Motorola’s offerings this year seem more diverse than they actually are, which is mostly a good thing.
It seems like Motorola has had a busy year as a Lenovo company, and a big part of that has been the sheer number of phones released. At first glance, it looks like Motorola has released a ton of phones all over the world, when in reality it’s been a branding effort to distinguish hardware released in different markets. For example, the Moto X Pure Edition and the Moto X Style are basically identical, and the same can be said for the Droid Maxx 2 and the Moto X Play as well as the Droid Turbo 2 and the Moto X Force. It’s confusing, no matter how you look at it, especially if you’re trying to choose between them as your next phone.
If you’re currently look at a phone on Verizon Wireless, we’ve got a quick comparison of the hardware available to you right here.
Verizon’s Droid line of phones has been a big deal for a while now, which is curious considering how poorly carrier exclusives tend to do just about everywhere else. Motorola has been long-time partner in this endeavor, and the relationship shows little sign of ending anytime soon. The Droid Turbo 2 and Droid Maxx 2 have joined Verizon’s lineup as high-end and mid-range options for Verizon to offer consumers interested in things like shatterproof screens or significant battery capacity, which is great. At the same time, Motorola’s unlocked Moto X Pure Edition is available to anyone who wants a phone that can travel across carriers and be guaranteed software updates directly from Motorola for a while, at a very reasonable price.
There’s a lot to like about each of these three offerings, especially when it looks like all three would be reasonably enjoyable phones for the foreseeable future. All you really need to know is what features matter to you most so you know where to put your money, especially if one of those features is a low price tag or the ability to pay in monthly installments.
| OS | Android 5.1.1 | Android 5.1.1 | Android 5.1.1 |
| CPU/GPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core Adreno 430 GPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 quad-core Adreno 405 GPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core Adreno 418 GPU |
| Display | 5.4-inch P-OLED 2560×1440 (540 ppi) ShatterShield shatterproofing | 5.5-inch LCD 1920×1080 | 5.7-inch LCD 2560×1440 (520 ppi) Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Battery | 3760 mAh | 3630 mAh | 3000 mAh |
| Removable battery | No | No | No |
| Charging | Motorola Turbo Charging and Quick Charge 2.0 | Motorola Turbo Charging and Quick Charge 2.0 | Motorola Turbo Charging and Quick Charge 2.0 |
| Wireless charging | Qi and Powermat | No | No |
| Fingerprint sensor | No | No | No |
| Rear camera | 21MP, f/2.0 phase-detect autofocus, dual-LED flash, 4K video @ 30fps | 21MP, f/2.0 aperture, phase-detect autofocus, dual LED flash | 21MP, f/2.0, dual LED flash, 4K video @ 30fps |
| Front camera | 5MP Flash | 5MP | 5MP Flash |
| Storage | 32 or 64GB | 16GB | 16, 32 or 64GB |
| SD card | yes | yes | yes |
| RAM | 3GB | 2GB | 3GB |
| Size | 149.8 x 78 x 9.2 mm | 148 x 75 x 10.9 mm | 153.9 x 76.2 x 11.06 mm |
| Weight | 169 g | 169 g | 179 g |
While the Moto X Pure Edition seems like a great middle point between the Turbo 2 and Maxx 2 when it comes to pure specs, usability from our experiences with these phones tends to favor the Pure Edition. Motorola’s shatterproof Turbo 2 is an impressive technical accomplishment, but the sacrifices made to get there include bulkier edges and a less-than-spectacular display when compared to everything else Motorola is making right now.
At the same time, the ability to get through more than a full day as well as knowing your phone could roll off the top of your car at 60mph and come back usable is something few people would turn their noses up at.
The bottom line is there’s a lot to like about all three of these phones, especially since they all come ready to deliver Motorola’s amazing contextual experience through Moto Display, Moto Actions, and Moto Voice on top of a fairly stock-looking version of Android. There’s also little sacrifice in camera quality between the three phones, unless you count the ability to customize in Moto Maker as a lost feature with the Droid Maxx 2. It’s not an easy choice to make, but let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Motorola Droid Turbo 2
- Hands-on with the Droid Turbo 2
- Droid Turbo 2 specs
- Join our Droid Turbo 2 forums
- Droid Turbo 2 vs. Droid Turbo