Moto X4 review: What changes does the revamped version bring?

Price: Rs 24,999

Rating: ****

Specifications: Snapdragon 630 octa core, 6GB RAM, 64GB storage (expandable, up to 256GB), 5.2-inch IPS LCD (1920 x 1080 pixels), Dual rear camera (12MP f2.0 + 8MP f2.2), 16MP f2.0 front camera, IP68, WiFi ac, BT4.2, NFC, FM, 3,000mAh battery, 163 grams

Pros: IP68 rated, good performance, only 6GB RAM phone in its price range, superb design, brilliant software features, comes with Android 8.0

Cons: Glossy surfaces attract smudges, slow camera, not very good with portrait/depth mode, sticks with 16:9 display


Don’t be confused about this review — the Moto X4 is not a new phone. The 4th generation Moto X (hence X4) was actually launched in Nov 2017. This is the revamped version with 6GB RAM, Android 8.0 pre-loaded and some new software features. Barring the 6GB hardware upgrade, the other things will make their way to the older X4 as well. So what’s this refresh about? The price will give you a hint or two. Once the 6GB variant goes on sale in the first week of Feb 2018, there will be three variants: 3GB/32GB (Rs 20,999), 4GB/64GB (Rs 22,999) and 6GB/64GB (Rs 24,999).

The X4 brings IP68 water/dust resistance (almost no other device at this price has it), a very beautiful glass-aluminium design, dual rear camera with wide-angle plus portrait, stock Android and a fast fingerprint scanner. The processor remains the same as before but the extra RAM gives it better multi-tasking (more apps can stay in memory and resume faster than more) and smoother overall performance. The Snapdragon 630 is adequate for most uses — only power users will feel shortchanged. These people would be better off stretching to a flagship class processor with the Honor View 10 (`30k) or OnePlus 5T (Rs 33k).

The X4 has an LTPS LCD screen and not amoled. Think of it like a step above the conventional IPS LCD (because it offers better blacks and lower power consumption) but not quite amoled. Lower consumption is good because it offers Moto Display (wave a hand to see and interact with your notifications — you can even reply from the lockscreen).

Some of the other software features include Attentive Display (screen stays on while you look at it) and Moto Voice (just say ‘show me’ followed by what you want to see). Using the X4 is a very pleasant experience for sure, mostly thanks to stock Android.

The camera is probably the weakest link in the X4. It’s good for the most part (even including a wide angle lens, pro mode, fun face filters, object recognition) and offers 4K video recording (30fps).

Where it fails to live up to expectations are low light performance (its really noisy) and portrait/depth mode (where the edges between subject and background are rarely well defined).

If you’re ok with a slightly larger phone and ok to stick with the 16:9 aspect ratio display, you should also consider Honor 8 Pro. For Rs 1k more, the 8 Pro offers 6GB RAM, double the storage, flagship class processor, a 5.7-inch 2k LTPS display, better dual camera and 4,000mAh battery.