Moto X4

You may remember the Moto X line, but this phone - essentially the fourth iteration - launched by Motorola at IFA 2017 is a little bit different to what you would have normally expected.

The Moto X4 isn't a flagship phone, but instead sits a little bit below the Moto Z2 Force and Moto Z2 Play.

The newly launched Moto X4 comes packing a unique Motorola design, a 5.2-inch Full HD display, dual-lens rear camera and even has Amazon's Alexa voice assistant built-in too.

Moto X4 release date and price

The Moto X4 just launched at IFA 2017 in Berlin but it won't be on sale until some point in September. We expect it will be toward the end of the month, and Motorola has yet to confirm all available markets.

We do know it'll be coming to both the US and UK though. But pricing is a little unclear at the moment with only the European price announced. 

It's confirmed to be €399 (about $475, £370, AU$600) for the starting 32GB option, while the 64GB one is €439 (about $520, £410, AU$660).

Watch our Moto X4 hands on video review

Design and display

Unlike other Motorola products the Moto X4 has a glass-back design that makes it different to the Moto Z2 Play or the Moto G5, for example. The Moto X4 combines metal edges with a glass back that's particularly shiny and will look different depending on how bright the lighting is.

It's the kind of the design where your friends may pick it up and take a look as it's different, but it's also very similar to the Honor 9 or HTC U11's glass back.

You have two color choices, with the Moto X4 coming in either silver or black, though the shiny effect is much more prominent on the former option and it's probably our preferred color.

The edges of the phone are smooth and sit comfortably in the hand. With a 5.2-inch display it's also not a particularly large device, so if you have smaller hands you'll likely be able to handle this well.

That display is a Full HD resolution and seemed both clear and bright in our intial testing. It won't blow you away like the Samsung Galaxy S8 as it has bezels and isn't as high resolution, but it still looks great.

Below the display sits a fingerprint scanner, but we've yet to try it out to see how accurate it is. Around the edges of the phone you'll also find a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB-C port for charging, while the right side of the phone is home to the power and volume buttons.

Battery and camera

There's a 3,000mAh cell built-in to the Moto X4, which Motorola claims will last you a whole day. It doesn't sound particularly great as it's not a huge battery cell, but as it's only powering a mid-range chipset and a Full HD display we're inclined to believe Motorola's stats here.

TurboPower fast-charging is also here, which means your phone will be pumped full of battery even quicker than many other handsets.

Moto has also included a dual-lens rear camera on the X4. There's a 12MP main shooter on the back, which from our initial testing seemed to do okay but we can't fully judge until our full review.

The second lens is an 8MP wide-angle option, which should be great for taking landscape shots. We've yet to try this out properly, but we'll be sure to push it during our full review in the coming weeks.

New software features within the camera also include a landmark mode that tries to recognize what you're looking at, so if you're pointing your camera at Big Ben it'll give you facts and trivia.

A 16MP selfie camera sits on the front of the phone, plus there's a new software mode to allow you to take panoramic shots, so you can fit all of your friends in the shot.

Other specs

Under the hood there's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset with either 3GB of RAM or 4GB depending on what version you buy. We haven't had much experience with that configuration on other devices, but the 4GB version seemed snappy under the finger in our limited testing. 

You'll have the choice of either 32GB or 64GB of storage up for grabs. It's running Android 7 software, but we'd expect Motorola to push Android Oreo to this in the near future.

Plus this is the first Motorola device to come out with Amazon Alexa integration. You can use both Google Assistant and Alexa interchangeably, so you'll have the choice of what voice assistant you want to prioritize.

Early verdict

The Moto X4 all adds up with good spec, an impressively low price point and a very interesting design. Some will be disappointed with the lack of Moto Mods, but this should appeal if you want something with slightly more power than a Moto G5.

As Motorola's line of phones grow, there are options for everyone out there but it can now be difficult to know what device is designed for you - but if you're after a low price and good spec in an attractive body this could be your next phone.

• IFA 2017 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced. 

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