Moto X Style vs Moto X Play: What You Need to Know

Moto X Style vs Moto X Play: What You Need to Know is a post by Cory Gunther from Gotta Be Mobile.

This morning Motorola announced two all-new 3rd Generation Moto X smartphones for 2015, but they aren’t what anyone expected. In a surprise turn of events Motorola unveiled a big 5.7-inch Moto X Style, and a more pedestrian 5.5-inch Moto X Play, both bigger than the previous Moto X from 2014. The Moto X Style is coming to the United States, and will be sold as the “Moto X Pure Edition”. Here’s everything you need to know about both.

For months we’ve been reading reports and rumors about what was coming next from Motorola, and leaks were all over the place. As far back as March we’ve been hearing about a 5.2-inch screen, improved specs, and a few other details, but that was all completely wrong. Instead, Motorola announced two stunning big phones with slim bezels, great cameras, impressive battery life and wallet-friendly prices.

Read: Moto X Style & Moto X Play Release Confirmed

It’s clear that Motorola hopes to take on the Galaxy S6, LG G4, the Galaxy Note 5, iPhone 6s and more all with these two devices. It’s an odd yet bold approach, one that might pay off, but also alienate previous Moto X users simply because these two new devices are rather big. Below are all the details about both phones for those interested.

For starters, we’ve just received some bad news. Yes Motorola announced two awesome new Moto X smartphones for 2015, but only one will be available in the United States. The new Moto X Style is hitting shelves in the U.S. in September starting at $399 for the 16GB model, but the Moto X Play will NOT be available in the United States.

This just crossed the wire, and is extremely bad news for prospective buyers that were considering one, or both of these phones. That being said, they’ll still be available online, and buyers are looking for more information, so here’s everything you need to know about both new Moto X phones for 2015.

Moto X Style (Pure Edition)

The Moto X Style is essentially the 3rd Gen Moto X for 2015, and it will be available in the United States this September starting at $399. It’s fully customizable on MotoMaker, and is basically a slightly smaller Nexus 6. From what we’re seeing it looks like it will be sold unlocked, free of carriers getting in the way. As in, no carriers will offer it in stores. It will be online only, and completely unlocked. For now though, it will be known as the Moto X Pure Edition in the United States, and the “Style” elsewhere.

This year Motorola focused on improving the core experience, adding a better camera and giving users more battery life with even faster charging. All things users complained about with last years model. The new Moto X Style has a lot to offer, and here’s the full specs.

Moto X Style (Pure Edition) Specs

• 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 Quad-HD Display
• 6-core Snapdragon 808 processor with 3GB of RAM
• 16/32/64 GB of Storage with a Micro-SD slot for expandable storage
• 21 Megapixel F2.0 Rear and 5 Megapixel Front Camera (front and rear LED flash)
• 4k Video, HDR Video, Slo-Mo Video and more
• Pure stock Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Dual Stereo Sound front speakers
• Aluminum Design
• 3,000 mAh battery with the world’s fastest “TurboPower” charging
• Unlocked with Universal 4G LTE (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc.)
• Water-repellent coating
• Customization with Rubber, Wood, Leather, Metallic Accents & more)

The Moto X Style is the company’s new flagship smartphone for the United States, but Motorola also confirmed more devices will be coming soon for US buyers, likely DROID’s exclusive to Verizon Wireless.

This new Moto X Style & Pure Edition will be sold unlocked through Motorola’s online site and be fully customizable with Motomaker.com and again, we’re not sure if carriers will offer it or not, but that’s looking like a no. And while it does have a huge 5.7-inch Quad-HD display, thanks to extremely slim bezels it’s barely bigger than the 5.1-inch Galaxy S6, and smaller than the iPhone 6 Plus.

Motorola managed to pack a huge 5.7-inch screen into a relatively small device. The image above should give potential buyers a good idea of what to expect in terms of size. It’s still bigger than the 2014 Moto X, which may be a turn-off for some.

Charging

Using a new and improved version of Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, or Samsung’s adaptive charging, Motorola claims the Moto X Style will be the world’s fastest charging smartphone. It has a decently large 3,000 mAh battery, but thanks to the 25w TurboPower charger (included in the box) users can get 10 hours of usage after just 15 minutes on the charger.

The phone has great battery life with a big battery, and will charge faster than any other smartphone ever released. This is all we know about that so far, and will update once we know more.

Customization

The key selling point here for Motorola and the Moto X Style is customization. Styling the device to fit the end user. This 5.7-inch device will be completely customizable, more than ever before. Buyers will be able to choose from 16, 32, or 64GB of storage starting at $399, and Motorola has all the usual customization and much more.

The new Moto X Style is available with over 17 colors like previous versions, but buyers can also choose between different colored coated silicon rubber, leather or natural wood backs, metal accents, and engravings like previous years. Not to mention wallpapers and more like before.

So far we’re not sure about pricing, but we’ll update as soon as we know more. All this customization is not available on the Moto X Play. Yes it has some customization, but it will not have the same leather or wood back options, as that’s limited to just the Moto X Style.

Moto Voice, Assist, Display and Actions are all still pre-installed, but will be some of the only bloatware on this new smartphone. Once we get our hands on the new Moto X Style we’ll try out all the new software, and report back in a full review.

Moto X Play

Now for the second Moto X for 2015. The Moto X Play is a slightly smaller yet thicker device, with some odd specifications and it will not be available in the United States. The Moto X Play has a smaller 5.5-inch display, but a much bigger 3,630 mAh battery.

This means it will last much longer than the Style, but it also isn’t as powerful, costs a lot less, and doesn’t have the same level of customization.

Moto X Play Specs

• 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080p Full HD Display
• 8-core Snapdragon 615 processor with 2GB of RAM
• 16 or 32GB of storage with micro-SD support
• 21 Megapixel Rear and 5 Megapixel Front Camera (Rear LED flash only)
• Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Huge 3,630 mAh battery with the world’s fastest TurboPower charging
• Dual Stereo Sound front speakers
• Aluminum Design
• Water-repellent coating
• Moto Maker customization with replaceable colored backs and flip shells (no wood, leather, or rubber)
• Not available in the United States

The Moto X Play is a rather odd device, but one we’re sure millions of buyers in the United States would love to have. It’s smaller than the Moto X Style, but slightly thicker due to having a much bigger battery. Motorola promises 48 hours of usage with that big battery. It also sounds more powerful with an 8-core processor, but the Snapdragon 615 is a budget 8-core chip and isn’t as powerful as the 6-core chip found inside the Moto X Style. It also only has 2GB of RAM, instead of 3GB. It’s smaller, cheaper, and not as powerful. Basically, it isn’t a flagship smartphone.

Buyers will get the same awesome 21 megapixel rear camera, and the same 5 MP wide-angle front camera, but the Play will not have a front-facing flash. The Play also won’t get the same level of customization, the rear camera doesn’t do 4K video or Live HDR video recording. The Moto X Play also doesn’t support the new TurboPower charging. It is TurboPower 15 compatible, but that charger isn’t included. It’s worth noting that the Moto X Style charger is a 25w charger, while the Play is only compatible with a new 15w charger.

Customization

The Moto X Play will still be customizable, but not in the same fashion as the Moto X Style. Users will be able to choose from a collection of snap-on replaceable colored backplates, as well as colored flip-cover shells, metallic accents, and engravings.

So far it looks like the Moto X Play is a slightly smaller version of the new Moto X that doesn’t have as much customization, isn’t as powerful, and will cost even less. The Moto X Style starts at $399, so we’re expecting the new Moto X Play to retail for $299 or $349, but no pricing has been announced so far.

Release Dates

The new Moto X Play will be available in August outside of the US, while the Moto X Style will be available sometime in September in the United States, starting at $399, and will be called the Moto X Pure Edition. This is all we know so far, and we’ve reached out to Motorola for more details and will update as the information is provided. This is all extremely confusing, so drop any questions in the comments below.

Motorola should have just called these the Moto G 2015, the Moto XL, and the Moto X Play. So much easier.

Moto X Style vs Moto X Play: What You Need to Know is a post by Cory Gunther from Gotta Be Mobile.

Moto X Style vs Moto X Play: What You Need to Know