When Google spent $12.5 billion on purchasing Motorola Mobility last year users were expecting the acquisition to pump new life into the flailing company. However it has been over a year since the acquisition and we have yet to see the fruits of their labour which has led some to question the wisdom behind the purchase. While a couple of phones have been released by Motorola since the acquisition such as the RAZR HD, the Moto X promises to be the first phone designed from the ground up by Google which is why every Android user and their dog should be excited.
After many months of speculation and rumours the much fabled X-Phone or Moto X was finally confirmed to exist by Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside during the D11 conference. This phone will not only be designed in the US it will also be manufactured here as well as being available on all US carriers. While we now have a lot of information regarding the availability, expected release date and pricing of the device we have yet to get any real details on the hardware that will be powering the device. @evleaks; the supplier of the first image leak of the device has finally shed some light on the internals of the device.
Motorola moto x: 1.7GHz dual-core MSM8960 Pro, 720p, 2GB/16GB, 10MP/2MP, Android 4.2.2
— @evleaks (@evleaks) June 15, 2013
Unfortunately the hardware listed is not what we have been hoping for; especially for a flagship device. Instead the Moto X is shaping up to be more of a midrange device rather than a flagship. The Moto X won’t be sporting a quad-core CPU like most of its competitors, instead opting for a dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 which is the same processor found on the current RAZR HD and RAZR M series. The screen is also slated to be a 720p display, while this is no means a low resolution it isn’t the full 1080p displays that we have grown accustomed to from flagship devices of 2013. As for the rest of the hardware, the 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage which should be microSD expandable along with a 10 megapixel rear and 2 megapixel front camera being powered by the latest version of Android 4.2.2 is what we have come to expect from today’s devices. Don’t despair at the disappointing hardware though because there have been rumours that the Moto X will be customisable and this may simply be one of the many configurations on offer. Our assistant editor Alexander Maxham has also pointed out that most users don’t require all the power provided by the latest processors so perhaps opting a slightly slower SoC will allow Motorola to maximise the battery life on the device without it affecting the user experience.
As with all rumours this should be taken with a grain of salt.