Motorola Announces the New Moto X: Initial Impressions and Hands On

Motorola has been through a lot, to say the least. It was only a few years ago that Motorola had become an OEM struggling to stay afloat, as it was effectively an ODM for network operators in the US. We saw phone after phone pushed out with no real cohesive strategy or market. After its acquisition by Google, we saw a major shift. Motoblur was removed, and we saw a move to using the AOSP UI to facilitate faster updates and smoother experience. The only real changes were Motorola’s custom apps and features, which were still following Android’s design principles. However, the Moto X seemed to lack in certain areas. The Snapdragon S4 Pro just couldn’t keep up with the Snapdragon 800 in performance also used more power. The Clear Pixel camera was definitely interesting from an academic perspective, but at launch it was rather disappointing. Combined with Moto Maker exclusivity to AT&T and general exclusivity to the US, the Moto X was a great idea held back by timing and distribution. Today, Motorola hopes to make things right with the new Moto X.