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Moto X4:Motorola’s mid-range X smartphones is back with x4

Moto X4:Motorola’s mid-range X smartphones is back with x4.
Motorola has revived the Moto X

The Moto X used to be the best phone you could get with a Motorola badge on the back, but since Lenovo took charge and introduced the mod-tactic Moto Z, the X has been all but abandoned.

That changed at IFA this week, when Moto revealed the X4 - a modern, mid-range twist on the old X formula, with hardware and design choices inspired by both the more expensive Moto Z, and the more wallet-friendly Moto G.





So is it the just-right porridge of Goldilocks’ dreams? Or does a few years away mean Lenovo has let the recipe go cold? Here’s what I think after a short play with the X4 at Berlin’s premier tech trade show.

Motorola will have five phone ranges on shelves before the end of 2017. We've already seen the new Moto G5 range, Moto C range, Moto E range, as well as the Moto Z2 Play and Moto Z2 Force, but the Moto X has also made a comeback.

The Moto X took a step aside in 2016 to make way for the Moto Z flagships, but now Motorola has brought it back as a sub-flagship device. The last incarnation of the Moto X we saw was in 2015 with the Moto X Force, the Moto X Play and Moto X Style.

In 2017 however, Motorola has released just one Moto X model, the fourth-generation Moto X4. Here is everything you need to know about the device.





Motorola Moto X4: Design

The Moto X4 has an anodised metal subframe with a 3D contoured glass body, giving it a shiny finish that is different to other Moto devices we have seen this year. It comes with an IP68 water and dust rating, which not even the Moto Z2 Force offers and despite its shiny finish, it doesn't pick up fingerprints too badly.

Measuring 148.4 x 73.4 x 7.99mm and weighing 163g, the Moto X4 has slim bezels either side of the display and larger bezels at the top and bottom, meaning it doesn't follow the same path as the likes of the LG V30 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 with an all-screen front.


A physical home button is positioned beneath the display of the Moto X4, incorporating a fingerprint sensor, while the rear sees the signature batwing "M", as many Moto fans will now expect, along with a raised circular camera housing that features dual-lenses and a flash.

The dual-LED flash sits above the lenses and there is a textured trim around the circumference of the camera module. The Moto X4 also has antenna lines at the top and bottom, cutting through the frame though thankfully, they stay away from the rear for a seamless finish across the back.



Below the display sits a fingerprint scanner, but we've yet to try it out to see how accurate it is. Around the edges of the phone you'll also find a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB-C port for charging, while the right side of the phone is home to the power and volume buttons.












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Motorola Moto X4:Display

The Moto X4 has a 5.2-inch AMOLED display, protected by LTPS IPS Corning Gorilla Glass. Given the X4 isn't a flagship device, it has a Full HD display which results in a pixel density of 424ppi, putting it in the same playing field as the likes of the OnePlus 5.

There is no Mobile HDR or any other fancy technology like an edge-to-edge screen, but AMOLED technology means rich and vibrant colours, along with deep blacks so the Moto X4 should offer a punchy screen that also does well on battery life.





The Moto X4 has the trio of Android softkeys on the display, as we've seen on previous Motorola phones and other Android devices, but the home button beneath the display also offers swipe-based gesture controls for navigating through the system and software.


That display is a Full HD resolution and seemed both clear and bright in our intial testing. It won't blow you away like the Samsung Galaxy S8 as it has bezels and isn't as high resolution, but it still looks great.

Colours are vibrant and contrast really is very good. You won’t notice the individual pixels with the panel stretched over 5.2in, and you won’t need giant hands to hold it comfortably either. 




Motorola Moto X4:Performance

The X4 isn’t going to break any benchmark records, but a Snapdragon 630 and 3GB of RAM .It’s a sensible pairing with the 1080p screen, where only more demanding games will drop frame rates. By not making pixel count a priority, battery life should be pretty decent too. The 3000mAh cell will probably survive a full day of use, but it can Turbo Charge over USB-C if you’re running short.32GB of on-board storage is also par for the course in a mid-ranger right now, but at least you get a microSD card slot for adding more space later, should you find yourself short.

Under the hood there's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset with either 3GB of RAM or 4GB depending on what version you buy. We haven't had much experience with that configuration on other devices, but the 4GB version seemed snappy under the finger in our limited testing. 



You'll have the choice of either 32GB or 64GB of storage up for grabs. It's running Android 7 software, but we'd expect Motorola to push Android Oreo to this in the near future.

Plus this is the first Motorola device to come out with Amazon Alexa integration. You can use both Google Assistant and Alexa interchangeably, so you'll have the choice of what voice assistant you want to prioritize.





Motorola Moto X4:Software

The Moto X4 launches on Android Nougat 7.1 software, with a couple of pre-loaded Motorola apps over the top, delivering a close to pure Android experience.

Motorola traditionally doesn't use as much bloatware as the likes of LG or Sony, meaning it tends to get quicker updates to the latest Android software builds so it is likely an update to the newly-released Android Oreo isn't too far off.



The Moto X4 will offer Moto Display, Moto Voice, Moto Actions and Moto Key as part of the Moto experiences. It is the second device to offer Moto Key, following the Moto Z2 Force, allowing users to unlock additional devices, such as your laptop, using the fingerprint scanner.

There is also a new Wireless Sound System setting (hidden within the settings) which can connect the device to up to five Bluetooth devices simultaneously.

The Moto X4 also has Amazon Alexa integration and Google Assistant integration, on top of Moto's own Moto Voice assistant.





Motorola Moto X4:Camera

The dual cameras are housed in a large raised circle on the rear, which is also becoming standard across the Moto lineup. The edges have a pattern that's meant to look like a watch dial. One of these cameras has a 12-megapixel sensor with dual-autofocus pixels and an f2.0 aperture. The other has an 8-megapixel sensor and wide 120-degree field of view. The dual-LED flash can fire with different colour temperatures depending on the scene you're shooting. The front camera has a 16-megapixel sensor and f2.0 aperture. There's also a 4-megapixel adaptive low-light mode which trades resolution for sensitivity.

Moto showed off a number of its camera app enhancements including the ability to switch between lenses, add depth effects, and capture shots in monochrome with a single spot colour left intact. The app can recognise landmarks and objects, and then show links to relevant shopping and Wikipedia pages. 




The Moto X4 has a dual camera system, with both lenses inside a circular module on the rear like the recently launched Moto Z2 Force. The dual-lens camera comes complete with a Colour Correlated Temperature dual-LED flash, also built into the circular camera module.

Phase detection autofocus is on board the Moto X4, along with professional mode, depth detection and depth effects and selective focus. There is also a selective black and white feature and a background replacement feature on board too, though both of these are in beta phase at the moment.





Motorola Moto X4:Battery life

The battery is a non-removable 3,000 mAh, which Moto describes as being capable of providing power “all day.” It charges via USB-C, with TurboPower, which means six hours of power is achievable with just 15 minutes of charging time. We’ll run full battery tests on the X4 when we get it back to the Tech Advisor labs to find out how accurate these claims are.



Additional features include a fingerprint sensor built in to the home button, as well as NFC and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Something that we’re really interested to try is the Moto X4’s ability to pair with up to four Bluetooth speakers at once, which means you’ll be able to place even the most miss-matched speakers around a room and stream music to all of them simultaneously. It also allows volume control for each speaker individually.





Conclusion

The Moto X4 all adds up with good spec, an impressively low price point and a very interesting design. Some will be disappointed with the lack of Moto Mods, but this should appeal if you want something with slightly more power than a Moto G5.

Waterproofing, the multi-speaker Bluetooth capabilities and the dual lens camera sets this apart from rivals, and we like the 5.2in screen size for comfort and practicality.
Although the X4 doesn’t sit neatly in Motorola’s established E, G, Z smartphone lines, it feels like a decent mid-range handset.

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