We’ve already reported that the Motorola Moto X will soon be available on Google Play Store, but there has been some speculation as to what form that Moto X will take. Now we have word that the device that will be sold through the Play Store will not be the usual Google Play Edition but will be an unmodified Moto X.

Normally, a Google Play Edition of a smartphone runs a stock Android image. It is stripped of all customization added by the manufacturer as well as by carriers. This lets users enjoy a “pure” Android experience on the same hardware, without the unwanted feature bloat. There is also the added advantage of getting Android updates directly from Google much earlier than other devices.

It seems that the Moto X will be a special case. It will be shipping with exactly the same software that is found on models sold through carriers, perhaps minus carrier-specific apps. It makes sense on some level considering that the Moto X, which was developed directly under Google’s supervision, has very little modifications built on top of stock Android. Aside from things like active display notifications, always-on voice control, and flick gestures to launch the camera, there isn’t really much to strip away.

This might be a sweet deal if you’ve been won over by the Moto X’s “Context Ecosystem” features but don’t want any other bloat. We still have no new information regarding the availability of the Moto X Google Play Edition, if you could still call it that. There are also no pricing details yet, though, based on other Google Play Edition prices, we speculate it will be somewhere in between on-contract and off-contract prices offered by carriers.

VIA: phoneArena

9 COMMENTS

    • I agree. There was a lot of hype surrounding the motoX and its ability to push the industry forward, but that all dropped into the toilet the instant they announced pricing/availability and all the carrier exclusive crap.

      They might still be able to salvage a shred of the hype if they sell it unlocked for under $500, but I’m not holding my breath.

    • $630 is very high. Stack the Moto X up against the Nexus 4 and think about where the extra $280 is going…… towards low-power custom voice/gesture processors? I don’t think so. It can be sold for much less than it is.

      • While that stuff is pretty cool. I’m not sure it’s $280 cool. I also get that $350 is maybe a little unreasonable for a non-nexus device. Does seem like there should be more compromise on the price.

    • Don’t quote me on this but I’m fairly sure I’ve read in a few sources that the Moto X will ship with the bootloader unlocked.

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