Gadgetory

one of the biggest distinctions of Motorola's Moto X is that you're not stuck with just plastic you can get it in a variety of finishes including wood and even real leather that latter option is the one I chose and after three months of almost daily use I've learned a few things about life with a leather phone I'm Michael Fisher with PocketNow and this is your moto X 2014 durability report leather edition now we've had some time with the wooden Moto X as well thanks to our friends at AT&T but because I haven't used this bamboo version nearly as often or as long as my personal leather device we'll have to wait to get some more impressions on that this report will focus solely on the navy blue leather edition like most high-end smartphones of 2014 the Moto X uses Gorilla Glass 3 display protection and while it's tough it's not unscratched ball this small ding came from a hip level dropped to the floor that ended in a facedown slide and while it could have been much worse it's still a reminder that screen protectors are probably a good idea the aluminum side rails look to be undamaged on my particular unit but keep in mind it is a soft metal and won't do well if smashed into concrete flipping around to the back we see the real cost of leather as a phone casing the hore wean material is soft and therefore quick to show impressions I'm not even sure of the origin of many of these scuffs this one has been there since my first week of owning the phone while others have shown up since some look like impressions from the folded fabric of a pocket others are probably pock marks from putting the phone down on sand or even crumbs still others look to be fingernail impressions and at least one of these is probably from pulling the phone from a too tight pair of jeans they don't look bad you expect some of this with a leather phone after all it's just that I thought they'd fade after a time and so far they don't look to be doing so another aspect is tougher to illustrate but easy to feel the leather gets tacky after a while I'm a pretty clean guy but skin oil is a fact of life and when the phone collects enough of it especially in humid weather you get a little bit of stick that sounds gross but maybe this sounds even grosser it's not always a bad thing with all the smooth slick very droppable phones out there a little tackiness is actually welcome and it also feels like nothing else on the market so it's both practically and palpably unique which is in keeping with the Moto X philosophy on the whole so the occasional cleaning is probably an order and while I can't verify them personally we've seen reliable reports of saddle soap being safe to use on the Moto X with mink oil also suggested by some as always use at your own risk not all leather even whore ween leather is created equal so your mileage may vary with different colors of Moto X but from what we've seen of the models we've come across the leather trim of Motorola's 2014 flagship is a good fit for those who can tolerate and even enjoy a little visible wear and tear on their smartphone it certainly beats scratched up plastic or dented metal after all and the totally unique feel in hand goes a long way toward making up for any scuffs or scrapes folks go ahead and check out our full review of the Moto X here on YouTube stay tuned for the after the buzz re review of the Moto X this coming January and be sure to let us know how your experience with the leather bound flagship is going down in the comments below till next time there's been Michael Fisher with pocket now captain two phones on Twitter reminding you that putting a case on a moto X is like putting a hat over a nice hairdo you just shouldn't we'll see you next time you