Motorola Unleashes Next Gen Moto X And Moto G Android Onslaught

OK, so Motorola didn’t launch a second generation Moto 360 smartwatch today as we expected, but what the company did unveil is still likely to amaze you. The Lenovo-owned company today launched three new Android smartphones and as you’ll see, they strike a fine balance between performance, features, and affordability.

First up is the range-topping Moto X Style, which inherits the torch that was proudly carried by its similarly-styled predecessors. Front in center, of course, is a large 5.7-inch QHD (2560x1440) TFT LCD display (that’s right, there’s no AMOLED this time around), which is covered in Gorilla Glass. Under the hood, you won’t find either version (the original toasty SKU, or the cooler V2.1) of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor; instead you’ll find a relatively “chilly” hexa-core 1.8GHz Snapdragon 808 paired with 3GB of RAM.

Other hardware specs include 64GB of internal storage, a microSD slot, IP52 splash resistance, a 21MP f/2.0 rear camera with dual-tone LED flash (it can capture HDR video at 4K resolution) and a front 5MP camera which also gets its own LED flash. The Moto X Style also packs in a 3000 mAh battery and thanks to Motorola’s Turbo Charging technology, you’ll be able to obtain 10 hours of battery life from a quick 15-minute charge.

As has been the case with previous Moto X devices, the Moto X Style is fully compatible with the Moto Maker, which means that you’ll be able to fully customize the look of the device including different materials for the backplate (plastic, wood, leather, silicon rubber, etc.).

The Moto X Style of course comes running a near-stock version Android 5.1 Lollipop, with some Motorola apps thrown in for good measure. That means you’ll see Moto Display, Moto Assist, Moto Voice and Moto Actions alongside Google’s stock Android apps.

Moto X Style/Pure

When it launches in the U.S. this Fall, the Moto X Style will be rebranded as the Moto X Pure and will be compatible with all U.S. wireless carriers. The device will lack any carrier branding (yay!) and will not feature any carrier bloatware, hence the “Pure” branding. The device will sell for $399 unlocked and will be available direct from Motorola as well as the usual retail suspects like Amazon and Best Buy.

Moving a few rungs down the ladder, we come to the Moto X Play which brings with it a 5.5-inch 1080p display, octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor with 2GB of RAM, and a massive 3630 mAh battery that provides up to 48 hours of battery life. The device also comes with the same rear- and front-facing cameras as the Moto X Style/Pure and is available with 16GB and 32GB of storage. Unfortunately, this long-running smartphone won’t be available to U.S. customers, which is a huge letdown.

The last new smartphone is one that you all should be very familiar with by now: the third generation Moto G. The device has leaked all over the place during the past month, but now the device has been officially outed. The Moto G packs still is equipped with a 5-inch 720p display, but now has joined the 64-bit fray with a quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with just 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. However, if you opt for 16GB of storage, you’ll also receive double the amount of RAM (2GB). There’s really nothing spectacular to speak of with regards to the cameras used on the new Moto G (13MP rear with dual-tone flash, 5MP front).

The Moto G is available now for $180 (8GB storage/1GB RAM) and $220 (16GB storage /2GB RAM). And like its Moto X siblings, the Moto G is now fully compatible with the Moto Maker tool.