

    Unless you've got Xray vision, the first thing you notice about a smartphone is how it feels in your hand. Why wouldn't they start with aesthetics?
  • fswc - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Thank you for posting about radio recepiton. This is becoming a big thing for me when picking a new phone out.
  • julianocas - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    What a great "mini-review", far more relevant information than almost every other "full-review" among internet.

    BTW, at the chart, Moto X also have nano sim.

    Thanks
  • zir - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    I believe in Motorola. Going bye bye with my OG Moto X, gonna get me one of these bad boys.
  • MrVeedo - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    my moto x has been awesome, have had it since release. but I wish they would have stayed with the same size screen, 5.2 is just a pain in the arse and too big in my opinion.
  • JoricK - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    I'm wondering, if you have a choice between keeping your old gen Moto X and buying the new one. What would you do?

    I've been waiting for this phone but the size of the display seems to big for my use, so for me it's either buying the generation 1 or the new one.
  • Blairh - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    1st gen Moto X is 130 grams. Not 139 grams.
  • dragonsqrrl - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Oh no, that battery... what were they thinking? I guess they're not expecting people to use that display very much, you know, to interact with the device.

    Love to see those front facing stereo speakers, and they accomplished it while maintaining a very thin bezel. That's really been my only gripe with front facing speakers thus far, they tend to increase bezel and device size.
  • joannecdinkins - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    just as Larry answered I didnt even know that people able to get paid $6104 in a few weeks on the internet .
    go to this site>>>>> paygazette.ℭOM
  • joannecdinkins - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    just as Larry answered I didnt even know that people able to get paid $6104 in a few weeks on the internet .
    go to this site>>>>> paygazette.ℭOM
  • JoricK - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Yeah, great preview Joshua. Thanks a lot !
  • peckiro - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Great article. Motorola err Lenovo may have a winner here, and for much less than the other flagships.
  • KJCtech - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    The Moto X looks like its going to be my next smartphone. I feel I might be spoiled by it.
  • tuxRoller - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Are you sure about the ir needing visible light? Why? It has three EMITTERS.
    I would think the ir sensors would detect an objects presence then switch on camera for details (like focus point of eyes). Perhaps a bit more detail in that section?
    Otherwise, tremendous preview!
  • Zoomer - Saturday, September 6, 2014 - link

    FF cam likely has a IR filter, which means visible light is needed.

    Hmm...might be a good idea to remove the IR filter. Selfies are overrated.
  • tuxRoller - Saturday, September 6, 2014 - link

    The ir filter is a good point, however the article suggests that the ir system ON ITS OWN can detect eye focus (or at least make a good guess). That wouldn't need visible light in order to work.
    As I said, is really like a bit more clarity in that section, but I don't expect it. For some reason the writers have never responded to me...
  • JoricK - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Don't you think it's a mistake going from 4,7 to 5,2'' ?
  • gg555 - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link

    Great article.

    One question, you talk about the four microphone noise cancellation being designed to improve the performace of the voice command functionality. But will it also function for noise cancellation during calls?

    *

    That aside, for those worried about the battery size, I think we really have to wait for reviews to see how it performs. It seems like Motorola is doing a lot of its own optimizing to help with things like this. There are two sides to this equation, battery size and power consumption. Keep in mind that the iPhone has always had a relatively small battery and yet it has hands down the best battery life amongst smartphones. That's because of how Apple optimizes the rest of the hardware and software. And AMOLED screens are very power efficient. Anyway, I'm not saying 2300 mAh is good, but you really have to wait to see.

    That aside, I do feel torn about this phone. It has a great design. The four microphone noise cancellation could be a singularly great feature in a world where smartphones having actually been going backwards and embracing worse technology (Qualcomm's mediocre Fluence, over the Audience Earsmart chip). It still seems unclear if the phone has stereo front facing speakers or not, but if it does that would be great. The AMOLED screen ought to be very good and I'm glad Motorola skipped the gratuitous QHD screen resolution. And the focus on improving phone reception, explained in the article, sounds like another good step to improve the functional details that many manufacturers shrug their shoulders about and go "good enough."

    On the other hand, 2 GB of RAM, USB 2.0 and the 801 processor really are lasts year's flasghip specs (the 805 processor has been in several phones available already a few months ago). And though the new camera module may be an overall improvement, it's hard not to feel like the move from a 1/2.6 to the smaller 1/3.06 sensor size is not a step backwards (as well as the lack of OIS being disappointing)--it's really a run of the mill camera by today's standards. The IR hand gestures functionality also feels pretty gimmicky to me, it's hard for me to see really carying about this much.

    Also, what is up with that ugly enormous logo on the back? A real blotch on an otherwise beautiful design, especially poking like a silvery scab through the customizable wood (or other material) back. It seems like an attempt on Motorola's part to make some big glossy thing like the Apple logo (similar size and placement). But the Motorola "M" is never going to have the cache of the Apple logo, get over it. Anyway, do we all need to be flashy Apple snobs? Go back to the more discreet logo of the original Moto X please--that was in good taste.
  • Lord of the Bored - Saturday, September 6, 2014 - link

    " Now named Moto Voice, the new Moto X now allows for any five syllable phrase to be used. "

    So I can activate my phone by saying "go go gadget" now? THAT is a feature that will move units!
  • tremblingwater - Saturday, September 6, 2014 - link

    Hey Josh,

    I'm so glad you guys exist. So far, its been site after site all showing the same thing.

    The crucial aspects that matter are never discussed or explored.

    Recently you did a piece on smartphone audio. I am anxiously waiting a follow up on that and would love a comparison with the new Moto X and Sony Experia Z3.

    Audio quality is something that is hardly explored and considering its one of the main things we all do on a phone, those articles influence my next purchase heavily.

    I hope you can explore the amps and audio solutions for the headphone output, soon!
  • Bhairava - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link

    Wow, a great piece of article! Thank you.
  • zachrohlfs - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link

    Stopped reading when I saw the increased screen size. Sorry but I want to work a phone with one hand not have to always be using two like with my Razr MAXX. When will device manufacturers realize that this behemoth needs to fit in my pocket and I have a wallet and keys to contend with. You want to be able to use this for business and not for nothing but I will have a laptop out if I really need horsepower.
  • Tiger33 - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link

    Wow excellent write up! - this phone is looking very promising.. Waiting to see how motomaker works in the UK... so far we only have the brown version available from Phone 4 U (launch date of 6th October) any ideas as to when motomaker is due?
  • pjcamp - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link

    Missing info: 16 GB memory and no SD. So if you carry around a lot of media, or you use something like Sygic to navigate out of cell service range, forget it. You can get 32 GB but only direct from Motorola, and still no SD.

    I understand this is the last device from the Googlerola period so maybe they will change in the future. However, I need a phone now, and SD is not optional to me, so this is not the one. Sad. I was looking forward to it, and rumors had it that SD would be included as on the G series. Goes to show you can't trust rumors. I understand that not everyone cares about SD, but it is so cheap I don't understand why every vendor doesn't include it for those of us who do.

    Right now, Sony (surprisingly) Z3 is looking like the device for me. Just waiting for a review of it.
  • theoilman - Sunday, September 14, 2014 - link

    check out Oppo Find 7 and Find 7a. they're two of the top phones in the market and they have SD and replaceable batteries. if I needed a phone right now I'd get one of them.
  • vishwacs111 - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link

    From what I know Moto X (1st Gen) does not support MHL or any type of HDMI out. I was wondering if Moto X (2nd gen) does. You have claimed they both do. Are you sure?

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