My less than 1 year old Note 4 fell into the ocean and suddenly I was forced to make a purchase I hadn't planned. As nifty as the Note 5 looks, I didn't think it was enough of an upgrade from the 4 to justify the expense. But after my Note 4 ended up at the bottom of the Pacific, I thought the Note 5 would be my first and most logical choice. Until I saw and played with the new Moto X at Best Buy... (don't bother, they're sold out everywhere now.) I don't care if the Note 5 has a faster CPU on paper, the Moto X was a lot smoother, due to the pure Android experience and lack of Samsung bloatware that always takes a big toll on performance. So I decided to order the X Pure Edition through Moto Maker, just as my wife was purchasing a G, to replace her under-performing LG phone. It took about a week to get both from China (the G arrived a couple of days earlier. Either it's less in demand than the X, or they have a sufficient stock. Most likely the latter.) Let me tell you my first impressions, as reviewers seem to wildly disagree on the details. First of all, the most discussed item, the camera. The Moto X camera is FANTASTIC. And this is coming from a diehard photographer (with thousands of $$$ in camera equipment) and former Note 4 user, whose 16 mp back shooter was no slouch. Yeah, low-light performance isn't particularly good, but the truth is that it's pretty much par for the course. If you want to take excellent photos in low light, forget any smartphone and get a good DSLR, possibly one with a full-frame sensor (like my Nikon D750.) It's interesting to note that DxO Labs recently rated the Sony-made camera in the 2015 Moto X as the "second best camera of any smartphone." The 1st place going to the S6, by a hair. And really, when you zoom in 21 megapixels DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. This thing murders the new iPhones, which use last year's Sony sensor (how do you think Apple makes such huge profits? It's because they sell you obsolete technology for the price of a phone made with state-of-the-art components.) Even though the Moto X has no optical stabilizer, their stabilization software is SO GOOD that the video is considerably less shaky when compared to Apple's and Samsung's. This is what DxO claimed and I totally experienced the same thing. 4K video is pretty awesome. Yeah, the phone gets a little hot and sometimes the real-time monitoring isn't 100% smooth. Who cares! When you play back the video, it's just perfect! The camera software is decent, but a bit on the basic side (no manual mode, for example.) Not a problem, because you can buy excellent camera apps from Google Play for a few bucks (I'm using Slider Camera Pro right now, for the record.) Screen: awesome. QHD resolution but not AMOLED, which means less exaggerated colors. In other words, it won't give you the same super-sparky, super-contrasty experience with games, but the colors will be more faithfully reproduced. So, if you're into photos and video more than you're into games, it's actually BETTER for you. Battery: admittedly I'm not one who plays games all the time, but I do take photos and video often. The battery easily gets me through the day. And the "turbo" changer (using Quick Charge 2.0 technology) goes from next to zero to 100% in only an hour or so. Pretty amazing. Performance: like I said, it feels snappier than my Note 4 and even the Note 5 I tried at Best Buy. I don't care what the benchmarks say. Pure Android is obviously the way to go. Motorola gestures: love them! Two karate chops and the light turns on. And to turn it off all you have to do is cover the front motion sensor (or just put the telephone face down.) Double twist and the camera is on. Double twist again and it switches to the selfie camera. Oh, and the camera can scan UPC, QR etc. and even business cards without the need for separate apps. Brilliant! Looks: AWESOME! I got it with the bamboo back and my name engraved on it. Let me tell you, this thing turns heads all the time. Heck, a friend of mine who always buys iPhones is actually considering the Moto X over the iPhone 6S (he has the 5S.) Comfort in hand: yeah, it's thicker than anything Samsung or Apple in the middle, but it's very ergonomic and it actually feels way better in my hand, compared to my Note 4. Sound: LOUD!! Yep, really as loud as a smartphone can get, definitely louder than my Note 4. And it doesn't distort at high volume. Yeah, front stereo speakers is the way to go! SD card: well, that's another excellent reason to pick this phone over the Note 5. Especially if you plan on shooting lots of pictures (remember, every photo is a 21mp file! We're in DSLR territory here...) and 4K video. This beast takes 128 gb cards, even the really fast ones for photo use (a must, if you plan on shooting a lot of 4K footage.) I bought the 64 gb model, so my phone now has a whopping 192 gb of storage. Take that, Apple! ;) Oh, and BTW, my wife is really really happy with her G. She doesn't play any games, takes only few pictures/video, and basically uses the phone almost exclusively for work (i.e. phone calls, text messages, internet, no more than a dozen business apps...) And she hates phablets (maybe it's just a coincidence, but I don't know any woman who uses one.) So, she didn't really need a "flagship", just a well-built, comfortable and reliable phone, and the G with 2gb of RAM and 16gb of storage ($219) seemed like her best bet. But she does listen to music often, and the ability to pop in a 64 gb SD card with a gigantic music library made a significant difference to her (oddly enough, Motorola claims the G can only accept cards up to 32 gb. But the 64 gb EVO MicroSD I gave her works perfectly.)
+Paolo Pizzi I concur. Also, the ability to just wave your hand over the phone to turn on the Moto Display is amazingly useful. You never have to hit the power button on this thing, because of this feature. On the 1st gen, you had to pick the phone up, and usually it would turn on the Moto display so you could swipe it open, but sometimes, ti wouldn't turn on, so you would have to hit the power button. On the Pure, you just wave your hand and then swipe, it works every time, and it is ridiculously easy to turn on your phone. Once you've used a MotoX display, you can't go back to anything less. Also, I always use a phone "flashlight," so now with the ability to shake it and turn on the flashlight, this phone has become so much easier to use. The upside, with the screen, (besides the real estate) is that it is easier to see things like GPS, and the screen appears brighter and easier to read in daylight than with the 1st gen. The downside is that in darkness, the first gen had perfect black, but this does not, and the dimmer screen has much reduced contrast. I think it's a good trade to have the phone work better in the day than in the night though, IMO. Also, I don't know much about cameras but, it's amazing to be able to take a picture of your kitchen and then zoom in on text, that I can't read with my own eyes, and be able to read the text with the camera. Having the extra information in an image is more important to me than having the most "beautiful" photo IMO. I think the pictures and video are amazing. It's hard to believe there are cameras better than this.
Paolo Pizzi Yeah..! But the saddest thing is that this phone hasn't yet released in India & its rumoured to release in Mid October plus it might be much more costlier in countries outside US..In my case India.! Still i would definitely save up some money & buy this phone..! BTW Thank you Sir & have a nice day :)
We've seen a lot of requests for more detailed battery life info. Head on over to the full review at Pocketnow for our reviewers' notes from a day of heavy use! pocketnow.com/2015/09/18/motorola-moto-x-pure-edition-review ^M
I tried to order the charger shown in the video. Motorola claims it doesn't exist the rep told me Pocketnow must have used a fake. Motos site only has the turbo 15 a lower power unit with a much shorter data cable.
+Pocketnow The battery is fine unless all you care about is video games. If that is why you are buying a phone, then the MotoX is not for you. The Moto X is about usability and functionality.
7:45 that just sold me on this phone. I've seen so many reviews where people are shooting video and the camera viewfinder is just going absolutely nuts! Stutters and shakes and spasms yet none of them point out it doesn't translate into the finished video. Thanks for being so thorough Michael, you're the best. To everybody out there who isn't a fan of the battery life - give Motorola extreme credit. This phone is in no way, shape or form thin and small. Most OEMs could have given you more battery with a thicker phone, but they opt for a pretty, gorgeous phone (which is also totally fine in my eyes). Well, Motorola gave us a plumpy phone with I'm sure as big a battery as they could have fit in without making the phone look like a brick. It's extremely comfortable to hold, not too big, not too thin and has the best if not second best quick charging out there. The majority of us tech geeks have external battery chargers or go read a book or pull out a MacBook or Surface or tablet at our university library, bus, train, etc. That's perfect time to basically give your phone more than enough battery for the day. Or work! The point is, I think manufacturers have found excellent balance in battery life and battery features -- which you may as well consider battery life. All in all, I think this is a home run for Motorola. I really do like everything about the phone.
I have to admit, at least Motorola sticks to their archives. With their software, customize built and those loudspeakers... Is what makes Motorola the legendary company that they are.
I just moved from my iPhone 6S Plus and back into the Android world with the Moto X Pure Edition. I used Moto Maker and designed a 64gb black model with Ash wood and blue trim. So far, everything is great, and it updated to Marshmallow. As for the battery life, I'm in total agreement with Michael and am glad that it has Turbo Charging.
Am I the only one who wishes reviewers would review how fast the camera is? I mean it seems like a thing to do. Show us how quick it takes pictures. Is it as quick as an iphone? Is it slow? That kind of thing. Besides that it was a perfect review! Great job!
This was the handset I had been drooling over... The overall specs were stellar, and Motorola had managed to avoid the unfavorable QC SnD 810, went with the 808 instead, and still got high marks on processing speed... The voice-activated commands were awesome, and the sound quality of the front-facing speakers were comparable to the HTC M-Series, which I hadn't researched just yet... Unfortunately, by the time I actually COULD afford a flagship, the X Pure was already out of production, and on Lenovo's limited support (I so miss the Google Days)...That left the Moto Z Force, in which its large size and expensive modular components I just wasn't feeling... I had to go with HTC...
I bought this phone on Amazon and let me tell you I was excited to get it. Once I got it and used it I was disappointed it would lag at times, the screen was usually warm even when not in use. Also the phone would heat up at times where I had to restart it. I ended up returning it. Looks great and the specs sound awesome but in real world use it was not what I expected. One last thing was playing videos, the speakers would sometime crackle and when using the fast charger it did charge super fast but the phone got very hot.
Great review as always. I actually subbed to Pocketnow after watching Michael's review of the OG 2013 Moto X a couple years ago. convinced me to buy the phone and I didn't regret it. You guys and MKBHD are my go-to channels for tech. Thanks for the hard work!
Nice! I especially like that shot of the 1st & 2nd gen Moto X's in your pants pockets, it's a real cool way of showing the size difference from one gen to another.
Michael, I've been seen pocketnow reviews for a long time now and I gotta say, one of the BEST reviews made by you. I don't know if it is 'cause of your 'passion' with the moto or something, but man ... quality video. Congratulations!
as always,great review Mr. Fisher....you really put lot of hard work on review...you're a good man..marques browniee and you rock the world of tech review...keep it up!!!
@ Michael Fisher, was curious if you could speak to the viewing angles you had on your test device. I notice a color shift with even the slightest of angle changes on mine. Is this the nature of this panel or do I have a perhaps have a defective one?
This was the handset I had been drooling over for a long time... The overall specs were stellar, and Motorola had managed to avoid the unfavorable QC SnD 810, went with the 808 instead, and still got high marks on processing speed... The voice-activated commands were awesome, and the sound quality of the front-facing speakers were comparable to the HTC M-Series, which I hadn't researched just yet at the time... Unfortunately, by the time I actually COULD afford a flagship, the X Pure was already out of production, and on Lenovo's limited support (I so miss the Google Days)...That left the Moto Z Force, in which its large size and expensive modular components I just wasn't feeling... I had to go with the HTC 10...Have not regretted it, though...
Thank you for this review. I have the previous generation and had the one before that (which I still have and let my children use for music and other wi-fi features). And like you said, I loved the original size and found the next one a bit cumbersome to handle one-handed. However, I loved all the features of Moto X. And now as I decide between spending $150 to repair my cracked screen of my Moto X, or to just upgrade to the Pure Edition for $399, your review is really tilting me to the upgrade. Having done my own research before finding your review, I admit the 21 mp camera is a plus to me. I almost purchased an iphone 6 s Plus but am so glad by some fluke that that order didn't go through because, to be honest, and as silly as it seems, I would really miss the hands-free Moto Voice feature I have gotten used to. I have loved being notified while driving that I have a message, and being able to respond without touching the phone. I had concluded that I would be paying a lot of money for an iphone that would not really give me the features I wanted in a phone. I determined that I would really miss my Moto X features. Your review has confirmed this. I'll let you know when I purchase that Moto X Pure Edition in the next few weeks. Oh, and PS: I LOVE that they brought back the sd card feature!
Ugh. Sorry to hear about the battery life. Just ordered one to switch to Republic Wireless from T-Mobile. It's pretty much a lateral move from the LG G4 I've been using the last year and a half, but I do look forward to the forward firing speakers! Thanks for the preview of what I have to look forward to.
great review, iv heard other reviews and this one wasent a repeat of any of those. Still not sure if i want to bother upgrading from my original moto G.
This and Moto X Play use the same sensors right, i did not see a gyro sensor though. I am thinking of getting moto x play maybe style, but will i be able to flip over the mobile to mute incoming phone calls or pause music with the same flip motion ? I ask this since the gyro sensor usually controls this.
Dear Pockettnow , Can you please tell me how bright the Moto x pure edition really is compared to other smartphones? I work outside a lot and screen brightness is important to me when but a smartphone . Thank you in advance
God, Michael Fischer is such an incredible reviewer. Every device reviewed by him has a beautifully articulate, compelling, well thought out, and beautifully spoken narrative. That theatre background really shines through in the best of ways.
I noticed on the sim tray that it was labelled SIM1 and also there seemed to be some sim shaped slot right beside it that was covered up by solid plastic. This reminds of the MotoG2 that had a similar thing going...And it turned out that it was dual sim in some countries. Do you think the moto x style is gonna be dual sim in some areas?
What color is that back panel? The closest color I can find to that is the "Royal Blue" option, but even that doesn't have the same vibrancy as the color shown in this video.
I know I've had a good long run, 3 years, on my battery but now it seriously won't stay on beyond one text! Looking at changing out the battery myself. Any suggestions on videos or where to purchase the battery?
An excellent review indeed.... You mentioned some of the subtle features that make using the phone a unique experience... For the phone in general I was really disappointed with the battery life and heating issues... Can you please compare it with the Oneplus 2?
Hey Mike, Did watch y'all s three way gab, on the moto x pure and some other phones and their benefits and flaws. I have the pure, and other than a few software lackings I like, tap to open and close, really miss that coming from LG. Speakers was my main reason for the switch. I begged LG to create a 5.7 or even 5.5 with stereo speakers,,, no? so they lost my business. Build quality is great, screen is super, for LCD, no need for amoled here. Anyway I'm liken it, wouldn't wanna go smaller. Thanks for pocket now's, ongoing video's, take care
Question, I see in this video you have a "royal blue" colour for the back? How did you get that colour? When I got on Motorola's website, I didnt see that colour option... and that's the colour I want
Great review, as always. I only have 1 complaint about the phone in that I've much rather have a 1080p AMOLED display than a Quad HD IPS display.... Sad, really....
Does it support tap to wake? I know it has the wave and lift features, but I really prefer tap to wake, like on the G3 and G4... Mine will be here next week. Can't wait!
+Nino Ruiz good luck with devices been built, and shipped... I ordered mine on Pre-Order and still haven't received it... Moto X Costumer Service Sucks...
+Angel i think its just different for some people, some people got theirs before delivery date and others like urself still haven't received it, when I ordered the new Moto G it came a week earlier than it stated so it really is different and as for customer service, they can't do much when their products are being built in 2 different locations, California and lantau island hong kong
It is like one of the great artists who lived centuries past narrating a very gripping story in a way that makes it sound musical and poetic. Michael Fisher, the finest styler of voice and diction makes it worth our time yet again!
Representing Australia: Got my Moto X STYLE with Vodafone and LOVE IT. Though I did come from a now slow and practically close to catching on fire HTC One (M7). I loved my HTC, but going from that to the X Style, I was blind but now I see.
+Ivan Atli Muchiutti!!! Thanks! The Weekly usually airs on Fridays around noon Eastern. All episodes are announced and then distributed here: pocketnow.com/tag/pocketnowweekly
Great review as usual Michael! However, I'm wondering whether this will be your phone of choice this year. Last year's Moto X review ended with you showing that you were ordering one for yourself, but this year it seems like you are a little undecided on that point, am I correct? Personally I don't think Motorola have done enough on the software to add some extra value by adding more and new features, the battery life was always going to be of some concern as they have not had the best track record in that respect... If it really catches people's attention it will certainly be because of the price and being able to customise it.
is there any way to change the voice commands in annother language (dutch) ;o. I mean I've no problem to say commands in english but I don't want to send my friends english messages.
Hi Mate..the video is excellent as usual.. one question,is it the same camera in terms of hw and sw,available in Moto x play (available in india with 5.5 inch screen and 3600 battery)..appreciate you if you give an thought on it..as I need to grab one.. >any chance to review Asus Selfie??
I've only had burn in on two phones. One was a very old LG phone, the other was a Galaxy S4. I damaged the digitizer on the S4 (There was a big pink mark in the middle of the screen) so that's why I saw burn in.
My N6 agrees. I use Waze a lot while driving which means for around at least two hours a day I have soft keys at the bottom of my screen. After a year of that I have perma keys on my screen. It's not too bad but its noticeable.
+Pocketnow Me too, i have never suffered of burn in, right now i have a Note 2, i have had the note 1, and an old media player called Cowon S9, they were all AMOLED. I have watched lots of tv shows, movies , anime and i also like to play games on them.
The phone looks really nice... But I'm actually more interested in that sweet black ring you're sporting! Where did you get that? Does anyone have a link to it perhaps?
do u have the top speaker issue with crackaling and popping because before I buy this phone I want to know if the phones speakers are good quality because I don't want to be disappointed when I order one and unbox it thanx PLZ try and get back to me thx
![เบิ้ล ปทุมราช - อ้ายกินดอง น้องลาบงัว ft. สแน็ก อัจฉรีย์ [Teaser]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n863TMuA1Ck/mqdefault.jpg)
My less than 1 year old Note 4 fell into the ocean and suddenly I was forced to make a purchase I hadn't planned. As nifty as the Note 5 looks, I didn't think it was enough of an upgrade from the 4 to justify the expense. But after my Note 4 ended up at the bottom of the Pacific, I thought the Note 5 would be my first and most logical choice. Until I saw and played with the new Moto X at Best Buy... (don't bother, they're sold out everywhere now.) I don't care if the Note 5 has a faster CPU on paper, the Moto X was a lot smoother, due to the pure Android experience and lack of Samsung bloatware that always takes a big toll on performance. So I decided to order the X Pure Edition through Moto Maker, just as my wife was purchasing a G, to replace her under-performing LG phone. It took about a week to get both from China (the G arrived a couple of days earlier. Either it's less in demand than the X, or they have a sufficient stock. Most likely the latter.) Let me tell you my first impressions, as reviewers seem to wildly disagree on the details.
First of all, the most discussed item, the camera. The Moto X camera is FANTASTIC. And this is coming from a diehard photographer (with thousands of $$$ in camera equipment) and former Note 4 user, whose 16 mp back shooter was no slouch. Yeah, low-light performance isn't particularly good, but the truth is that it's pretty much par for the course. If you want to take excellent photos in low light, forget any smartphone and get a good DSLR, possibly one with a full-frame sensor (like my Nikon D750.) It's interesting to note that DxO Labs recently rated the Sony-made camera in the 2015 Moto X as the "second best camera of any smartphone." The 1st place going to the S6, by a hair. And really, when you zoom in 21 megapixels DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. This thing murders the new iPhones, which use last year's Sony sensor (how do you think Apple makes such huge profits? It's because they sell you obsolete technology for the price of a phone made with state-of-the-art components.) Even though the Moto X has no optical stabilizer, their stabilization software is SO GOOD that the video is considerably less shaky when compared to Apple's and Samsung's. This is what DxO claimed and I totally experienced the same thing. 4K video is pretty awesome. Yeah, the phone gets a little hot and sometimes the real-time monitoring isn't 100% smooth. Who cares! When you play back the video, it's just perfect! The camera software is decent, but a bit on the basic side (no manual mode, for example.) Not a problem, because you can buy excellent camera apps from Google Play for a few bucks (I'm using Slider Camera Pro right now, for the record.)
Screen: awesome. QHD resolution but not AMOLED, which means less exaggerated colors. In other words, it won't give you the same super-sparky, super-contrasty experience with games, but the colors will be more faithfully reproduced. So, if you're into photos and video more than you're into games, it's actually BETTER for you.
Battery: admittedly I'm not one who plays games all the time, but I do take photos and video often. The battery easily gets me through the day. And the "turbo" changer (using Quick Charge 2.0 technology) goes from next to zero to 100% in only an hour or so. Pretty amazing.
Performance: like I said, it feels snappier than my Note 4 and even the Note 5 I tried at Best Buy. I don't care what the benchmarks say. Pure Android is obviously the way to go.
Motorola gestures: love them! Two karate chops and the light turns on. And to turn it off all you have to do is cover the front motion sensor (or just put the telephone face down.) Double twist and the camera is on. Double twist again and it switches to the selfie camera. Oh, and the camera can scan UPC, QR etc. and even business cards without the need for separate apps. Brilliant!
Looks: AWESOME! I got it with the bamboo back and my name engraved on it. Let me tell you, this thing turns heads all the time. Heck, a friend of mine who always buys iPhones is actually considering the Moto X over the iPhone 6S (he has the 5S.)
Comfort in hand: yeah, it's thicker than anything Samsung or Apple in the middle, but it's very ergonomic and it actually feels way better in my hand, compared to my Note 4.
Sound: LOUD!! Yep, really as loud as a smartphone can get, definitely louder than my Note 4. And it doesn't distort at high volume. Yeah, front stereo speakers is the way to go!
SD card: well, that's another excellent reason to pick this phone over the Note 5. Especially if you plan on shooting lots of pictures (remember, every photo is a 21mp file! We're in DSLR territory here...) and 4K video. This beast takes 128 gb cards, even the really fast ones for photo use (a must, if you plan on shooting a lot of 4K footage.) I bought the 64 gb model, so my phone now has a whopping 192 gb of storage. Take that, Apple! ;)
Oh, and BTW, my wife is really really happy with her G. She doesn't play any games, takes only few pictures/video, and basically uses the phone almost exclusively for work (i.e. phone calls, text messages, internet, no more than a dozen business apps...) And she hates phablets (maybe it's just a coincidence, but I don't know any woman who uses one.) So, she didn't really need a "flagship", just a well-built, comfortable and reliable phone, and the G with 2gb of RAM and 16gb of storage ($219) seemed like her best bet. But she does listen to music often, and the ability to pop in a 64 gb SD card with a gigantic music library made a significant difference to her (oddly enough, Motorola claims the G can only accept cards up to 32 gb. But the 64 gb EVO MicroSD I gave her works perfectly.)
+Paolo Pizzi
I concur.
Also, the ability to just wave your hand over the phone to turn on the Moto Display is amazingly useful. You never have to hit the power button on this thing, because of this feature.
On the 1st gen, you had to pick the phone up, and usually it would turn on the Moto display so you could swipe it open, but sometimes, ti wouldn't turn on, so you would have to hit the power button.
On the Pure, you just wave your hand and then swipe, it works every time, and it is ridiculously easy to turn on your phone.
Once you've used a MotoX display, you can't go back to anything less.
Also, I always use a phone "flashlight," so now with the ability to shake it and turn on the flashlight, this phone has become so much easier to use.
The upside, with the screen, (besides the real estate) is that it is easier to see things like GPS, and the screen appears brighter and easier to read in daylight than with the 1st gen. The downside is that in darkness, the first gen had perfect black, but this does not, and the dimmer screen has much reduced contrast. I think it's a good trade to have the phone work better in the day than in the night though, IMO.
Also, I don't know much about cameras but, it's amazing to be able to take a picture of your kitchen and then zoom in on text, that I can't read with my own eyes, and be able to read the text with the camera.
Having the extra information in an image is more important to me than having the most "beautiful" photo IMO. I think the pictures and video are amazing.
It's hard to believe there are cameras better than this.
Sir after reading your comment I've become really impatient to buy this phone..! :)
+Viral Mange You won't be disappointed. :)
Paolo Pizzi Yeah..! But the saddest thing is that this phone hasn't yet released in India & its rumoured to release in Mid October plus it might be much more costlier in countries outside US..In my case India.! Still i would definitely save up some money & buy this phone..! BTW Thank you Sir & have a nice day :)
We've seen a lot of requests for more detailed battery life info. Head on over to the full review at Pocketnow for our reviewers' notes from a day of heavy use! pocketnow.com/2015/09/18/motorola-moto-x-pure-edition-review ^M
+Pocketnow WHATS THE NAME OF THE AIR PLANE GAME???????
what is that airplane game Cap?
I tried to order the charger shown in the video. Motorola claims it doesn't exist the rep told me Pocketnow must have used a fake. Motos site only has the turbo 15 a lower power unit with a much shorter data cable.
+Arif Rasheed Sky Gamblers Air Supremacy
+Pocketnow The battery is fine unless all you care about is video games. If that is why you are buying a phone, then the MotoX is not for you.
The Moto X is about usability and functionality.
7:45 that just sold me on this phone. I've seen so many reviews where people are shooting video and the camera viewfinder is just going absolutely nuts! Stutters and shakes and spasms yet none of them point out it doesn't translate into the finished video.
Thanks for being so thorough Michael, you're the best.
To everybody out there who isn't a fan of the battery life - give Motorola extreme credit. This phone is in no way, shape or form thin and small. Most OEMs could have given you more battery with a thicker phone, but they opt for a pretty, gorgeous phone (which is also totally fine in my eyes). Well, Motorola gave us a plumpy phone with I'm sure as big a battery as they could have fit in without making the phone look like a brick.
It's extremely comfortable to hold, not too big, not too thin and has the best if not second best quick charging out there. The majority of us tech geeks have external battery chargers or go read a book or pull out a MacBook or Surface or tablet at our university library, bus, train, etc. That's perfect time to basically give your phone more than enough battery for the day. Or work!
The point is, I think manufacturers have found excellent balance in battery life and battery features -- which you may as well consider battery life. All in all, I think this is a home run for Motorola. I really do like everything about the phone.
I think you said "28 broseph". Is that correct?
...Yea.
+Tralion I'm surprised it got broseph right and not "too late" xD
+Wes Jerentosky Us too. ^M
Pocketnow
I thought you added the word to your dictionary?
I have to admit, at least Motorola sticks to their archives. With their software, customize built and those loudspeakers... Is what makes Motorola the legendary company that they are.
I just moved from my iPhone 6S Plus and back into the Android world with the Moto X Pure Edition. I used Moto Maker and designed a 64gb black model with Ash wood and blue trim. So far, everything is great, and it updated to Marshmallow. As for the battery life, I'm in total agreement with Michael and am glad that it has Turbo Charging.
Man, I miss this phone. It was black with the blue inserts. Such a wonderful design.
woah man....Michael's voice, narration, and annunciation makes reviews easy to listen to.
Great review, Michael! Didn't belive your already very good reviews could get even better. Keep up the good work.
Am I the only one who wishes reviewers would review how fast the camera is? I mean it seems like a thing to do. Show us how quick it takes pictures. Is it as quick as an iphone? Is it slow? That kind of thing.
Besides that it was a perfect review! Great job!
the narration at the beginning is good, even perfect
This was the handset I had been drooling over... The overall specs were stellar, and Motorola had managed to avoid the unfavorable QC SnD 810, went with the 808 instead, and still got high marks on processing speed... The voice-activated commands were awesome, and the sound quality of the front-facing speakers were comparable to the HTC M-Series, which I hadn't researched just yet... Unfortunately, by the time I actually COULD afford a flagship, the X Pure was already out of production, and on Lenovo's limited support (I so miss the Google Days)...That left the Moto Z Force, in which its large size and expensive modular components I just wasn't feeling... I had to go with HTC...
I bought this phone on Amazon and let me tell you I was excited to get it. Once I got it and used it I was disappointed it would lag at times, the screen was usually warm even when not in use. Also the phone would heat up at times where I had to restart it. I ended up returning it. Looks great and the specs sound awesome but in real world use it was not what I expected. One last thing was playing videos, the speakers would sometime crackle and when using the fast charger it did charge super fast but the phone got very hot.
Great review as always. I actually subbed to Pocketnow after watching Michael's review of the OG 2013 Moto X a couple years ago. convinced me to buy the phone and I didn't regret it. You guys and MKBHD are my go-to channels for tech. Thanks for the hard work!
Nice! I especially like that shot of the 1st & 2nd gen Moto X's in your pants pockets, it's a real cool way of showing the size difference from one gen to another.
Honestly, you may not be the best videographer out there, but man your scripts are simply thrilling.
Keep it up.
Michael, I've been seen pocketnow reviews for a long time now and I gotta say, one of the BEST reviews made by you. I don't know if it is 'cause of your 'passion' with the moto or something, but man ... quality video. Congratulations!
Awesome review... Still rockin my Moto X 2013
your review has recover all the things that I want to know, and very detail,great!!
as always,great review Mr. Fisher....you really put lot of hard work on review...you're a good man..marques browniee and you rock the world of tech review...keep it up!!!
@ Michael Fisher, was curious if you could speak to the viewing angles you had on your test device. I notice a color shift with even the slightest of angle changes on mine. Is this the nature of this panel or do I have a perhaps have a defective one?
This was the handset I had been drooling over for a long time... The overall specs were stellar, and Motorola had managed to avoid the unfavorable QC SnD 810, went with the 808 instead, and still got high marks on processing speed... The voice-activated commands were awesome, and the sound quality of the front-facing speakers were comparable to the HTC M-Series, which I hadn't researched just yet at the time... Unfortunately, by the time I actually COULD afford a flagship, the X Pure was already out of production, and on Lenovo's limited support (I so miss the Google Days)...That left the Moto Z Force, in which its large size and expensive modular components I just wasn't feeling... I had to go with the HTC 10...Have not regretted it, though...
What about changing the resolution to 1080p? How much of an increase in battery life would there be?
I find the 2014 moto X to be the perfect size...And it shouldn't move from there honestly..
I love this phone but it's too big....4.7 to 5.2 inches would be ideal
hey pocketnow what camera did you use to record this video? Was it a Sony NEX-F3?
Thank you for this review. I have the previous generation and had the one before that (which I still have and let my children use for music and other wi-fi features). And like you said, I loved the original size and found the next one a bit cumbersome to handle one-handed. However, I loved all the features of Moto X. And now as I decide between spending $150 to repair my cracked screen of my Moto X, or to just upgrade to the Pure Edition for $399, your review is really tilting me to the upgrade. Having done my own research before finding your review, I admit the 21 mp camera is a plus to me. I almost purchased an iphone 6 s Plus but am so glad by some fluke that that order didn't go through because, to be honest, and as silly as it seems, I would really miss the hands-free Moto Voice feature I have gotten used to. I have loved being notified while driving that I have a message, and being able to respond without touching the phone. I had concluded that I would be paying a lot of money for an iphone that would not really give me the features I wanted in a phone. I determined that I would really miss my Moto X features. Your review has confirmed this. I'll let you know when I purchase that Moto X Pure Edition in the next few weeks. Oh, and PS: I LOVE that they brought back the sd card feature!
Ugh. Sorry to hear about the battery life. Just ordered one to switch to Republic Wireless from T-Mobile. It's pretty much a lateral move from the LG G4 I've been using the last year and a half, but I do look forward to the forward firing speakers! Thanks for the preview of what I have to look forward to.
I'm coming over from an iphone 5s (never had an android phone but have a tablet) what would you recommend?
great review, iv heard other reviews and this one wasent a repeat of any of those. Still not sure if i want to bother upgrading from my original moto G.
to my understanding the custom moto's are not available in Canada, any idea why? Or am I wrong?
This and Moto X Play use the same sensors right, i did not see a gyro sensor though.
I am thinking of getting moto x play maybe style, but will i be able to flip over the mobile to mute incoming phone calls or pause music with the same flip motion ? I ask this since the gyro sensor usually controls this.
another high quality video. Well thought out and honest. Great job Fisher
Great review. Switched from iPhone 4S yes still had it 'till this year to Moto X Pure and do not regret it. Keep up with the great work!
I just love the way you talk, man.
Great review BTW!
How do you play Sky Gammblers: Air supremacy? Cant find it on google play.
Dear Pockettnow , Can you please tell me how bright the Moto x pure edition really is compared to other smartphones? I work outside a lot and screen brightness is important to me when but a smartphone . Thank you in advance
Michael's reviews are always #1 and that's 100% facts.
The end track , always make my skin goose bumps!
God, Michael Fischer is such an incredible reviewer. Every device reviewed by him has a beautifully articulate, compelling, well thought out, and beautifully spoken narrative. That theatre background really shines through in the best of ways.
How does the camera on the Moto x PE compare to the Xperia z3v or the Xperia z3????
Do you think it's worth upgrading from S3 LTE to Moto X Pure 2015 ?
Michael, your reviews are the best on TH-cam and this was no exception. Keep up the good work.
I noticed on the sim tray that it was labelled SIM1 and also there seemed to be some sim shaped slot right beside it that was covered up by solid plastic. This reminds of the MotoG2 that had a similar thing going...And it turned out that it was dual sim in some countries. Do you think the moto x style is gonna be dual sim in some areas?
Can you PLEASE do a full review for the LG Lancet "For Android" version? Thank you for any information.
What was the air combat simulator game you were playing at around 10:30?
Pocketnow, what color back did you review?
Awesome review! I just ordered mine yesterday. I hope I love it.
What color is that back panel? The closest color I can find to that is the "Royal Blue" option, but even that doesn't have the same vibrancy as the color shown in this video.
I love my Moto X 2014, despite the shortcomings on the battery and camera. Would it be worth upgrading to the 2015 model?
What is the cartoon towards the end, featuring the hang gliding figure? Is that the boot animation?
How's the audio output volume in earphones?
Thanks!
I know I've had a good long run, 3 years, on my battery but now it seriously won't stay on beyond one text! Looking at changing out the battery myself. Any suggestions on videos or where to purchase the battery?
"Any network" means can use outside US? I'm interested in moto maker to customise it.
An excellent review indeed.... You mentioned some of the subtle features that make using the phone a unique experience...
For the phone in general I was really disappointed with the battery life and heating issues...
Can you please compare it with the Oneplus 2?
Fantastic review and great presentation style. Learned a lot. Thank you.
Does the Moto X Play has turbo charge, because the Pure/Style seems a bit too big for me.
Thankyou Pocketnow. I'm much more clear now if I should get this or not. Michael you rock!
Hey Mike, Did watch y'all s three way gab, on the moto x pure and some other phones and their benefits and flaws. I have the pure, and other than a few software lackings I like, tap to open and close, really miss that coming from LG. Speakers was my main reason for the switch. I begged LG to create a 5.7 or even 5.5 with stereo speakers,,, no? so they lost my business. Build quality is great, screen is super, for LCD, no need for amoled here. Anyway I'm liken it, wouldn't wanna go smaller. Thanks for pocket now's, ongoing video's, take care
What do you consider as heavy usage?
As usual, great review Michael!
Thanks.
Does anybody know what camera Michael uses? The footage looks fantastic
the Turbo25 charger in the video, where can I buy it?
not including value for money: this phone or galaxy s6 edge?
Question, I see in this video you have a "royal blue" colour for the back?
How did you get that colour? When I got on Motorola's website, I didnt see that colour option... and that's the colour I want
+Chantal Brown ru sure is it royal blue am gonna order one soon from moto and when i select royal blue it doesnt look the same
Does the grippy back grip onto jeans as you take it out/slip it in? thanks!
Great review, as always. I only have 1 complaint about the phone in that I've much rather have a 1080p AMOLED display than a Quad HD IPS display.... Sad, really....
I literally jumped with joy when Penelope started playing.
Good review as well, I can't wait for mine to arrive.
grt review michael ... btw which is dat??
Thums up for Moto x 2014 vs. Moto x 2015
Is LCD over AMOLED a real deal breaker? I mainly use my Moto X indoors. Pls, help.
Does it support tap to wake? I know it has the wave and lift features, but I really prefer tap to wake, like on the G3 and G4... Mine will be here next week. Can't wait!
+Pocketnow which has a better battery? the lg g4 or moto x pure edition
Was that video you shot from phone 4k?
6:55 what is that he is recording on the camera?
Which phone comes the closest to being as grippy as the moto x pure?
I am very confused between one plus 2 and moto x pure.......so what to do????
Nice, think i'm gonna pick it up. Great review as usual.
I think I'll also pick one up. I was considering a Nexus 6 to use a side device with my Note 5, but this is overall a better buy.
+D33M0N3Y i just bought mine, gonna get it nxt week
+Nino Ruiz good luck with devices been built, and shipped... I ordered mine on Pre-Order and still haven't received it... Moto X Costumer Service Sucks...
+Angel i think its just different for some people, some people got theirs before delivery date and others like urself still haven't received it, when I ordered the new Moto G it came a week earlier than it stated so it really is different and as for customer service, they can't do much when their products are being built in 2 different locations, California and lantau island hong kong
+D33M0N3Y Why do you need this phone if you have a Note 5?
It is like one of the great artists who lived centuries past narrating a very gripping story in a way that makes it sound musical and poetic. Michael Fisher, the finest styler of voice and diction makes it worth our time yet again!
Representing Australia: Got my Moto X STYLE with Vodafone and LOVE IT. Though I did come from a now slow and practically close to catching on fire HTC One (M7). I loved my HTC, but going from that to the X Style, I was blind but now I see.
One of the finest video reviews seen on youtube. Good work pocketnow!
MOTO-X Pure Edition is definitely a desirable handset.
Great video as always, Michael. By the way! Where can I find a schedule or updates for the pocketnow weekly? I wanna hit it live!
also, should we expect a Verizon variant for this beast?
+Ivan Atli Muchiutti!!! Thanks! The Weekly usually airs on Fridays around noon Eastern. All episodes are announced and then distributed here: pocketnow.com/tag/pocketnowweekly
+Ivan Atli Muchiutti!!! I doesn't need a Verizon variant as the pure edition works with all 4 major carriers
+Pocketnow what Air plane game were you playing?
+Ziich But he saidit works well with GSM carriers which Verizon is not
Great review as usual Michael! However, I'm wondering whether this will be your phone of choice this year. Last year's Moto X review ended with you showing that you were ordering one for yourself, but this year it seems like you are a little undecided on that point, am I correct?
Personally I don't think Motorola have done enough on the software to add some extra value by adding more and new features, the battery life was always going to be of some concern as they have not had the best track record in that respect... If it really catches people's attention it will certainly be because of the price and being able to customise it.
Will you review the Moto X Play anytime soon?
is there any way to change the voice commands in annother language (dutch) ;o. I mean I've no problem to say commands in english but I don't want to send my friends english messages.
Hi Mate..the video is excellent as usual..
one question,is it the same camera in terms of hw and sw,available in Moto x play (available in india with 5.5 inch screen and 3600 battery)..appreciate you if you give an thought on it..as I need to grab one..
>any chance to review Asus Selfie??
That color looks amazing!
Michael, with all the claims of burn in on the x 2014 and nexus 6 Motorola practically had to switch to IPS. sorry to break it to ya.
+Jesse McClure Still have yet to see burn-in, in any form, on any of our devices. But this is a valid point. ^M
I've only had burn in on two phones. One was a very old LG phone, the other was a Galaxy S4. I damaged the digitizer on the S4 (There was a big pink mark in the middle of the screen) so that's why I saw burn in.
My N6 agrees. I use Waze a lot while driving which means for around at least two hours a day I have soft keys at the bottom of my screen. After a year of that I have perma keys on my screen. It's not too bad but its noticeable.
+Jesse McClure Only thing I don't like about Oled, burn in.
+Pocketnow Me too, i have never suffered of burn in, right now i have a Note 2, i have had the note 1, and an old media player called Cowon S9, they were all AMOLED. I have watched lots of tv shows, movies , anime and i also like to play games on them.
The phone looks really nice... But I'm actually more interested in that sweet black ring you're sporting! Where did you get that? Does anyone have a link to it perhaps?
An advice to Pocketnow.. Never ever ditch these two things -
1.That intro/outro music.
2. Michael Fisher
Love the way you review phones! It's so relevant.
So micheal does it gets too hot like the lg g3?
do u have the top speaker issue with crackaling and popping because before I buy this phone I want to know if the phones speakers are good quality because I don't want to be disappointed when I order one and unbox it thanx PLZ try and get back to me thx
is this color not available in moto maker?
My Moto X Style has unlocked by itself in my pocket due to the active display being on when i put it in my pocket. Is there a way to avoid this?
going through the lollipop which is better nexus 6 or moto x style
what colors did get the moto x in
I love that the voice recognized brosive but not too late ... :D
What is the point of active display if it's an LCD? Doesn't it save no battery at all then?
Thank you Michael for this review, I'm such a fan. Keep up the good work!