Moto X (2nd generation)

The second generation Moto X, marketed as moto X and referred to in the media as Moto X (2014), is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Released on September 5, 2014, it is the successor to the original Moto X released in 2013. It was succeeded by the third generation Moto X Style and Play family, announced on July 29, 2015.

The second generation model improves on the original model with a higher quality design incorporating a metal frame and optional leather or wood rear covers, along with improved internal specifications such as a quad-core processor and 1080p display.

Specs

Hardware

The second generation Moto X has a design similar to the previous model with a curved rear, but now features an aluminium frame, a front-facing mono speaker, and a set of infrared motion sensors. Its internal hardware was also upgraded, incorporating a 1080p Super AMOLED pentile display, a 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 system-on-chip with 2 GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera with support for recording 4K resolution video and as well as slow-motion video, and 16, 32, or 64 GB of internal storage. The 13-megapixel rear-facing camera is encircled with a clear ring that houses its pair of LED flashes; the ring generates light refraction, which is intended to improve flash performance.

As with the previous model, users will be able to custom-order a Moto X with their choice of colors for the front cover glass (black or white), speaker/microphone grilles, and the rear cover—including plastic, wood, and, new for the second generation model, leather materials provided by the Horween Leather Company via Motorola's Motomaker website. in May 2014, Motorola announced it would close the Fort Worth plant it had used to construct Moto X smartphones domestically due to high operational costs. Similarly to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s, the frame of the phone serves as its antenna; the device optimizes antenna usage to ensure that it does not lose cellular reception if it is held in certain ways.

Software

The second generation Moto X ships with Android 4.4.4 "KitKat", using a mostly stock user experience with additional proprietary software features; the voice-activated personal assistant Moto Voice (formerly Touchless Control) now includes additional commands (such as those for launching selected apps, providing instructions for navigating to a location, toggling sleep mode by saying "Good morning", taking selfies, etc.) and the ability to change the spoken phrase used to open the assistant. The device's infrared sensors can be used for motion-activated gestures, such as invoking Moto Display (formerly Active Notifications) when the phone is sleeping, and for dismissing alarms and incoming calls. The camera software incorporates a "best shot" mode, a voice-activated shutter, along with a "Highlight Reel" generator.

An update to Android 5.0 "Lollipop" was released in November 2014.
Android 5.0 Lollipop was released on November 3, 2014 to a somewhat rocky launch. Several bugs involving cell connection issues, wi-fi connection issues, premature battery drain, and severe app lag plagued the early adopters on Nexus, LG, and Motorola devices. Google quickly released a patch to fix what was thought to be the most pressing issues, bringing Lollipop to version 5.0.1. A new patch update (5.0.2) was later released to the Moto X.

In April 2015 an update to Android 5.1 was announced for XT1095 models. On November 12, 2015, Motorola started the rollout of its first Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" update for Moto X (2nd Gen) units in Brazil and India, following which OTA began rolling out in other countries.

Reception

The second generation Moto X has been critically praised by many reviewers. Dan Seifert of The Verge called the second generation Moto X “The best Android smartphone ever made”. Many reviewers also lauded the improved build and design of the phone in comparison to the first generation Moto X. Chris Velazco of Engadget writes that “The new Moto X feels a thousand times better than last year's model, and is easily the most comfortable phone current-gen smartphone I've picked up yet.” The phone's improved specifications in comparison to its predecessor, most notably the use of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC and its 1080p FHD Super AMOLED panel (in contrast to the 2013 Moto X's 720p HD display) addressing the previous criticisms that the Moto X was under-powered compared to other 2013 flagship devices.

Many reviews also commended the Moto X's software for speedy performance and useful additions to Google's stock Android operating system.

Criticisms of the phone primarily focused on the phone's mediocre camera image quality and battery life when compared to other 2014 flagship smartphones.

Variants

The 2nd Gen Moto X has several variants to support 3G and 4G networks of different carriers:

All variants support the four 2G GSM bands 850/900/1800/1900.

Motorola has stated that there will not be a version for Sprint in the U.S.

References

{{Motorola phones

Android (operating system) devices
Motorola smartphones
Mobile phones introduced in 2014
Discontinued flagship smartphones