Motorola One is the first notched Moto phone in the US, price and release date announced

Motorola Mobility just unveiled that it's ready to start selling a brand new Android smartphone in the US - the Motorola One. First announced at the end of August, this is a mid-range handset that's part of Google's Android One initiative, thus coming with a near-stock, bloat-free Android UI and the promise of fast software updates for at least 2 years after launch.

The Motorola One sports a 5.9-inch display with a distinctive notch at the top, à la iPhone X, XS, and XR. This will be the very first notched Moto smartphone to reach the US, as all other modern Motorola handsets sold stateside employ slightly more conservative designs. Unfortunately, the 5.9-inch screen of the Motorola One only has 720 x 1520 pixels and a 287 ppi (pixels per inch) density. That's a bit low for a mid-range handset in 2018, and it means that content on the screen may not look as sharp as you'd want.  

Display and notch aside, the Motorola One features a decent octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage space, and a 3000 mAh battery with fast charging. The phone is splash-resistant, further offering a fingerprint scanner, a dual rear camera (13 MP + 2 MP), and an 8 MP front-facing camera.  

Best Buy is the exclusive seller of the Motorola One in the US, asking $399.99 for it. The retailer is already accepting pre-orders for the handset's black version - here - saying it'll launch it on November 11. That's also the day when a white Motorola One will be available for a similar price. The new Moto device currently runs Android 8.1 Oreo, but it should be updated to Android 9 Pie before the end of the year.

An important thing to note is that, unlike most unlocked Moto smartphones released in recent years, the Motorola One will not be compatible with all major US carriers. Instead, the handset will only work on AT&T and T-Mobile. Think you'll want to buy it?