Android Refined: Moto X Smartphone Review

Next, we'll take a look at how the Moto X compares to other smartphones by examining its performance in a few benchmarks that are currently available in the Android Marketplace.

General Compute, Javascript and Web Browsing Performance{Title}   General purpose workloads

Here, it's clear that the Moto X isn't packing the sort of high-end, raw horsepower that we see in phones such as the LG Optimus G Pro and Samsung Galaxy S 4. Of course, not much real-world use requires this sort of grunt, but this is the benchmark that proves that the phone isn't trying to simply out-gun its rivals on the proverbial benchmark track.

In the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, the Moto X notched a very solid score. It's not quite the top dog here, but it's close -- and that's an impressive feat given that it's not packing the very latest and greatest innards. This speaks to just how well engineered the hardware and software are; it's clear that the two were designed to work fluidly together.

The Rightware BrowserMark benchmark evaluates the web browsing and browser performance of a device. Here, the Moto X holds its own, but falls short of taking the crown -- which is about what we expected. It's in the top tier; it's just not the absolute number one.

Graphics Performance Pushing the pixels

GLBenchmark is an OpenGL ES 2.0 benchmark with a number of performance metrics incorporated in it.  We specifically used the Fill Texture Fetch suite to measure raw texture fill rate of a graphics core and the Egypt Off Screen test to measure 3D performance in frames per second.  The Off Screen test renders workloads at 1280x720 for all devices, but off-screen, so Vsynch and screen refresh are not limiting performance.

Here, the Moto X actually stands its ground compared to its closest Android-based rivals. We're chalking these excellent scores up to the engineering behind the scenes, with Motorola working tightly with Google to refine the graphics performance and ensure efficiency of its Adreno 320 graphics core.

Another top mark in the graphics department, hinting that there's some serious work going on behind the scenes to ensure that this flavor of Android is optimized well with the CPU and GPU paired to it. Raw horsepower is great, but efficient horsepower is perhaps even more impressive.