SpecEagle review · Motorola

Moto X (1st gen) review: The 2013 Google-era Motorola — customisable, with always-listening voice.

SpecEagle Editorial·Aug 2013·$579
Overall
30/100
Class rank
#79 of 87
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

A clever 2013 Motorola from the Google era.

The first Moto X pioneered Moto Maker customisation and always-listening voice. Modest specs aside, it was an innovative device — now history.

01Display

50/100

50/100 is one of the weaker display results among flagship phones of 2013 — 18 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

TypeAMOLED
Size4.7 inches
Resolution1,280 × 720 px (316 ppi)
ProtectionGorilla Glass

02Camera

36/100

36/100 is one of the weaker camera results among flagship phones of 2013 — 25 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

Main10 MP, f/2.4, Clear Pixel
Selfie2 MP
Video1080p @ 30 fps
FeaturesTwist-to-launch camera

03Performance

22/100

22/100 is one of the weaker performance results among flagship phones of 2013 — 34 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

ChipsetMotorola X8 (Snapdragon S4 Pro based)
CPUDual-core 1.7 GHz + contextual cores
GPUAdreno 320
RAM2 GB
Storage16 GB / 32 GB

04Battery

40/100

40/100 is one of the weaker battery results among flagship phones of 2013 — 22 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

Capacity2,200 mAh
Wired~10 W
WirelessNo

05Build

52/100

52/100 is one of the weaker build results among flagship phones of 2013 — 12 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

06Value

40/100

40/100 is one of the weaker value results among flagship phones of 2013 — 11 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

What works
  • Moto Maker let buyers customise colours and materials.
  • Always-listening "OK Google Now" voice — ahead of its time.
  • Near-stock Android with fast updates.
  • Comfortable, compact build.
What doesn't
  • Only a 720p display; 10 MP camera was mediocre.
  • Small 2,200 mAh battery; plastic build.
  • Software ended at Android 5.1.
  • Discontinued — a vintage device.
Cross-shop it against
Nexus 5 (LG)
$349 · score 84/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 87-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .