Moto X Style (Pure Edition) review: Made to order

Introduction

As the first flagship smartphone developed entirely under Lenovo's stewardship, the Moto X Style (Pure Edition) is the biggest member of its product family to date. While the original impressed with its compact measures, the newcomer is a bona fide phablet thanks to is 5.7" display.

And while we're still in the beginning in this review, we would like to make it clear that the Moto X Style and the Moto X Pure Edition are one and the same device, only Motorola has chosen the latter name for its US version and we're reviewing the device in the US. Nevertheless, we intend to use the names interchangeably.

Whatever its name is, the latest and baddest Moto X is not only bigger, but also better equipped and more customizable than any of its predecessors. Unlike the first and second generation which carried a "less is more" air around them, this year's Moto X Style (Pure Edition) leaves little to chance hardware-wise. Motorola has paid attention to criticism and feedback, and has equipped the XT1575 with vastly improved camera, bigger battery, and expandable storage.

Key features

• 5.7" IPS display with QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution; 520 ppi
• 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 MSM8992 chipset; dual-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A57 & quad-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU; Adreno 418 GPU; 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM;
• 16/32/64GB of built-in memory; microSD card slot (up to 128GB)
• Stock Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with no bloatware
• 21 MP main camera with f/2.0 aperture; phase detect autofocus; dual-tone LED flesh; gesture controls
• 4K video capture @ 30fps; 1080p video capture @ 60fps; slow-motion video capture
• 5MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture; 1.4um pixels; LED flash
• Cat. 6 LTE support; 802.11a/g/b/n/ac + MIMO; Bluetooth 4.1 LE; NFC; GPS
• Front-facing stereo speakers with Smartboost setting
• 3,000 mAh battery; TurboPower quick charging
• Customizable body with metal chassis; optional Moto Maker customization
• Internals with water repellent nano-coating
• Attractive price with no contract

Main disadvantages

• The battery is not user-replaceable
• No fingerprint sensor
• No wireless charging
• No IR port
• Not available in key global markets

We've encountered the combination of Qualcomm Snapdragon 808, 3GB of RAM, and QHD display in the past and have found it to work well. Coupled with stock Android, the hardware promises snappy performance on all occasions.

Motorola has been confident about the new 21MP camera sensor of the Moto X Style (Pure Edition) since its launch. The component is expected to be a vast improvement over past efforts by the manufacturer, so we are quite curious to put it through its paces. The same goes for the 5MP front-facing snapper and its LED flash.

The customizable body through Moto Maker has been a product family signature since the first Moto X. This year, it is better than ever with more color choices and textures than ever before.

Moto X Pure Edition official photos

We are going to kick our review of the Moto X Style (Pure Edition) with an unboxing, followed by an overview of its design and build quality. Head over to the next page for a closer look at the smartphone!