After numerous rumours pretty much of the details of the phone, Motorola has revealed the long-awaited Moto X this morning. Featuring a Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, a 4.7-inch 720p AMOLED display, and a 10-megapixel camera, it marks a supposed rebirth within Motorola – one where there is a noticeable Google presence than before.
Other specs include an Adreno 320 quad-core GPU, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11a/g/b/n/ac support, a large 2200mAh battery, and 4G LTE support (that said, we’re not entirely sure about the bands supported). You can choose either a 16GB or 32GB model, but both will have 50GB of online storage for two years on Google Drive.
According to Jason Murrary from our friends over at Ausdroid, the GPU and CPU (plus additional processors handling natural language and contextual computing) form the basis of a Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System. And they’re claiming it is basically an “eight core system” – technically, it is by dedicating each core to a specific thing.
Still, no system has perfected an actual eight-core processor. Even Samsung’s octa-core Exynos processor on the Galaxy S4 (which is not sold in Australia through the carriers) is cheating, utilising two quad-core processors with one targeting the processing-intensive stuff and the other basically used for menial tasks such as browsing the web.
The Moto X’s main tagline is about giving you choice. Motorola is giving you the choice to pretty much customise the body to fit within your needs: the front, the back, accents, wallpapers and even add a little message – but only if you order directly from them, through their new Moto Maker “online studio”. The choices are pretty much endless, given that Moto Maker reportedly has 2000 styles already, with more to come.
Of course, there will the traditional colours – woven black and woven white. These will be shipped out to traditional outlets and carriers.
You can obviously tell Google’s influence on the Moto X – the phone responds to your voice. Through Google Now and Touchless Control, you can check the weather and traffic without needing to lift a finger. Voice gestures are not new for Google, but Google I/O earlier this year demonstrated a big push from the search engine.
Other features include Active Display, which will keep quietly notify you of any new notifications (the Moto X does not have a notification light) and lets you look at the time without waking up your phone; and Quick Capture, to take photos within the second through a gesture (two quick twists of your wrist, then tap on the screen). Hopefully it sounds more intuitive, because recent history with “quick gestures” – namely on the Galaxy S4 – have put me off the idea.
The camera, as previously stated, is a 10-megapixel camera that features its Clear Pixel technology. According to Engadget, it adds “75 percent more light for faster daytime exposure and low-light performance.” We’ll have to see it to believe in it – but if it does what it says, then this is a rise in improving the optics on smartphones.
The phone is coming in late August or early September in North and South America. US customers will be getting it through AT&T for $199 on a two-year contract. Off-contract pricing was not announced, but rumours has it that the price could be US$630. So pretty much, it’s a somewhat-Nexus phone with a not-so-Nexus price.
No word on Australian availability, but a Motorola Australia spokesperson hinted at a possible Australian release. “As our CEO Dennis Woodside said Moto X is just the first device in a new portfolio of products that show the best of Motorola as a Google company,” the spokesperson said.
“We have exciting plans for all regions, although we can’t reveal specifics right now, this is just the start.”