Since most of us chose the ONE S for the good performance in a smaller form factor, I figured the Moto X would be a natural upgrade from the ONE S (rather than the ONE Mini, which is not much of an upgrade, with its 4.3" screen and 1GB RAM). I was right - the Moto X is great for one-handed operation and is superior in every way except one: the camera.
Even with the negative press about the camera, this is surprising, because you expect technology to march on. What I didn't expect was how much better the HTC camera in the "obsolete" ONE S is versus Motorola's.
This is mostly evident in low-light shooting, such as indoors. The HTC is much better at capturing detail, and usually exposes correctly. The Motorola introduces washed-out colours and grain, even after the so-called "update" that was supposed to fix these issues.
The pluses of the Moto X are many: better reception and call quality, better loudspeaker, LTE, bigger screen with 720p, nicer curved design that sits naturally in your hand, and updated software (though if you flash a ROM the last one doesn't matter).
Not that the ONE S is bad in any of these areas (it's not), but Motorola is known for its radios and call quality, and they continue that tradition.
The ONE S is still a great phone and I was planning on keeping it for another few months at least, but there was a recent price drop for the Moto X. Because I use my phone for emails and browsing first, as a phone second, and as a camera a distant third, this is still an upgrade for me. I am disappointed that Motorola/Google dropped the ball with the camera though.
If you use the camera often, keep the ONE S!
Even with the negative press about the camera, this is surprising, because you expect technology to march on. What I didn't expect was how much better the HTC camera in the "obsolete" ONE S is versus Motorola's.
This is mostly evident in low-light shooting, such as indoors. The HTC is much better at capturing detail, and usually exposes correctly. The Motorola introduces washed-out colours and grain, even after the so-called "update" that was supposed to fix these issues.
The pluses of the Moto X are many: better reception and call quality, better loudspeaker, LTE, bigger screen with 720p, nicer curved design that sits naturally in your hand, and updated software (though if you flash a ROM the last one doesn't matter).
Not that the ONE S is bad in any of these areas (it's not), but Motorola is known for its radios and call quality, and they continue that tradition.
The ONE S is still a great phone and I was planning on keeping it for another few months at least, but there was a recent price drop for the Moto X. Because I use my phone for emails and browsing first, as a phone second, and as a camera a distant third, this is still an upgrade for me. I am disappointed that Motorola/Google dropped the ball with the camera though.
If you use the camera often, keep the ONE S!
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