Gadgetory

Motorola's new Moto X isn't loaded with the kind of specs that typically accompany a super high-end smartphone but that hasn't stopped Google from pushing it as a flagship contender on contract the suggested retail price of the Moto X starts at $1.99 the same price point as one of the most popular smartphones in history Samsung's Galaxy s4 how did these competitors fare in a head-to-head challenge let's find out I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow and this is motorola moto x vs samsung galaxy s4 last week we brought you a comparison featuring the Moto X up against the Google edition HTC One and will follow the same format when comparing the X against the stock galaxy s4 running TouchWiz atop Android jelly bean we'll do that in four categories build software camera and test notes to make sure you don't miss future reviews comparisons and features subscribe to pocket now here on YouTube and follow us where we tweet post snap and share these smart phones differ not just in terms of their design but in the philosophy behind that design Samsung's Galaxy s4 is largely a refresh of last year's Galaxy s3 but made even lighter and thinner by contrast the Moto X is a complete departure from the hard angular motorola of old it's tangible proof that Google's acquisition of the company has had a significant impact the X features a curved back with a finger friendly dimple and a soft touch finish while the galaxy s4 offers the now familiar glossy plastic hyper glaze coating that looks good but scratches easily while our Moto X is black the highly customizable device will be available in over 250 color combinations and it's fully assembled in the USA the galaxy s4 like most other smartphones is manufactured outside the US and it's available in just a handful of colors a much more visible difference between these devices is found in the display while the Moto X manages quite a feat in packing a 4.7 inch 720p AMOLED screen into its petite chassis the galaxy s4 is no slouch here either a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED panel has the exes screen beat in size and in resolution we found that the X does offer higher saturation and warmer whites regardless of the display mode selected but neither of these screens is hurting for color vibrance or black levels there's no getting around the s4 s higher resolution and pixel density and if you try hard you can probably make it out but only if you're looking for the difference taking a look at the engines the most notable difference here is that only one of these phones lets users get under the hood the galaxy s4 includes user expandable memory and a user replaceable battery while the Moto X doesn't the 50 gigs of free google drive storage that you get with the Moto X purchase helps but sometimes there's no substitute for a good microSD card so Samsung wins the power user points in this regard in terms of raw power our AT&T Galaxy S 4 here also packs the more conventional chipset which is also widely regarded as more powerful it's a Snapdragon 600 clocked at 1.9 gigahertz and backed up by 2 gigs of RAM while the Moto X offers a customized dual-core s4 pro at 1.7 gigahertz a hold on though that application processor is backed up by the same Adreno 320 GPU as found in the galaxy s4 and it's also augmented by two independent cores one for linguistics processing and the other for contextual computing motorola is calling this home cooked system the x8 mobile computing system and it's so different from the system inside the galaxy s4 and almost any other phone out there that you're left thinking the performance just has to reflect that but that's not really the case sure there are some deviations in benchmark results but not necessarily what you'd expect if you're a hardcore gamer you'll want to take those into account but on a day to day basis common tasks like opening and flicking between apps general responsiveness overall and so forth pretty comparable in fact the Moto X has a slight edge here you rarely see the hiccups and stutter on the X that you'll occasionally get on the s4 that's probably because the X is running an ear stock build of Android 4.2.2 while the Galaxy s4 also has to run TouchWiz samsung's heavy third-party UI on that UI completely changes the look and feel of Android and offers a whole catalogue of special features to go on top of it that catalog includes everything from smart stay which keeps the screen on while you're looking at it to air gesture which allows you to use your finger like a hovering stylus and much much more whether those features are worth anything to you depends on your own taste see our galaxy s4 full review to help with that but there's a lot of them with the s4 the name of the game is quantity of features not quality now Google and Motorola have opted for a completely different approach on the X emphasizing just a few added features these make use of the Moto X is special processing course to allow for such add-ons as touchless control which lets you give the phone verbal hands-free commands even when it's in standby and active display which detects when the phone is removed from a pocket or flipped over on a table and displays a quick summary of received notifications each suite of features is meant to make its respective phone more useful and user-friendly but we think Motorola gets closer to achieving that goal than Samsung does the Moto X is not flawless in this regard some of its features could use some honing as we mention in our full review but we think it offers more value in its smaller focused assortment of improvements than Samsung's shotgun approach does in terms of the camera the Moto X is view finder is brilliant and beautiful in its simplicity a toggle wheel slides out from the left only when you need it offering only the bare essentials for customization and touch to capture and flick directly to gallery and make the X's 10 megapixel camera as easy and usable as a Windows Phone shooter by contrast the viewfinder software controlling the galaxy s4 s 13 megapixel camera is pretty complex with drop-down menus and sliding toolbars that take some getting used to and there's no quick flick of the wrist to jump into the camera as there is on the Moto X but where the x's software shines it's let down quite a bit by the hardware with both cameras and 16 to 9 shooting modes 10 megapixels for the Moto X and 9.6 megapixels for the galaxy s4 the s4 shots are significant they better colors are brighter on the galaxies photos and while sharpness is sometimes comparable between the two devices when there is an edge it belongs to Samsung adding HDR helps with the color to a degree on the X but Samsung's photos still come out looking better the Moto X does try its best to deliver a sharper low-light experience than the s4 and in normal automatic shooting modes it succeeds to a degree but the amount of noise in the XS shots is almost absurd while the s4 doesn't do much better in illuminating very dark scenes at least it delivers clearer results in camcorder mode the Moto X brings some fairly good stabilization and audio to the game but again the colors are muted and dead in contrast to the bright vibrant tones of the galaxy s4 shooter here's a few seconds of 1080p video from each the galaxy s4 video stabilization disabled at normal walking pace on a brightly lit day outside of Boston with a slight breeze breeze and we'll end this with a focus test using the typical iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts everyone's favorite coffee if your name is Michael Fisher so while the Moto X delivers ok results that can be cleaned up after the fact along with fast shutter speed and a wider field of view those advantages aren't enough to overcome the better results of the galaxy s4 the Samsung shooter trounces the Motorola camera and that's not even taking into account Samsung's more customizable shooting modes if optical performance is a priority for you there's no debating it the s4 wins hands down but the pendulum swings the other way in terms of voice calls afield motorola has quite a bit of experience in this shouldn't be a surprise if you've watched our other galaxy s4 comparisons but the Moto X delivers much better quality on both sides of the call and much better noise cancellation as well it's also more pleasant to talk on thanks to that curved construction in phone calling it's the winner all around that advantage persists in terms of speakerphone though we are dealing with a very loud speaker on both of these units if pressed we'd probably prefer the speaker on the X due to its slight edge and bass and a slightly fuller sound that advantage also translates to the headphone listening experience as well you'll probably be able to listen to your tunes a bit longer on the galaxy s4 though not just because of its slightly larger battery but because that battery is also replaceable as mentioned before still each of these devices should get you through a full day of moderate to heavy use with no problem the story of these two devices is one of fundamentally different concepts resulting in totally divergent and results they both have their ups and downs and where your priorities lie will govern which is the right one for you if you need a smartphone with the maximum possible amount of features a solid camera one of the best displays on the market and the conventional powerful heart beating under it all the galaxy s4 is your phone if on the other hand you're looking for a more palm friendly more rugged build and more polished features and software excellent voice quality and more customization than you can find anywhere else the American assembled Moto X is the better fit either way though these are both excellent products in their own way so the money you shell out will be well spent thank you for tuning in for this one folks who hope you enjoyed this comparison as I mentioned before we have a full review on each of these devices on our YouTube channel and a full written review at pocketnow.com visit us there but before you go anywhere please toss us a like if you enjoyed the video leave a comment down below if you have some feedback follow us on social media and stay tuned for the next one it's coming very soon until then thank you for watching this has been michael fisher with PocketNow we'll see you then you