Motorola Moto X 2014 vs Moto X 2013

Introduction

Motorola surely established something in the smartphone industry that we haven’t seen in a grand scale when the Moto X arrived on the scene last year to much acclaim. Not only did it present us with a venerable Android smartphone that could be customized in several ways, from its case options to accent colors, but it also proved to many that simplicity and functionality are two things that go hand-in-hand in making a smartphone legendary. Well, the new Moto X, the 2014 version, receives all the evolutionary upgrades we’d expect with any successor, but how much better is it than its predecessor?

Design

Obviously, the biggest design difference here is the new Moto X’s larger size, which depending on your taste, might be a good or bad thing. Indeed, it’s a size that’s more akin to a flagship, but we feel that the original Moto X’s size is perfect – as in, it’s more comfortable to hold with one hand. However, we really dig how the 2014 model is sporting a more aggressive and sophisticated design, aided by its aluminum frame and new leather casing options.

Display

Yet again, the new Moto X reaps the benefits of being more of a flagship phone because of its larger and sharper looking 5.2-inch 1080 x 1920 AMOLED panel – versus the smaller and lower resolution 4.7-inch 720 x 1280 AMOLED display of the original. From a normal distance, it’s almost tough to distinguish which of the two has the upper hand in the details department, but there’s no competition after a closer inspection.

Beyond the size and resolution, these two screens based on AMOLED technology exhibit the same qualities – like their over-saturated color reproduction, wide viewing angles, and tough visibility under direct sunlight.

Call Quality

Outdoing itself, Motorola has incorporated 4 microphones into the new Moto X, which as a result, delivers an astounding call quality experience. Previously, last year’s model disappointed us with the distorted voices through the earpiece – so it didn’t necessarily woo us with its quality.

Battery

In contrast to their respective rivals, these two Moto X smartphones were never really long-lasting with their batteries. Instead, they provided us with nothing more than average results. Checking out our battery benchmark test, though, reveals that the 2013 Moto X inches past its successor – a strange occurrence indeed, but considering that the new one houses a larger screen, it kind of makes sense.

Conclusion

Almost everything about the new Moto X is improved over its predecessor, not solely for its specs, but for its overall performance. From call quality, design, and its camera performance, the new Moto X bears all of the incremental improvements to earn the rigid qualities of a true successor. The only thing that most people will face when deciding between the two is their size – where we feel that the old Moto X has the perfect one for comfort and usability.

Now, if you currently own the original Moto X and you’re contemplating on making the switch, it’s a tough call because they have several superficial qualities that are similar. Unless you prefer a larger sized smartphone, it might not be all that logical to ditch the old for the new. Nevertheless, you can’t go wrong picking up the new phone either because it’s priced affordably at $99.99 on contract. If you’re not up for an upgrade, it’s best to sit still with the original Moto X, though.