Moto X-2: What Are Your Expectations?

[Paisley]

Besides the obvious better processor, screen, camera, hardware, ect.

I want timing. I want the X2 to release along side the Galaxy S5 and next HTC flagship in the Spring. I want it to be an improved X with all the "faults" of the X corrected or improved with a moderate bump in general performance. This way they can drop the current X price to about $400 and have the X2 at the standard 600$. This way moto can have all ranges covered. The G is the low end. The X as the midrange. The X2 as the flagship latest and greatest.

A moderately improved X would make a LOT of sense on all fronts. Its could be similar enough to be run on existing manufacturing equipment with limited expense. The X would be the proof of concept while the X2 would be the fully realized vision of what moto wanted to accomplish. They could go head to head with Samsung and HTC in the prime season.

What's the fully realized version if the X already bumps ups it's specs?

 

[UJ95x]

Besides the obvious better processor, screen, camera, hardware, ect.

I want timing. I want the X2 to release along side the Galaxy S5 and next HTC flagship in the Spring. I want it to be an improved X with all the "faults" of the X corrected or improved with a moderate bump in general performance. This way they can drop the current X price to about $400 and have the X2 at the standard 600$. This way moto can have all ranges covered. The G is the low end. The X as the midrange. The X2 as the flagship latest and greatest.

A moderately improved X would make a LOT of sense on all fronts. Its could be similar enough to be run on existing manufacturing equipment with limited expense. The X would be the proof of concept while the X2 would be the fully realized vision of what moto wanted to accomplish. They could go head to head with Samsung and HTC in the prime season.

They won't release it in the Spring. They're just barely getting Moto maker out to all carriers. Doesn't make sense for them to release a new phone only months later. Besides that, most people waiting for the S5 and One 2 won't even bother looking at other phones, they should release it right around the time they released the X, after the hype over the others has died down

Posted via Android Central App

 

[NoYankees44]

What's the fully realized version if the X already bumps ups it's specs?

1. Global version.
2. Streamlined customization.
3. Chipset is a big question mark. They could move to a more standard chip instead of the dual core+micro processors. The x8 may not be working like the want it to and they may want to move to something else. Or they may want to just upgrade the chips but have the same configuration. Just because the x8 appears to work well does not mean it is all that moto wants it to be or that it was worth the R&D costs it took to create it.
4. Add features that the hardware may be limiting in the current x. More commands and functions. Better predicting. The current x sets a very high standard for performance and smoothness. Moto may have wanted to add more features but didn't because the hardware would not be able to keep the same level of performance AND accomplish the features. A bump in power would fix this and allow them to add functionality.

 

[Ry]

Here are my thoughts on a Moto X successor from Motorola.

- Improve the camera quality (both rear and front) in low-light situations
- Improve Motorola Assist to have more "Smart Actions"-like options
- Do not increase the width/footprint of the device
- Keep the display at 4.7" display with on-screen buttons.
- Keep it AMOLED but if a better AMOLED panel is available, go with that one.
- I wouldn't mind the phone getting thicker/deeper to accommodate a slightly larger battery but the current Moto X has shown me that I don't need a monster 3000 mAh battery in my phone. If that became a requirement, the next "MAXX" phone would be my choice anyway.
- New companion core for wearables? Or is Bluetooth LE enough?
- Provide a 64GB storage option
- I don't need a removable battery.
- I don't need expandable storage.

With Motorola Assist and to a lesser extent image quality, you may not need a new device to get that since they're upgradable from the Play Store. I absolutely LOVE the size of the Moto X. It feels so good in the hand and is easy to use one-handed. Don't go wider. Don't go taller. 4.7" @ 1280x720 is already above 300 ppi. PPI matters up to around that point. I don't need 1080 on a screen this size. Go slightly thicker/deeper if you're going to increase the stepped battery to 2500-2600 mAh. Motorola's X8 Computing System is wonderful and efficient. Add another low-powered core to assist with wearables if it makes sense but if Bluetooth LE is enough, there's no need yet. Increase the storage options for the whiners with a new 64GB option.

Moto Maker isn't going anywhere. That concept is part of Motorola's future. For X's successor, please make sure no carrier has exclusivity.

 

[NoYankees44]

They won't release it in the Spring. They're just barely getting Moto maker out to all carriers. Doesn't make sense for them to release a new phone only months later. Besides that, most people waiting for the S5 and One 2 won't even bother looking at other phones, they should release it right around the time they released the X, after the hype over the others has died down

Posted via Android Central App

If the new x is an option, consumers will see it an want it.

If moto is purposely avoiding to compete with their most direct competition, that shows a lack of ambition. They cannot hope to become a fully accomplished oem with large market share if they only try to satisfy a small portion of the market and avoid challenging their competitors. They have to complete head to head with other oem's.

Right now, few people know what the X is and don't care. Moto has to give them a reason to give it a chance. Attempting to dethrone the s5 and other flagships would be a great start. You and I both know it is a great device, but if they don't sell them in large numbers, it does not matter how good it is.

Just to clarify, I do not think moto will actually try to compete with everyone else in the spring. I think they will keep the same schedule and same mediocre sales while letting Google pick up the tab. While I love what moto is doing, I have zero faith that they will actually do anything to shake the market. They will quietly innovate and avoid competing.This time last year, you could not even say that moto was innovating. At least now, with the leadership, they are attempting to step outside the status quo.

 

[Ry]

If the new x is an option, consumers will see it an want it.

If moto is purposely avoiding to compete with their most direct competition, that shows a lack of ambition. They cannot hope to become a fully accomplished oem with large market share if they only try to satisfy a small portion of the market and avoid challenging their competitors. They have to complete head to head with other oem's.

Right now, few people know what the X is and don't care. Moto has to give them a reason to give it a chance. Attempting to dethrone the s5 and other flagships would be a great start. You and I both know it is a great device, but if they don't sell them in large numbers, it does not matter how good it is.

Just to clarify, I do not think moto will actually try to compete with everyone else in the spring. I think they will keep the same schedule and same mediocre sales while letting Google pick up the tab. While I love what moto is doing, I have zero faith that they will actually do anything to shake the market. They will quietly innovate and avoid competing.This time last year, you could not even say that moto was innovating. At least now, with the leadership, they are attempting to step outside the status quo.

It's not like everyone announces at the same time though. HTC was more late Winter/early Spring. Samsung was more late Spring. Around the time of the Moto X, it was the G2 and iPhone 5s/5c.

The successor to the Moto X must be a global device, not America (North/Latin/South)-centric if they want to even begin to compete at the global level.

 

[Paisley]

1. Global version.
2. Streamlined customization.
3. Chipset is a big question mark. They could move to a more standard chip instead of the dual core+micro processors. The x8 may not be working like the want it to and they may want to move to something else. Or they may want to just upgrade the chips but have the same configuration. Just because the x8 appears to work well does not mean it is all that moto wants it to be or that it was worth the R&D costs it took to create it.
4. Add features that the hardware may be limiting in the current x. More commands and functions. Better predicting. The current x sets a very high standard for performance and smoothness. Moto may have wanted to add more features but didn't because the hardware would not be able to keep the same level of performance AND accomplish the features. A bump in power would fix this and allow them to add functionality.

ah, gotcha, like a 5S vs. 5C thing. Yeah, i think it's inevitable they make it better, and use new chips and processors a year from now, of course, and whatever they think of to expand on the innovations they'll give it whatever it needs to run those and whatever else comes with time. I think it was smart of them to start with exactly what they needed. But this phone cost $221 to make, so they can't exactly bump up the specs specs middle version and then charge less while having max-hardware-version, which i'm assuming will be that 199/599 price point. I think we'll for sure see hardware bumps, and whatever chip set runs the phone most efficiently, it's not like they'll stick with what doesn't max out efficiency. most likely *will* see a quad core processor, (or who knows what they'll come up with) but their flag doesn't have to be the processor that is the exact same as the next guy, esp that next guy being the sammyhardware phone, I don't see them going for the type of power needed to run 3D racing games, and fastest at loading hulu movies, and that's what people need the last week's processor for. I think if they even attempt that it means they've given up (ugh, next thing you know this thing is 5.4 inches tall and...*retch*..). But they're certainly not going to use a processor that doesn't allow for them to run whatever they're looking to run, we didn't see it in this phone so no way they do it in the next one. I suspect it'll take more than 2 generations for this thing to need serious power for more intelligence, and that time will come. . I can see them doing the 5C/5S route, but hopefully they don't go 5" route in their flag, as if that makes an intelligent phone better, sticking everyone who wants an forward-thinking phone with some unpocketable sammy knockoff. oh how sad that would be. i'm almost fearful that will happen. All good things come to an end all to quickly for my taste.

 

[Paisley]

Pretty interesting that most of the "improvements" suggested in this thread so far are iterative, spec-based, and go against the philosophy of optimization that Motorola has established...

They want a Nexus5/LG G2 with active listening. lol. It's annoying. g-d i hope they don't get their way.

 

[UJ95x]

They want a Nexus5/LG G2 with active listening. lol. It's annoying. g-d i hope they don't get their way.

It's what we'd expect for Moto to do. This year they used "last year's" hardware for the X. Asking for it to have a Snapdragon 800 and 12/13 MP camera is basically the same thing. It will be then, what the current hardware is today. Nobody is asking for more than a 1080p display or 20+ MP cameras or 3GHz quad-core processors, even though that will likely be in the other flagships at the time
Edit: Might seem like a lot to ask for now but by Q3 next year these things won't be seen as top of the line anymore

 

[Aquila]

It's what we'd expect for Moto to do. This year they used "last year's" hardware for the X. Asking for it to have a Snapdragon 800 and 12/13 MP camera is basically the same thing. It will be then, what the current hardware is today. Nobody is asking for more than a 1080p display or 20+ MP cameras or 3GHz quad-core processors, even though that will likely be in the other flagships at the time
Edit: Might seem like a lot to ask for now but by Q3 next year these things won't be seen as top of the line anymore

Many people think they 1 up'd the current standard processor (S600) with the X8, which would mean the "last year" part would only refer to the screen, and the logic behind why they went 720p is either something we agree with or do not (not needed, extra power consumption, etc). I would be very confused if they went with a generic S800, 805, etc... since that's arguably a downgrade (for their extra features) and only a boost in theoretical threading at a potentially huge cost in battery life and smoothness of UI navigation... but if they decide to base next year's off of whatever QC releases next year in the way of ARMs and next year's GPU, that wouldn't be surprising, that's what happened this year.

 

[UJ95x]

Many people think they 1 up'd the current standard processor (S600) with the X8, which would mean the "last year" part would only refer to the screen, and the logic behind why they went 720p is either something we agree with or do not (not needed, extra power consumption, etc). I would be very confused if they went with a generic S800, 805, etc... since that's arguably a downgrade (for their extra features) and only a boost in theoretical threading at a potentially huge cost in battery life and smoothness of UI navigation... but if they decide to base next year's off of whatever QC releases next year in the way of ARMs and next year's GPU, that wouldn't be surprising, that's what happened this year.

That's what I meant. They'd base their processor on the 800 (Maybe 805) and do what they did with the X8
Either way, there's bound to be a spec bump in the processor and the camera for sure. They might not go to a 1080p but I'd like something with slightly higher PPI, mostly because games like Asphalt 8 look better on the G2/Note 3 than they do on the X

 

[Aquila]

That's what I meant. They'd base their processor on the 800 (Maybe 805) and do what they did with the X8
Either way, there's bound to be a spec bump in the processor and the camera for sure. They might not go to a 1080p but I'd like something with slightly higher PPI, mostly because games like Asphalt 8 look better on the G2/Note 3 than they do on the X

Do you think the camera deficiency is hardware or software based? I have a hard time putting faith in MP count, but I think there are probably huge distinctions in quality of lens, etc as well as access to specific processing software (Sony comes to mind).

 

[UJ95x]

Do you think the camera deficiency is hardware or software based? I have a hard time putting faith in MP count, but I think there are probably huge distinctions in quality of lens, etc as well as access to specific processing software (Sony comes to mind).

I think it's the hardware but like I said above, MP is probably the least important spec when determining quality of the shots. It basically just allows you to zoom in more without losing detail.
As Apple and HTC showed with their "low" MP counts, you can still take great pictures. Sometimes even better than the 13MP+ lenses on the G2/S4/N3 etc.

 

[JRDroid]

Do you think the camera deficiency is hardware or software based? I have a hard time putting faith in MP count, but I think there are probably huge distinctions in quality of lens, etc as well as access to specific processing software (Sony comes to mind).

I think it's the hardware but like I said above, MP is probably the least important spec when determining quality of the shots. It basically just allows you to zoom in more without losing detail.
As Apple and HTC showed with their "low" MP counts, you can still take great pictures. Sometimes even better than the 13MP+ lenses on the G2/S4/N3 etc.

I also would put money on it being a hardware limitation. They used an inexpensive camera module and didn't include features like OIS. They will be able to address it to a degree with software, but the camera will never be great. MP count tells you almost nothing about picture quality. My mom has an older 6 MP Nikon dSLR and it shoots circles around brand new 16 and 20 megapixel point and shoot cameras.

 

[STC09]

Haven't even received mine yet but would have loved either an unlockable bootloader in the base edition or a DE with a color scheme that wouldn't be embarrassing.

 

[stanleywinthrop]

I honestly don't care what they do spec wise as long as active notifications and listening are retained along with as good or better battery life.

 

[Ry]

Haven't even received mine yet but would have loved either an unlockable bootloader in the base edition or a DE with a color scheme that wouldn't be embarrassing.

What's so embarrassing about the Developer Edition black/woven white combo?

 

[STC09]

What's so embarrassing about the Developer Edition black/woven white combo?

It's...um...aesthetically challenged.

A.k.a. fugly.

 

[ottscay]

Battery drain associated with screens really has nothing to do with how hard the processor is working, it is the sheer number of pixels and the increased backlight demands of the higher resolution. A 1080 screen has 2.1x as many pixels as a 720 screen. If one pixel and associated backlight (I do realize that the X in particular is AMOLED so backlighting is not a factor) takes 1 unit of energy to color and illuminate, then a 1080 screen will need to use 2.1x the amount of energy as a 720 screen, and that is before processor demand is even factored in.

You misunderstand - they should be able to again user relatively lower powered CPUs and GPU versions of next years newest chipsets (which themselves may also draw less power due to a die shrink) meaning they can drive a 1080p screen smoothly without using more juice.

 

[Lambertoid]

I love my moto x but the only thing I would really care for is a 5inch display I love the on screen buttons but it think it makes 4.7 inch look smaller so 5 inches would be perfect but also of course a better camera and I'd hope it would have a new version of the 8x processor because the speed compared to my wife's HTC one on gaming is a bit smoother....

Posted via Android Central App