Motorola's latest flagship, the Moto X Pure Edition (or Moto X Style as it is known globally) launches this month. It starts at $400 and because it is compatible with networks that operate on either the GSM or CDMA standard, it should work on nearly every carrier.
Though not as big as the 6-inch Google Nexus 6, which is also made by Motorola, the device's screen
has jumped from a 5.2-inch 1,080p display to a 5.7-inch 1,440p display.
Unlike
its cheaper Moto G counterpart that came out this year, the phone is not submersible
underwater. It is water-repellent, though, so you don't have to worry
about a few droplets of water here and there.
Bucking the current trend of mobile flagships, the Moto X Pure Edition has a MicroSD card slot so you can expand its
storage up to 128GB on top of the 16, 32 or 64GB of internal storage it
already comes with.
The device has dual front speakers -- as in both speakers will output audio
for music and movies (though only the bottom grille will output phone
calls on speaker), resulting in a louder and fuller experience.
The
phone ships with Google Android 5.1.1 and unlike what the name suggests, it doesn’t
exactly deliver the purest Android experience compared with Google's Nexus line,
but it comes pretty close.
There's
no heavy-handed manufacturer user interface – just Google apps and Motorola’s familiar
software suite, which includes Moto Actions, Voice and more.
Camera
specs have been bumped to 21-megapixel on the back. In addition to still being
able to shoot 4K video, there is now a night mode for snapping pics in
low-light situations.
All in all, the Moto X Pure Edition is a reliable and quality-built
device. But the competition is fierce these days when it comes to powerful and inexpensive unlocked handsets. For more information, click here for all of CNET's reviews of Motorola phones.
