Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the much beloved Motorola Moto X (2014) goes up against the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Just how does the Moto X stack up against the newest flagship from Samsung? When the Moto X was released in September 2014, it had top specifications, just as the new Galaxy S6 Edge does for its release. The field of electronics advances so rapidly that those six months can make a big difference…but just how much.
Both devices are about the same physical dimensions, with the Moto X weighing 12 grams more than the Galaxy S6 Edge. Both devices use the AMOLED display technology and with the Moto X coming in at 5.2-inches and the Galaxy S6 Edge coming in at 5.1-inches, their displays are close to equal in size. Both devices carry no microSD card slot and both have a non-removable battery. They both have the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC capabilities, active noise cancellation with dedicated mic, fast charging batteries and a microUSB port for charging and data tranfers.
Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details. After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons. From all of this information, we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.
Moto X (2014)
The Motorola Moto X has always been a crowd favorite and the Moto X 2014 is an update of that old ‘friend.’ Motorola took the original Moto X and improved it in all areas. While they made the display larger, they kept it within that sweet spot of 5.2-inches. They also upgraded the internal specifications to a device truly deserving of the term flagship. Motorola already has a Moto G as their mid-range device and Moto E as their entry-level smartphone, but what they needed was a standout flagship to compete against the likes of the Galaxy S’s, LG G series and the HTC One series…and they have accomplished that with the Moto X.
The Moto X sports a 5.2-inch FHD AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a very respectable 423 pixels-per-inch (PPI) – not quite up to the QHD display and 577 PPI found on the Galaxy S6 Edge. The Moto X used the best processor of its day…the 32-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core clocked at 2.5GHz, but it is just not up to the powerful 64-bit octa-core in the Galaxy S6 Edge. The Moto X uses 2GB of RAM versus the 3GB of DDR4 RAM in the Galaxy S6 Edge. The Moto X offers internal storage of 16GB or 32GB with no room for expansion. The Galaxy S6 Edge has 32GB/64GB/128GB of internal storage with no expansion.
When it comes to the cameras, the Moto X is in a little ‘over its head.’ Although Motorola never placed a lot of emphasis on its camera, they actually included a decent shooter. The Moto X uses a 13MP sensor and an ingenious dual-LED Flash Ring that encompasses the lens, along with autofocus…but no OIS. It also uses the rather pedestrian 2MP front-facing camera (FFC) for social media selfies and video chatting compared to the new 5MP with f/1.9 aperture and Live HDR on the S6 Edge. It has a rather small 2300mAh battery compared to the 2600mAh found in the S6 Edge. But getting through a day should not be problem, and when you do need to charge up your battery, you have access to the Motorola Turbo Charger (extra purchase) that will give you up to 6 hours of usage with only a 15-minute charge.
The Moto X does have a few things the Galaxy S6 Edge does not have. The Moto X comes with four microphones for added noise reduction and great sound when speaking on the device. It also sports dual front-mounted speakers for that in-your-face sound, optional wood or genuine leather backing, nano-coating for water resistance, and a great feature called Dynamic Tuning that will automatically switch to the antenna with the best reception. It also sports Android 5.0.1 Lollipop and is now as low as $0 down on a two-year contract and about $550 with no contract.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
The new Samsung Galaxy S6 series is a device that Samsung desperately needed – sales and profits were down and Samsung no longer dominated the smartphone market. The Galaxy S6 Edge is a new device from the ground up, with a unibody of solid aircraft grade aluminum frame with Gorilla Glass 4 used for the display and the back of the device. With the curved display, it has a premium look from every angle and is very comfortable to hold in your hand.
The Galaxy S6 Edge’s Super AMOLED display comes in right at 5.1-inches, but uses Quad HD (QHD) resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and a whopping 577 PPI, as opposed to the 424 PPI on the Moto X. The display also has a curve to it on the right and left side – it makes swiping in from either side a much more natural movement, as well as allowing developers to use the edges as part of their application. As part of Samsung’s new philosophy, Samsung dropped the Qualcomm processor altogether and opted for their in-house 64-bit Exynos 7420 octa-core processor with 14nm technology – faster and less drain on the battery. It has four cores clocked at 1.5GHz and four cores clocked at 2.1GHz and quite a jump up from the 32-bit Snapdragon 801 quad-core in the Moto X. It is packing 3GB of much faster DDR4 RAM – a step up from the 2GB of DDR3 RAM used in the Moto X. It also comes with Samsung’s new, faster, UFS 2.0 flash memory offered in 32GB/64GB/128GB models with no room for expansion – a first for Samsung’s Galaxy S series.
This is the best camera Samsung has ever put in a device and quite possibly the best camera currently available on a smartphone. It is using a Sony 16MP sensor, autofocus, LED Flash, a wider f/1.9 aperture, Live HDR and OIS. They also dramatically increased the speed – taking only 7/10s of a second to open and be ready to shoot. The FFC increased to 5MP and they added the f/1.9 aperture, Live HDR and a 120 wide-angle lens for excellent low-light selfies and video chatting. The 2600mAh battery is larger than the 2300mAh in the Moto X, and should easily get you through the entire day. The new Samsung non-removable battery can charge for up to 4 hours of usage in only 10 minutes and they also added built-in wireless charging (Qi and PMA) for the first time.
The Galaxy S6 has a large speaker on the bottom of the device and comes with a PayPal certified fingerprint sensor, heart rate and oxygen saturation sensors, IR Blaster along with active noise cancellation. It is available in White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum and Green Emerald. It will be running Android 5.0 Lollipop, and is releasing worldwide on April 10. Pricing on a two-year contract will probably be about $300, and $700 full-price.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
This is really a tough one, and I really mean that – strictly looking at specifications, the Galaxy S6 Edge annihilates the Moto X 2014. However, when you take into consideration the price and value of the Moto X, it all of a sudden looks pretty good. Let me say this, I am picking the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge as the overall winner of this comparison – how could I not – but that is not to say that if money is a real object, the Moto X 2014 is an excellent choice.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge has real cutting edge technology – a QHD Super AMOLED display with curved edges on both sides, 64-bit Exynos 7420 octa-core processor with 14nm technology, it uses Samsung’s newest and fastest DDR4 RAM and their new UFS 2.0 Flash memory with 32GB, 64GB and 128GB variants. It has much better camera area – main and FFC, a larger battery, a new PayPal certified fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor, oxygen saturation sensor, IR Blaster, Samsung Pay ready and built-in Qi/PMA wireless charging.
Another big difference is the pricing – the 32GB Galaxy S6 Edge will cost you about $300 on a two-year contract or about $700 off-contract, whereas the Moto X will cost you anywhere from $1 to $100 on a two-year contract or about $550 off-contract. Only you can decide if the Galaxy S6 Edge is worth $300 – its looks alone have got to be worth something – or if you view the Moto X is just too cheap to pass up.