Moto X4 dual camera samples, photo gallery and initial observations
Highlights It packs 12MP+8MP dual rear camera sensors with several modes to play around with
The phone ships with near stock Android 7.1 Nougat
The smartphone is compliant with IP68 water and dust resistance
After keeping the Moto fans waiting for more than a month, Motorola finally launched its second dual camera smartphone in India this Monday, the Moto X4. The Lenovo-owned company released the latest smartphone from their X-series for a price starting at Rs 20,999. The Moto X4 was officially introduced this September at IFA 2017, Berlin. The company later that month announced Android One edition of this dual camera smartphone in the U.S.
While the Android One version cuts down some of the integral Moto features like Moto Access, one-button nav options etc., you won’t miss these aspects if you buy the smartphone in India. The Moto X4 Indian variant packs in Moto Key, wireless audio streaming option, Amazon Alexa assistant to name a few. We got a chance to spend some time with the device at the launch event and here are our initial observations.
Moto X4 Specifications
The Moto X4 sports a 5.2-inch full HD (1920×1080 resolution) LTPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 630 14nm mobile platform clocked at 2.2GHz. It is available in the two RAM/storage options- 3GB RAM/32GB internal memory and 4GB RAM/64GB of storage. The Moto X4 ships with Android 7.1 Nougat and comes with an expandable memory of up to 2TB via microSD card. Like we mentioned, the phone comes with a few added features like the Quick Screenshot that lets you take the screenshot by swiping down three fingers on the display. Notably, OnePlus 5 too has the same feature to capture quick screenshots.
Moto Key meanwhile allows you to access websites on the smartphone securely by unlocking it with your finger. The Moto X4 also has Bluetooth 5.0 support and it gives you an option to pair with 4 speakers simultaneously. The phone packs a 3000mAh battery and bundles 15-Watt Turbo Power charger which claims to offer up to 6 hours of juice just within 15 minutes of charge.
Moto X4 Design & Build
The new Moto X4 flaunts a glass and metal body with anodised aluminum frame. While many complain about Sony for putting the same loop design on their smartphones for generations, Motorola seems no different. Like any other Moto phone, the Moto X4 has thick bezels up front with the front camera sensor, LED flash module and Moto branding at the top and capsule shaped home button below. The mono speaker grills are at the front while the USB Type-C port and 3.5mm audio jack sit at the base. The fingerprint sensor is stacked on the home button itself. The power button and volume rockers are placed on the right side.
Moving to the rear, thanks to the 3D contoured back, the Moto X4 looks gorgeous from the rear side, all glossy and smooth. However, be prepared to welcome a lot of smudges thanks to there being no oleophobic coating on it.
A notable addition to the new Moto smartphone is IP68 water and dust resistance, which means you can submerge the device in water for up to half an hour and it will still run fine (don’t throw it at the bottom of the pool though). We tried testing it at the event for a few minutes (about 10 minutes) and the device did work well after that.
In terms of build quality, the Moto X4 feels premium with a good grip, pocketable size and is sturdy enough to take a few drops. The phone is extremely good to hold and operate with a single hand. The power buttons, volume keys can be comfortably reached with your thumb.
Moto X4 Camera
The key highlight of the Moto X4 is its dual camera module at the back that carries a 12-megapixel primary camera and an 8-megapixel wide-angle secondary camera. Both the sensors capture colour images and offer shallow depth of field. The main camera on the rear panel feature dual-pixel autofocus, a f/2.0 lens and 1.4-micron pixel size. The 8-megapixel wide-angle camera meanwhile offers a 120-degree field of view and f/2.2 aperture.
In our brief time, we tried clicking a few shots both indoor and outdoor. The focus was sharp enough to capture the objects in the frame; however, we would like to hold our final verdict until we put it through our rigorous test process. The camera app offers a few modes; for instance, the Spot mode lets you select one colour in the frame leaving other elements in the background in monochrome (black and white).
The camera also offers Selective focus that lets you add a blur effect to the images that you shoot with the device. The camera app also includes- landmark recognition (to provide insights into certain places), business card reader and object recognition.
The front camera has a resolution of 16-megapixel that comes with a LED flash module to offer brighter selfies in low light condition.
Moto X4 Camera Samples
The camera app on the Moto X4 comes with Spot capture mode that select one colour in the frame and keeps other elements in the frame in monochrome
Moto X4 Final Thoughts
The Moto X4 does offer a few good features- dual rear camera, premium build quality, water and dust resistance and a front-facing flash for those who like to take selfies in low light. In addition, near stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat is a cherry on top as the UI is more clean and intuitive. The phone also has built-in FM Radio which is pretty hard to find on smartphones these days. The bummer in the Moto X4 is that it is bulky and the glossy rear panel is a smudge magnet. If you are a person who wants a sturdy build in your smartphone with a stock Android experience and can tolerate thick bezels, this might be the smartphone for you. That’s just our initial assessment.
Moto X4 Photo Gallery