Motorola really knows the art of designing a large screen within a compact shell. Yes, the Moto X Style is large – much larger than what the first two Moto X phones were, but considering the recent usage and smartphone designing trends, larger screen sizes have become the name of the game. And it is here, that the Moto X Style creates a very profound first impression.
Moto X Style: Here's how you pack big displays in small shells
Up front, the Moto X Style has a smooth, neatly flowing façade that automatically makes it easy on the eye (Asus, take note). The back of the phone is similar in pattern to the Moto X Play – rubberized, striped back with the camera in the middle and the Motorola logo inscribed within a dented circle on the metal strip. The front is entirely glass, which does add the hint of a premium touch to the Moto X Style.
2K resolution displays are soon becoming a household term. We witnessed the Gionee Elife E8 being launched in the morning, bearing a 6-inch 2K AMOLED display. The Moto X Style comes with a 5.7-inch IPS display with 2K resolution. In the little time that we spent with it, the display seemed amply bright and crisp. We tried operating it under direct sunlight, and content on the display looked distinct and clear. Additionally, the display comes with 551ppi pixel density, and the richness of the pixels does show. The Moto X Style occupies nearly 77% of the front area – much more than many others that we have seen lately.
The Moto X Style is an ergonomic delight, and even good to look at
The Moto X Style is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 SoC, coupled with 3GB of RAM, and choice of 16GB/32GB of internal storage. On paper, it is yet another smartphone with enough firepower to run most of your apps and play games and videos very well. On using it for the first few minutes, the experience remained in line with what it should be according to the specifications. There are no aberrations in touch response, the stock Android experience is an added bonus, and the Moto X Style really feels like a smooth performing device. Too early for a verdict, though.
Camera Sample 1: Facing sunlight (HDR mode on)
Here’s the deal about the 21-megapixel Sony IMX230 Exmor RS CMOS camera – I almost never managed to accurately focus on my subjects of the photographs. Yes, the images look quite good, despite the lack of dynamic range somewhat charring silhouettes. The touch focus is tricky to maneuver with accuracy, and servo focusing is rather slow. Apart from this, the camera app is really fast, without any shutter lag or other performance issues. Video recording was smooth, and overall, the camera unit seemed really competent.
Camera Sample 2: Frosted glass lamp shade
The Moto X Style’s native audio quality seemed decent. At the highest volume level, the audio did not have too much of distortion. We will save our opinion on the audio till our final review, seeing that we listened to tracks on YouTube in the middle of a crowded garden. Overall, the Moto X Style is a well-crafted device, with crisp display, smooth performance, and an overall pleasing package. The device will be up for pre-orders on Flipkart from midnight on October 14, with the 16GB version being priced at Rs. 29,999, and the 32GB at Rs. 31,999.
Personally, I have found the Moto X Style to be a neat, compact and powerful smartphone. Stay tuned for our review, to see how the Moto X Style fares against the likes of OnePlus 2 and Samsung Galaxy A8.