Moto X4 review: Lacks the X factor

The original Motorola Moto X, launched in 2013, could give any flagship device a run for its money thanks to the powerful Snapdragon S4 chip, AMOLED screen, and a 10MP camera. Today though, the new Moto X4 has to face some serious competition from recently discounted flagship phones.

A glance at the Moto X4 and you know that it falls flat in the aesthetics department. The outline and thick bezels remind us of the Samsung Galaxy S3 from 2012. The phone boasts of a metal frame sandwiched between glass panels. Another bright spot is the IP68 certification for dust and water resistance.

The X4 ( 6GB of RAM) sports a 5.2- inch IPS LCD with full HD resolution in a conventional 16: 9 aspect ratio that renders sharp images with decent contrast. Moto smartphones are known for no- nonsense Android experience, and the X4 ( 6GB) is no exception. It offers Android 8.0 Oreo with a stock user interface. It looks neat and is easy to navigate. There's even a One- button navigation feature that turns the fingerprint sensor into a multipurpose touchpad. The Moto Display feaure can show notificaions when the phone is in sleep mode. In addition to the Google Assistant, Lenovo has baked in its own voice command support.

The X4 is powered by a Snapdragon 630 chipset along with 6GB RAM. This gives it a clear advantage in terms of multitasking. Even if you have a truckload of apps open in the background, the phone ensures that each of them retains the exact state where you left off. It easily handles all the casual games you throw at it. But, it does stutter a bit when it comes to graphically intensive games.

The Moto X4 features a dual 12MP + 8MP camera setup. In proper light conditions, it snaps neat pictures. You get plenty of detail and decent colours. Things go south as the sun goes down though. Since the camera lacks OIS, the low- light photography is nothing to write home about. The phone captures amazing 4K videos. The frontfacing camera is good too.

The Moto X4 packs in a 3000mAh battery that can make it last for a full day. The phone ships with a 15W rapid charger that can fill it up to 40 per cent in 30 minutes. To sum it up, the Moto X4 with 6GB of RAM is a decent phone that packs enough power to perform daily tasks without an issue.