Moto X 2014 review!

[beebskadoo]

The 2014 Moto X will be phased out in the next few months by the new model, appropriately named the 2015 Moto X (most likely that is). At this point in time it’s about 9 months old which is normally forever in the mobile world due to the rapid advances in tech.

So what’s it like to use now that it’s fallen behind? What’s it like to use last year’s device? Does it keep up?

 

Let’s start off with the specs, the Moto X features a 5.2 inch 1080p AMOLED display with average color accuracy and overall display performance. Where it really shines is its blacks and greys! AMOLED displays excel in this area due to their ability to actually deactivate the pixels that are black. Each pixel acts as its own backlight so there isn’t any uneven lighting to worry about either. The display doesn’t get super bright but I don’t ever go outside so that doesn’t matter really . Reading at night is really nice because it does get pretty dim while still retaining image detail fairly well in my experience.

Powering this display is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SOC with an Adreno 320 GPU which makes for snappy performance during Games and general use. Like I stated before, this review is now a bit out of date but honestly this chip holds its own for the most part considering it’s now 2 generations behind in terms of performance! I mean it seems like just yesterday that Qualcomm released the Snapdragon 805 which has now been dethroned by the Snapdragon 810! But honestly none of that matters, they are just specs on a piece of paper. The way this performs in lollipop is one of the best experiences I have had with a phone, honestly. My daily driver is a Nexus 6 which is currently running Android M. The Nexus is the epitome of Android, Googles shining crown! The Moto X keeps up surprisingly well considering it is behind in every single spec department.

 

Motorola made a smart design choice sticking with a stock Android build for the Moto X (Lollipop 5.0), despite its apparent age it’s as fast as or faster in my experience than many of the new smartphones I have used in recent months including the Galaxy S6 and LG Gflex 2. Granted I haven’t spent nearly as much time with them but they still feel bloated down by their respective skin. Motorola keeps things simple, not unnecessary features constantly bugging you to use or ones that are completely useless. What Motorola does include are things like voice features, and motion gestures that can dismiss a phones call or activate its ambient display to show you quick access notifications which saves battery.

 

Speaking of battery it’s pretty decent in my usage thought your mileage may vary, I tend to get about 5.5-6 hours of screen on time, on Wi-Fi with fairly heavy usage (YouTube, forum/web browsing, phone calls, Reddit!!!) What’s really nice is its standby time, with some tinkering it only drops about 3 percent at night time when I’m not using it! Battery charge time is really fast! It has a 2300 MAH battery that charges to 75 percent in about 45 minutes with the Motorola Turbo Charger. Unfortunately it doesn’t have Wireless charging but that’s not a problem for most people including myself.

The way the phone sits in the hand is superior to any phone I have ever used! I owned an HTC One M8 and it set well in the hand but those top and bottom chins made it a bit annoying at times to reach and its metal back and rounded sides made it extremely slippery. The Moto X doesn’t have this issue, it’s curved like the M8 but the screen sets even between the top and button, also on the back is a recessed dimple that makes gripping the phone easier. The metal frame really drives home the quality feel of the phone and the customizable back makes the phone very personal. I only have the default. Nothing fancy, black back but it’s still nice feeling and adds to the grippyness. 

 

 

To wrap things up on my generally long/jumbled review (like most of them are) this phone is fast, built well, feature rich and still very viable despite its age. I would recommend picking one up as I did (well it was free, given to me by a great friend) especially now that Motorola has dropped the price and offering a bundle with its Moto 360 smartwatch.

<3

Thoughts?

[itscatbug]

You think 9 months is much? I have my Nexus 5 since almost 20 months  B)

Just kidding, I really liked the review though, and your friend must be as awesome as the phone!

[beebskadoo]

You think 9 months is much? I have my Nexus 5 since almost 20 months  B)

Just kidding, I really liked the review though, and your friend must be as awesome as the phone!

Yeah she's pretty awesome!

I loved my Nexus 5! Though the battery life was just abysmal no matter what I tried. 

Moto X is awesome and I can't wait to see what Motorola has in store for the next model

[Mapsle]

Thanks for your review. I think I will get one while there´s the 100$ discount on it in June.