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Motorola Moto X Pure Edition review: pure magic

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The Moto X Pure Edition is the third generation of the acclaimed Moto X series, which was launched in 2013. The original Moto X was a compact device with modest specifications; this new edition is impressive in terms of both specs and design. The Moto X Pure Edition (known as the Moto X Style outside of the US) maintains the series' features while adding some exciting new functionality. But just how good is Motorola’s most premium smartphone? Find out in our Moto X Pure Edition review.

Motorola Moto X Style

Good

  • Beautiful QHD LCD display
  • Strong camera
  • Convenient design
  • Superior audio

Bad

  • Relatively small battery capacity
Motorola Moto X Style
Motorola Moto X Style
Motorola Moto X Style: All deals

Motorola Moto X Style release date and price

The Moto X Pure Edition release date has not been confirmed, but you can pre-order the device now at the US and UK Motorola websites. The Moto X Pure Edition price starts at US$399.99 for the 16 GB version, which is available in a range of customizable colors. In the UK, the Moto X Style price starts at £399 for the 32 GB version.

Motorola Moto X Style design and build quality

The Moto X Pure Edition is larger than its predecessor and, despite the visual similarities, brings a host of unique features to the series. Inside the box you get all the essentials, such as a charge-cable, instruction manual and in-ear headphones (the same model that was shipped with the Moto X 2014). The supplied power cable fits into a wall-socket, but the X Pure doesn't come with a separate USB cable for data transfer, sadly.

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The Moto X Pure edition is known as the Moto X Pure Edition outside the US. / © ANDROIDPIT

The handset can be customized in Motorola’s Moto Maker store, with options including a genuine leather or bamboo rear cover, but our review unit came in the standard silicone variant. Silicone is a material that might divide opinions, but personally, I like the soft grip. Not only does it feel good, but Motorola says that it won’t yellow over time.

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An closer look at the Motorola Moto X Pure Edition's rear cover. / © ANDROIDPIT

I did notice that it’s easier to clean fingerprints off the back of Moto X Pure Edition than the Moto X Play, which has a rubberized polycarbonate coating. Up close, the raised diagonal lines of the back panel also look rather elegant.

The back of the handset is slightly curved, making it comfortable to handle, and it has an oval aluminum detail around the main camera and dual-tone LED flash, like on the Moto G 2015, with the company logo at the lower end.

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The rear of the Moto X Pure Edition is slightly curved. / © ANDROIDPIT

Despite its curved spine, the Moto X Pure Edition is perfectly usable even when it's lying flat on a table – it doesn't wobble – and unlike a number of devices released this year, like the Galaxy S6, the Moto X Pure Edition’s rear camera lens doesn’t protrude. This all adds to its premium looks. 

At the top of the device is the slot for two SIM cards and just behind the chip tray is a slot for a microSD card up to 128 GB. On the bottom of the device is the micro USB port and on the right-hand side is the power button and volume control.

As on other Motorola models, the power button is lightly textured so that it isn’t confused with the volume controls. All of these buttons are easily reachable when using the smartphone with one hand.

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The SIM card/MicroSD slot reveals the superior craftsmanship on the Moto X Pure Edition. © ANDROIDPIT

The front of the device is the same as on the Moto X Play, except that the LED flash is now in the upper right corner. Additionally, Motorola has included stereo speakers on the Pure Edition for multimedia and audio playback, but they protrude from the surface of the device a little.

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The speakers on the Moto X Pure Edition protrude slightly. / © ANDROIDPIT

We're not sure we like the look of the speakers sticking out so visibly. On the plus side, they do help protect the screen from being scratched when the device is placed face down on a flat surface.

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The Moto X Pure Edition's micro USB port. / © ANDROIDPIT

All in all, Motorola has once again delivered a high quality design. While the Moto X Pure Edition isn't visually bold or fresh, Motorola has nailed the key components and crafted a well-rounded and very comfortable handset.

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The front of the Moto X Pure Edition looks similar to its predecessor. / © ANDROIDPIT

Motorola Moto X Style display

The Moto X Pure Edition features a 5.7-inch display with QHD (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) resolution and 520 pixels per inch. The company chose a TFT LCD panel with IPS technology for its new flagship, rather than the AMOLED screen of the previous model.

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The TFT LCD display of the Moto X Pure Edition is a gem. / © ANDROIDPIT

With TFT LCD, Motorola was able to achieve a more balanced and less intense color tones. Whites are purer and the reproduction of colors in photos and videos is much more accurate. For me, the shift from AMOLED to LCD TFT was a good choice. 

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The display is protected against scratches and scrapes by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. / © ANDROIDPIT

What’s more, the display is designed to be energy efficient, making the impact of the new display tech on the phone's on battery life less severe than it otherwise might have been. The viewing angles are excellent and it remains readable even when viewed at 57 degrees.

The brightness of the Moto X Pure Edition is not as intense as its predecessor, though, making the screen visibility a little less good in outdoor environments. 

Motorola Moto X Style special features

The Moto X Pure Edition’s voice features are an amalgamation of Google Now controls and special commands enhanced by Motorola, which expands the possibilities further. I had to wait a couple of days for the software to become optimized, but once it had, it went beyond the functionality offered by Google Now because it had learned from my behavior. 

The commands present in the Moto X Pure Edition are the same as the X Play and the Moto X (2014), which were standardized with the arrival of Lollipop 5.1. However, there's one novelty that's specific to this device that caught my attention: you can activate Moto Voice by moving the device to your ear like you would if you wanted to talk. It’s useful even if only to avoid saying "OK Google" out loud in a public space.

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The Moto application is the core of the Moto X Pure Edition's custom settings. / © ANDROIDPIT

The speech recognition is accurate even in a relatively noisy space, far moreso than even the Moto X Play.

Moto Assist

The Moto Assist software now comes with a new feature for recognizing locations, which was introduced in a recent update, and it can detect when a user is at home, work or at school.

The settings can be easily configured for each of these locations. For example, you can assign a 'work' profile. which automatically changes your phone's volume to the silent while you’re there. It’s a simple idea, but can be very useful.

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Moto Assist can change your device's settings depending on your location. / © NextPit

Motorola Moto X Style software

The X Pure arrives running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, with the promise of an upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow in the future. The software delivered by Motorola is cleaner than ever, mainly thanks to the removal of the voice features and gestures from the system settings. All of Motorola’s extra features can be found in the dedicated Motorola application.

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Android 5.1.1 Lollipop running on the Moto X Pure Edition. / © ANDROIDPIT

The device comes with 32 pre-installed applications, and only four of them belong to Motorola: Help, Migration, Connect and Moto. The normal suite of Google apps are there, with the exception of Google+ and Google Play Games. The software experience itself is the same as we have come to expect from Motorola’s more recent devices: almost stock Android, hopefully providing for a swift upgrade to Android Marshmallow in the fall.

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The Moto X Pure Edition runs on Android 5.1.1 lollipop, but an upgrade to Marshmallow is guaranteed. / © ANDROIDPIT

Motorola Moto X Style performance

Like the LG G4, the Moto X Pure Edition is packed with a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor (MSM8992) clocked at 1.8 GHz, with 3 GB of LPDDR3 RAM. The decision not to go with a Snapdragon 810 means that the threat of overheating is reduced.

The GPU is an Adreno 418 (600 MHz), which provides for exceptional visual performance. The latest games and videos can be displayed at high-resolutions without any dips in frame rate.

The X Pure also comes with two co-processors called natural language and contextual computing. These processors are responsible for managing the unit's sensors, voice capture and power saving to do things such as reduce background processing while the device is in a pocket, for example.

We ran an AnTuTu benchmark test to assess performance and learned that the Moto X Pure Edition scored above the Asus Zenfone 2 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with 53,692 points.

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The AnTuTu Moto X Pure Edition benchmark test results. / © ANDROIDPIT

Motorola Moto X Style audio

Finally we have a Moto X model with stereo speakers at the front. The audio on the device is excellent, pumping out clean treble and bass frequencies without distortion. The level of immersion in videos and games is enhanced by the speakers being on the front of the device – they sound great even at full volume.

There is no EQ in the system settings however, and Motorola lacks the audio features that the likes of the Sony devices boast. 

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The sound emitted by the Moto X Pure Edition headphone port is sharp. / © ANDROIDPIT

Motorola Moto X Style camera

The Moto X Pure Edition camera is said to be the best Motorola has ever produced, it performs accordingly. The rear camera comes in at 21 MP (5,344 x 4,008 pixels) and is accompanied by a dual-tone LED (CCT) flash, with f / 2.0 aperture lens. The pictures obtained by this camera are superb, with good color balance, exposure and definition.

Night mode reduces the images to 3 MP, but does a decent job of taking photos with little noise and blur. Check out the results of our camera tests in the gallery below:

The front camera has a 5 MP sensor with LED flash and the results in daylight are good, but not perfect – it’s better to find a good lighting source than use the flash.

Motorola Moto X Style battery

Before I start talking about numbers on the battery life of the Moto X Pure Edition, I want to talk a little about the charger that arrived with the device. This is the same Turbo Charger that also arrives with the Moto Maxx. It has 25 watts of power and is capable of reachingabove average charge speeds. In my tests, I could fully charge the Moto X Style in 1 hour and 23 minutes, and it charged to 16 percent in the first 15 minutes of being plugged in. 

This initial 15 minutes was fastest, then the unit dropped in speed a little, but these are still impressive figures. The fast-charging only works for the X Pure, not other Quick-Charge 2.0 compatible handsets, but it will charge other Motorola devices normally.

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The Moto X Pure EditionTurbo charger has 25 watts of power. / © ANDROIDPIT

And the Moto X Pure Edition battery itself? It has a 3,000 mAh capacity, and even though it charges fast, the life of the battery isn't great. I usually had my display brightness set at around 35 percent and the device never provided more than a day of use. You can expect it to last until night-time on a full charge, but with heavy use and higher brightness will reduce this further. 

Motorola Moto X Style technical specifications

Final verdict

The Moto X Pure Edition is easily capable of competing directly with the latest Android flagship releases. Motorola did an impeccable job with its new flagship phone and the quality can be seen from the design right through to the hardware specifications. It's just unfortunate that the battery life isn't better.

This device is the best evolution of the Moto X line – the Moto X Play looks unimpressive by comparison. At US$399 for the base model, the X Pure offers incredible value for money. With turbo-charging, expandable storage, a QHD display, premium design, strong performance and excellent camera, there's no reason this shouldn't sell very well indeed. 

What did you think of Moto X Pure Edition? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.

  Editor's choice Best smart home control center Best price-performance ratio Best sound Best sound supplement Best display
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Bruno Salutes

Bruno Salutes
Editor

Degree in Web Design and Relationship Marketing, is in love with Android devices and a good cup of coffee! Currently living in São Paulo is always tuned in all the trends, innovations and launches the mobile market. Love watching videos and reviews whenever possible are involved in any discussion about technology.

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53 comments
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  • Jjjj 1
    Jjjj Jan 9, 2016 Link to comment

    Too big, unfortunately... Otherwise it would have been perfect.


  • 1
    siri khalsa Nov 22, 2015 Link to comment

    over 7000 hits on the motorola forum thread about crackle and popping from the top speaker. comments say that 6.0 has not fixed it.


  • 1
    Marcin Oct 14, 2015 Link to comment

    What bumper is it on one of the last photos - the one with headphones connected?


  • Vladimir Enin 1
    Vladimir Enin Oct 5, 2015 Link to comment

    Hi mates! Do you know, which countries have dual sim version of moto x pure?


  • Gouri Thanda 1
    Gouri Thanda Oct 1, 2015 Link to comment

    please confirm the date of release in India


  • 1
    Todd Richardson Sep 17, 2015 Link to comment

    With Google pay out there a fingerprint reader is high on my list so that, and the size of this phone, is holding me back. Otherwise the pricing and performance really make this a great "more than good enough" phone. I'm of the opinion that I no longer need or want the best phone. While there are a number of better, higher spec devices out there the price differential doesn't seem worth it to get an even more excellent screen, and even nicer case, an even better camera under some conditions, and even slight faster processor, etc.

    I like what Motorola is doing, and I look forward to seeing what it does with Lenovo's resources and behind it. obviously it was great when they were Google, but Google really isn't hardware focused where as lenovo is.


  • Paolo Pizzi 1
    Paolo Pizzi Sep 17, 2015 Link to comment

    I don't know why some reviewers claim that the camera isn't up to snuff. DxO Labs recently rated it as the second-best camera of any smartphone, only outdone by the Samsung S6's. And Motorola still has to improve the software. Which means it may easily become THE best smartphone camera.


  • Gouri Thanda 1
    Gouri Thanda Sep 16, 2015 Link to comment

    moto x style is not available in India, till date. confirm the date of launch in India. Also confirm like moto x play does moto x style also has 2 version 1 with 16 gb internal memory and other with 32 gb internal memory


  • 1
    Emiliano Samaniego Sep 13, 2015 Link to comment

    Can i ship the moto x pure edition to latin america via amazon?


    • 2
      shyam lin Sep 14, 2015 Link to comment

      No its not possible dude


  • 2
    Vikranth Reddy Bhimanapati Sep 13, 2015 Link to comment

    one doubt moto x play when we purchased from united states will work in india or not


    • 2
      shyam lin Sep 14, 2015 Link to comment

      Hws the perfomance of moto x play? plz reply me dude...


  • 2
    Vikranth Reddy Bhimanapati Sep 13, 2015 Link to comment

    when moto x style launch in india


    • 2
      shyam lin Sep 14, 2015 Link to comment

      Moto X style is already launched & it will be available in Flipkart on Sep 14 2015 from 2pm onwards


  • 2
    Derek Shafer Sep 13, 2015 Link to comment

    Have a moto x 2nd gen just a few months old..cracked the screen (my bad, would've damaged any non-cased smart phone) I was about to reorder exact same phone when the $399 pure edition Style news hit, so I thought that as much as I enjoy the pure Android experience of my X 2nd gen, I better grab one of these. Ordered it (using motomaker) Sept 3..received it Sept 11. I could not be more pleased. The slightly larger size scared me but I cut a piece of paper 6" by 3" and set my 2nd gen on it..the size difference appeared inconsequential. After using the new phone for 2 days, I have come to appreciate the slightly greater size and weight (the small size and light weight of my 2nd gen were contributing factors to the cracked screen). As to the turbo charger..yes it works much faster than a regular charger. Combine that with holding a charge longer and my charging downtime is greatly reduced. Buy one now!!

    john morris


  • 2
    Mike James Sep 12, 2015 Link to comment

    This article shows two sim slot. is this going to be available in the US or just UK?


    • 3
      coreyho Sep 13, 2015 Link to comment

      This is available in china.


  • The Tig 4
    The Tig Sep 11, 2015 Link to comment

    how does this compare to the moto x play

    is there any improvement in camera on the x style compared to the play (speed, quality )


    • Facundo Dilota 1
      Facundo Dilota Sep 16, 2015 Link to comment

      Same resolution, but much better sensor and optics. Obviously, completely different results.


  • 5
    Deactivated Account Sep 11, 2015 Link to comment

    First thing I have to say is here all the disappointment about the camera are not that good on some phones.. Who really cares??..If you need that good of pictures go buy a Damn camera.. they work good enuff and it makes the point. I thought the purpose of the phone is to talk are text people not how many pics you can post. I have note 4 and it's ok.. wishing they wouldn't have all the bloatware that would be nice. I like speed no lags and a battery that last. I am thinking about a MotoX Pure Edition becuase it doesn't come with all kinda of BS. also front speakers are nice and should come that way on all phones.. (Wake Up Samsung) and make it easy to connect between devices.. Just my opinion.

    Leland Whitlock

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