Though interestingly not live streamed, Motorola released its new Moto X smartphone this afternoon. The highly-anticipated flagship by Google’s Motorola has taken the internet by storm as of late with leaked specs and photos emerging seemingly daily (intentionally or not). But now that the wait is over and the debut has taken place, here’s everything you need to know about the Moto X’s specs, launch, and price.
During the 3pm ET launch time, Motorola posted a number of in-depth specs on its website. The Moto X will likely be sold by all the major U.S carriers by late August at the earliest and due to the customization capabilities, there are over 500 different variants users can opt for. Let’s start with the backplate.
The kevlar backplate will be available in 18 different colors in a bright and wide spectrum of colors. The bezel is extremely thin so it’s almost as if the 4.7-inch AMOLED 720p display connects directly to the fortified synthetic rear cover.
The weight to strength ratio is bolstered by the kevlar as the Moto X weighs in at a light and hand 130g. Dimensions of the Motorola handset are 129.3mm x 65.3mm.
The battery is impressive and clocks in at 2200mAh which allows for up to 13 hours of talking time or 24 hours of mixed usage. All will run on Android’s 4.2.2 version of Jelly Bean, an interesting move by Motorola since Google just released Android 4.3, though they’ll likely make an update available to users. All will be processed using a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor.
The gadget will come with two standard cameras, a front-facing 10mp CLEAR PIXEL lens with 1080p video and LED flash as well as a 2mp front-facing 1080p HD video camera.
As for internal tech, the Moto X will be available in two internal storage variants, 16GB and 32GB depending on how much storage the user needs and how much they’re willing to pay for it– $199 for 16GB and $249 for 32GB. 2GB will be onboard for RAM upping the seamless multitasking and swift miscellaneous smartphone usage. Wifi, Bluetooth, and 4G LTE connectivity are included.
Convenient features include voice-recognition with Google’s “Okay Google Now” vocal cues as well as a near-stock Android UI for user-friendly navigation and functionality. Carriers like AT&T will likely tailor the respective Moto Xs they carry to put their own touch on the phone.
While all of this seems like a simple, mid-range device, both Google and Motorola aren’t worried about competing with those with all sorts of bells and whistles like Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S4. According to The Verge, “The company thinks we’ll stop being concerned with cores, and gigabytes, and megapixels, and that we’ll start caring about how our phones feel, how they make our lives easier, and, maybe most importantly, how long they last.”
