Hands-on review: Yotaphone 2

Introduction and design

We've had the Yotaphone 2 for over a week and we're putting the finishing touches to our full review. In the meantime take a look through our extensive hands on.

It's not often you come across a truly unique device in the smartphone market, but the Yotaphone 2 is exactly that. Unique.

From the front it looks like any other Android smartphone, but flip it over and you're greeted with a second, all-touch display - only it's an E-Ink screen similar to those found on ereaders.

The Yotaphone 2 is the Russian brand's second entry into the market following on from the original, proof of concept, Yotaphone which launched in 2013 and aimed squarely at early adopters.

This time round Yota Devices means business. This is a global device aimed at the average consumer rather than those sitting at the forefront of technology. It's even opened a dedicated store in London to really drive home the intent.

The Yotaphone 2 release date is December 4, where it goes on sale in over 20 countries, with Asia Pacific and China joining the party in early Q1 of 2015, and the US, Canada and Latin America towards the end of the same quarter.

Fitting two screens into one device no thicker than 9mm while overcoming potential heat sync issues was no mean feat and the Yotaphone 2 carries a price tag which reflects the engineering complexity of its design.

SIM-free it'll set you back £555 (around $870, AU$1035), which places it up there with the top smartphones of the moment including the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z3.

There's a decent level of tech included though, with a full HD 5-inch AMOLED display, 4.7-inch E-Ink rear screen, 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, 8MP rear camera and 2.1MP front snapper.

Place the Yotaphone 2 face up (coloured screen up) on a table and it looks like any run of the mill Android - there's no indication of what lies on the other side.

There's no logo or navigation keys below the screen, and its rounded design reminds me of a cross between the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Nexus.

It's simple, yet I'm oddly drawn to the clean, fuss free design. With Gorilla Glass 3 front and back it feels supremely solid and the plastic frame which runs round the circumference has a textured rubberised feel providing a welcome level of grip.

The power/lock and volume keys are on the right side of the Yotaphone 2, and both fall nicely under thumb/finger during one handed operation.

The volume key has a pretty neat party trick which it's learnt from its predecessor - it doubles as the nanoSIM tray.

Your standard SIM tool won't be long enough to dislodge it from the handset though, you'll have to use Yota's elongated tool which arrives in the box, or in my case a slender paper clip.

There is a fear that if used frequently you could end up damaging the volume keys and/or SIM tray, but for most users it's unlikely that you'll access the SIM particularly often.

The handset is only a touch taller than the Galaxy S5 (142mm) and not as wide, while the metal framed Lumia 930 is wider (71mm), thicker (9.8mm) and heavier (167g) than the 145g Yotaphone.

Considering it's packing two fully touchscreen displays the fact Yotaphone 2 is just 8.95mm thick is impressive and the 144.9 x 69.4mm body means it sits comfortably in the hand.

It's a vast improvement on the blocky original Yotaphone, and the positioning of the rear camera clearly trumps the bottom corner location of its predecessor.

I'm not talking iPhone 6 levels of quality and premium appeal here, but pick up the Yotaphone 2 and it feels like a well made piece of kit rather than a cheap knockoff from a brand you've hardly heard of.

Unsurprisingly you can't take the back off this phone thanks to the fact there's a screen in the way, so the 2500mAh battery is locked away. That shouldn't be a huge issue though, as one of the key reasons there's an E-Ink screen in play here is to suck less battery during mundane tasks such as texting, reading and updating social media.

There's also the dedicated YotaEnergy power saving mode to help extend battery life further, but more on that later in this review.

The dual screen setup means the speaker is shunted to the base of the handset, with a centralised microUSB port for company making for a tidy setup. Meanwhile the headphone jack is the only feature on the top edge.

With 32GB of internal storage there's enough space to store a decent number of apps, games, movies and music, but power users may be disappointed to learn there's no microSD slot to expand on this.

However the main attraction here is that rear E-Ink display, which is always-on and slightly curved at the edges, making the Yotaphone 2 fit more snugly into your palm when using the coloured display.

There's plenty going on with this always-on display. Want to find out what? Then head over to the next page.

The EPD: Electronic Paper Display

Round the back

Without question the biggest talking point here is the 4.7-inch EPD (Electronic Paper Display) slapped on the rear of the Yotaphone 2.

Unlike the E-Ink screen on the original Yotaphone this one is full touch, providing a lot more functionality. The resolution isn't exactly inspiring at 960 x 540, but you won't be watching movies or playing games on this side of the handset.

For text though it's perfectly acceptable and I didn't have any issues reading on this rear screen - which is really its forte.

One of the big benefits of the EPD is that it's always-on, allowing you to see vital information such as your latest notifications without even touching the device. Even when the device is powered off, you can select an image to remain on this display. Handy if you have a boarding pass or a map home, but your phone has died.

With Gorilla Glass 3 protecting the curved display you shouldn't have to fear sliding it in a pocket with keys, but to the touch it doesn't feel like glass.

While the front of the Yotaphone 2 is cool to the touch and has the tactility of glass, the rear protection here feels more like plastic.

It's not a bad feeling, but it's noticeably different. It does help to quickly recognise which side is which when you're plucking it out of a bag or pocket, allowing you to get it facing the right direction in your hand before looking at it.

Yota Devices collected feedback from everyone who purchased the first Yotaphone which it used to decide what features needed to be included in its second generation device.

To customise the EPD you'll need to head to the Yota Hub on the colour screen, where you'll be able to fiddle with your YotaCovers and YotaPanels.

Cover up

The EPD lock screen (called YotaCover) displays the number of new calls, text messages, emails and other notifications your phone has. You can also choose the picture(s) displayed as a background.

You can select photos stored on the handset, or albums from social networks including Facebook and Instagram, which will then cycle at an interval of your choosing (e.g. every 5, 10 or 30 minutes).

YotaCover can also show the details of a new message, from just the name of the sender to the message itself, or nothing at all. This allows you to tailor the information which is freely available on this screen without unlocking.

It's not a flawless system. On several occasions the message notification said I had an unread text, even though I'd already gone and read and replied to it.

Another problem which I came up against was when a text message flashed up on the rear display, but the options to reply, call or dismiss the notification from the screen refused to work and I had to restart the phone in order to clear it. The screen randomly froze one a few occasions as well - again prompting a restart.

These are hopefully simple software issues which can be fixed with an update, but as things stand at the moment they're frustrating quirks which put me off using the rear display.

To unlock the E-Ink display all you need to do is slide your finger up from the bottom of the screen and over the padlock icon - not too quickly though. You need to be relatively slow.

Most of the time this unlocked the phone first time for me, but every now and then I'd have to have three or four attempts before it understood what I was doing.

Once unlocked (and you've typed in your password if you've got one set) you'll notice a navigation bar at the bottom of the screen, with a central button which lets you flip between YotaCovers and YotaPanels.

Panel beater

If YotaCover is your lock screen, then YotaPanels are your home screens, of which you can have up to four on the Yotaphone 2.

These panels can be customised with a variety of widgets and app shortcuts - although the selection of the former is limited to what's pre-installed on the device.

The hope is more developers with code applications to play nicely with the EPD on the Yotaphone 2, but for now you can't guarantee who will make the effort.

Unless you're extremely privacy conscious I'd recommend ignoring YotaCover and sticking with YotaPanels as they offer up much more information at a glance, which you can tailor so it's relevant to you.

You can lock the EPD on a panel - just click the power/lock key on the side of the handset (it's now on the left!) and the padlock icon will show in the notification bar. A swipe up over this icon will unlock the display.

You'll need to fire up the YotaHub app on the colour screen to edit your panels, and you can choose from pre-filled templates or start with a blank slate and craft your own info screen.

Some of the more basic widgets were the ones I found to be the most useful with notification icons (calls, texts, emails and other), clock and battery status all featuring front and centre.

Swiping sideways over a panel will see you cycle through your active panels, or you can just use the arrows in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.

Widget options also include calendar, agenda, weather, key contacts and a music player - all of which provide useful information and tools while use much less power than the same tasks on the AMOLED display.

Read me

A key widget for some will be YotaRSS, allowing you to get your daily news fix delivered to the power efficient rear display of YotaPhone 2 - perfect for the morning commute.

You'll need to login to Feedly for the service to work, but once you've done that you'll get the latest headlines from your RSS feeds in an easy to use widget.

As I've already mentioned it's excellent for reading, using the same screen technology as ereaders, although I did find some ghosting occurring - especially when scrolling pages with images.

In most cases it's not bad enough to make the text unreadable, and the limitations of the E-Ink screen are partly to blame - but it is noticeable and can be a little off putting during extended use.

Reading books is another obvious advantage with the low power EPD display, and Yota reckons you can get up to 100 hours reading time from a single charge - although you'd probably have to turn off cellular data, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and not touch the colour screen at all.

You can make one of your panels a link to the book your reading for easy access, or you can mirror a third party app such as Kindle to the rear screen if you have a collection elsewhere.

Text isn't as sharp as it is on the latest fleet of ereaders, and the lack of a backlight means you can't read in the dark, but those things aside the Yotaphone 2 still offers a solid reading experience which far exceeds rival smartphones.

Key features

Up front

I've focussed heavily on the rear display of the Yotaphone 2 so far for obvious reasons, but that's not the only thing to shout about here.

The 5-inch AMOLED screen on the front isn't just an afterthought, with a full HD resolution and bright, vibrant colours making for an attractive display.

It's comfortably stands up against the displays found on the Sony Xperia Z3, Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8.

It may not be great in direct sunlight, but no phone screen is and the trump card held by the Yotaphone 2 is you can flip it over for a display which doesn't have any trouble in bright light.

In fact, with a slightly smaller display size versus some of its high-end competition, the Yotaphone 2 boasts a pixel density of 442ppi. That's a touch better than the S5 at 432ppi and the Xperia Z3 with 424ppi.

The 5-inch form factor provides enough on-screen real estate without being overbearing in the hand, and you'll be able to comfortably watch movies and play the latest games without issue.

Mirror, mirror

As well as the custom interface Yota Devices has created for its rear facing EPD, the YotaPhone 2 also lets you access the full Android interface from the front screen on the rear display.

It's a feature dubbed YotaMirror and it's super easy to engage. All you need to do is hold and slide up from the home key (the action you use to launch Google Now), but instead of dragging your finger to the Google symbol go left to mirror mode.

Flip the phone over and you'll find the full Android operating system in all its monochrome glory.

Performance is much slower due to the screen technology which needs to redraw every new screen, but it does work.

You won't be playing games or watching movies in this mode, but for updating social media or checking out websites it works well (and a little slowly) and uses less battery in the process.

Life after death

I've already mentioned briefly on the previous page that the EPD stays on even when the phone is off and out of battery.

You can't use the display when out of juice, but it can display a useful image such as a map, address or boarding pass.

The feature is called YotaSnap, and when the phone is on you can store a series of screenshots and images into a small gallery which you'll still be able to access with just a sliver of battery left in the tank.

Let the phone die though and only one will be available - and you can set a default so you don't have to remember to navigate to a particular image just before the phone switches off.

Yota clearly sings the praises of this feature, but in day to day use I found very few occasions where this would be genuinely useful. And that's a feeling I get most of the time when using the rear display - it's innovative, but I'd much rather use the more responsive and easier on the eye colour display most of the time.

Interface and performance

I've spoken a lot about the rear display on the Yotaphone 2, so in this section I'm going to concentrate more on the experience on the 5-inch, full HD AMOLED screen.

The Yotaphone 2 rocks up running Android 4.4.3 KitKat. That's not quite the latest version of KitKat (which is 4.4.4), but that's already been replaced by Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Yota Devices has confirmed that it will be bringing Lollipop to the Yotaphone 2, but there's currently no time frame for the update as extra work is required for the second screen integration.

The good news here is Android has been left alone, giving you a pure experience without a manufacturer overlay.

If you've used an Android device before you'll have no trouble picking up the Yotaphone 2 and getting to grips with it straight away.

It means you get the traditional unlock screen with a shortcut to the camera and pull down notification bar with a separate screen of quick settings. Drag down with two fingers and you'll been shown the quick settings page rather than your notifications.

Yota Devices has added a torch quick setting in here which is useful for stumbling home at 2am from a bar, plus there's a toggle for the YotaEnergy power saving mode.

As I've mentioned earlier in this review, reading a message or dismissing a notification on the rear screen doesn't always clear if from the notification bar.

On a number of occasions during my time with the Yotaphone 2 I found myself excitedly dragging down from the top of the screen to see who's just text me, only to find it's one I've already read. Sad face.

Yota has included a small selection of pre-installed applications, most of which relate to the rear display, and thus are totally acceptable.

YotaHub is your one-stop-shop for customising covers and panels on the rear display, while you also get four games (chess, checkers, sudoku and 2048) to play on the EPD (Electronic Paper Display).

The Yotaphone 2 comes with a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, which is now over a year old and has been succeeded by Qualcomm's 801 and 805 chips.

This means that the Android interface isn't quite as snappy as 2014's flagship handsets, and while it's by no means slow every now and then there's a half second load time wait.

I ran the Geekbench 3 benchmarking test on the Yotaphone 2 and after several runs it averaged a respectable 2719 for the multi-core test.

That's not quite as high as the Sony Xperia Z3 (2737), Samsung Galaxy S5 (2905) or iPhone 6 (2902), but it did beat the LG G3 (2561) while the original Yotaphone (1054) was blown out of the water.

I was able to play a variety of games without issue on the handset, and while load times may have been a touch longer than on phones packing newer processors it certainly wasn't sluggish, thanks in part to the 2GB of RAM.

Yota highlighted that it had to overcome various heat issues surrounding the processor in Yotaphone 2 thanks to the dual-screen setup making it harder for the heat to dissipate.

During my time with the handset I did find that it could heat up quite quickly during extending use - especially when playing a graphically intense game. It does get quite warm, more so than most mobiles, but not too an uncomfortable level.

Early verdict

The Yotaphone 2 is a compelling device and for those looking for something a bit different from a top of the range smartphone this is one of the most left-field options out there.

I understand the benefits of the Electronic Paper Display, but the current software is just too unstable for me to use it regularly - and that's a real shame.

If Yota can improve reliability the Yotaphone 2 could be a decent contender, although I still question just how useful the rear screen is with its slow refresh rates and limited app integration. I'd like to see a slicker interface and some big name developers really get behind it.

Ignore the rear display altogether and it's a competent Android smartphone with a decent level of power, mid-range camera and solid build.

The Yotaphone 2 is a huge leap forward from the original and it's a handset which can appeal to a wider consumer base, but ultimately it still feels like a work in progress.

Hands on gallery

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Review: UPDATED: Moto X

Introduction, display and design

Update: Moto X 2014 has been updated to Android Lollipop on a few carriers, and its prices is cheaper. Our review reflects these changes for December.

The Moto X name hasn't changed in 2014, but rest assured, this updated Android smartphone packs enough new specs to deserve its own Moto X+1 or Moto X2 title.

With a larger screen, a better but not perfect camera, surprisingly useful first-party apps and, of course deeper customization, the original Moto Maker returns with a competitive price.

It's just $99 on-contract and on sale for as little as $1, or $499 (£419.99, AU$534). Don't let Motorola's low ball price fool you either. Like its low-key name, the Moto X 2014 has a deceptive asking price.

Motorola's flagship phone is slightly bigger in every sense, enough to make it one of the best Android premium phones next to the more expensive Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8.

Availability and price

The Moto X 2nd generation launched on September 16, but that was the AT&T release date in the US. It came out for Verizon on September 26. Both carriers sold the 16GB phone on-contract for $100 and 32GB version for $150.

On sale, it's been reduced to $1 during the holidays. However, Motorola's Moto Maker website still lists the phone for the starting price of $99 and unlocked beginning at $500.

In the UK, the new Moto X GSM unlocked edition became available at the end of September for £420 through Motorola's official website. Bumping the internal storage from 16GB to 32GB takes it to £460.

Wood and leather adds to the price. Moto X 2014 with a premium back costs $425 and £439.99 for the 16GB version and $175 and £479.99 for the 32GB edition, based on the original pricing.

Android 5.0 Lollipop, announced alongside the Motorola-made Nexus 6, has arrived on Moto X, at least from some carriers. Both the unlocked version and Verizon variant benefit from this early upgrade. AT&T customers with Moto X 2nd generation have to wait for the Android Lollipop update.

Nexus 6, by comparison, has a larger 6-inch screen, a camera with optical image stabilization, dual front-facing speakers and a bigger battery. But it's also much more expensive at $650 (likely around £520) and loses that one-handed appeal.

Display

There's more to the Moto X 2014 now that the display literally measures up to its competition. It's 5.2 inches, the same size as the new Sony Xperia Z3 and a hair larger than the 5.1-inch Galaxy S5.

That's up half an inch from last year's 4.7-inch Moto X, a size that Motorola left to the likes of Apple and its, by comparison, pint-sized iPhone 6 display.

With a little reach and large enough fingers, the new Moto X is still a one-handed phone that almost ventures into two-handed territory. Yet it doesn't compromise much on the display when compared to a phablet.

It's again protected by Corning Gorilla Glass with the same AMOLED technology behind it, but the 1080p Full HD resolution makes for a much crisper screen with 423 pixels per inch. You won't want to go back to the original's 720p and 316 ppi display specs.

This sharper display is put to the test as soon as the new Moto X is booted up thanks to the bright and colorful default wallpapers that Motorola included with the handset. It really sets the tone for this premium smartphone experience, especially next to the still 720p Moto G 2014.

It stands bezel-to-bezel with the Samsung Galaxy S5 in this regard, though it lacks the Super AMOLED display. In a few cases, we found the Moto X screen harder to read outdoors. But keep in mind that Motorola has made its smartphone much cheaper than anything in its class.

The Moto X 2014 makes up for its direct sunlight shortcomings with a better way to conserve battery life by default. The return of the extremely efficient Motorola Active Display means that waving your hand over the phone or taking it out of your pocket brings up the current time and simple notification icons in white. The rest of the screen remains off. The popular, always-on microphone is here as well, giving you a way to cut to the chase with voice commands.

Tapping an Active Display icon reveals more information about the notification, like the gist of your latest emails or Hangout messages. It's a great use of AMOLED's ability to selectively light up individual pixels and it sure beats an ambiguous blinking status light on a phone.

Design

An all-new aluminum metal frame means that Moto X 2nd generation is stronger than its predecessor, not just bigger than before. Plastic is no longer binding together Motorola's flagship device. It's closer to the build material of the iPhone 5S, sturdier than the pliable iPhone 6 Plus and, most importantly, doesn't feel as cheap as the metal-looking polycarbonate Samsung Galaxy S5.

What's surprising is that despite the Moto X's naturally larger size care of the 5.2-inch display, Motorola once again used tricks to minimize the overall dimensions, and it worked in its favor. For example, there's very little bezel around the edges and the soft buttons are on-screen, as opposed to the capacitive buttons used by Samsung devices.

This makes the Moto X 2014 roughly the same size as the Galaxy S5 and, remarkably, even the iPhone 6. Its official measurements are 2.9 in (72.4 mm) x 5.5 in (140.8 mm) with a sloped 0.2 in (3.8 mm) to 0.4 in (9.9 mm) curve.

The S5's width and height are 2.9 in (72.5 mm) x 5.5 in (142 mm) with a narrower overall depth of 0.3 in (8.1 mm). iPhone 6 is nearly as big: 2.64 in (67.0 mm) x 5.44 in (138.1 mm) x 0.27 in (6.9 mm). As much as I appreciate the iPhone's home button and Touch ID, it has half an inch less screen real estate to show for its almost-as-tall dimensions.

Moto X's premium frame thins out along the corners, but forms a fairly thick bow shape at the center for a curved back. This leaves plenty of room for a top-center 3.5mm headphone jack, an adjacent nano-SIM card slot and bottom-placed micro USB port. Along the thinned-out sides, there's just enough depth for a volume rocker that's smooth and power button that's accented with ridges. This makes it easier to tell the two stainless steel buttons apart in your pocket.

Moto Maker returns with additional customizations to match the now-premium Moto X with even more personalization. Leather, for example, is now among the choices that can back your phone in one of four colors. It joins last year's four wood options and 17 plastic colors. Black or white fronts and 10 accent colors for the front-facing speaker grills and rear Motorola logo dimple round out the most pressing Moto Maker decisions.

Cradling the Moto X backed in soft leather is a delight, but it's also the most delicate material within Moto Maker. Yes, the Moto 360 smartwatch uses the same genuine leather sourced from Horween Leather Company, but the supple material bruised more easily in our pockets than on our wrists. That's what's great about Moto Maker, though. It's filled with more options than your standard one-size-fits-all smartphone in case that doesn't work for you.

Moto X weighs in at 144 grams vs last year's 139 grams. Considering the aluminum metal frame and 5.2-inch screen, that's a worthy trade-off. Of course, there are beefier specs too.

Specs, performance and interface

Moto X 2014's specs, like its larger display size, complement the fact that it's no longer the runt of the Android litter. Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor is identical to the 2.5GHz quad-core chip that's found at the heart of the LTE-equipped Galaxy S5.

Motorola also answers Samsung's graphics performance with the same Adreno 330 GPU at 578 MHz and its memory with a healthy 2GB of RAM. The new Moto X isn't an also-ran when it comes to the most important specs. It's snappy performance backs this up even when all of our favorite apps, photos and video are clogging the internal storage.

There's a caveat: you can only fill up the Moto X so much because you won't find a micro SD card slot anywhere. Expandable storage isn't a part of the Moto X like it is on the Moto G 2014 and the earlier Moto G 4G model. You'll have to contend with the 16GB and Moto Maker-exclusive 32GB internal configurations.

Also missing is any sort of fingerprint sensor, heart rate monitor (not that you really need that) and waterproof seal. It doesn't measure up to the IP67 rating of many Android smartphones, so it's not water resistant up to 30 meters for an hour. Instead, it's just "splashproof." It's more than the leather back that's delicate in wet conditions.

Moto X did get the speakers right where others often fail. Its front-facing bottom grill projected music the right way - forward - not down at the ground, and its four microphones for voice calls and noise canceling reduced background noise to appropriate levels in all our test calls.

Interface and apps

Google may have sold Motorola to Lenovo, but the company is still dedicated to providing a pure Android experience that helps its phone contrast with devices from Samsung and HTC. You won't find TouchWiz or Sense changing the experience with a wonky overlay.

Moto X's Android KitKat 4.4 interface is much the same as last year save for the Google Now Launcher, a few fresh Motorola-branded apps and some carrier-loaded bloatware depending on your provider. Once again, the aforementioned Moto Display shows up when the display is off, providing a discreet and battery-saving method of peeking at notification icons.

Moto Assist takes driving seriously by reading text messages aloud while you're on the road. It also knows when to keep quiet without disruptive noises during meetings or when you're ready for bed. The next day, it wakes up when you wake up, according to your schedule.

Moto Actions takes advantage of the Moto X's IR emitters that resemble the sensor-spotted Amazon Fire Phone. The built-in app recognizes hand motions from all directions to turn on the Moto Active Display, silence calls and a snooze alarms with a simple wave. Just hop out of the shower and want to know the time? Look no further than Moto Actions. That's really convenient for a phone that's only splashproof.

Moto Voice builds upon Google Now by letting you change the always-listening voice prompt. Instead of the "Okay Google Now" command that seemed futuristic in 2013, the new Moto X lets you use custom phrases - everything from "You there Moto X?" to "Wake up buddy!" were among the Motorola-suggested examples. But I preferred the Motorola staffer / X-Men fan who used the prompt, "Okay Professor X" to get things started. And, again, unlike Siri, there's no need to hold down a button or have the phone plugged in to get the attention of Moto Voice.

Outside of the main Moto suite is Connect, a way to bridge the messaging gap between your Moto X smartphone and computer. It delivers text messages to a Chrome browser extension, though not as reliably as third-party apps like MightyText. I'm still hoping that Google one day brings SMS to Hangouts on a PC. Apple aced this with iMessages among its device owners two years ago and is further building upon it (by relaying all texts) with Mac OS X Yosemite and iOS 8. Connect is hopefully a stopover to something broader from Google.

Everything else about Motorola's Android KitKat 4.4 setup is untouched next to the Nexus 5, and for the most part, this pure interface is really appealing. It does mean that Google's quick settings for brightness, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are buried behind one and two extra steps compared to what Samsung's pull-down menu. I really hate having to adjust the brightness outside with an swipe down, a poke at the left quick settings button, a stab in the dark at the brightness grid label and a feel for the brightness slider. Even with this, pure Android a lighter and cleaner alternative in all other cases.

Camera

Moto X 2014 can't pull off "premium" without a vastly improved camera considering last year's middling snapper. Motorola bumps the specs to 13 megapixels, up from the 10-megapixel rear camera that proved extremely inconsistent 12 months ago.

With a 13MP sensor that's identical to many of today's Android smartphones, the new Moto X took much sharper pictures than its predecessor. It also put the autofocus in the right place more times than not. That's not to say that its performance was flawless or as responsive as the speedier LG G3, but I walked away with higher-resolution photos and subjects in focus without the need to plead for retakes. It's a step in the right direction for Motorola.

The default camera app is simple and straightforward like last year, offering a tap-to-snap touchscreen shutter button, Auto HDR and Panorama. The controls are hidden to the left, while swiping right explores the gallery. What's interesting here is that Motorola's software tries to pick out the best pictures via its Highlight Reel functionality. It's not always perfect, but it does weed out blurry shots and handily group images for a quick comparison.

Keep in mind that Moto X's stripped-down manual focus and exposure options may make you leap for third-party alternatives in the Google Play Store, but Motorola's camera app is the only one that opens with two twists of a the wrist. Even if you don't use the default app all of the time, this shortcut makes for easy to capture photos in a minimal amount of time.

The 13-megapixel camera is accompanied by a unique-sounding ring flash, which essentially means the lens is flanked by two LED flash bulbs. The right and left lights do an admirable job brightening up subjects to balance shots, but approaching subjects too closely still results in overblown pictures.

When the Moto X gets things right colors temperature are oversaturated and pushed to the extreme on the equally saturated AMOLED. It's vibrate-looking, though not true to life in all cases. Selfies are best shot with the front-facing camera that's 2 megapixels and doesn't have a flash even if you want one.

Both cameras can shoot 1080p HD video, but only the rear-facing camera is capable of slow motion video at 120fps and Ultra HD video quality at 30fps. The pixels extend to 2160p, which means Motorola is now welcomed into the 4K smartphone capture club. Whether or not you really want to use up your limited internal storage for such video files is up to you.

Camera samples

Battery life

The new Moto X has a 2300 mAh battery backing up its larger screen, which is bigger than the 2200mAh battery found in last year's model. That seems better on paper until you realize that the 5.2-inch screen requires more power throughout the day. Throughout our testing the new Moto X lasted us 24 hours with mixed use.

That's enough to plug it in at night without fail, but not as long-lasting as something like the Galaxy S5 with a 2800mAh battery. Motorola does benefit from the AMOLED Active Display because checking the time and notifications doesn't light up the entire screen. It also doesn't accidentally light up in this mode when face down or in a pocket.

The company's Moto 360 smartwatch has a significantly shorter battery life of less than a day and it's yet another thing to charge. However, also shored up our notification-checking addiction on the Moto X 2014 and ultimately helped the battery last even longer than 24 hours some days.

When battery life is critical, though, it's Samsung that swoops in with its Ultra Power Saving mode. It can be a real battery life-saver. Motorola's 10% is the same as its 90%. You also won't find a backward compatible micro USB 3.0 connection on the Moto X for faster charging and transfers, as seen in the Note 3 and S5.

Motorola does sell a Turbo Charger that can add an impressive eight hours of battery life in just 15 minutes thanks to Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 technology. Its ideal for juicing up during work breaks in the day and layovers at the airport, but it's not something you'll get out of the box.

It costs $35 (about £21, AU$40) through Motorola's Moto Maker store, unlike the Nexus 6 and Droid Turbo that come with the larger power brick.

Verdict

Moto X 2014's display size jumped half an inch, but the overall quality leapt a full foot from its also-ran origins. That's not to say that it was a terrible mid-range device the first time around. Motorola has just updated the design and specs enough to make it a high-end contender in 12 short months.

It takes on the "premium" label without sacrificing the low price point in most regions. In fact, the US price is actually a lot cheaper: $99 on contract, making it half the price of its leading competitors. SIM-free it's still a deal: $499 (£419.99, AU$534).

We liked

The 5.2-inch display gives us more screen real estate without verging on phablet territory. It's still a one-handed device for people with large enough fingers and coupled with the AMOLED Moto Active Display that we wish all smartphone manufacturers would blatantly copy already.

A metal frame makes it feel as good as the screen looks, while Moto Maker combinations now total in the thousands. The pure Android OS is thankfully only supplemented by Motorola's useful apps and the price makes it Android's hidden treasure. X truely does mark the spot.

We disliked

It's premium, but it's not without pitfalls. Moto X 2014 doesn't have a micro SD card slot, so you're either stuck with 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. You can also forget about taking it in any sort of water. It's not IP67 waterproof like many other Androids so hold onto it tight.

Wait, don't hold onto it too tightly. That all-new premium leather back cost more, but bruised on us rather easily. The 13-megapixel rear camera takes better photos than before - not much of an accomplishment. We're still not convinced it'll ever take the shot we want every time.

Final Verdict

Don't think that just because the Moto X 2014 name didn't get much of a change that the phone is just a basic specs bump. Motorola's new flagship smartphone proves that the reinvented company is listening to customer feedback with a bigger screen and aluminum metal frame, all for a price that's better than its competition. It only half-listened the requests for a superior camera and didn't pay attention to pleas for a micro SD slot.

The good news is that Motorola continuing with its popular Moto Maker customization policies. That means personalized backs including new soft leather and trim accents on the front and around the camera lense. And yet the firm doesn't tinker with the pure Android experience set forth by Google. The specs are more robust while the software stays minimal, the opposite of other Android phones out there. That's just the way Motorola rolls, and we rather enjoy it.

from TechRadar: Mobile phone reviews http://ift.tt/1vHRwOL

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