7 ms·

The New Motorola Moto X (2nd Gen) Review

59 points by amardeep 12y ago

spindritf 12y ago
I'm mostly curious about the wooden and leather backs. Does it make a difference? Does it make sense?
- jnevill 12y ago
  I have a wooden back on my 1st gen Moto X. It's the "Teak" back. I also have the clear case over the whole thing, which adds some extra weight and bulk. I love the look of it and when I order the next gen Moto X I will probably get the same back. No real differences, it's really just a feel and aesthetic choice.
- ErikRogneby 12y ago
  probably mostly a tactile and aesthetic preference.
legohead 12y ago
I've stuck with Samsung, but my wife decided to get the Moto X, and I have to say, I'm impressed. And it's not the hardware, but the Moto software that is cool. Which is funny to me, because I've always been a giant hater of brand software (Dell,HP,Sprint). It's little things like if you bump the phone, it displays the time. On my Samsung, I have to press the power button, and it takes a second or two before I can see the date/time, and then I have to remember to press power button again or risk butt-operating the phone as I put it back in my pocket. With MotoX it's basically as good as a watch. It detects when you are driving in the car and it does a few really cool things. If you get a text message, it reads it out loud to you, and you can verbally respond back. If you get a call, you can verbally respond to take it or not. And it has an option in the drag down menu to turn it off in the case you are riding passenger, but my wife still uses the voice commands when she is riding passenger because it's so convenient/nice.
- drzaiusapelord 12y ago
  I'm glad you're enjoying your phone, but stuff like this sounds extremely gimmicky and just leads to phones being abandoned because there's such a great cost for the OEM to provide updated ROMs, support, etc for these custom OEM-only features. Many android users get maybe one update and, in a lot of cases for lower-tier phones, none. Buying a non-flagship phone more or less guarantees a dead end pretty quickly. What android needs is an iOS-like system where everyone runs "stock" Android and these features are released as apps that are installed by default, instead of cooked into the ROM. Then OEM's should relinquish updates to Google, just like Google does with the Nexus line, its Play Store versions of certain phones, and now - all Android Wear devices. Funny how the "my god we need to differentiate our OEM devices" argument doesn't work for Android Wear devices. They all run the same software and everyone is happy. Now OEMs need to focus on looks, battery life, display, etc instead of putting in gimmicks and gaudy themes that are UI nightmares. Meanwhile, you're suffering through Touchwiz on your Samsung, your wife's phone will never get another update after x date (especially with the recent Lenovo purchase), etc while iOS and Windows Phone keeps chugging along. I switched from the Galaxy series to the Nexus series and am very happy. Its a totally different experience. Google has its "stock" Android product which reflects only a small bit of the Android market, but is vastly superior to the custom ROMs by the OEMs. Its a shame that Android has become such a fragmented mess of abandonware, especially with recent revelations about the AOSP browser's massive privacy bug which will literally never be patched. Even if google did a backport fix, no OEM or carrier is pushing it out to phones manufactured years ago or sold recently with a 3+ year old ROM. edit: -4 downvotes? Reply to my comment if you disagree instead of abusing the downvote system.
  - nicpottier 12y ago
    Though I agree with you on principle for other manufacturers, Samsung being one of the worst, this is a funny criticism for Motorolla. They have bucked the trend in that they run a near vanilla Android and the add ons they have are largely userland apps so they rev with Android very quickly indeed, not much behind Nexus's. Certainly if you get the "pure" version of the X then you'll be good to go for a while. They have an excellent track record on unlocked Moto G's and even E's so far. Carrier 'locked' phones may have different schedules though, on this you are right.
skizm 12y ago
Damn it, I got the Moto X because it was the last of the sub 5.0 inch screen phones. Looks like it is time to switch to the samsung alpha.
- dagw 12y ago
  Don't forget the Sony Z3 compact.
sirkneeland 12y ago
The Moto X has been the best Android I've ever used. I'm tempted to order the new Moto X right now now but I find it absurd that in a late 2014 flagship the only storage options are 16 and 32 gigs. I'll have to wait for a 64 gig one to be announced.
- rwong48 12y ago
  "Android phone", please :( or "Android device". technically speaking, "Android" should be "Android-based" for all devices that aren't pure Android, which may or may not be the case for the Moto X, depending on which Moto X you get. I also think that /slightly/ adulterated stock Android might be "close enough" to count as "Android" instead of "Android-based", but I'm not sure.
  - rwong48 12y ago
    Nice downvotes. You guys might as well say "the iPhone 6 is the best iOS I've owned", "the Surface Pro is the best Windows I've owned", etc. The level of shitty grammar/general incorrectness on tech sites for "savvy" individuals is quite embarrassing, IMO.
jonathansizz 12y ago
This is by far the most critical review I've read. Several others (e.g. The Verge, CNN, ZDNet, BGR) have said the new Moto X is the best Android phone ever. Ars Technica did a wifi battery rundown test, and the 2014 Moto X lasted 18% longer than last year's model. And the other reviews have said the screen was excellent. So this review seems like an outlier, but I'll find out for myself soon as I ordered mine yesterday. Everything seems to have improved with this year's X, but the killer features for me are Motomaker and the extra software (the active display, voice control and assistant), and the leather back will I'm sure feel great when reading on the larger screen.
- jzelinskie 12y ago
  While I haven't looked at this specific example, my rule of thumb is usually to trust Anandtech because their writers are often actual engineers that understand the hardware and software changes and have some discussion and speculation based on that information. Elsewhere you usually just find writing based on hands-on anecdotes and technical information that was simply spoon-fed to the reviewer. As an aside, I love my 2013 VZW Moto X DE. Between Motorola's goodies and Xposed + GravityBox, I don't have to bother with custom ROMs [for now].
- thrownaway2424 12y ago
  Anandtech has always given us much better and more quantitative information than Ars. Just to give my pet example, Anandtech sets displays to 200 nits for battery tests. Ars sets them to "50%" which is meaningless. According to Anandtech's measurement the 2014 Moto X has the same peak luminance as the old Nexus One that everybody hated, making it the dimmest phone you can buy today. The new Moto X at half brightness would be like an iPhone at minimum brightness.
  - jonathansizz 12y ago
    Ars Technica: wifi browsing test, 200 nits, 526 minutes. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/review-in-its-second-generation-the-moto-x-becomes-a-true-flagship/3/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/review-in-its-second-...
Someone1234 12y ago
The battery life is a little disappointing but not as disappointing as some early commentators made it out to be. It might also get better over time with updates (the Nexus 5 and LG G2 certainly did in my experience). I love my LG G2's battery life. After some updates fixed AT&T specific software problems (wakelock issues) it is by far the best mobile device I've ever owned in terms of endurance, I can easily charge it just once over the weekend. 10 hrs of WiFi browsing (7 hrs of 4G) do, for many people, translate into easily two or even three days of average usage. Too bad the 2nd Gen Moto X only manages 7 hrs of WiFi browsing and 30 minutes less of 4G.
danieldk 12y ago
I really like my 1st gen Moto X. It really feels good. Active notifications are a big time saver and allow me to unlock my phone buttonless. Touchless control is just great, when we are having breakfast, I'll just ask the phone for weather or ask some fun factoid we were discussing. Updates are quickly released (I have an international edition). The second gen looks great, but two things prevent making it an instant-buy for me: (1) the size, I like 4.7" and (2) the fact that the new generation Moto G has dual SIM and the Moto X doesn't (I am a Dutch person living in Germany, so I'd love dual SIM). I'll wait a while to see if they are releasing an updated 4.7" at some point. If not, I might buy it at a lower price point (and after enough testing to see if I can live with the size) or look to alternatives (Z3 Compact etc.). Of course, the 1st gen is still very snappy and will get Android L. So I am not in a rush ;).
- 1971genocide 12y ago
  really ? you talk to your phone during breakfast! I have siri and its not good enough to replace my cat as a breakfast companion. Amazing, I need to check it out. Cannot believe we are discussing machine companionships in 2014.
  - danieldk 12y ago
    I also talk to my wife and our baby :). I am not sure if you have or had a baby, but sometimes you need to know what the weather will be that day, or how long it will take to get to XYZ. And with a baby, you always have too few hands, especially when they are having breakfast as well ;). So, yeah, it's handy if your phone can answer questions like 'what's the weather gonna be today' or 'how long will it take me to get to XYZ' without having to unlock it or pressing the power button... I'll begin to worry if it starts talking by itself.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - 1971genocide 12y ago
      Fair enough. I was caught by the "fun factoid I was discussing" bit. Since it seemed you were talking to your phone before and was continuing some conversation you had with it prior.
whizzkid 12y ago
This second gen is just an awesome phone but there are 2 things that really pushes me away from it. It is sad because that is the only phone that I really like the design of. - It is just big, It really is. (for me) - Camera quality is nowhere near iPhone

59 points by amardeep 12y ago

spindritf 12y ago

I'm mostly curious about the wooden and leather backs. Does it make a difference? Does it make sense?

jnevill 12y ago
I have a wooden back on my 1st gen Moto X. It's the "Teak" back. I also have the clear case over the whole thing, which adds some extra weight and bulk. I love the look of it and when I order the next gen Moto X I will probably get the same back. No real differences, it's really just a feel and aesthetic choice.
ErikRogneby 12y ago
probably mostly a tactile and aesthetic preference.

legohead 12y ago

I've stuck with Samsung, but my wife decided to get the Moto X, and I have to say, I'm impressed. And it's not the hardware, but the Moto software that is cool. Which is funny to me, because I've always been a giant hater of brand software (Dell,HP,Sprint). It's little things like if you bump the phone, it displays the time. On my Samsung, I have to press the power button, and it takes a second or two before I can see the date/time, and then I have to remember to press power button again or risk butt-operating the phone as I put it back in my pocket. With MotoX it's basically as good as a watch. It detects when you are driving in the car and it does a few really cool things. If you get a text message, it reads it out loud to you, and you can verbally respond back. If you get a call, you can verbally respond to take it or not. And it has an option in the drag down menu to turn it off in the case you are riding passenger, but my wife still uses the voice commands when she is riding passenger because it's so convenient/nice.

drzaiusapelord 12y ago
I'm glad you're enjoying your phone, but stuff like this sounds extremely gimmicky and just leads to phones being abandoned because there's such a great cost for the OEM to provide updated ROMs, support, etc for these custom OEM-only features. Many android users get maybe one update and, in a lot of cases for lower-tier phones, none. Buying a non-flagship phone more or less guarantees a dead end pretty quickly. What android needs is an iOS-like system where everyone runs "stock" Android and these features are released as apps that are installed by default, instead of cooked into the ROM. Then OEM's should relinquish updates to Google, just like Google does with the Nexus line, its Play Store versions of certain phones, and now - all Android Wear devices. Funny how the "my god we need to differentiate our OEM devices" argument doesn't work for Android Wear devices. They all run the same software and everyone is happy. Now OEMs need to focus on looks, battery life, display, etc instead of putting in gimmicks and gaudy themes that are UI nightmares. Meanwhile, you're suffering through Touchwiz on your Samsung, your wife's phone will never get another update after x date (especially with the recent Lenovo purchase), etc while iOS and Windows Phone keeps chugging along. I switched from the Galaxy series to the Nexus series and am very happy. Its a totally different experience. Google has its "stock" Android product which reflects only a small bit of the Android market, but is vastly superior to the custom ROMs by the OEMs. Its a shame that Android has become such a fragmented mess of abandonware, especially with recent revelations about the AOSP browser's massive privacy bug which will literally never be patched. Even if google did a backport fix, no OEM or carrier is pushing it out to phones manufactured years ago or sold recently with a 3+ year old ROM. edit: -4 downvotes? Reply to my comment if you disagree instead of abusing the downvote system.
- nicpottier 12y ago
  Though I agree with you on principle for other manufacturers, Samsung being one of the worst, this is a funny criticism for Motorolla. They have bucked the trend in that they run a near vanilla Android and the add ons they have are largely userland apps so they rev with Android very quickly indeed, not much behind Nexus's. Certainly if you get the "pure" version of the X then you'll be good to go for a while. They have an excellent track record on unlocked Moto G's and even E's so far. Carrier 'locked' phones may have different schedules though, on this you are right.

skizm 12y ago

Damn it, I got the Moto X because it was the last of the sub 5.0 inch screen phones. Looks like it is time to switch to the samsung alpha.

dagw 12y ago
Don't forget the Sony Z3 compact.

sirkneeland 12y ago

The Moto X has been the best Android I've ever used. I'm tempted to order the new Moto X right now now but I find it absurd that in a late 2014 flagship the only storage options are 16 and 32 gigs. I'll have to wait for a 64 gig one to be announced.

rwong48 12y ago
"Android phone", please :( or "Android device". technically speaking, "Android" should be "Android-based" for all devices that aren't pure Android, which may or may not be the case for the Moto X, depending on which Moto X you get. I also think that /slightly/ adulterated stock Android might be "close enough" to count as "Android" instead of "Android-based", but I'm not sure.
- rwong48 12y ago
  Nice downvotes. You guys might as well say "the iPhone 6 is the best iOS I've owned", "the Surface Pro is the best Windows I've owned", etc. The level of shitty grammar/general incorrectness on tech sites for "savvy" individuals is quite embarrassing, IMO.

jonathansizz 12y ago

This is by far the most critical review I've read. Several others (e.g. The Verge, CNN, ZDNet, BGR) have said the new Moto X is the best Android phone ever. Ars Technica did a wifi battery rundown test, and the 2014 Moto X lasted 18% longer than last year's model. And the other reviews have said the screen was excellent. So this review seems like an outlier, but I'll find out for myself soon as I ordered mine yesterday. Everything seems to have improved with this year's X, but the killer features for me are Motomaker and the extra software (the active display, voice control and assistant), and the leather back will I'm sure feel great when reading on the larger screen.

jzelinskie 12y ago
While I haven't looked at this specific example, my rule of thumb is usually to trust Anandtech because their writers are often actual engineers that understand the hardware and software changes and have some discussion and speculation based on that information. Elsewhere you usually just find writing based on hands-on anecdotes and technical information that was simply spoon-fed to the reviewer. As an aside, I love my 2013 VZW Moto X DE. Between Motorola's goodies and Xposed + GravityBox, I don't have to bother with custom ROMs [for now].
thrownaway2424 12y ago
Anandtech has always given us much better and more quantitative information than Ars. Just to give my pet example, Anandtech sets displays to 200 nits for battery tests. Ars sets them to "50%" which is meaningless. According to Anandtech's measurement the 2014 Moto X has the same peak luminance as the old Nexus One that everybody hated, making it the dimmest phone you can buy today. The new Moto X at half brightness would be like an iPhone at minimum brightness.
- jonathansizz 12y ago
  Ars Technica: wifi browsing test, 200 nits, 526 minutes. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/review-in-its-second-generation-the-moto-x-becomes-a-true-flagship/3/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/review-in-its-second-...

Someone1234 12y ago

The battery life is a little disappointing but not as disappointing as some early commentators made it out to be. It might also get better over time with updates (the Nexus 5 and LG G2 certainly did in my experience). I love my LG G2's battery life. After some updates fixed AT&T specific software problems (wakelock issues) it is by far the best mobile device I've ever owned in terms of endurance, I can easily charge it just once over the weekend. 10 hrs of WiFi browsing (7 hrs of 4G) do, for many people, translate into easily two or even three days of average usage. Too bad the 2nd Gen Moto X only manages 7 hrs of WiFi browsing and 30 minutes less of 4G.

danieldk 12y ago

I really like my 1st gen Moto X. It really feels good. Active notifications are a big time saver and allow me to unlock my phone buttonless. Touchless control is just great, when we are having breakfast, I'll just ask the phone for weather or ask some fun factoid we were discussing. Updates are quickly released (I have an international edition). The second gen looks great, but two things prevent making it an instant-buy for me: (1) the size, I like 4.7" and (2) the fact that the new generation Moto G has dual SIM and the Moto X doesn't (I am a Dutch person living in Germany, so I'd love dual SIM). I'll wait a while to see if they are releasing an updated 4.7" at some point. If not, I might buy it at a lower price point (and after enough testing to see if I can live with the size) or look to alternatives (Z3 Compact etc.). Of course, the 1st gen is still very snappy and will get Android L. So I am not in a rush ;).

1971genocide 12y ago
really ? you talk to your phone during breakfast! I have siri and its not good enough to replace my cat as a breakfast companion. Amazing, I need to check it out. Cannot believe we are discussing machine companionships in 2014.
- danieldk 12y ago
  I also talk to my wife and our baby :). I am not sure if you have or had a baby, but sometimes you need to know what the weather will be that day, or how long it will take to get to XYZ. And with a baby, you always have too few hands, especially when they are having breakfast as well ;). So, yeah, it's handy if your phone can answer questions like 'what's the weather gonna be today' or 'how long will it take me to get to XYZ' without having to unlock it or pressing the power button... I'll begin to worry if it starts talking by itself.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - 1971genocide 12y ago
    Fair enough. I was caught by the "fun factoid I was discussing" bit. Since it seemed you were talking to your phone before and was continuing some conversation you had with it prior.

whizzkid 12y ago

This second gen is just an awesome phone but there are 2 things that really pushes me away from it. It is sad because that is the only phone that I really like the design of. - It is just big, It really is. (for me) - Camera quality is nowhere near iPhone