Did I spot a 2016 Moto X prototype?

singelectric

Well-known member
Jun 14, 2010
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I think , but am not sure, that I spotted a Moto prototype device last week.

Location: I live in Chicago, working about a half mile north of Moto's headquarters and living in an area west of downtown which is reasonably popular with young tech types.

A certain sense of curiosity makes me just glance at what phones people around me are using, especially if it's a device that I can't recognize at first glance. I was taking the bus from work to home one day last week in mid/late afternoon. The route I was on has/used to have a Motorola facility (that didn't have a lot of branding, but did have banners visible in their entry way), and again, was on a route that a Moto employee might use to either get to that facility or from Moto HQ home.

This device was very eye catching, though I didn't want to stare. What I first noticed were long, flat speaker grilles that started at the very top/bottom of the device - no bezel whatsoever above or below. The device had a dark back, and from the edge looked very thin. When the guy was using it in his hand, it became clear that it had a tapered back, just like the Moto X always has, but the edges of this device looked significantly thinner than any Moto device I've actually seen. I didn't get a good look at the camera part on the back, but it didn't seem to be in a raised circle like the Moto Z

At this point, the guy seemed to kind of notice me glancing at his phone so I stopped looking, but I did notice: 1) What looked like a small 'M' logo etched in the glass top left of the phone, and 2) what looked like a series of numbers/letters (maybe 6 long?) etched into the glass elsewhere.

I had a 1st gen Moto X (but never as my daily driver), so I'm familiar with that device (and a Moto G I used for a short while), and this phone looked like it wasn't that much larger but was much thinner at the sides. If I had to guess, I'd say a 5- to 5.2 inch screen, again, curved at the sides (unlike the Moto Z), with no camera 'island.'

It wasn't until after getting off the bus that the pieces clicked in my head - this device looked premium, it was definitely smaller than the near-phablet that the Moto X has become, and way thinner; it definitely had a Moto logo etched into the screen, and that suggested to me that it might be a prototype. I looked up images of Moto's past few years of phones, and none have that. So, I'm wondering: Could I have spotted a new Moto X? If so, it's actually a device that I'd be interested in buying (I've liked the X's design but since the original, it's felt too big and bulky).

Thoughts?
 
The M logo you describe sounds like all the Motorola prototypes.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition
 
At this point, the guy seemed to kind of notice me glancing at his phone so I stopped looking, but I did notice: 1) What looked like a small 'M' logo etched in the glass top left of the phone, and 2) what looked like a series of numbers/letters (maybe 6 long?) etched into the glass elsewhere.

Did he notice you because he felt you breathing on him? My only thought is, Why didn't you just ask him about the phone?
 
Yeah, I was a few seats away. I totally wish I had asked him about it, but 1) the guy seemed kinda weirded out and 2) I don't expect to find myself staring at an unreleased phone prototype on a bus. By the time that I pieced it together, the window had kinda closed (and the guy got off the bus without being on there too long).
 
That's what I figured. Well, I will say this. I just bought a OnePlus 3, but if this phone is half as good as it looks, I'd be sorely tempted. (No offence to your choice of phones, but for me, the Moto X line has always had a 'fatal flaw' that kept me from buying after the first one; mostly, that they were just too big for my tastes - the OP3 weighs 20 grams less, and it really is at the top end of what I'd want).
 
I would have had to ask him about it
Posted from my moto g 3rd Gen

Posted via the Android Central App
 
That's what I figured. Well, I will say this. I just bought a OnePlus 3, but if this phone is half as good as it looks, I'd be sorely tempted. (No offence to your choice of phones, but for me, the Moto X line has always had a 'fatal flaw' that kept me from buying after the first one; mostly, that they were just too big for my tastes - the OP3 weighs 20 grams less, and it really is at the top end of what I'd want).

I'm looking at the opo 3 and I don't like giant phones either. Being of that mindset yourself, how is the the day to day use ? Looks to be a bit more narrow than other 5.5's. Let me know your thoughts. I may wait for the smaller nexus or even the iPhone 7. I just like a more manageable handset.
 
Someone fill me in. Are we expecting a followup to the X as a above the Z?

Posted via the Android Central App
 
If it is when will they launch it, it be kinda dumb to launch 2 different lines of phones with in the last few months of the year. I mean the z is released for verizon but i hear unlocked will be released in September.. so if i had to guess id think some time in q1 of next year , idk..
 
Maybe they are going to do a two phones a year cycle? Z in second half, x in the first. Or maybe they are switching to a once a year cycle. X one year, z the next.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

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