Following a string of leaks and official teasers Motorola finally unveiled the Moto X smartphone at an event in New York this afternoon. The device is not only the first to be developed under Google's stewardship since last year’s acquisition, it’s also the first smartphone to be assembled in the US, which aside from scoring them a few political and PR points, allows the company to offer ‘built-to-order’ devices with minimal delay.
Customization options cover quite a few cosmetic choices and your pick of either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. Specifically, Motorola will let you pick any combination between 18 backplate covers, a black or white front panel, and seven different colors for the side-mounted buttons and the ring around the rear camera lens. In all there are actually more than a thousand possible combinations to make something that’s uniquely yours.
In terms of specs Motorola isn’t going for the high-end crown. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing; rather, the company believes it can carve itself a market with a high-quality device that can do nearly everything the majority of people will want or need it to do, without getting caught in the specs race.
The tricky part is Motorola still wants the Moto X to compete in the big leagues at $199 on-contract. Detractors will be quick to point out that you are getting mid-range internals at high-end pricing, and with reason. But aside from the unprecedented level of customization, Motorola is hedging its bets on battery life (quoted at 24 hours of mixed usage), as well as signature features like always on voice controls and gesture recognition.
Whether that amounts to a recipe for success or a missed opportunity -- specifically on the pricing front and lack of stock Android -- remains to be seen. For now, here’s how the Moto X stacks up next to the current crop of high end smartphones, as well as its spiritual counterparts in the mid range of the market.
High end smartphones
| Moto X | Apple iPhone 5 | HTC One | Samsung Galaxy S 4 | Sony Xperia Z | Nokia Lumia 925 | |
|
Price (on contract) |
N/A ($200) | $650 ($200) | $600 ($200) | $650 ($200) | $600 ($0*) | $528 ($0*) |
| Availability | 3Q 2013 | Now | Now | Now | Now | Now |
| Metascore | N/A | {pf id:85133 size:small} | {pf id:87473 size:small} | {pf id:87718 size:small} | {pf id:87301 size:small} | {pf id:90980 size:small} |
| Review | More info | Review | More info | Review | More info | More info |
| System chip | Motorola X8 (Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro) | Apple A6 | Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T | Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T | Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 | Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 |
| CPU | 1.7GHz dual-core, Krait | 1.3GHz dual-core, Apple Swift | 1.7GHz quad-core, Krait 300 | 1.9GHz quad-core, Krait 300 | 1.5GHz quad-core, Krait | 1.5GHz dual-core, Krait |
| GPU | Adreno 320 | PowerVR SGX543MP3 | Adreno 320 | Adreno 320 | Adreno 320 | Adreno 225 |
| Display |
4.7-inch AMOLED |
4-inch IPS LCD |
4.7-inch S-LCD 3 |
5.0-inch Super AMLOED |
5.0-inch TFT |
4.5-inch AMOLED |
|
Resolution (PPI) |
720 x 1280 (316) |
640 x 1136 (326) |
1080 x 1920 (468) |
1080 x 1920 (441) |
1080 x 1920 (443) |
768 x 1280 (334) |
| RAM | 2GB | 1GB | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB | 1GB |
| Front camera | 2MP | 1MP | 2.1MP | 2MP | 2.2MP | 1.2MP |
| Rear camera | 10MP | 8MP | 4MP | 13MP | 13.1MP | 8.7MP |
| Storage | 16/32GB | 16/32/64GB | 32GB | 16/32/64GB | 16GB | 16GB |
| USB | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| microSD | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cellular | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0 |
| NFC | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Operating System | Android 4.2.2 | iOS 6 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.2.2 | Windows Phone 8 |
| App Marketplace | Google Play | iTunes | Google Play | Google Play | Google Play | Windows Marketplace |
| Weight | 130g | 112g | 143g | 130g | 146g | 139g |
| Other | Always-on voice recognition / authentication, gesture controls | Airplay |
HDMI out via microUSB |
HDMI out via microUSB |
HDMI out via microUSB, Water resistant |
|
Mid range smartphones
| Moto X | Apple iPhone 4S | HTC One mini | Samsung Galaxy S 4 mini | Nexus 4 | Nokia Lumia 625 | |
|
Price (on contract) |
N/A ($199) | $550 ($100) | N/A | $500 | $350 ($0*) | N/A |
| Availability | 3Q 2013 | Now | August 2013 | Now | Now | Q3 2013 |
| Metascore | N/A | {pf id:81112 size:small} | {pf id:93090 size:small} | {pf id:91248 size:small} | {pf id:86543 size:small} | {pf id:93151 size:small} |
| Review | More info | Review | More info | More info | More info | More info |
| System chip | Motorola X8 (Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro) | Apple A5 | Snapdragon 400 | Snapdragon 400 MSM8930 | Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 | Snapdragon S4 |
| CPU | 1.7GHz dual-core, Krait | 800 MHz dual-core, Cortex A9 | 1.4GHz dual-core, Krait | 1.7GHz dual-core, Krait 300 | 1.5GHz quad-core, Krait | 1.2GHz dual-core |
| GPU | Adreno 320 | PowerVR SGX 543MP2 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 320 | ? |
| Display |
4.7-inch AMOLED |
3.5-inch IPS LCD |
4.3-inch |
4.3-inch Super AMLOED |
4.7-inch TFT |
4.7-inch |
|
Resolution (PPI) |
720 x 1280 (316) |
640 x 960 (326) |
720 x 1280 (341) |
540 x 960 (256) |
768 x 1280 (318) |
480 x 800 (201) |
| RAM | 2GB | 512MB | 1GB | 1.5GB | 2GB | 512MB |
| Front camera | 2MP | 0.3MP | 1.6MP | 1.9MP | 1.3MP | 0.3MP |
| Rear camera | 10MP | 8MP | 4MP | 8MP | 8MP | 5MP |
| Storage | 16/32GB | 16GB | 16GB | 8GB | 16GB | 8GB |
| USB | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| microSD | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Cellular | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ | HSPA+ / LTE |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| NFC | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Operating System | Android 4.2.2 | iOS 6 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.3 | Windows Phone 8 |
| App Marketplace | Google Play | iTunes | Google Play | Google Play | Google Play | Windows Marketplace |
| Weight | 130g | 140g | 122g | 107g | 139g | 159g |
| Other | Always-on voice recognition / authentication, gesture controls | Airplay |
HDMI out via microUSB, Wireless charging |
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