Motorola unveils flagship Droid Turbo 2 with shatterproof display, Droid Maxx 2

Shawn Knight

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Motorola and Verizon on Tuesday unveiled a pair of new Droid-branded smartphones – the Droid Turbo 2 and the Droid Maxx 2 – at a press event in New York City. The Droid Turbo 2 is arguably the more interesting of the two as the flagship sports a shatterproof screen, a feature that consumers have been calling on for years.

The Droid Turbo 2, Verizon’s version of the Moto X Pure, features a 5.4-inch AMOLED display operating at a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 (540 PPI) that uses Motorola’s ShatterShield technology (more on that in a bit). The device is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 octa-core SoC clocked at 2.0GHz and Adreno 430 graphics alongside 3GB of DDR4 RAM and your choice of 32GB or 64GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card slot).

Other goodies include a 21-megapixel rear-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, phase detect auto-focus and dual-LED flash that can record 4K video at 30FPS, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture and a wide-angle lens, dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi with MIMO, Bluetooth 4.1 LE and NFC.

Inside is a massive 3,760mAh battery that’s good for up to 48 hours of mixed usage. The company’s TurboPower charger can supply up to 13 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes. The Droid Turbo 2 also features a water-repellant coating that should help with accidental spills and whatnot (it’s not waterproof) and ships running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

Motorola President Rick Osterloh said the handset’s ShatterShield, which uses a flexible AMOLED display and multiple lens layers, is the result of three years of engineering work. To demonstrate its strength, the executive dropped the phone onto a set of cinder blocks placed on stage.

The display and embedded lens are warranted against shattering and cracking for four years from the date of purchase. Curiously enough, scratches and other damage to the protective lens isn’t covered by the warranty.

The Droid Turbo 2 is also the first Droid to take advantage of Motorola’s Moto Maker customization program which offers more than 1,000 different combinations to make the device uniquely yours. Those that spring for the 64GB model can even opt to redesign their phone once within two years of purchase.

The Droid Maxx 2, meanwhile, packs a 5.5-inch 1080p display (403 PPI) coated in Gorilla Glass 3. Under the hood is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz, an Adreno 405 GPU ticking along at 550MHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card slot).

Around back, you’ll find what appears to be the exact same 21-megapixl camera from the Turbo 2, a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (dual band capable), Bluetooth 4.0 LE and NFC. It’s all powered by a 3,630mAh battery that should last up to 48 hours with mixed usage. It’s also water repellent and ships with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

The Droid Turbo 2 goes on sale October 29 starting at $624 off-contract while the Droid Maxx 2 can be had for $384 sans two-year agreement.

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$624 for a device with a shatterproof screen that's been in development for 3 years? The cheek of some companies.
I've been trying to R&D a (unsuccessfully) shatterproof bank balance since I can remember and It's nowhere near release yet.
By not wasting so much money on a device that'll essentially be obsolete by dinner time tonight and taking care of the one I already have by not being such a clumsy oaf with it helps no end.
 
So my Moto X Pure just arrived in the mail and now this announcement about the Maxx 2 having a battery that is over 750mah in capacity....nice. so to have a better battery I would have to shell out 200 more bucks and deal with VERIZON bloatware....tough decision.
 
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