Motorola Moto X (2014) review: Have it your way

Performance

The new Motorola Moto X packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974-AC with 2.5GHz quad-core CPU. The GPU is Adreno 330, clocked at 578MHz. The device's silicon is the default setup for most Android smartphone flagships this year, and has already proven to be a solid performer.

GeekBench and AnTuTu showcase the raw CPU power of a smartphone. The new Moto X did great on both occasions.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 4
  3175
• Oppo Find 7a
  3093
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  3011
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  2984
• Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  2970
• Sony Xperia Z2
  2856
• LG G3
  2687
• LG Nexus 5
  2453
• HTC One (M8)
  2367
• Motorola Moto X
  2123

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• HTC One (E8)
  46857
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  46566
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  45660
• HTC One (M8)
  44020
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  43676
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  43164
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  19912

We tried out the anti-cheat version of the popular Basemark OS II benchmark and we found that the Moto X doesn't use any tricks to climb up the score table.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• LG G3
  12436
• HTC One (M8)
  12396
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  12190
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  11855
• LG Nexus 5
  11638
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  1066

Basemark OS II (single-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7a
  2580
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  2573
• HTC One (M8)
  2428
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  2415
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  2499
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  2409
• Sony Xperia Z2
  2253
• LG G3
  1787

Basemark OS II (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  10320
• Oppo Find 7a
  10256
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  10063
• Sony Xperia Z2
  10044
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  9948
• HTC One (M8)
  9860
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  9508
• LG G3
  8337

Adreno 330 is widespread GPU core, embedded within the Snapdragon 800 and Snapdragon 801 chipsets. It runs on a higher frequency over the S801. The benchmark results of the Moto X are on par with similarly equipped devices.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  28.4
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.4
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  27.8
• LG G3
  27.6
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  27.6
• Sony Xperia Z2
  27.2
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  27
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  26.6
• LG Nexus 5
  23
• Motorola Moto X
  16

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  30.1
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  29
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.8
• Sony Xperia Z2
  28.7
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  28.3
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  28.2
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  28.1
• LG Nexus 5
  24
• LG G3
  20.6

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  12
• LG G3
  11.9
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  11.8
• Sony Xperia Z2
  11.7
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  11.6
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  11.4
• HTC One (M8)
  11.1

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  13
• Sony Xperia Z2
  12.2
• HTC One (M8)
  11.9
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  11.9
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  11.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  11.3
• LG G3
  7.4

BrowserMark 2.1 tests HTML 5 performance, while Mozilla's Kraken 1.1 is JavaScript-centric. The new Moto X set both benchmarks on fire.

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  6043
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  6137
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  6260
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  6209
• Oppo Find 7a
  6660
• Sony Xperia Z2
  7041
• LG Nexus 5
  7148
• LG G3
  7610
• HTC One (M8)
  10296

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  1600
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  1562
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  1398
• Oppo Find 7a
  1327
• LG Nexus 5
  1286
• LG G3
  1254
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1224
• HTC One (M8)
  1069
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  744

Overall, the hardware performance of the new Moto X met our expectations. The device is as powerful as just about any Android flagship out there - it handled any task we threw at it without breaking a sweat.