Moto X Style 2015 (Pure Edition) Hands-on: First Impressions on Release Day
The 2015 Motorola Moto X, alternately known as the "Style" or "Pure Edition" depending on which country you live in, hit its release date on Tuesday, and Latin Post got a handset to review on day one. After unboxing, activating, and migrating to the latest, third-generation flagship from Motorola, here are our first impressions.
What's in the Box?
The first thing you notice when getting the 2015 Moto X Pure Edition is that the box it comes in is big -- about twice the width of the tall boxes most smartphones are packaged in.
Opening it up, you immediately get the impression that, even though this is a smartphone being sold starting at $400 unlocked -- putting it closer, price-wise, to the "mid-tier" category -- Motorola wants you to know you're getting a brand new, premium device. It's presented in a thoughtful fashion similar to an iPhone.
The Moto X Pure Edition comes with a SIM card tray-opening pin, a Motorola Turbo Charger, and a plastic "bumper" case, all included in the box.
The Turbo Charger leaves me with mixed feelings. The 2014 Moto X only came with a standard charger, but that had a power adapter that was perfectly (and considerately) designed with a small footprint, so that it wouldn't block any other outlets on the wall or power strip. It even included an extra USB port to plug in a second device.
This charger is a one-piece adapter-and-cable, but with the same large Turbo Charger adapter box that came with the Nexus 6. When plugged in, it will definitely void the outlet next to it, and there's no separating the USB cable.
However, as someone who has a dozen cables and adapters, but can seemingly never keep the two together, I could see an advantage in the one-piece scheme, and obviously, the fact that Motorola included the right equipment to take advantage of the "fastest charging smartphone in the world" is great.
The "bumper" case, on the other hand, is more of an oddity than a great accessory. The clear plastic rim fits around the outside edge of the Moto X, providing more grip without obscuring the custom back panel you're undoubtedly going to want to show off.
But given Motorola's efforts to make it clear that the 2015 Moto X is "premium," the bumper case seems like a misstep, or at least an accessory I'm not likely to use -- unless it actually protects the screen from cracking from edge-on drops, a notorious weakness of the 2014 Moto X. We'll see.
The Moto X Pure Edition: The First Day
Setup was fast, thanks to Moto Migrate, a phone-switching program that's much more thorough and works more reliably than Google's own Tap and Go setup program.
Migrate moves not only your apps, but your messaging history, call history, and other built-up phone data in just a few minutes. It also works moving from iOS to the Moto X, while Tap and Go is for Android Lollipop devices only.
Speaking of setup, I opted for 64GB of internal storage. I wouldn't recommend anything below 32GB, even with the new option for 128GB of microSD expansion. (I also ordered the custom Ebony wood back, which I would recommend -- or any wood option.)
It was great to download all my apps and data, and see that I still had over 80 percent of internal storage free. And with the microSD expansion, I might even be able to tote around my entire personal music collection for the first time since the 3rd generation iPod. Speaking of freedom, I can't wait to pop in any SIM card I want -- be it AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Google Fi (possibly) -- and go.
After setup, my first hands-on with the Moto X was surprising. The phone is thicker than I expected and felt heavier than the Nexus 6. It isn't, but it felt compact, densely constructed, and weighty. Some might call that the "premium" feel, but it makes me a little worried about how much wandering (or falling out) the Moto X might do when placed in looser pockets, like those of gym shorts or suit pants.
On the other hand, I was worried about how Motorola up-sized the phone from 5.2-inches to 5.7-inches, but I shouldn't have been.
The majority of the phone's up-sized dimensions from last year went into the height, rather than the width of the phone, and it's surprisingly still comfortable to use one-handed. Of course, this experience will vary from person to person.
Still, it helps that the bezels on the sides of the screen are micro-thin, and I could easily reach the opposite side of the screen without adjustments. The Moto X also managed to pass the most important smartphone reachability test: I could pull down the notifications panel from the very top of the screen without juggling my grip at all.
Final Thoughts
Camera tests, fiddling with the front-facing selfie flash, and a long-term review under heavy use as my daily driver is yet to come, so stay tuned for that.
Did I mention this phone is beautiful?