Al eyes are on Motorola right now with the impending release of their first Google-influenced smartphone. As details for this smartphone leak, it looks like it will rely on unique features instead of raw hardware to set it apart from the rest of the Android-powered pack. We know the phone is coming soon, and now we know a little bit of what that looks like under the hood.
While it’s not entirely accurate to say that specs don’t matter, it is absolutely true that right now a smartphone lives or dies by the unique features that are able to be offered. Whether it is the iOS ecosystem, the Ultrapixel camera with BoomSound, or the GS4’s user level control of battery and storage capacity, it’s the features offered by a phone that are causing buyers to take notice. Motorola’s upcoming smartphone has the benefit of being built collaboratively with Google engineers and product managers who have been hands-on with the evolution of Android so far. They’ve done their research and think the Moto X is the way to go.
According to Twitter power-leaker EVLeaks the Moto X will sport a 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro with 2GB of RAM and a 720p display. If this sounds like previous generation hardware, that’s because it is. A dual-core processor with a 720p display makes the Moto X an easy target for gearheads who stand at the ready with benchmark apps in hand to see how this phone stacks up to the competition.
These specs are a little confusing given CEO Dennis Woodside’s comment about the phone having two processors to take care of the power consumption issue. It seems unlikely that he was just teasing that the phone would be dual-core, but that’s certainly possible.
There’s also, apparently, 16GB of internal storage, with no mention of removable storage or a 32GB model. Toss a 10MP rear shooter and a 2MP front-facing camera in what has been rumored to be a 4.3-inch frame, and you’ve got a rough idea of what the Moto X is going to look like on paper.
Based on the statements made by Motorola so far, the Moto X is looking to deliver a phone that fits well in the hand, has great battery life, and contains some unique sensors to offer contextual features that no one else is offering right now. If this hardware profile is accurate, Motorola would be in a great position to offer great battery life, and a 4.3-inch phone would be pretty much exactly how most people describe a good one hand phone. The ability to know when you’re driving, or a continued focus towards Google Now style phone automation on a mostly vanilla Android experience would be pretty much exactly what we’d expect from Motorola right now.
If Motorola was able to release this phone, manufactured in the US, on every carrier, at a price that dramatically undercuts the current generation of superphones, the Moto X is absolutely something worth keeping an eye on. Motorola plans to officially announce this phone before the end of Summer, with an on shelf date shortly after.