The Moto X Style, or Pure Edition as it will be known in the U.S., is the flagship in Motorola’s new lineup and it seems the only Moto X variant that will be available in the U.S. Let’s take a quick look at the specs on this thing, remembering that it starts at just $399.

• 5.7-inch QHD display
• 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor with Adreno 418 GPU
• 3GB RAM
• 16/32/64GB ROM with microSD expansion up to 128GB
• 21MP rear camera f/2.0
• 5MP front camera f/2.0
• 3000 mAh battery with Turbo Charging
• Bluetooth 4.1 LE
• NFC
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + MIMO
• Android 5.1.1

That’s an impressive array of specs for that price point, Motorola is even challenging the value proposition of the newly announced One Plus 2. But moving on from the straight tech specs let’s take a closer look at some of the major features of the Moto X Pure Edition.

Camera

This is one area that will see a fair amount of scrutiny from me, as I have put up with a lot of disappointment with Motorola camera performance over the years, but now we have seen two absolutely amazing cameras on Android smartphones in the Galaxy S6 and the LG G4 and my expectations have been set significantly higher.

Now no one should expect the Moto X Pure Edition to be the equal of either of those devices in imaging, the hardware just isn’t there for it, but I would hope that Motorola put a lot of effort into optimizing what they have. The phase detect autofocus is one new feature that encourages me as it should help ensure that shots are consistently in focus, something that has been an issue for them in the past and naturally regardless of the rest of the qualities of the photo if the subject isn’t in focus it is pretty much useless to you. The color balancing flash is also an interesting new addition and another that gives me hope that while Motorola can’t afford to throw in world beating hardware that perhaps they’ve figured out how to deliver solid performance with what they’ve got.

Video capture has been improved as well with 1080p at 60 fps and Video HDR available in both 1080p and 4K for improved dynamic range.

Battery

The battery life of the previous Moto X was another area that came under fire and Motorola has bumped up from a 2300 mAh to a 3000 mAh battery this year, but taking into account that they have also moved to a 5.7-inch QHD display we’ll have to see how that all balances out. On the positive side Motorola has indicated that the Turbo Charging capabilities of the Moto X Pure Edition are unsurpassed and can add up to 10 hours of battery life with just 15 minutes of charging.

Connectivity

Motorola has streamlined things here with a single model that will work on all U.S. carriers. At the same time they apparently have no plans to release the phones through carriers and will instead be selling direct through its own website, through Best Buy and finally Amazon. We’ve seen plenty try and fail at this gambit in the past, so time will tell if Motorola has what it takes to make this work.

As for the rest of the connectivity you have all the usual suspects represented including NFC, which the other budget flagship challenger the OnePlus 2 has decided to drop this year.

Speakers

Front facing speakers. Seriously that’s it, but everyone should be doing it.

Conclusion

The Moto X Style (Pure Edition) isn’t going to overwhelm the other flagships with its specs, but as a value proposition it is going to be tough to beat. Motorola is trying to sell the Moto X line as more of a two way relationship than other smartphones and to some degree that is certainly true. Thanks to Moto Maker customization and Motorola’s contextual awareness tweaks the devices can feel more like an extension of you. Whether that can sell against the truly high end flagships being pushed by the carriers or not will be an interesting story to watch once the Moto X Pure Edition hits in September.

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