Droid Maxx Verge Review

[nikoaudio1]

Certainly can't trust The Verge anymore. They say the Maxx battery is lackluster? If that's the case, then the One and S4 must REALLY suck. I've seen many a writer for The Verge hate on the Droid branding and this "review" is just more of a pile-on. Ridiculous.

http://theverge.com/2013/8/27/4659876/motorola-droid-ultra-and-droid-maxx-review

Posted via Android Central App

 

[RivertonPaul]

In my opinion, The Verge Benchmark doesn't mimic real phone use:

Benchmarks and The Verge Battery Test: The Verge Battery Test runs in any browser and thus across operating systems. With brightness set at 65 percent (unless otherwise noted), it cycles through a series of 100 websites while downloading a high resolution image every six sites. No doubt it is a taxing test, but in the absence of a good industry benchmark we decided to take matters into our own hands with a test that we feel simulates real world usage. Shockingly, many of the battery benchmarks out there don't use Wi-Fi or the browser.

 

[Finderw]

I really have no idea how the battery test they did is accurate. 434 minutes on the Moto X and 512 minutes on the Droid Maxx? Not sure how that is possible given how similar the phone is and how much larger the battery is on the Maxx.

I have to say - I love my Droid Maxx. Got it on launch day and have no complaints. Every day I end up with over 50% battery left after over 15 hours use - I don't see any issue with it lasting 48 hours for regular use as promised.

Really don't get how they knock the build quality either. I handled the Moto X in person and it feels like a cheap plastic toy. Anyone else compare the phones in person? Was no competition in my opinion. The Droid Maxx feels very solid and premium in comparison. Droid Ultra does feel kind of cheap though - not going to lie.

 

[GoBigRed79]

Certainly can't trust The Verge anymore. They say the Maxx battery is lackluster? If that's the case, then the One and S4 must REALLY suck. I've seen many a writer for The Verge hate on the Droid branding and this "review" is just more of a pile-on. Ridiculous.

Motorola Droid Ultra and Droid Maxx review | The Verge

Posted via Android Central App

A 4.7 score for the Ultra and a 6.0 score for the Maxx makes zero sense. The entire "review" had a snarky/angry tone to it and it's obvious he had his mind made up about these phones before even picking one up. Very unprofessional review.

 

[Finderw]

I have never posted on The Verge before but I had to put a comment up. Just posted this - just one man's opinion but I had to put it out there:

Hi ? I have a Droid Maxx as well. Got it on launch day. First off, I think David?s reviews are great but I don?t get where he is coming from here. I have had the phone for a week and the battery life is better than any phone I have ever used. Stock GS4 is horrific in comparison ? iPhone 5 is decent, but the Droid Maxx lasts all day for me and still has 50% battery after a 15-16 day of average usage.

I don?t get how an additional 1700mAh of battery in this phone versus the Moto X only equates to 78 minutes of battery time. The only difference is a slightly larger screen. I would encourage The Verge to re-do the battery test on both the Moto X and the Droid Maxx. I think something is off.

In terms of the build quality I handled it side by side with the Moto X and I also don?t see where he is coming from. The build quality is excellent. The device is very comfortable in the hand, the soft touch on the back feels really nice and the device seems very durable overall. In comparison the Moto X seems a little cheap to me in terms of the plastics being used. In the pictures the material seems textured but in person it is just a plastic shell. A Lumia seems a lot nicer in comparison ? and the Kevlar on the Droid Maxx seems even better than that.

I totally respect The Verge?s right to put whatever review score they want here ? but I just don?t get the points that are being made. I get that David doesn?t like the styling or the Droid branding ? that is fine. I happen to think it is fine. With all the slams The Verge has made over the years to the Droid brand I actually chuckle every time it screams DROID at me.

Maybe it will get annoying over time. Aside from the branding and a few apps you can disable it is just as close to stock as the Moto X though ? nothing like Sense or TouchWiz. I even really like the enhancements they made. The exchange e-mail program is great on the Maxx ? much better than the stock e-mail (has conversation view, etc.). Not sure why no reviews ever talk about really important things like how your e-mail shows up ? especially considering how terrible most Android exchange e-mail programs are. The Motorola one is much better than TouchWiz or sense in my opinion. Leaps and bounds over stock.

Thing I don?t get is how you can slam a phone so hard based on subjective styling and a likely flawed battery test (in my opinion at least). It is virtually identical to the Moto X with regard to every feature. I honestly wouldn?t take the Moto X over the Droid Maxx even if the Moto X was a $99 phone ? the Droid Maxx is that much nicer in my opinion and worth the extra money.

Oh ? and just to be fair? Everything David says about the camera is correct. That is right on.

 

[Eclipse2K]

My real world usage tells me this battery is the best I've ever had. I had the RAZR Maxx, RAZR HD Maxx, Note II. I have seen good battery life and this phone is better then every single one of those!

Note to self - don't ever trust the Verge.

Sent from my Motorola Droid Maxx using Tapatalk 4

 

[Honestabebread]

I basically go to Engadget for all of my reviews. Android Central, Verge, and BGR all seem very snarky and snobby. Ain't nobody got time for that. Give me an honest, balanced review and do it well. Engadget hates the design of the Ultra as well, but they include things like "to us..." or "some may like it but...". They certainly don't write an entire post about how a phone is slimy. The blog community is a total joke lately. Filled with entitled people with little to no idea of what the casual consumer (read: people who are nice to be around) wants out of a phone.

The guy who did The Verge's hands on with the Moto X was the worst though. Seriously **** that guy.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[guesswhat_567]

I basically go to Engadget for all of my reviews. Android Central, Verge, and BGR all seem very snarky and snobby. Ain't nobody got time for that. Give me an honest, balanced review and do it well. Engadget hates the design of the Ultra as well, but they include things like "to us..." or "some may like it but...". They certainly don't write an entire post about how a phone is slimy. The blog community is a total joke lately. Filled with entitled people with little to no idea of what the casual consumer (read: people who are nice to be around) wants out of a phone.

Posted via Android Central App

Verge is worse of all ..specially because of nilay patel ..he always biased ..and never gives a balanced opinion ..and he hates droid branding openly ..

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[Honestabebread]

Verge is worse of all ..specially because of nilay patel ..he always biased ..and never gives a balanced opinion ..and he hates droid branding openly ..

Posted via Android Central App

Someone who says "I hate Droids" should never be allowed to review a Droid.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[18t]

I lost a little bit of respect for the verge there. Many people have been posting 6+ hours of screen time and regardless of the verge tests, you just don't see that with the many others. He complained that he only got 1.5 days use out of it, as if it was a bad thing. Yeah they advertise 2 days but you would think someone from the verge would understand that is a number that changes based on usage.

And 4.7...thats my rating of that verge review.

 

[thegrants82]

I can't believe how far off that review is. I've had my max for 2 days now and it far blows away any phone that I've had including my old Maxx HD.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Eclipse2K]

I lost a little bit of respect for the verge there. Many people have been posting 6+ hours of screen time and regardless of the verge tests, you just don't see that with the many others. He complained that he only got 1.5 days use out of it, as if it was a bad thing. Yeah they advertise 2 days but you would think someone from the verge would understand that is a number that changes based on usage.

For anyone questioning this post I would like to post this screen capture. This was with a heavy mixture of SiriusXM, texting, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Skype, etc. All of this was done on 4G LTE except for the last two hours which were on WiFi. However, while on WiFi, I did minimal web browsing a only a bit of texting. Need proof that the Verge is full of crap? Look below.

Sent from my Motorola Droid Maxx using Tapatalk 4

 

[GoBigRed79]

I don't understand all the anger over the price of the maxx. The 32GB iPhone has been $299 for a long time and nobody seems to care about that even though all you are getting for that $100 is 16Gb of memory. At least with the maxx the extra $100 is not just for more memory but also a huge battery, better construction, and wireless charging. And if the price really bugs you third party retailers are offering it for $199 (once they get stock).

And for the love of god will reviewers please stop talking about the "tons" of verizon bloatware on the device. There really is not that much, it has no impact on performance that I can tell, and is not nearly as bad as something like TouchWiz. It's all low memory stuff and all can be disabled if it bugs you that much. It's like beating a dead horse in these reviews.

 

[tdizzel]

I basically go to Engadget for all of my reviews. Android Central, Verge, and BGR all seem very snarky and snobby. Ain't nobody got time for that. Give me an honest, balanced review and do it well. Engadget hates the design of the Ultra as well, but they include things like "to us..." or "some may like it but...". They certainly don't write an entire post about how a phone is slimy. The blog community is a total joke lately. Filled with entitled people with little to no idea of what the casual consumer (read: people who are nice to be around) wants out of a phone.

The guy who did The Verge's hands on with the Moto X was the worst though. Seriously **** that guy.

Posted via Android Central App

I'm thinking about changing my signature to what this comment says

Posted from my brand new, super slim, gorgeous red Droid Ultra

 

[Distorted Loop]

I just read that horribly biased review on the Verge, and then promptly dumped their site from from my RSS reader.

I don't care if someone's opinion on a device is 180? from mine, but if your hatred colors the entire review and it's filled with inaccuracies, your while site loses credibility.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Dreamliner330]

I just don't understand reviewers anymore. Many, if not all, stated how brilliant the screen was on the Galaxy S3, and it was precisely awful, the screen on the new DROIDs is leaps and bounds better than the S3 and its wrapped up in a small paragraph as sub-par.

I can see the digitizer on the HTC One and the S4 still has nasty PenTile grain...how reviews never seem to note this is beyond me.

Further, it states the phone is identical to the Moto X, with minor tweaks, then states the Moto X is better (and praises it). I dunno about you, but I fail to see why a THINNER phone with a 3500mah battery, off screen buttons is not as good as a Moto X.

Verge....please.

 

[Busted51]

I decided to delete my 6 pages of being pissed off about the "X being better then the Maxx" ... People are dumb

 

[nikoaudio1]

Glad I wasn't the only one annoyed by Verge's review! Us Maxx owner's know the truth. The Maxx is a beast in the battery department and actually ADDS usefulness to the stock experience. HTC doesn't do that. Samsung doesn't do that. I've owned one too many phones in the past 2 years (iPhone 4, Galaxy Nexus, iPhone 5, Nexus 4, HTC One) and I can firmly say the Maxx is a keeper for me. I finally found a phone that hit all the right spots for me.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[loooney2ns]

I've had my Maxx for 6 days now and today was the first day the battery lasted as advertised. 71% when I got home from work. 11 hours off the charger. Last night it was 38%. I think the battery needed a few days of break in. Coming from an OG Droid Razr (not the Maxx), it's Fantastic!

Sent from my XT1080 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[phathands]

Yeah I am less than pleased with it. The Verge lost a great deal of respect with that pithy review.

Sent from my DROID MAXX