Moto X4 Quick Review – Premium Moto Priced Right

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It has been a while, but Lenovo finally brought another X-series phone in India. The series was once the only premium stock Android option besides Nexus devices for mid-range buyers, but that’s no longer the scenario as of today. OnePlus, Nokia and several other manufacturers now promise first-class stock Android experience across a wide price gamut, and the new Moto X4 needs other strengths to bank upon.

The aggressive starting price of 20,999 in India, should be one. But the X4 has a lot more to offer. We went up close with the new Moto X4 at the launch and here is what we experienced.

Also Read: 10 Things To Know Before Buying an Affordable Phone in 2018

Moto X4 Hardware Specifications

Model Moto X4
Display 5.2-inch FHD display
Processors Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor with 2.2 GHz Octa-core CPU and 650 MHz Adreno 508 GPU
RAM 3GB/4GB
Internal Storage 32 GB/ 64GB with microSD Card support
Software Android 7.1
Primary Camera 12MP with dual autofocus pixel sensor + 8MP with ultra-wide angle with 120°
Secondary Camera 16MP sensor with selfie flash
Dimensions and Weight 148.35 x 73.4 x 7.99 mm
Battery 3000mAh, Non-removable, fast charging
Others 4G LTE support, 3 microphones, WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB port C and GPS, IP68 water resistant, fingerprint sensor
Price Rs. 20,990 / Rs. 22,990

Moto X4 Design and Build

Glass isn’t the most durable choice of material, but there is no denying that it looks and feels plush. I guess we have all accepted the form-over-function trade-off involved by now, and the Moto X4 consequently feels pleasant to wield.

Glass body phones are still rare in this budget, and that’s something that should work in its favor (on second thought, it might be a little too shimmery). And it’s water and dust resistant too. Motorola uses unspecified Gorilla Glass on front and rear, each pierced with a hole for the microphone.

The 5.2-inch display size implies that the phone should feel compact in hands. Right? Except that it doesn’t. That’s because the swanky 18:9 panels that are in vogue these days have redefined what a compact phone should feel like.

Having said that, we don’t particularly mind Motorola using the regular 16:9 display fascia, only because this ensures that the fingerprint sensor is still on the front, just where we prefer it the most. Subtle refinements like the watch face finish on the circular rear camera module and the texture of the power key help the Moto X4 as well.

  • The Moto X4 has a premium glass metal finish and it is IP68 water and dust resistant – things that are still rare for phones in its class.
  • Subtle design refinements like Watch finish on the dual rear camera module and texture on the power key work well.
  • In spite of a 5.2-inch screen size, it doesn’t feel like a compact phone.
  • We don’t mind the missing ‘Full View’ display as we personally prefer the fingerprint sensor on the front.

Moto X4 Display

The Moto X4 has a good quality IPS LCD panel with full HD resolution. The panel has wide viewing angles and is set to the vibrant color mode by default. You can always change that to ‘Standard’ mode for more subdued or natural colors. It looks like a good panel, one that we won’t mind using.

  • The display is crisp and sharp
  • In our preliminary testing, the colors, contrast and viewing angles felt perfectly acceptable.

Moto X4 Performance and Software

The Moto X4 is powered by Snapdragon 630 mobile platform. In case you are wondering how much different the Snapdragon 630 is compared to the Snapdragon 625, the 8 Cortex-A53 cores are arranged in big.LITTLE configuration with four clocked at up to 2.2 GHz and the other four clocked at 1.8GHz (unlike all 8 cores ticking at 2.0GHz max in Snapdragon 625).

This should help deliver almost the same performance with a little more power efficiency. The Snapdragon 630 also includes 30 percent faster GPU that supports latest 3D graphics APIs.

The software is stock Android Nougat. In India, Moto X4 isn’t an Android One phone, which is to say that future updates won’t be handled by Google itself and there are a bunch of preloaded apps like linked-in, Makemytrip, UC Browser, etc pre-installed. It is, nevertheless, scheduled to get Android Oreo update. Also, in India, there is no Alexa integration, but that’s not something anyone would miss.

  • The Snapdragon 630 powering the phone fits the mid-range bill.
  • The software is stock Android with some preinstalled apps.
  • The handset will get Android Oreo update, though there is no time frame for the same.

Moto X4 Camera expectations

The Moto X4 has one regular 13MP sensor on the rear, and an 8MP secondary sensor with wide angle lens which you can use to capture wide-angle shots, preferably in good lighting. You can also use the two combined for bokeh or portrait shots, that Motorola term as Depth shots. You can also choose to keep just one color in a clicked shot changing all else to black and white for some cool effect.

In the low light that we tested the X4 in, the portrait mode didn’t seem up to the mark. We were instantly reminded of the Moto G5s Plus, another Moto that struggles with getting the two cameras right.

Interestingly, the 16MP front camera (with LED flash support) shows some promise. The selfies that we clicked in low light seemed quite good on the phone’s screen. We will still need to test the camera in our own space to reach any concrete verdict.

Also Read: Get On-Screen Navigational Buttons on Capacitive Button Smartphone

Moto X4 Battery and Audio

The handset includes a 3000mAh battery, however, the power efficient chipset inspires some assurance. We expect at least one day worth of mileage on a full charge.

An interesting feature of the Moto X4 is its ability to pair with 4 Bluetooth devices simultaneously. That is to say, you can connect with four different speakers placed in different corners and party loud.

Moto X4 Quick Review – Should you buy it?

The Moto X4 has some capable hardware, simple software, looks premium, and is priced aggressively. The closest competitors are Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro, Oppo F5, and OnePlus 3T, and the Moto X4 can surely stand toe to toe with them. We will need to spend more time with it to be sure, though.

Oppo F5 Vs Vivo V7 Plus Comparison: Less Bezel More Selfie

Deepak SinghDeepak Singh
Deepak has more than 8 years of experience in covering technology for several eminent publications in India. He currently leads an enthusiastic team of young writers at Smartprix and tries to uphold the highest quality standards.

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