Despite the relative simplicity of the design of modern Motorola smartphones, it is unique and easily recognizable. Two wide speaker slots on the front panel, rounded corners and back panel, and, of course, a vertical strip with a camera lens, an LED flash and a stylized letter M - these are the main distinguishing features of Moto devices. All four Motorola smartphones recently presented in Russia are made in this style, and differ in appearance only in size and the number of sensors on the front panel. U Moto X Style there are a lot of them, which is especially noticeable in white colors, so if the accumulation of circles and ovals around the top speaker seems ridiculous to you, it is better to choose the black option. Apparently, there are no others in sight - the Moto Maker service, which allows you to independently choose the color of each main element and the material of the back panel, is still not available in Russia. Those wishing to get their hands on the Moto X Style with a wood or leather back panel will still have to order the smartphone from abroad.

However, we really liked the standard materials. The display is protected by glass Gorilla Glass 3, A water-repellent coating provides some protection against splashes and drops. Rubberized back panel pleasant to the touch and does not tend to slip out of your hands, but metal frame frame significantly strengthens the structure - the smartphone perfectly resists bending. Here, however, its thickness also plays a role, varying from 7.5 to 11.1 mm. Motorola once again refuses to sacrifice functionality and durability for the sake of record thinness, and this is good news. Of course, thin devices like the Huawei Mate S (7.2 mm) seem more elegant, but the Moto X Style is still safer in your jeans pocket. The only sad thing is that with such dimensions, Motorola did not bother to make the battery removable, and the back panel is tightly attached. (Nano-SIM and microSD cards are inserted on the tray into a common slot on the top edge.)

Speaking of dimensions: despite the 5.7-inch display and fairly large speakers, the smartphone is even shorter and narrower than the 5.5-inch Apple iPhone 6S Plus and only a centimeter longer than the 5-inch HTC One M9. The sound, although not as high quality as that of HTC's flagship, is still very loud and clear, even with hints of bass. Unfortunately, many buyers' complaints about the top speaker turned out to be quite justified; it does wheeze slightly when listening to music at high volumes. But it’s just that it’s slight: if you don’t hold the device close to your ear (and you definitely shouldn’t do this at high volumes), it’s almost impossible to hear the defect. If your player has an equalizer, you can try reducing the bass slightly. For speakerphone use, only the bottom speaker is used, so during a telephone or Skype conversation the problem disappears altogether.

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	65.3 mm (millimeters) 6.53 cm (centimeters) 0.21 ft (feet) 2.57 in (inches)
Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	129.4 mm (millimeters) 12.94 cm (centimeters) 0.42 ft (feet) 5.09 in (inches)
Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units of measurement.	10.4 mm (millimeters) 1.04 cm (centimeters) 0.03 ft (feet) 0.41 in (inches)
Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement.	130 g (grams) 0.29 lbs 4.59 oz (ounces)
Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.	87.88 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 5.34 in³ (cubic inches)
Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale.	Black White

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

GSM GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is designed to replace the analogue mobile network (1G). For this reason, GSM is often called a 2G mobile network. It is improved by the addition of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), and later EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) technologies.	GSM 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 MHz GSM 1900 MHz
CDMA CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) is a channel access method used in communications in mobile networks. Compared to other 2G and 2.5G standards like GSM and TDMA, it provides higher data transfer speeds and the ability to connect more consumers at the same time.	CDMA 800 MHz CDMA 1900 MHz
CDMA2000 CDMA2000 is a group of 3G mobile network standards based on CDMA. Their advantages include a more powerful signal, fewer interruptions and network breaks, support for an analog signal, wide spectral coverage, etc.	1xEV-DO Rev. A
UMTS UMTS is an abbreviation for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is based on the GSM standard and belongs to 3G mobile networks. Developed by 3GPP and its biggest advantage is providing greater speed and spectral efficiency thanks to W-CDMA technology.	UMTS 850 MHz UMTS 900 MHz UMTS 1700/2100 MHz UMTS 1900 MHz UMTS 2100 MHz
LTE LTE (Long Term Evolution) is defined as a fourth generation (4G) technology. It is developed by 3GPP based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA to increase the capacity and speed of wireless mobile networks. The subsequent technology development is called LTE Advanced.	LTE 700 MHz Class 13 LTE 850 MHz LTE 1700/2100 MHz LTE 1900 MHz LTE 2100 MHz

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation.	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960DT
Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor.	28 nm (nanometers)
Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications.	Krait 300
Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors.	32 bit
Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute.	ARMv7
Level 0 cache (L0) Some processors have L0 (level 0) cache, which is faster to access than L1, L2, L3, etc. The advantage of having such memory is not only higher performance, but also reduced power consumption.	4 kB + 4 kB (kilobytes)
Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster than both system memory and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2.	16 kB + 16 kB (kilobytes)
Level 2 cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory.	1024 kB (kilobytes) 1 MB (megabytes)
Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel.	2
CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	1700 MHz (megahertz)
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is most often used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, etc.	Qualcomm Adreno 320
Number of GPU cores Like a CPU, a GPU is made up of several working parts called cores. They handle graphics calculations for various applications.	4
GPU clock speed Running speed is the clock speed of the GPU, measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	400 MHz (megahertz)
Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted.	2 GB (gigabytes)
Type of random access memory (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device.	LPDDR2
Number of RAM channels Information about the number of RAM channels that are integrated into the SoC. More channels mean higher data rates.	Dual channel
RAM frequency The frequency of RAM determines its operating speed, more specifically, the speed of reading/writing data.	500 MHz (megahertz)

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends.	AMOLED
Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches.	4.7 in (inches) 119.38 mm (millimeters) 11.94 cm (centimeters)
Width Approximate screen width	2.3 in (inches) 58.53 mm (millimeters) 5.85 cm (centimeters)
Height Approximate screen height	4.1 in (inches) 104.05 mm (millimeters) 10.4 cm (centimeters)
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side	1.778:1 16:9
Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail.	720 x 1280 pixels
Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail.	312 ppi (pixels per inch) 122ppcm (pixels per centimeter)
Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display.	24 bit 16777216 flowers
Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device.	72.3% (percent)
Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics.	Capacitive Multi-touch Scratch resistance
	Corning Gorilla Glass 3

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.

Sensor model Information about the manufacturer and model of the photo sensor used in the device's camera.	OmniVision OV10820
Sensor type Digital cameras use photo sensors to take photographs. The sensor, as well as optics, are one of the main factors in the quality of the camera in a mobile device.	CMOS BSI 2 (backside illumination 2)
Sensor size Information about the dimensions of the photosensor used in the device. Typically, cameras with larger sensors and lower pixel densities offer higher image quality despite the lower resolution.	6.09 x 3.45 mm (millimeters) 0.28 in (inches)
Pixel size The smaller pixel size of the photosensor allows more pixels per unit area, thereby increasing resolution. On the other hand, a smaller pixel size can have a negative impact on image quality at high ISO levels.	1.41 µm (micrometers) 0.00141 mm (millimeters)
Crop factor The crop factor is the ratio between the dimensions of the full-frame sensor (36 x 24 mm, equivalent to a frame of standard 35 mm film) and the dimensions of the device's photosensor. The indicated number represents the ratio of the diagonals of the full-frame sensor (43.3 mm) and the photosensor of a particular device.	6.18
Diaphragm Aperture (f-number) is the size of the aperture opening that controls the amount of light reaching the photosensor. A lower f-number means the aperture opening is larger.	f/2.4
Focal length Focal length is the distance in millimeters from the photosensor to the optical center of the lens. The equivalent focal length is also indicated, providing the same field of view with a full frame camera.	4.5 mm (millimeters) 27.82 mm (millimeters) *(35 mm / full frame)
Flash type The most common types of flashes in mobile device cameras are LED and xenon flashes. LED flashes produce softer light and, unlike brighter xenon flashes, are also used for video shooting.	LED
Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of mobile device cameras is their resolution, which shows the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in the image.	4320 x 2432 pixels 10.51 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution Information about the maximum supported resolution when shooting video with the device.	1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels)
Video - frame rate/frames per second. Information about the maximum number of frames per second (fps) supported by the device when shooting video at the maximum resolution. Some of the main standard video shooting and playback speeds are 24p, 25p, 30p, 60p.	30fps (frames per second)
Characteristics Information about other software and hardware features related to the main camera and improving its functionality.	Autofocus Continuous shooting Digital zoom Geographical tags Panoramic photography HDR shooting Touch Focus Face recognition Macro mode
	720p@120fps

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

Version There are several versions of Bluetooth, with each subsequent one improving communication speed, coverage, and making devices easier to discover and connect. Information about the Bluetooth version of the device.

4.0

Characteristics Bluetooth uses different profiles and protocols that provide faster data transfer, energy savings, improved device discovery, etc. Some of these profiles and protocols that the device supports are shown here.

A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) AVRCP (Audio/Visual Remote Control Profile) BPP (Basic Printing Profile) EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) FTP (File Transfer Profile) HFP (Hands-Free Profile) HID (Human Interface Profile) HSP (Headset Profile) MAP (Message Access Profile) OBEX (OBject EXchange) OPP (Object Push Profile) PAN (Personal Area Networking Profile) PBAP/PAB (Phone Book Access Profile) SPP (Serial Port Protocol)

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Browser Information about some of the main characteristics and standards supported by the device's browser.

HTML HTML5 CSS 3

Audio file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different audio file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital audio data.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours.	2200 mAh (milliamp-hours)
Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries being the most commonly used batteries in mobile devices.	Li-Ion (Lithium-ion)
2G talk time 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 2G network.	13 h (hours) 780 min (minutes) 0.5 days
2G latency 2G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 2G network.	576 h (hours) 34560 min (minutes) 24 days
3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network.	13 h (hours) 780 min (minutes) 0.5 days
3G latency 3G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network.	576 h (hours) 34560 min (minutes) 24 days
Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics of the device's battery.	Fixed

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.

Head SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device near the ear. The maximum value used in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. Mobile devices in the US are regulated by the CTIA, and the FCC conducts tests and sets their SAR values.	1.39 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
Body SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest permissible SAR value in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. This value is set by the FCC, and the CTIA monitors mobile devices' compliance with this standard.	0.5 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)

Moto X is equipped with a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels (316 ppi), 2 GB of RAM, 16 or 32 GB of internal flash memory (without microSD support), a main camera from OmniVision with a resolution of 10 MP (matrix size - 1/2.6 inches) and front 2 MP, both of which support Full HD format, support Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, GPS and GLONASS, has a standard jack for headphone connections and a slot for nano-SIM SIM cards. Moto X is equipped with an 8-core processor developed by Motorola - X8 Mobile Computing System. The processor includes 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro cores with a frequency of 1.7 GHz, 4 Adreno 320 graphics accelerator cores and two Motorola own cores, one of which is responsible for speech recognition, and the second for controlling the sensors built into the smartphone.

Main technical characteristics

Peculiarities
Type	smartphone
operating system	Android
Version	4.2.2
CPU	Qualcomm MSM8960 Pro Snapdragon
Frequency	1700 MHz
RAM	2048 MB
Flash memory	16384 MB
Screen
Diagonal	4.7 "
Permission	1280 x 720
Digital camera
Camera	10 million pixels
Nutrition
Operating time	24 hours
Dimensions and weight
Width	65.3 mm
Height	129.3 mm
Depth	10 mm
Weight	127 gr.

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TOP 5 premium smartphones that cannot be bought in Russia

Even despite the developed telecommunications market in the Russian Federation, there are still devices in the world that cannot be bought in our stores even if one wants to. And not only because they are not supplied to this country: they are often not supplied anywhere at all, except for some specific target country. For example, Japan, France, Great Britain and the USA. But don’t be indignant right away: most likely, their advantages will not be too significant for you to immediately order these gadgets.

Motorola Moto X is an iconic phone no matter how you look at it. With its appearance, it marked the beginning of closer cooperation between Motorola and the search giant Google.

A smartphone that is positioned as a flagship in terms of price, but in terms of hardware it is more similar to last year’s flagship. A smartphone whose appearance can be customized even before it leaves the factory assembly line. A smartphone that does what no other phone can do. What is this Motorola Moto X really like?

	Motorola Moto X
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (MSM8960Pro) 1.7 GHz Motorola X8 System (SoC+NLP Processor+Contextual Processor)
Screen	4.7 inches AMOLED (RGB) 1280x720
RAM	2 GB LPDDR2
WiFi	802.11a/b/g/n/ac, BT 4.0
Storage device	16/32 GB, 2 years 50 GB Google Drive
Interfaces	microUSB 2.0, 3.5 mm, NFC, Miracast
OS	Android 4.2.2
Battery	2200 mAh, 3.8 V, 8.36 Whr
Dimensions / Weight	65.3 x 129.3 x 5.6-10.4 mm, 130 grams
Camera	Main 10 MP Clear Pixel (RGBC), Front 2 MP 1080p
Price	$99 (16 GB), $149 (32 GB) with 2 year contract

Design

Describing the design of the Moto X is extremely difficult, despite its simplicity. By the standards of 2013, Moto X can be classified as a compact phone. Although, I am sure that at the time of the first Samsung Galaxy it would have been classified as a “shovel”. Almost the entire front part is occupied by a 4.7" screen with incredibly thin side frames. On the upper indent from the screen there is a speaker grille, a front 2 MP 1080p camera and light and proximity sensors. On the lower indent there is only a microphone hole: there are no physical or touch buttons. On the right the edges contain the power buttons and volume keys, and on the left there is a nanoSIM tray (like in the iPhone 5/5s/5c), which can be removed using the included “paperclip” tool.The entire front panel seems to be one solid piece thanks to the seamless soldering of the screen and front bezel If you look closely, you can see small ridges on the top and bottom of the bezel that prevent the screen from touching the table surface when the phone is lying face down.

The back cover is non-removable and has a curved shape. The seam between the front and back panels is clearly visible, apparently, this is how ease of assembly of “custom” Moto X designs is achieved. The front and back parts are connected with latches and glue, depending on the buyer’s choice. The curvature of the back of the Moto X is difficult to describe. The smartphone looks very natural, has excellent ergonomics and fits very comfortably in the hand.

It is noteworthy that the entire space under the complex bend is occupied by a non-removable stepped battery 2200 mAh, made using Lg Chem technology. The material from which the back cover is made, although visually it has the texture of Kevlar, feels more like soft-touch plastic. The phone does not slip in your hands, and it collects smudges and fingerprints much worse than its glossy counterparts. Also on the back cover there is a 10 megapixel camera, an LED flash and the Motorola logo in a round recess. At first glance, this recess should not have any functions, but during a conversation it is very convenient to place your index finger in it, and when you take the phone out of your pocket, it is good to determine what orientation it is in now. The Moto X has three microphones: one at the top, next to the headphone jack, a second at the bottom at the back, and a third under the screen. To charge the Moto X, use the microUSB connector located on the bottom.

In your hands, the Moto X doesn't feel like a cheap phone, that's all. Nothing creaks or crunches in it. It also doesn't feel fragile. I don’t want to quickly put it in a case and protect it. This paradoxical feeling, for example, is caused by the iPhone 5s, which is assembled very firmly from high-quality materials, but at the same time you want to immediately protect it with a case. I had completely the opposite feelings with the Moto X - it looks durable and stylish enough that even a thin case would ruin its exterior. Given the current trend of larger flagships, the Moto X seems like a real treat for compact phone lovers.

Regarding assembly, after two weeks of very hard use, my copy of Moto X began to creak slightly in the area of ​​the power and volume buttons.

Screen

The smartphone has a Super AMOLED panel with a diagonal of 4.7" and a resolution of 1280×720. I don't like AMOLED screens, but the Moto X does not have the most terrible screen that I have seen with such technology. Firstly, in terms of RGB layout it is not PenTile, but the so-called S-stripe (officially this term is not used by companies to describe this type of pixel arrangement.) This type of pixel arrangement was first used in the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 screen. Essentially, the Moto X screen is a smaller version of the Galaxy Note 2 screen. Due to the difference in diagonal, the Motorola screen looks better than the Galaxy Note 2, but its brightness reserve is noticeably greater (318 Nits). Despite this, on a sunny day, almost nothing is visible on the screen, and you need to look for the shadow to see at least something. Automatic brightness works very smoothly and adapts to the ambient lighting almost imperceptibly to the eye. The screen looks very good indoors, with excellent viewing angles, rich colors and high contrast. Speaking of colors: traditionally for AMOLED they are obscenely oversaturated, but at the same time the color temperature remains at a reasonable level. The screen does not fade into blue, red or green shades - everything is within the acceptable limits. True, there are also traditional AMOLED artifacts - at minimum backlight, gray appears a purple tint, and if you arm yourself with a microscope, you can see colored halos around white letters on a black background. But if on the Galaxy Note 2 this flaw was clearly visible without a magnifying glass, here it is successfully hidden by the smaller screen diagonal. 1080p screens are becoming a hallmark of modern flagships, and in this regard, the Moto X looks lackluster with its 720p.

But the presence of honest three RGB sub-pixels with a 4.7" diagonal gives us a density of 312 ppi, which is certainly not the crazy 450+ that we are used to seeing in the latest new products, but this is quite enough not to complain about the lack of screen clarity. Don't get me wrong. - there is a difference, and it is not in favor of the Moto X, but from the point of view of everyday use it is absolutely not critical and is not as obvious as it seems when directly comparing the numbers. In any other situation, I would have preferred a well-tuned 1080p IPS screen, but Motorola stood faced with the task of balancing hardware power, autonomy, physical dimensions, and also implementing proprietary “Active Notification” technology, and in this case such a choice is completely justified.

Sound

I attach quite a lot of importance to this point in phones. Nowadays, when a smartphone acts as a phone for 5% of the total time of use, it is customary to ignore this parameter. Moreover, both from the OEM side and from the reviewers/consumers side. The Moto X, despite its single external speaker, sounds very tight and good. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard it for the first time. The phone may lack the bass and stereo of the HTC One, but that doesn't stop it from sounding loud and clear. The quality of speech transmission is excellent, both in conversational dynamics and in speakerphone mode. When playing music, the sound in the standard player is also excellent, and the presence of an equalizer (for both headphones and an external speaker) is also nice. In general, the voice quality alone makes me think about purchasing this smartphone as my main device. I make a lot of calls at work, and with the Moto X I feel much less tired from talking.

The design of the earpiece also contributes to comfort: when other phones begin to cut into the ear with a sharp edge after a certain time, Moto X does not cause such sensations. The intricate shape of the back cover allows you to avoid blocking the external speaker when the phone is lying on your back.

Performance

Motorola's marketing department had a difficult task - how to count processor cores so that 2 turned into 8. In the process, the brand "X8 mobile computing system" was created. 8 cores were obtained by adding 2 Krait 300 CPUs of 1.7 GHz each, 4 Adreno 320 graphics processors and 2 auxiliary processors for processing natural language and context dependence. I am sure that if the marketing department gets to know the engineers even more closely, it will be possible to count all 12+ cores. Thus, a buyer who thinks in terms of “cores” should be satisfied with the potential performance of his phone and not suffer from attacks from friends whose phones boast 4-8 cores. In my review, I already said that the industry made the leap to 4-cores too early, without fully revealing the potential of dual-core solutions. The presence of X8 in Moto X does not upset me at all, rather it even makes me happy.

The Moto X's CPU is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960Pro with two Krait 300 cores operating at 1.7 GHz each; the GPU is an Adreno 320 (400 MHz). The performance of such a combination is not just enough - in most cases it can easily compete with modern quad-core flagships from other companies. All this, of course, contradicts logic, but here you need to understand that the Moto X screen is 720p. Also, “performance is saved” by the relatively high (1.7 GHz) frequency of both cores, which is maintained for a longer period of time than other flagships. While your beloved SGS4 most of the time runs on one core with a frequency of 1 GHz instead of the four 1.9 GHz promised to you, the Moto X tries to keep the frequencies of both cores high.

Potentially, this approach has a worse impact on autonomy, since every +100 MHz of the processor is a significant increase in power consumption. However, we get performance from the Moto X that is close to modern flagship solutions, and in some tasks even surpasses them. The absence of four cores in the Moto X needs to be specifically looked for to be noticed. Personally, I didn’t notice any slowdowns or lags either in the system itself or in the games. The Moto X uses the F2FS file system to store user data, which, in addition to improving overall performance, is also immune to the number of overwrites and performs better in conditions where the drive is very full. All these elements, as well as the lack of a huge number of add-ons in the OS itself, make the Moto X a very fast phone. Not the fastest on the market, but significantly faster than most people would think when reading the spec sheet.

Android OS - Clean, but not fresh

Moto X out of the box runs on the not-latest version of Android 4.2.2 JB. Those who say that the Moto X runs on “pure Android” have either not seen pure Android, or have not held a Moto X in their hands. Visually, it really looks like a real default Android, with the exception of a few differences. The panel with on-screen buttons is in most cases translucent (as in Android 4.4 KitKat), and the elements in the notification panel and curtain are arranged slightly differently. Also, quite a lot of items have appeared in the settings menu that relate exclusively to proprietary Moto X technologies. The camera UI has undergone changes for the better. In addition, unlike stock Android, all localizations, including Russian, have been removed from Moto X. This is a completely logical decision, given the complete lack of adaptation to Russian of many proprietary Moto X technologies. But to summarize, the Moto X firmware is truly the most insignificant customization of stock Android that I have ever seen. It is noteworthy that, according to rumors, the Moto X will not be updated to 4.3, but will go straight to 4.4 KitKat.

Autonomy

Motorola beat itself in the chest and stated that the 2200 mAh battery of the Moto X will be able to work for 24 hours without any problems. Quite a loud statement and everyone immediately begins to think that he will work for so long with the screen on. The reality turned out to be much less rosy. In my case, under heavy load in the form of synchronizing two gmail accounts, working as an LTE access point, an hour of calls, the phone offered to charge itself after 8 hours of use. In moderate mode (Internet, Twitter, G+, YouTube, one account and Wi-Fi/LTE) it quite easily survived until the end of the day and showed 2.5 - 5 hours of screen time. Screen brightness was controlled automatically all the time. By the way, in all cases there is a charge leak caused by the “Android OS” process, which makes no sense and sometimes exceeds the power consumption of the screen. I spoke with François Simon (a fairly competent XDA developer) about this and he suspects that this behavior is caused by a bug on the side of the Google servers, and that something similar has recently started happening to him on several devices. According to unverified data, this problem has been fixed in Android 4.4 KitKat.

In general, autonomy is not revolutionary, but quite acceptable for a phone that “constantly listens” to the user’s commands.

Camera

The Moto X camera gives me mixed feelings. On the one hand, it is the first to use “clear pixel” technology, which, without going into technical details, allows you to get less noisy photos in low light conditions. On the other hand, Google engineers have not yet been able to make this technology work to its full potential; in the first version of the commercial Moto X firmware, the camera produced completely insane results, and after the update, the sensor seemed to be replaced out of the blue and the number of cool photos began to grow rapidly. Subjectively, I'm happy with the camera. Although it is worse than the one in the iPhone 5s, if you understand its limitations and capabilities well, it is quite capable of producing very beautiful pictures. However, sometimes, in difficult lighting conditions, color artifacts appear in the form of purple halos.

I liked the camera interface. This is truly a step in the right direction from the stock Android camera. It is not overloaded and simple, perhaps even too simple. By default, the camera focuses on the subjects at all times and takes a photo by tapping anywhere on the screen. In the settings menu, which slides out by swiping to the right from the left border of the screen, you can set the focus on the selected object by tapping on it on the screen. With this setting, the photo is taken after you click on the subject and the camera focuses on it. In the latest leak of the official Android 4.4 firmware for Moto X, there is also the ability to focus by moving a special frame-sight across the screen. In the settings menu, you can set the behavior of HDR (on/off/auto), geotagging, enable slow-motion video mode (720p@15fps), panoramas, and enable/disable camera activation using a special wrist rotation gesture. By the way, this trick of turning on the camera with a similar gesture seemed pretty stupid to me at first glance, but later I started rotating my other phones and didn’t understand why the camera wouldn’t start in them. In a word, turning on the camera in this way is very convenient and intuitive, and in my case no false alarms were noticed.

Moto X video records in 1080p@30fps without options for choosing compression and quality, stereo sound is 128 kbps. "Slow motion" is recorded at 720p@60fps and then played back at 15 frames per second, the iPhone 5s is much better in this regard. Everyone can evaluate the quality of the photo for themselves by looking at the examples.

Touchless Control

You may have already read how much I appreciate this innovation of Moto X. If not, I recommend reading it. It is worth adding a few technical details to what has been written. Moto X doesn't respond to anyone else's voice. And it responds only to the English phrase “Ok, Google Now”, moreover, it does not recognize the words, but rather reacts to the amplitude of vibrations. This is how they achieved a reaction only to the owner’s voice, which, by the way, Moto X needs to be “accustomed” to during the initial setup. Why did I decide this? Because a couple of times while listening to music without lyrics, I noticed how the Moto X reacted and turned on the screen to receive commands. Perhaps certain fluctuations in the composition were similar to a code phrase. However, this is just a theory. I got used to the feature of a constantly active microphone and now other phones seem somehow “dead” to me. Even despite the rare recognition and response errors, it is incredibly convenient when the phone just lies nearby and you can ask it for any information. Let's say you're playing a game and can't complete a certain episode. Without being distracted from the process, you can command the phone to search for the passage of the desired game. When you wake up to your alarm in the morning, you can tell Moto X to wake you up half an hour later. Often, when I am sitting at a computer and having an active correspondence with someone, I can ask for related information by voice on the phone without being distracted from the process. If you don't know where you left your phone in the room, you can say “Find my phone” and Moto X will light up the screen and make a repeating sound to help you find it.

For me, the Touchless Control feature is a much bigger innovation than the fingerprint scanner. And only for this alone can I forgive the Moto X for all its shortcomings. To be fair, it is worth noting that for exclusively Russian-speaking people the value of this function tends to zero, but such technology has potential and soon we will distinguish phones by whether they can listen or not.

Active notification

This function is based on a very simple idea - to use the feature of the AMOLED screen not to consume energy when displaying absolutely black color. Thanks to it, a notification system was developed that displays information about them in the form of a small monochrome icon. In other words, if there is a notification about any event, the screen will pulsate, displaying a clock and an image of a ring with an application icon inside it. If you touch the ring while it is highlighted, a small preview of the most recent notification will be displayed. Further options are possible: if, without releasing your finger, you swipe up to the notification, the phone will unlock and transfer you to the application that displayed that same notification; If you swipe to the side without releasing your finger, all notifications will be reset; if you let go of your finger, the phone will continue to pulsate with notifications, changing them if new ones arrive.

Moto X uses its context-aware engine to determine the state of the phone in space and therefore display those notifications more intelligently. By collecting data from the gyroscope, light sensors and other sensors, Moto X determines the location of the phone and its condition. If it is picked up from a table or taken out of a pocket, it will show the time and the screen unlock ring. If you turn it face down or put it back in your pocket, the notifications will stop pulsing.

Motorola Connect, Migrate and Assist

Three nice software additions that, despite their simplicity, can do a lot. Motorola Connect- allows you to see the phone’s charge level, manage call and SMS logs directly from the Chrome browser window after installing the extension of the same name and logging into your account. In my case, the chip began to unpleasantly eat up the battery and I turned it off, but if they fix it, it’s nice to answer SMS and reject or receive calls without leaving the computer, even if the phone is nearby.

Motorola Migrate- allows you to transfer all data (including files) from your previous Android phone to Moto X using a simple QR code scanning operation. It works quite well and transfers everything including SMS and call logs. And just recently, for future Moto X users who order a smartphone through the MotoMaker service, the company offered a new service - transferring contacts and calendar from the Apple iCloud service. Thus, the former iPhone owner receives his “X” with all the necessary data.

Motorola Assist- perhaps the most frequently used feature by me and the one I'm starting to miss in other phones. The application has only three points: do not disturb, in a meeting and while driving. In "do not disturb" you set the hours of your sleep and the phone goes into silent mode and stops pulsating "active notifications" during this period of time. “In a meeting” does the same thing as “do not disturb”, but is based on the times of various events on your calendar. “Driving” is the most interesting point - using the context dependency core, Moto X determines that you are moving in a car, and in the case of incoming calls, it will offer you to answer or refuse them. If you allow the call to be answered by voice, the phone will put it on speakerphone. In the case of an incoming SMS, Moto X will read its contents aloud to you and offer to reply to the person who wrote to you that you are driving a car at the moment and cannot correspond. Any of these modes displays a notification in the curtain that it is activated, and you can always cancel it there. This can be useful, for example, if you are not driving a car, but are in the passenger seat.

Moto Maker

One of the coolest things that makes the Moto X different from other smartphones is the ability to customize its appearance before purchasing. On the corresponding website you can customize the color of the front (white/black) and back (18 colors) panels of the phone, specify the color of the buttons (7 colors), select the amount of available memory (16/32 GB), add text engraving on the back panel, select custom wallpaper and welcome text when loading the phone, as well as purchase a Sol Republic headset of any color and form factor. Within 4 days, your custom phone will be assembled at a factory in the US and sent to the specified address. So far, such luxury is available only to residents of the USA, and only under operator contracts, but a Russian person cannot be stopped like this and I personally know a person who bought and sent to Russia such a Moto X. Perhaps he will find the time and write to us on RN how he accomplished such a feat. I had a Canadian version of the Moto X, but secretly I now dream of my own version of the Iron Man-style Moto X.

Conclusion

There is such a wonderful property that our smart devices are gradually acquiring - context dependence. The device knows what we are doing and when we do it, it restructures and transforms the flow of information depending on our type of activity. This is exactly what the future should be like, in which cars fly themselves and devices know what you think. Moto X may not have made this future a reality, but it showed what is possible to achieve today. I was very skeptical about this phone before writing the review - 720p amoled, weak/outdated (on paper) hardware and high price contributed to this. But after finishing writing this article, I completely changed my attitude towards the Moto X and am quite ready to make it my main phone. You don’t immediately understand the value of all the technologies of this device, but at the moment when you come home, tired, from celebrating a birthday/New Year/Halloween, you throw your phone in an unknown location and fall asleep, after a while you come to your senses in a completely dark room and You don’t understand what time it is, or what day of the week, or where your phone is. Into the void you say: “Ok, Google Now, what time is it and what day is it today?” and your phone obediently answers you with a voice from the far corner. At such moments, you absolutely don’t care how many cores it has or what kind of screen it has, the only important thing is that it helped you identify yourself in space as painlessly as possible without getting out of bed.

I don’t think about what else I could buy for that money and how much bigger/faster/beautiful it would be. I just got freedom that I don’t want to part with now. Even all its shortcomings in the form of a controversial screen and autonomy that did not live up to expectations, I can completely forgive it.

Therefore, it makes sense to consider a Chinese metal phablet. There are several fundamental “chips” in the Meizu MX5 - high-quality sound (a dedicated audio chip helps), Android redesigned beyond recognition and a fast processor in everything except games. In terms of the quality of the body and autonomy, the “Chinese” is inferior to Motorola and Samsung, in terms of power it surpasses them, and in terms of the quality of cameras and display it is approximately equal.

The main problems of the model are the “crooked” adaptation for Russia, as a result of which the smartphone cannot work with the vast majority of 4G networks in the country. In order not to get into trouble with “3G only”, it would be a good idea to check whether the Chinese exotic is compatible specifically with your telecom operator.

conclusions

*Voice of Zadornov*. "Get ready - there's going to be a strange phrase." And the thing is that the dismal results of the Moto X Play in benchmarks did not spoil the impression of our hero. Coming from a reviewer who does nothing but twirl gadgets in tests, this will sound unusual, but in fact our Motorola remains a pleasant smartphone to use, even with “butt-butt” power.

Because X Play carefully throws up information every time you take it out of your pocket; because its body is seriously different from the vulgar metal and glass competitors, and at the same time it feels even more expensive. Because the display is of high quality and does not have toxic colors, and the autonomy is such that you can walk around with two SIM cards and not worry about it.

But, of course, there are also contraindications - the smartphone is very massive, well-fed, and in cloudy weather and at night the camera works stupidly. X Play games are difficult to run even at medium graphics detail, and in the operating system the lack of power is compensated with varying degrees of success by the perfectly “polished” Android.

Moto X Play is not a geeky device. This is simply a pleasant-to-use alternative to Korean and Chinese “pop”, one of the most well-made and durable phablets today. It is recommended for everyone who is looking for a “normal smartphone” with good battery life and a good body. But for more demanding Motorola lovers, it makes sense to wait for models produced jointly by Lenovo-Moto - the Chinese promise to present such smartphones by the end of 2016.