Worth upgrading from Moto Droid Turbo 2 - Moto Z4 Questions & Answers

I have a Droid Turbo 2 with Android 7. It is slowing down greatly with lags the last few months. I'm wondering if the Z4 is worth it. The processor is less than what I have and mine has the Moto Shattershield like on the Force models. Looks like Moto did some cost cutting and isn't offering the Force anymore. Anyway, thoughts or opinions? I need to replace the phone, but, don't want to make a mistake if the specs aren't up to snuff with today's standards. I usually keep a phone 3 - 4 years, so, getting it right is a priority.

I say it's worth the upgrade.
I have older model (Z3 Play with 636)
Performance is on par with LG V20 (820) but battery holds up better.
You won't go wrong with Z4 (670)

damianinpa said:
I have a Droid Turbo 2 with Android 7. It is slowing down greatly with lags the last few months. I'm wondering if the Z4 is worth it. The processor is less than what I have and mine has the Moto Shattershield like on the Force models. Looks like Moto did some cost cutting and isn't offering the Force anymore. Anyway, thoughts or opinions? I need to replace the phone, but, don't want to make a mistake if the specs aren't up to snuff with today's standards. I usually keep a phone 3 - 4 years, so, getting it right is a priority.
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Click to collapse
I would definitely upgrade. If you think you like the turbo 2 you're gonna love this phone. Not only if the performance on par, but the battery life alone is worth it. And seriously, the camera's lol
mingkee said:
I say it's worth the upgrade.
I have older model (Z3 Play with 636)
Performance is on par with LG V20 (820) but battery holds up better.
You won't go wrong with Z4 (670)
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Click to collapse
That's funny, I downgraded from the Galaxy S9 to the LG V30, I loved the v30!
Happy to have the z4, its way faster to me! (Except compared to the s9)

You'll love it. I was on a z³ play until I DROPPED IT and RUINED it after a month. Now I'm back on my turbo 2 and it's killing me. Get the phone, don't wait any longer.

Related

Note 2 for maxx??

Question for you MOTO guys. I have a Note 2 currently. I've been looking to trade it for a while now. I have a guy wanting to trade straight up for a 1 month old Droid Maxx (the new version). I was looking for some opinions... I have owned the Razr, Razr HD, Razr Maxx HD and all of those seemed to lag bad. Can someone give me some input on this? Thanks in advance...
Also, I'm a craigslist pro and know everything necessary for the trading part. I'm only looking for input on the devices...
I went from the Note 2 to the Maxx and couldn't be happier. I notice no performance difference at all. The Note has a bit nicer screen (color-wise) but otherwise i can think of nothing that gives it an edge.
Keep in mind though, you'll be going to a very locked down phone with almost no development community. If you're a flash addict, this isn't the device for you.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
erishasnobattery said:
I went from the Note 2 to the Maxx and couldn't be happier. I notice no performance difference at all. The Note has a bit nicer screen (color-wise) but otherwise i can think of nothing that gives it an edge.
Keep in mind though, you'll be going to a very locked down phone with almost no development community. If you're a flash addict, this isn't the device for you.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
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I had a feeling it was still like that. Without really researching it... I remember those days when I had the Droid X. Never could really truly change it all that much... I just want to be sure the lag that existed on the razr line isn't on this device. Hard to tell really by just looking at one at a store or I'd do that. The Maxx seems to be more "advanced", besides the screen. Wireless charging, the voice command features, etc. Is the camera a lot better than the previous models? They sucked bad.....
The maxx is just very stock android, which i prefer. I feel like the overlays like TW and Sense just haven't evolved much since the GB days. Yes, they're better than they were, but they aren't really leveraging everything android has to offer yet.
As far as the camera goes, i don't take a lot of pictures, as i have a camera for that. It does take decent pictures, but it doesn't have the features of the Samsung camera. It does ok for me, but a real picture-phile (i think i made that word up) will be disappointed.
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brandon2x said:
I had a feeling it was still like that. Without really researching it... I remember those days when I had the Droid X. Never could really truly change it all that much... I just want to be sure the lag that existed on the razr line isn't on this device. Hard to tell really by just looking at one at a store or I'd do that. The Maxx seems to be more "advanced", besides the screen. Wireless charging, the voice command features, etc. Is the camera a lot better than the previous models? They sucked bad.....
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The Maxx/Ultra run a very Vanillaish version of android which makes it really smooth and fast, not at all like the Razr HD. The camera is OK, not the best but they did just release a firmware update which improved the camera. Fwiw I have a Note II and a Maxx and the maxx is smoother and faster imho. While there isn't much development for the maxx you can get root and install recovery and used the xPosed framework which provides for some visual customization.
erishasnobattery said:
The maxx is just very stock android, which i prefer. I feel like the overlays like TW and Sense just haven't evolved much since the GB days. Yes, they're better than they were, but they aren't really leveraging everything android has to offer yet.
As far as the camera goes, i don't take a lot of pictures, as i have a camera for that. It does take decent pictures, but it doesn't have the features of the Samsung camera. It does ok for me, but a real picture-phile (i think i made that word up) will be disappointed.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
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Picture-phile... That's a good one.... I take A LOT of pictures with my phone. It's just more convenient and the pictures are as good or better than any digital camera I've personally ever owned... TW on the Note 2 seems pretty important to me. I am probably one of the only people who actually USE the s-pen quite often and the way its built in to TW just works... I think based off what you've told me, I'm going to stick with my Note. I appreciate your fast responses. Have a great day.
brandon2x said:
Question for you MOTO guys. I have a Note 2 currently. I've been looking to trade it for a while now. I have a guy wanting to trade straight up for a 1 month old Droid Maxx (the new version). I was looking for some opinions... I have owned the Razr, Razr HD, Razr Maxx HD and all of those seemed to lag bad. Can someone give me some input on this? Thanks in advance...
Also, I'm a craigslist pro and know everything necessary for the trading part. I'm only looking for input on the devices...
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Click to collapse
Not a Note 2 user here...buy I've had a GS3 since its launch day and just upgraded to a Maxx...I fell in love with the Maxx as soon as I started using it...
Development is a little scarce to say the least...but I almost don't even care...the stock performance beats the pants off any ROM/kernel/OC'ing I ever experienced on my GS3...
I do need to take the time to root this thing in the next couple of days but I dont even feel the desire for much else other than basic root functions...
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
I was doing a comparison with my brother's N2 and my Maxx. This Maxx, with the LTE, was doing everything faster and smoother. Not once was his phone more responsive or as polished as the Maxx.
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I vote to keep the Note 2.
I'm a former Droid Razr owner...you'd be hard pressed into talking me into any phone that had a locked bootloader like the Motorola devices. Plus the Motorola devices just don't have the sales volume of Samsung so that's another reason that the development community is small. I just love the large amount of custom ROMs that are available for the top selling phones.
For the guy who just came from the S3, I've got Paranoid Android with 4.4 on mine and everything opens pretty much instantaneously. I wouldn't mind having more (Cores/RAM/Storage/Screen) but it would really just be for show. I can wait for my contract to be up before I get the "Next Big Thing" (S5?)
That being said I don't have any other specific complaints about the new Moto Droid devices and I am mulling over getting a Droid Mini on for my stepdaughter for Christmas. Using Early Edge since Verizon took the early upgrade program away, and I promised her a new phone if she kept up GPA above 3.5. It seems to have the same CPU and memory specs as the Maxx and the Ultra, just with a smaller screen. She'll never root it or anything. I wouldn't mind getting her the Ultra or Maxx either but I'm not sure she wants a device that big.
Which leads to my other question, I guess the Maxx/Ultra/Mini are all in this forum since they seem to have the same hardware specs?
brons2 said:
I vote to keep the Note 2.
I'm a former Droid Razr owner...you'd be hard pressed into talking me into any phone that had a locked bootloader like the Motorola devices. Plus the Motorola devices just don't have the sales volume of Samsung so that's another reason that the development community is small. I just love the large amount of custom ROMs that are available for the top selling phones.
For the guy who just came from the S3, I've got Paranoid Android with 4.4 on mine and everything opens pretty much instantaneously. I wouldn't mind having more (Cores/RAM/Storage/Screen) but it would really just be for show. I can wait for my contract to be up before I get the "Next Big Thing" (S5?)
That being said I don't have any other specific complaints about the new Moto Droid devices and I am mulling over getting a Droid Mini on for my stepdaughter for Christmas. Using Early Edge since Verizon took the early upgrade program away, and I promised her a new phone if she kept up GPA above 3.5. It seems to have the same CPU and memory specs as the Maxx and the Ultra, just with a smaller screen. She'll never root it or anything. I wouldn't mind getting her the Ultra or Maxx either but I'm not sure she wants a device that big.
Which leads to my other question, I guess the Maxx/Ultra/Mini are all in this forum since they seem to have the same hardware specs?
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Correct, this forum covers all of the new Droid line.
Personally I would consider a Moto X for your daughter over the Droid Mini. The specs are about the same but the Moto X feels much better in hand and is a much more stylish device. The Droid Ultra is the worst of both worlds and should not even be considered IMO. I have the Droid Maxx and my wife has the Moto X, and both are great devices with slightly different strengths (battery/screen size on the Maxx, form factor/customization on the Moto X).
unbesorgt said:
Correct, this forum covers all of the new Droid line.
Personally I would consider a Moto X for your daughter over the Droid Mini. The specs are about the same but the Moto X feels much better in hand and is a much more stylish device. The Droid Ultra is the worst of both worlds and should not even be considered IMO. I have the Droid Maxx and my wife has the Moto X, and both are great devices with slightly different strengths (battery/screen size on the Maxx, form factor/customization on the Moto X).
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Stylish? Huh, she shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I told her in July I wouldn't be able to get her another phone until May because Verizon had done away with the early upgrade program.
This is based on what I feel like paying. I am going above and beyond to do this for her. Even her mother encouraged me not to do it, but I feel the need to keep my original promise I made last Christmas. And I feel a little bad making her have a Droid Razr with a battery that broke, then an Xperia Play I had sitting around, and then (now) a used Droid Bionic I got off of Ebay.
So...
In the Edge program you basically pay for it every month, full retail divided by 24 months, so the Mini is appealing because full the retail price is only $349, or $14.54 per month. I think the Moto X was $549 so it would be $22.89 a month.
I can buy a 6 pack of Blue Moon with the leftover 8 dollars.
The other thing is that if I was going to go with a larger more expensive phone I like the G2 better than the MotoX. But I haven't looked at any reviews of the MotoX or the G2 either. I hated the HTC interface, and considering I will have to support her remotely, rather have an interface I can deal with. The S4 is not an option because it costs more than the other phones in the same class.
I could put my line on Edge, and do a hand-me-down with my S3 that works perfectly. But I would want an S4 out of that group and it would cost more. I'd rather wait until May when my contract is up and then I can re-up for another 2 year with either an S4 or S5.
So given all that, the Mini seems like a pretty good option considering I'm only paying $349 out of pocket and it has similar specs to all the other current gen Moto phones. But if she really wants a 5" phone we'll talk when she gets in town on Friday.
brons2 said:
Stylish? Huh, she shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I told her in July I wouldn't be able to get her another phone until May because Verizon had done away with the early upgrade program.
This is based on what I feel like paying. I am going above and beyond to do this for her. Even her mother encouraged me not to do it, but I feel the need to keep my original promise I made last Christmas. And I feel a little bad making her have a Droid Razr with a battery that broke, then an Xperia Play I had sitting around, and then (now) a used Droid Bionic I got off of Ebay.
So...
In the Edge program you basically pay for it every month, full retail divided by 24 months, so the Mini is appealing because full the retail price is only $349, or $14.54 per month. I think the Moto X was $549 so it would be $22.89 a month.
I can buy a 6 pack of Blue Moon with the leftover 8 dollars.
The other thing is that if I was going to go with a larger more expensive phone I like the G2 better than the MotoX. But I haven't looked at any reviews of the MotoX or the G2 either. I hated the HTC interface, and considering I will have to support her remotely, rather have an interface I can deal with. The S4 is not an option because it costs more than the other phones in the same class.
I could put my line on Edge, and do a hand-me-down with my S3 that works perfectly. But I would want an S4 out of that group and it would cost more. I'd rather wait until May when my contract is up and then I can re-up for another 2 year with either an S4 or S5.
So given all that, the Mini seems like a pretty good option considering I'm only paying $349 out of pocket and it has similar specs to all the other current gen Moto phones. But if she really wants a 5" phone we'll talk when she gets in town on Friday.
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Didn't realize you were buying off contract ... in that case sure the Droid Mini is a very good choice. As for 5" displays, the Droid Maxx is now $499 off contract which is probably the best deal going in that class (price might be good online only though, not 100% sure). I think of the Moto X as the same class as the Droid Mini because the form factor is so small, although it does have a slightly larger display (4.7" vs. 4.3").
unbesorgt said:
Didn't realize you were buying off contract ... in that case sure the Droid Mini is a very good choice. As for 5" displays, the Droid Maxx is now $499 off contract which is probably the best deal going in that class (price might be good online only though, not 100% sure). I think of the Moto X as the same class as the Droid Mini because the form factor is so small, although it does have a slightly larger display (4.7" vs. 4.3").
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Update: The Maxx just dropped to $449 off-contract today. Amazing deal IMO.

What phone are you coming from to Moto X Play

I have LG G4 and thinking of switching to Moto X Play as I always was fan of Moto X.
Have you made similar switch? If so what phone from and what are your first impressions?
I am coming from 1+1 . I have had drop my phone flat on screen and shuttered . Was waiting for for nearly 2 months now to buy new phone ...somehow this phone lured me given price tag and all the goodies it has inside. Last but not least existing customer care.
I'm kind of torn between oneplus 2 and play. What's your impressions on the Moto?
I will only get my X Play tomorrow.
Zenfone 2. I'd love a phone with a better camera and battery life.
Sent from my Golden Zenfone 2
Moto X 2014 (and now, temporarily, Moto G 2nd. edition).
I'm coming from a HTC M8- loving my X play so far.. especially with the great battery life.
Coming from a Verizon Note 3, a late 2013 phone, and I'm pretty neutral on this phone after using it for more than a week. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I guess I preferred Samsung's superAMOLED screen and camera software, and especially the dialer. Stock dialer is just painful. Feels better in the hand though, and having dual SIM (I have the XT-1563 unlocked version from Brazil) is a godsend when you're traveling. Battery / fast charging / camera are all decent but pretty much the same as my Note 3. Doesn't feel like an upgrade but it does the job.
Coming from a Nexus 5 paired to a Moto 360. With the Nexus 5, I would have to charge the phone in the middle of the day to last. With the MXP and paired to the M360, it definitely lasts the day.
Came from a Galaxy S6. So far doesn't feel like a downgrade.
Coming from the S5. The Moto X feels like a huge upgrade. I'm assuming its got a lot to do with the X shipping with near stock Android. :good:
My last phone was the xperia sp but am currently using the S3. Just ordered the Moto X Play and its arriving tomorrow! Cant wait!
I'm considering an upgrade from my Galaxy s5 mainly for the extra battery life, but am worried about a downgrade in performance. Any advice guys?
One plus 2
Loads of negatives with this phone and this included USBC is not main stream so I had to buy spare cables for work car etc. Battery life was abysmal even with the ota oxygen OS update. It ran hot. Finger print sensor was OK not as good a apples.
Overall not worth it since moving to moto x play in so much happier the battery is a massive plus and overall the OS is faster.
All being well I'll be picking up my moto x play from carphonewarehouse today.
I'm coming from a LG g2. Battery doesn't cut it for me and all the services you can't get rid of without rooting etc really gripes me.
So a stock android, better camera and battery should be good.
Now I just need to sell my g2 and my n5.....
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Free mobile app
Coming from Oppo Find 7a (X9006).
My dear old Z1 is dying and I hope DHL delivers my new moto X play asap..
Had an HTC One M7 Dev Edition, now switched to Koodo with the Moto X Play. Everything about the Moto X Play feels better... it's responsive, has insane battery life (not to mention the turbo charger), the screen size feels just right and looks good too. I feel like the only downgrade would be the build materials -- the HTC One has a beautiful metal chassis. Build quality is still solid though, although I'm hoping to get a case soon so it doesn't get prematurely murdered in my black hole of a purse.
I don't game on my phone (I'm a PC gamer), but I am a power user. Even with a ton of apps open, the phone speed is snappy and it doesn't get too warm. I really like the "pure" android experience that Motorola gives. My HTC phone was heavily skinned and detracted from the experience (although it's not the worst offender... I'm looking at you, Touchwhiz). Another thing I wasn't expecting to use so much is the Moto Voice/Google Now features, but it has come in handy a lot. Plus I now say goodnight to my phone, and it goes to sleep.
One creepy but pretty cool feature is the fact that the Moto X Play is ALWAYS picking up on what you're doing with the Google Now "assistant". It figured out where I lived after less than 24 hours, and it tells me what the traffic is like to get to work. I've had smartphones for years, but they've never been this "smart".
I haven't played around with the camera much, but it looks to be pretty decent from what I've read.
The fact of the matter is, most people don't need the expensive flagship phones anymore. Koodo sells the Moto X Play off contract for only $410 including the turbo charger, compared to $700+ for high range phone. I'd argue that specs are becoming less and less important as the software evolves. Unless you are a hardcore mobile gamer (do they exist??), need a space grey chassis, or just like to brag about having the best phone eva, everyone should consider the Moto X Play and so-called mid-range phones like it.
Had oneplus one before, but the software was buggy so I changed to huawei ascend mate 7. Huawei are too big phone for me so that's reason I'm going back for a 5.5 inch phone, moto x play. Like the way moto get updates and it's as near the real stock android experience. Looking forward for the android updates faster. This as near I will come my old Lg nexus 5. The best of two worlds.
Coming from a Zenfone 5 and looks like battery of my X Play will never end. My Zenfone was with an average 2h SOT and X Play go easily over 6h SOT.

Want to buy this phone

I need suggestion for this
mobilepricebd said:
I need suggestion for this
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Don't buy it, even though this phone is the best but they (LG) just cut off it's development, some versions(D838 IND) are struggling to get Lollipop so Marshmallow I think is not even an option considering that it will get updated
rdevilx said:
Don't buy it, even though this phone is the best but they (LG) just cut off it's development, some versions(D838 IND) are struggling to get Lollipop so Marshmallow I think is not even an option considering that it will get updated
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Click to collapse
Is that a reason not to buy it? Is it defective or suffer from performance issues?
@rdevilx has a point in that this is a very "underdog" kind of phone. nobody knows of it, not enough sales to warrant further development, and then some. BUT, it's a bloody brilliant phone. i'm loving my g pro 2 on stock 5.0.1. i like in karachi, pakistan, and lg phones, especially the lesser known kind, are damn cheap. i bought my own phone, my mom's phone, and my colleague's phone, three phones in three days, from the same shopkeeper, for 18,000 pkr. that's less than 180 dollars (used mind you; brand new is 44,000 pkr, or just around 420, 430 usd). the specs are amazing given that price. do you NEED marshmallow? up to you. i've rooted, installed custom recovery, and amd considering installing powernap to further increase the already badass battery life. i don't know where you live and how much it'll cost for you, but in karachi's skewed cellular markets, LG is a cheap-ass brand in comparison. even the brand new V10 is cheaper brand new than some other countries at 66,000 pkr.
I like to have 6 inch display phone and light weight. This is the only one I like (although 5.9 inch) and so far still cannot find the replacement. The latest v10 is 5.7inch with 192gram. But this one is only 172gram. I carry this phone comfortably and this has good hand grip.
The software update from LG is not fast but they are very committed. You need to wait 4-5months to get latest update but still good. But no one can guarantee it will be upgraded to Android M.
The only problem I discovered is GPS problem when turn on the 3G. This only can be fixed with root the phone and patched.
don't buy this phone
the hardware is very good
the software support is as bad.........
go for one plus 2, nexus 5x or moto x play

Thoughts about the Moto X Pure/Style after extended usage

The point of this post is just to share my thoughts about the direction Motorola has taken with flagships. After using this phone for more than a year I can conclude:
Besides near stock Android and Turbo charging, the phone is mediocre at best. I have never felt as good as what i felt with my previous flagships (a Oneplus One).
The Battery life is way below average. After using the phone for a year the battery has really started to show its age and its not lasting as long as it should.
Another annoying issue I noticed is the fact that Motorola implements almost the same design language for their lower end G series and X series. Apart from the size, someone who isn't a tech geek can easily mistake my Pure for a lower end Motorola phone. The new Z series has fixed this, but again it would be difficult for the uninitiated to tell the difference between a Moto Z Play and the more premium Moto Z. Samsung, LG, HTC, Xiaomi go to great lengths to ensure that their flagships stand out and look very different from the budget phones.
I dont think i need to mention the fact that ever since Lenovo has taken over, the update wait time has increased a great deal, new reports suggest that the Pure will only get Noughat in May 2017
The developers that choose to work on the Pure deserve a lot of credit, but the fact is that a lot of developers chose to develop for other devices rather than the Pure.
A lot of accessory manufacturers decided that the moto X Pure didn't deserve any attention. To find a decent case was not very easy, (I especially missed using a Spigen case) and the fact that there is not a single working tempered Screen glass protector proves this. (I know the Pleson works almost 100% but its not available freely in all countries neither is it perfect.)
In conclusion I'm pretty sure this will be my last Motorola phone simply because it would be smarter to spend a little more and get a Galaxy, and with phones like the Oneplus 3T it makes little sense to buy a phone like the Moto Z which is priced considerably higher.
Would love to hear from other people what they think and if they are going to stay loyal to Motorola.
Heavy weight
Easy to get heated
The point about sharing design with mid range Moto phones is dope. People often ask if it's a Moto X Play or a Moto G 3rd Gen and then we need to tell them it's X Style ??
Well ... I understand your point of view, but what I think is that you chose badly the device, since you found him "mediocre at best"
The points listed:
Comparing the most powerful AND STABLE 32-bit processor to the second in line of Qualcomm's 64-bit generation SOC's with new architecture and everything else, I believe to be extremely wrong, since after the SD810 fiasco the creation of the SD808 was the fix the company used (and i think it was a good one, but this is something mostly disagree with me '^^)
About the OnePlus One, it is really a beast phone with the SD801 (the 32bits GOD) and i understand that you had a remarkable experience with it, since i had (now it is with my girlfriend) an Xperia Z3 with the same SD801 as the OnePlus One i understand when you say it was a more fluid usage, since i think the same, but... I don't think you can compare something that is pretty stable with some new technology.
I never had any problems with the battery because i use as a normal phone and i play games only at home and waiting in lines (bank/medic/...), it gives me something next to 18 hours (stock ROM/kernel) of use with 3 hour SOT or 7 to 8 hours SOT when i use it to watch movies/series/animes in my bed, mostly at weekends. Through the week i unplug it from charger at 6:30, go to work, and at 18:00 i go back home (40 ~ 35% left), the weekend is always a mess for battery stats,
As for the design I don’t have much to say, because I find it very beautiful, and being same design language is a plus for me, i like to have a “invisible phone” in the croud, only people that asks me what is my phone should know the answer.
Now the two really bad points ...
As for Lenovo acquiring Motorola, I fully agree that it was dumb, at least it should keep Motorola working as it always did.
And the lack of smartphone accessories really is laughable
We can keep talking about it, but i really think is a good phone and the testing Nougat ROM's are amazing, i can't wait for the official Nougat update.
btw all samsungs look the same too, comapre new A series with S: very simmilar glass on glass design.
other than that, you're right there are some dissapoitments but it's not real flagship phone, it's more like very good mid-end device, It was never priced like a flagship so don't expect it to be real flagship - that's my opinion. OPO is a differen't story, they managed to get price down with other ways like it's distribution, services ect.
It is a flagship phone. Why would you think otherwise? SD 8xx, 5.7" 2K screen, 21 MP back camera, etc. Upon release the starting price for 16gb was $399, while most mid range phones hit at $250-$300. At this point, nearly 2 years later, it could be considered a mid range but that is because hardware moves forward.
As to my thoughts: I think this is a great phone, even now. I run unrooted stock and pretty much it is a Nexus device with a few extras for customization thrown via Moto apps. These apps are few and I appreciate that they add actual additional features and not just replicate what Android and Google actually does already. The phone runs smooth, has a good camera for good lighting, and handles everything I throw at it. I will admit that battery life could be better, but it is acceptable and at least the turbo charge makes up for this shortcoming. I don't regret this purchase, even if the update process is dismal.
Update: I have hit the end of my warranty period, so I unlocked the bootloader and rooted. I have applied my favorite rooted apps and settings (Xposed, amplify, Greenify, TiBu to disable/uninstall certain apps and services, BBS to track wakelocks, and AdAway) so hopefully I will see improved battery life.
I bought the phone 6 months ago and I love it. I always used to be a android tinkerer. But recently most of the features that I used to root for have become stock. All I really need in a phone is stock android (although I wish we would get updates sooner) and the front facing speakers (because anything else is stupid). While I will probably be buying whatever google has out when I decide that it is time to upgrade in a year or two. It isn't due to anything motorola did wrong in particular. I also tend to keep phones a long time and upgrade to a tried and tested phone (which 6 months ago was the moto x pure, getting great reviews.) I upgraded from the Galaxy Note 2, and this was a wonderful step up.
I bought mine used last summer, upgrading from a Galaxy Note II. I'm a little disappointed in the battery life, but it gets me through most days. I agree about the lack of accessories and the slowing speed of updates. I'm also amazed at how well my Note II still stands up while running a custom MM Rom. I hope the X Pure works that well when it is that old.
But there are things that I really love about this phone too. I am amazed at how good the front speakers sound. I never thought I would care this much, but they are really good. I'm happy with the camera, since most of my photography is in good lighting conditions. This is my first phone with a camera that was good enough to not bother with a point and shoot. I'll move to a custom ROM if the updates stop altogether, but they haven't stopped yet. I'm happy that it still has a headphone jack, I use it all the time. Speed is fast enough to never annoy me, where my Note 2 was fast enough to rarely annoy me.
I choose this phone as an aging flagship instead of a midrange (Honor 5X, Asus Zenfone Laser 2, Moto G 3rd Gen) and I'm glad that I did.
Note2 versus Moto X Pure Edition
Znomon said:
I bought the phone 6 months ago and I love it. I always used to be a android tinkerer. But recently most of the features that I used to root for have become stock. All I really need in a phone is stock android (although I wish we would get updates sooner) and the front facing speakers (because anything else is stupid). While I will probably be buying whatever google has out when I decide that it is time to upgrade in a year or two. It isn't due to anything motorola did wrong in particular. I also tend to keep phones a long time and upgrade to a tried and tested phone (which 6 months ago was the moto x pure, getting great reviews.) I upgraded from the Galaxy Note 2, and this was a wonderful step up.
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smallmj said:
I bought mine used last summer, upgrading from a Galaxy Note II. I'm a little disappointed in the battery life, but it gets me through most days. I agree about the lack of accessories and the slowing speed of updates. I'm also amazed at how well my Note II still stands up while running a custom MM Rom. I hope the X Pure works that well when it is that old.
But there are things that I really love about this phone too. I am amazed at how good the front speakers sound. I never thought I would care this much, but they are really good. I'm happy with the camera, since most of my photography is in good lighting conditions. This is my first phone with a camera that was good enough to not bother with a point and shoot. I'll move to a custom ROM if the updates stop altogether, but they haven't stopped yet. I'm happy that it still has a headphone jack, I use it all the time. Speed is fast enough to never annoy me, where my Note 2 was fast enough to rarely annoy me.
I choose this phone as an aging flagship instead of a midrange (Honor 5X, Asus Zenfone Laser 2, Moto G 3rd Gen) and I'm glad that I did.
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Note 2 holdout here too . I'm just finishing up my first week since the upgrade and am quite pleased so far. I have the feeling that the MXPE is going to be a good low maintenance, long haul phone that I can get a few good years of service out of without too much hand-holding, just like with the Note. And with a nice, bright LCD screen instead of Led, I won't ever have to worry about burn-in or custom kernels to help correct green tint; pretty much everything just works. In fact, there's a ton of features that used to require a special app or a custom rom on the Note 2 that are built right in to the X, so there was a lot less effort required out-of-the-box to get everything to work, and on the stock Rom, no less! Even tethering works on the stock rom, which is something that I've never seen on any smartphone in my life.
Comparing the battery life of the two devices, I have yet to conclude any formal tests, but so far, the Pure Edition looks like it's going to be delivering 3-4 hours of screen-on time at best, while the Note 2 delivered as much as 4-5 hours on a good day. That said, I used that phone much more conservatively, so that could have something to do with it, but overall, the runtime of the Pure Edition isn't looking all that great. I think it's just got too much power for its own good, and when you combine that with a ludicrously-high screen resolution, (which demands more effort to render those high-resolution fonts and animations) it strains the CPU and GPU more. Time will tell if things improve after I settle in with it.
Overall I am happy with my X pure, though I share some of the others gripes.
Pros
-Screen
-Above average camera
-Good front camera with flash
-Good CPU, 3GB RAM
-front speakers
-no complaint on call quality
-Sd card slot - I have a 64GB card split as 20GB adopted and 40GB external
-moto ROM is near stock
-Moto features are well done (lock screen notifications)
-Simple unlock/root process
-GSM & CDMA = yes on VZ
-Quich charge 2
-understated design (I like it, others not as much)
- PRICE for these features unmatched
Cons
-Gets hot under load
-Battery life could be better - depends on how much I use it. GPS OFF helps. QC is a necessity with this phone
- lack of choice for accessories
- curved back - one handed is a chore and can't use on the table face up. It does feel nice to hold for a call though.
Other
- upgrade cycle has been slower than some would like. However it still exists at least. Other phones would be dead by now, this one is still alive.
Overall, Pros outweigh the cons and there is a lot for me to love about this phone.
I think I have been spoiled, because I'm finding it hard to find a device to upgrade to without sacrifices. The only phones I would consider are the Pixel and Moto G4 and one is expensive and the other underpowered.
well, i did the poll but i did it as a yes i would buy another, with condition of course.
i came from the original disappointed motorola fans, the Photon 4G fan. back then... it was the photon of the era. It had the ability to work as a PC, GSM capabilities, 4G wimax and at the time was the best performance with dual core 1 gigahertz and qHD. really a prime of a phone at that time compared to the S2 and the evo. cyanogenmod came out and did wonders on that phone because moto blur was so trashy. Then... the worst happened. Sprint ordered motorola to lock down the bootloader to 2.3.6 which is severely locked and no modifications were allowed to be done anymore. those who were lucky to not have 2.3.6 were able to mod to ICS but those who had 2.3.6 had to bootstrap the phone to work with cyanogenmod and that even was a piss poor attempt at making it work.
now i buy the moto x pure with alot of resentment from the photon but after hearing the reviews is when i bought it. after plagues of hardware problems with hte nexus 5 i simply needed a way to go back and the best device was the moto x. i was so sure i wanted this phone i custom ordered it (after reading rave reviews), i ordered the black leather with red accent 64 gig with 2 years protection. with over a year on this phone... i will admit i still love it.
there were a few hardware problems but i do have the 2 year protection and they did repair it for me... replaced the screen and the battery and wireless modules. i since then have not had problems with it (and believe they remedied the issues that i had with the older devices). i own an HTC M9, and my sister has the s7 edge. the only thing i like about the m9 is the dolby atmos and the carrier aggregation (hoping for a wireless update for the X). other than that... my phone is still superior despite older technology.
why?
i love my moto x because of the moto display. my absolute favorite! i also love the flash light and camera gestures.
the camera works great, signal is still better than most other phones, it barely crashes, the speakers still work very well, still speedy, turbo charge is still an amazing product and i bought the car charger for it. battery had 90 mins on screen time and still has 41% battery and i like the fact its unlocked gsm. i tried freedom pop a few weeks ago and i put that sim in. switched over quickly and it worked great then when i was done... i put my sprint sim back in and it worked just as great too.
the reason i dont see much to switch to however is because samsung, LG, and HTC hasnt really enticed me yet as to why their phone is better. samsung i have to see what will make them different... but LG really hasnt enticed me and im curious on what HTC does, though im not a metal phone fan (feel the feraday cage idea disintegrates the signal, IMO). Pixel is nice... but i simply dont have the money.
what would make me switch to another phone...
1) 4 gig of ram (preferably 6 gigs)
2) HPUE has to be baked in for Sprint LTE at a minimum but 5 channel aggregation would be amazing, AND GSM UNLOCKED
3) best camera software
4) minimum 5.5 inch screen
5) battery that will last for full 24 hours without need of charge or quick charge 4.0 with dual pol
6) shatter resistance and waterproof
for now... the moto x meets my demands without incremental improvements until i see whats next. hopefully a moto z successor that actually works on sprint
In the 2 years it has been out the update cycle has been slower than Samsung's Motorola did not deliver on the support side the main selling point they had with this device was it was going to be similar to the Nexus upgrade cycle well my warranty was up before the first update came out... In addition to the fiasco that is accessories for this phone I am really regretting not going with the LG v10
I don't know why everyone still complains about the accessories. This was never a mainstream device since it was completely carrier independent and sold unlocked. The previous Moto X (and Moto G) line was sold as both branded and unlocked so they were actually seen at pretty much any company that sold cellular service. For those looking for contract or payment plan pricing, they could get it from the carrier. With limited visibility, and the lack of payment plans through carriers the Pure was just not that popular. Companies that make accessories are going to focus on popular selling phones first as that is where they will make the most money... At least we have some options.
I sold my Moto X Pure to buy a Google Pixel XL.
If I were to sell the Pixel XL, then the Moto X Pure is the only phone I'd consider buying.
It was the best all-around phone I've ever had.
I'd even go with it over the new OnePlus 3 second edition or Galaxy S7 variants.
Regardless of price.
Moto Z. lmao what a stinker that phone is compared to Moto X Pure.
Unless you want pretty. Then you shouldn't even be on XDA if that's all you care about.
Interesting comments. I've been a Nexus owner for years, with the 6P being my prior phone. It became my prior phone due to the all too common Boot Loop of Death (BLOD) that seems to be impacting more and more owners. While Huawei did replace it with a refurb'ed model, not in mint shape like the one I sent, but it did come back with 128g instead of the 32g I sent. The battery is terrible as compared with the MXPE, I've been through most of the custom roms/kernels and nothing has really helped and I don't do social media nor play games on it. The built in features of the Moto really impressed me, they are actually functional and add value. The Moto Display is excellent as is the voice recognition of the Moto voice. The bluetooth stack seems to have issues (with me at least), my cell signal is a bit worse and the lack of updates is sad.
I've considered the Pixel, but the price is insane and after having the Pixel features on the 6P I'm happy with the Moto.
When I got my 6P back, it took about a week to change my sim back to it from the Moto, I put it back in the Moto the next day and don't plan on taking it out.
I've had several issues with my Moto X Pure:
1. Frequent static emanating from the headphone jack, which puts a real damper on quiet classical music. I've read on discussion boards that this is a known problem with jacks on the Moto X.
2. Failure to recognize SD cards. I'm now on my third card, and the phone is less than a year old.
3. The camera now fails to operate because of a "lack of disk space" -- although I have more than 24GB available.
Like you, I will never buy another Motorola phone.
Gourdman said:
I've had several issues with my Moto X Pure:
1. Frequent static emanating from the headphone jack, which puts a real damper on quiet classical music. I've read on discussion boards that this is a known problem with jacks on the Moto X.
2. Failure to recognize SD cards. I'm now on my third card, and the phone is less than a year old.
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1. This is interesting and must be sample-specific. I'm a pretty avid music listener and haven't had any problems with the headphone output on either of my MXPEs (had to RMA my first toward the end of the warranty period). I'd definitely notice and complain if there were any perceptible noise.
2. This one I do have experience with. I bought a brand new Samsung EVO 64 GB mSD card at the same time as the phone, and it gave me fits, but seems to work in other devices. Tried an older SanDisk I had laying around and it's worked fine.
ominousnimbus said:
1. This is interesting and must be sample-specific. I'm a pretty avid music listener and haven't had any problems with the headphone output on either of my MXPEs (had to RMA my first toward the end of the warranty period). I'd definitely notice and complain if there were any perceptible noise.
2. This one I do have experience with. I bought a brand new Samsung EVO 64 GB mSD card at the same time as the phone, and it gave me fits, but seems to work in other devices. Tried an older SanDisk I had laying around and it's worked fine.
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I've had issues with static, but only on some select 3.5mm plugs. I just figure it was that specific plug itself.
Have had no issues with my SanDisk plus. I use it as removable storage and not as adopted storage. But going back to your statement, I have owned a multiple phones and have noticed some don't play well with certain brands of cards but do well with others. I'm not sure why this is but it does happen.
I really hope I don't get SD slot troubles. My Note 2 did that and it drove me crazy. Maybe next time I should just shell out for a 64+ GB phone.
Times have changed
smallmj said:
I really hope I don't get SD slot troubles. My Note 2 did that and it drove me crazy. Maybe next time I should just shell out for a 64+ GB phone.
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Newer versions of Android (and their apps, along with the stock Rom apparently) are not nearly as frugal with the 16GB of storage as the Note2 was. I'm already at 7.8/9.6GB used with just a basic load of apps and data (music is on the card and camera photos are also directed to be stored there) on the MXPE.
For comparison, my Note2 has a massive load of software & data, plus a ton of camera photos, all on the main storage volume, and only 6.26GB out of the total 10.95GB available are used.
All that to say that 16GB used to be plenty, but "modern" software is just too bloated for that. If I do upgrade phones anytime in the next ~2 years, it'll probably be to a larger Moto X Pure Edition, but for now, that 64GB MicroSD card should be plenty adequate.

Realistic options for a replacement to the Moto X Pure

So I am getting sick of the battery life of this device and charging twice a day just to get by... the QC helps but it isn't always a viable option for someone who is on the road/travels a lot. I am probably going to go back to my Moto G 2015 for the time being as I could get a full days use most of the time on a single charge and just selling my MXPE.
But now the question comes up as what to replace it with... Moto G 5th gen, Blu Pure XR, ZTE Axon 7 Mini, or ???
My requirements are simple, or so I think...
1) 4+ hours SOT, preferably 5+, in mixed signal environment of WiFi/LTE/3G and sometimes without the best signal strength (for reference, I currently get about 2.5 hours on MXPE)
2) 5.2"-5.7" screen with 1080p minimum resolution
3) Stock Android, "near" stock, or simple UI (no TouchWiz, EMUI, ZenUI, or other bloated UI) that allows easy use of replacement launcher
4) 64GB internal storage or 32GB internal+microSD
5) 3GB or more of RAM
6) Full AT&T network compatibility (GSM 850/1900 and LTE Band 2/4/5/12/17 and optionally 29/30)
7) Nougat or Marshmallow with a Nougat upgrade "guaranteed"
8) 3.5mm headphone jack
9) Dual band WiFi - 2.4 & 5Ghz
10) $300USD or less
Would be nice, but not essential...
1) Unlockable bootloader (implies root/custom recovery/ROM development community)
2) Front facing speakers
3) NFC
4) USB 3.0
Absolute no no's are Samsung, Asus, or Huawei/Honor devices.
What else fits these requirements that I am not considering?
I believe the one phone that comes to mind that would fit most of your requirements is the Axon. I took a break from the MXPE (when it flew off my roof and died a horrible death in a rain storm) and had the Axon 7 (normal size) for about a month. You will get NEAR 4 hours of SoT, a qhd screen, 5.5 inches, relatively light for metal body. Unlockable bootloader and decent dev for it, last I checked. Things that bothered me/ pissed me off were that DTTW was laggy and slow, the actual cell service seemed to be really bad, possibly because of the full metal body phone, and the biggest annoyance - no backlit capacitive buttons, so you were left sort of blind in the dark trying to hit buttons. There is also no way through the build.prop to enable the on-screen buttons to bypass the issue at night, last I checked.
LG V20 could be an option too since it has a bootloader unlock now, 3.5-4.5 hours of SoT. I think it has a bottom bezel speaker though, which is a little weird, and as always the LG software has complaints. The dev is good enough to get around that though.
I'm in the same boat as you though. I've been looking pretty hard to find a new phone and the V20 is the only one I am really considering right now.
Get the OnePlus 3T it meets all your needs I get easily 6 to 7 HR sot
datchico305 said:
Get the OnePlus 3T it meets all your needs I get easily 6 to 7 HR sot
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Would love to... tell me where I can get a new OP3T for under $300... That one is a hard stop requirement.
@xgerryx Same for LG V20 and Axon 7 (which never goes on sale, although the Mini does often), the $300 price point is a big deal
This phone has been a little disappointing. It's good, but definitely not great. It's a night and day difference from the Galaxy S3 I was using, but I wish I had held out a little longer for the SD 820 phones instead of buying in 2015.
It sounds like you've already got a pretty inclusive list for phones that are sold in the US and meet your requirements.
I just checked swappa, and if you're willing to go used, the OnePlus 3 is starting to get down towards the price point you're looking for. It has the same size battery as the MXP, and between the more efficient SoC than this godawful 808/810 generation and an FHD AMOLED I'd think you should get better screen on time out of it. It's a OnePlus so it has loads of good development, so you'll have all kinds of kernel/rom/tweaking available to really squeeze every erg out of it.
jason2678 said:
This phone has been a little disappointing. It's good, but definitely not great. It's a night and day difference from the Galaxy S3 I was using, but I wish I had held out a little longer for the SD 820 phones instead of buying in 2015.
It sounds like you've already got a pretty inclusive list for phones that are sold in the US and meet your requirements.
I just checked swappa, and if you're willing to go used, the OnePlus 3 is starting to get down towards the price point you're looking for. It has the same size battery as the MXP, and between the more efficient SoC than this godawful 808/810 generation and an FHD AMOLED I'd think you should get better screen on time out of it. It's a OnePlus so it has loads of good development, so you'll have all kinds of kernel/rom/tweaking available to really squeeze every erg out of it.
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That actually could be an option... I will investigate further.
acejavelin said:
Would love to... tell me where I can get a new OP3T for under $300... That one is a hard stop requirement.
@xgerryx Same for LG V20 and Axon 7 (which never goes on sale, although the Mini does often), the $300 price point is a big deal
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If you happen to be SUPER interested in the V20, I have seen some go for like 310-320 on Swappa in good to mint condition. You gotta hound the seller though and keep track of it all damn day for when the price drops. Not an awesome experience but I'm waiting for the same thing myself.
xgerryx said:
If you happen to be SUPER interested in the V20, I have seen some go for like 310-320 on Swappa in good to mint condition. You gotta hound the seller though and keep track of it all damn day for when the price drops. Not an awesome experience but I'm waiting for the same thing myself.
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I'm not really interested... TBH, my experience with non-Nexus LG Android devices has been... well... lets just say less then wonderful.
Although I would have to say that the LG enV from years ago probably ranks up there as my favorite phone of all time, back when you could actually get DAYS of usage out of a cell phone on a single charge. I remember I would charge it twice a week. lol
acejavelin said:
I'm not really interested... TBH, my experience with non-Nexus LG Android devices has been... well... lets just say less then wonderful.
Although I would have to say that the LG enV from years ago probably ranks up there as my favorite phone of all time, back when you could actually get DAYS of usage out of a cell phone on a single charge. I remember I would charge it twice a week. lol
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Yea I agree. After my terrible experience with the buggy LG G4, I'm very skeptical about going back again. At the same time I am running out of companies to try out! Haha. Gotta circle back eventually, especially on Verizon.
xgerryx said:
Yea I agree. After my terrible experience with the buggy LG G4, I'm very skeptical about going back again. At the same time I am running out of companies to try out! Haha. Gotta circle back eventually, especially on Verizon.
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NEVER AGAIN!!! I refuse to drop $140 plus taxes and fees (realistically $160) for the service level I get now for $72 per month. Plus the limitations on devices, I would have to buy at least one new phone and/or go under contract. Nope, not happening. (Can you tell I have a grudge against Verizon, lol)
I would look around swappa for a OnePlus 3 or 3t it's worth it no bugs lag free and monthly updates it's already on nougat 7.1.1 and the beta builds they offer are great as well and development is great lots of greats ROMs and kernels and unlocking bootloader will not void warranty
TBH...I think you will have a hard time meeting all of your requirements right now. The market looks pretty dismal which is very unfortunate. I personally will hold out a little longer. I'm really looking hard at what Nokia/HMD are coming up with and hoping their roadmap for US devices includes a mid range device soon. So far their line up seems decent and if they are true to their word about expedient updates for Android, and they will sell devices with unlockable bootloaders at decent prices, I'll be sold.
moving to a galaxy s8 plus, comes tomorrow
unitz0mbie said:
moving to a galaxy s8 plus, comes tomorrow
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Like @acejavelin stated, Samsung is not an option, and I agree with him. Yes they have great hardware for the most part, but a less powerful processor running vanilla, our near vanilla Android will run just as well considering the lack of heavy handed UX. I will admit the phone looks great hardware and looks wise, but I personally don't like the look and feel of Samsung TW.
unitz0mbie said:
moving to a galaxy s8 plus, comes tomorrow
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Sammie's are to bloated... Every Samsung devices we have ever had has been problematic... Hope you enjoy yours though but I would never spend that kind of money on a phone.
I have a moto g5 plus as well, its pretty good. It's fast and smooth. Screen and camera are good too, but obviously not as good as the X style.
Yes mxpe battery sucks. I have to charge 2-3 times a day and am not even a heavy user. I know its more than your actual budget but better wait, save a bit more and probably the price will drop also and go for a OP 3T.
i know your problem man.. but why don't you wait for a nougat update?? why not? maybe they might fix up the battery drain issue!
there are barely very less phones which have dual front facing speakers.. market has got very saturated.. all look for flagship but they just don't think that having a good speakers is also a part of flagship project!
as per my personal opinion... this phone is just the best phone ive ever used (till 2015) but in upcoming era you will see more and more features
i will recommend you to wait and not hurry up to get a phone...
if you need a pure stock surely get nexus but just wait for new nexus phone.. maybe they might consider it as a flagship and the value might be cheap??
anyways if you're just asking for all the requirements my opinion (AXON 7) not just only for dual front facing speakers but also for the processor(sd 820),storage(64gb,6gb ram) expandable ovbio (256gb)
plot twist: has hybrid sim XD
but im legit that it'll be upgraded to android 'O'
but it cost around $350
think man.. public reviews are also good
it meets all the requirements but is as costly as mxpe
Sagar_1401 said:
i know your problem man.. but why don't you wait for a nougat update?? why not? maybe they might fix up the battery drain issue!
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Nougat can't "fix" our battery issue... Radio and display panel are hardware issues and that's where 75% of all battery drain is. It isn't even issues, it's just how much power they use normally. The SD808's radios are terribly inefficient, and the display panel uses more power than some small towns. If you think Nougat is going to noticably improve active use time, your kidding yourself.
To be honest, I might just pull my old Nexus 5 out if the drawer and switch to it... The battery life can't be much worse.
The sound aspect is less important. FF speakers are nice, but as long as I can hear a YouTube video in an average room and turn the ringer up enough u don't care.
I bought the MXPE as an upgrade to my G 2015 and it was on sale for under $250, and for the most part it is, I just didn't realize how bad the battery was, it is easily half of my G.
I got Axon 7 after X and can't be happier. I've had the A7 since August. Has the front speakers i wanted, nice beautiful Samsung screen. Battery is definitely better then X. Software was buggy at the beginning but they have improved it a lot. Axon 7 has been getting a lot of updates, doesn't mean it'll continue, we were the 1st ones to receive 7.0 with the exception of Google devices, and we are the only ones so far (afaik) to receive 7.1.1 with also the exception of Google devices.
It has its flaws but i love the phone. For the money you can't beat it. It's on sale now on newegg for $330.

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