Motorola’s ‘New Moto X’ is a dramatic improvement on a fantastic phone

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Android By Russell Holly Sep. 5, 2014 9:00 am
Despite being underpowered and unexceptional on paper, the Moto X was without a doubt one of the best smartphones to have been released last year. While the phone was far from perfect, especially if you’re a fan of taking pictures, the Moto X came with features that had the ability to radically change how you use your phone on a regular basis.
Software developers and other manufacturers spent months attempting to copy these features, but the Moto X remains the only device that could deliver this wonderfully unique experience. Today, Motorola has named a successor to the throne. Unsurprisingly, the new name is the same as the old name. Meet the New Moto X.
The 2014 Moto X is a little bigger, a little heavier, and a lot more powerful. The Snapdragon 801 processor inside makes it possible for Motorola to keep all of the same features from the previous generation, as well as add in a few new ones. Motorola has bumped up the resolution of the display from 720p to 1080p, and while that means it is still a step behind all of the companies using QHD displays right now, it looks incredible. The design is almost identical, but extended a bit in each direction to handle the 5.2-inch display. The curved back makes the phone feel very similar to the height and width of the Nexus 5 when you hold it.
This new Moto X focuses on leather backs for most of the designs with an aluminum band around the outside of the phone. There are still several wooden options available through Moto Maker, and it was the wooden version that we’ve checked out already. Just like the original, the wooden versions offer a stylish look and a soft feel to the back, without compromising on the durability of the phone itself.
Motorola has made sure all of the features that made the original Moto X unique are present in this phone, with a couple of extra features to help things along. There’s an IR sensor in each corner of the front of the phone, which you can see as grey dots on the while version but aren’t really noticeable on the black version. These sensors will be able to help with facial tracking and motion detection, which in turn makes things like Active Display more efficient in determining when to show you information. These steps toward efficiency help make the 2300mAh battery get you through the day. While Motorola isn’t bragging about 24 hours of battery life like they did with the existing Moto X, it’d be shocking if this phone was somehow worse than the 13 hour average the previous phone managed.
Motorola hasn’t announced an official launch date yet, only that it will be available later this month. The phone will be available for $499 on Moto Maker if you buy it off contract, and carriers will be announcing their own versions soon.
Even though I’ve only spent a few minutes with the handset so far, this new Moto X looks and feels like a worthy successor to one of the best phones I have ever used. There’s still plenty of questions to be answered, especially when it comes to that curious-looking camera, but we’ll be sure to put the phone through its paces very soon.



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