Motorola Announces the Moto X Style
by Joshua Ho on July 28, 2015 10:50 AM EST
Today, Motorola also announced their new flagship phone, the Moto X Style. Following the trend of larger screen sizes, it seems Motorola has taken this trend to its logical conclusion by cramming a 5.7” display into the phone, which really places this squarely in the phablet space rather than smartphone space despite the 76% screen to body ratio. The design has also been refreshed for this year to distinguish this device from the previous Moto X if size wasn’t enough of a differentiator. As always, the spec table is below to provide perspective on the changes between each device.
| Moto X (2014) | Moto X Style | |
| SoC | Snapdragon 801 2.5 GHz | Snapdragon 808 1.8/1.44 GHz Cortex A57/A53 |
| RAM | 2GB LPDDR3 | 3GB LPDDR3 |
| NAND | 16/32/64GB NAND | 16/32/64GB NAND + microSD |
| Display | 5.2” 1080p SAMOLED |
5.7” 1440p IPS |
| Network | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 4 LTE) | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 6 LTE) |
| Dimensions | 140.8 x 72.4 x 3.8-9.9mm, 144g | 153.9 x 76.2 x 6.1-11.06mm, 179g |
| Camera | 13MP Rear Facing (Sony IMX135) f/2.33, 1.1 micron 1/3.06" sensor | 21MP Rear Facing w/ PDAF f/2.0, 1.1 micron 1/2.4" sensor |
| 2.1MP Front Facing | 5MP Front Facing w/ LED Flash | |
| Battery | 2300 mAh (8.74 Whr) | 3000 mAh (11.4 Whr) |
| OS | Android 4.4 (At Launch) | Android 5.1 (At Launch) |
| Connectivity | 1x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, NFC |
2x2 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, NFC |
| SIM | NanoSIM | NanoSIM |
Other than the display and the dimensions, one of the most obvious changes is really the camera. Motorola is really focusing on camera this year as a key point of differentiation, going as far as to proclaim that their camera is superior to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus during their launch event. It seems that their first step to doing this is to equip the Moto X Style with a 21MP camera. Although not stated in the launch event, it isn’t a far leap to guess that this is either OmniVision’s OV21840 or Sony’s IMX230 as both are of similar spec.
At a high level, there are also significant changes to the SoC as we see a bump to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 and a bump in RAM to 3GB to improve multitasking and memory management. It seems that Motorola’s NLP and sensor hub remain, although it isn’t disclosed whether this is still a TI solution for NLP and an STM sensor hub.
The display is also a major shift in Motorola’s component choices, as the 5.7” 1440p display is actually an LCD panel rather than AMOLED, which is what Motorola usually favors with their high-end smartphones. There are also dual front-facing stereo speakers mounted above and below the display, with the extra bezel for display drivers mounted directly below the top speaker to accommodate the on-screen buttons comfortably.
Overall, the Moto X Style is a significant departure from the Moto X (2014), which in turn was a major departure from the Moto X (2013). It remains to be seen whether Motorola’s bet on a phablet-sized phone will pay off, but it certainly could be a major competitor with phablets launching in the near future.
The Moto X Style will be available in September, and will be offered on Motomaker. A Pure Edition that works on all 4 US carriers will be offered for sale unlocked in the US as well. The standard colors will be white and black, with options for customization via Motomaker for leather, wood, and silicone finishes. The price will start 399.99 USD for the Pure Edition.
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lilmoe - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
"Flagship killer" day.Seriously, flagships need not be priced above that. Kudos to Motorola and OnePlus. That said, hope these devices are actually available to purchase....
Shadow7037932 - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
You're probably going to have to wait for a One Plus 2 for a while due to the invite system. As for the Moto X, that would depend on if you use Motomaker or not. Amazon and other etailers will likely carry the Moto Xs with stock styles.mrdude - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
And unlike the Oneplus2, you might actually be able to own one while you still want to.The Moto G is available right now online and next week in Best Buy, apparently. The Style will be available in the fall.
I wish that Moto had adopted LG's back buttons for volume up and down, as I've found that to be the most ideal placement for larger phones. It makes larger phones far less unwieldy; quite wieldy, in fact :)
lilmoe - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
"while you still want to"..................................................mrdude - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
By the time OnePlus did away with the invite system for their first phone, I already more than lost will to buy one.It's a marketing tactic to build hype. They're a marketing firm that sells smartphones on the side. If the phone isn't widely available at or soon-after launch, it's not even worth mentioning as far as I'm concerned. Given how quickly we're seeing updates to current models, and how many new models are being introduced, I reckon it's a rather reasonable statement.
FinFETs are just on the horizon. How long are you willing to wait until you can actually get ahold of the OnePlus2? 6-12 months? Suddenly that 'flagship killer' becomes a 'Meh. It's okay for the price.'
menting - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
@mrdudeYeah, I agree with you. By the time OnePlus offered me the chance to buy their first phone without an invite, I was like "It's been almost 10 months, why would I ever want to buy your phone now at the same price it was at launch? Cut the price by $75 and it's a good deal again"
puremind - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
Someone has not followed the unveiling...This year the invitation system will not be used to generate wait until sufficient numbers are produced. They have already produced enough at launch...They are not a marketing company - they are just a start up with low marketing budgets and have used social media and the invitation system as a means to manage cost where other companies ask for a higher per unit price to finance their huge marketing campaigns.
OnePlus 2 has already generated close to 4M hits on GSMarena (20+ for S6 and iP6). By comparison, Motorola who have launched the new Moto X devices the same day have generated less than 700,000 hits.
icrf - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
How do active notifications work with an LCD? I thought that was a driving reason for them to keep AMOLED around. Waking up a few pixels to pulse a notification at your was nothing, but to wake an entire LCD?dragonsqrrl - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - link
That's one of the first concerns that came to mind. Active display doesn't make sense on an LCD. Maybe they're doing away with it? Or more likely they'll just turn a blind eye to efficiency and elegance and implement it anyway, offsetting the higher power consumption with brute force (larger battery). That sounds about right.kspirit - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
I hope they aren't doing something so tragic. I expect better from Motorola.