Moto X Style and Moto G (3rd gen) hands-on: First look

Introduction

The Moto X and Moto G are the names that brought Motorola back in the game, winning quite a lot of fans in the process. They have just reached their third generation and Motorola is sticking to its established formula for success - pure-Android approach, excellent handling and a nice little extra here and there.

Motorola managed to create a signature touch of its own, while staying as close to pure Google intentions as possible. This, combined with timely software updates has earned the company a number.

The Moto G is the device that redefined the idea of what is possible in the low-end price bracket. The first gen of the handset proved definitively that a budget-friendly phone can deliver solid smartphone experience without any major compromises.

Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) at a glance

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, quad-band UMTS/HSPA, 150 Mbps Cat.4 LTE
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 141.5 x 70.7 x 11 mm, 149g.
• Display: 5.0" 16M colors 720 x 1280 pixels capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 and ~294 ppi //todo check
• CPU: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53
• GPU: Adreno 306
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410
• RAM: 1/2GB
• OS: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Memory: 8/16GB storage
• Cameras: Primary 13 megapixel auto-focus camera, HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging, dual-LED, dual-tone flash; Secondary 5MP front-facing camera;
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack
• Battery capacity: 2,470 mAh.

People have even higher expectations for the Moto X to deliver top-notch performance, stability and excellent handling, coupled with a clean Android experience. The lineup was initially best known for its unmatched customization options thanks to the Moto Maker, but with the last Nexus going for the less-than-mainstream 6" display size also became the go-to powerful pure Android for many.

Motorola threw in an interesting surprise this year, as the Moto X now has not one, but two successors - the Moto X Style and Moto X Play. The pair looks similar enough in terms of style and exterior, but hardware differences are pretty big and each has its own niche. While the Moto X Style is aiming for top-level performance, the X Play is all about battery life - a long-overdue response to all those that wanted to see the Maxx lineup go global.

Motorola Moto X Style at a glance:

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, six-band UMTS/HSPA, 300 Mbps Cat.6 LTE
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 153.9 x 76.2 x 11.1 mm
• Display: 5.7" 16M-color 1440 x 2560 pixels capacitive touchscreen LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 and ~520 ppi
• CPU: Dual-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A57 and Dual-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53
• GPU: Adreno 418
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8992 Snapdragon 808
• RAM: 3GB
• OS: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Memory: 32/64GB storage
• Cameras: Primary 21 megapixel phase detection auto-focus camera, auto-HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging, dual-LED dual-tone flash; 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps; Secondary 5MP front-facing camera with FullHD video capture and front--facing flash;
• Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, wireless screen sharing (Miracast protocol)
• Other: Water repellant nano-coating (IP52 certified); Fast battery charging; Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Battery capacity: 3000 mAh.

To quickly outline the differences - Moto X Play comes with a smaller 5.5" 1080p screen and the mid-range Snapdragon 615 chipset. It also sports a larger 3,630mAh battery, which combined with the less demanding screen and internals should make it last a whole lot longer. And, of course the Moto X Play is $100 cheaper, which makes the performance downgrade much easier to live with.

Motorola Moto X Play at a glance

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, five-band UMTS/HSPA, 150 Mbps Cat.4 LTE
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 148 x 75 x 10.9 mm
• Display: 5.5" 16M-color 1080 x 1920 pixels capacitive touchscreen LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 and ~403 ppi
• CPU: Quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 and quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53
• GPU: Adreno 405
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615
• RAM: 2GB
• OS: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Memory: 32/64GB storage
• Cameras: Primary 21 megapixel auto-focus camera, auto-HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging, dual-LED dual-tone flash; 1080p@30fps; Secondary 5MP front-facing camera with FullHD video capture;
• Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, wireless screen sharing (Miracast protocol)
• Other: Water repellant nano-coating (IP52 certified); Fast battery charging; Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Battery capacity: 3630 mAh

Join us on the next two pages as we take the Moto G (3rd gen) and Moto X Style for a spin. Unfortunately, the Moto X Play wasn't present at the announcement event, so we couldn't spend any quality time with it.