Motorola Moto Maxx Specs & Price

There is a saying that a “rose by any other name would smell just as sweet” Motorola’s Moto Maxx lives up to this famous lines of famous playwright Shakespeare. Motorola Moto Maxx may seem like another powerful smartphone by Motorola; it is, although we must confess to you that Motorola took what US consumers know as the Droid Turbo and re-branded it in order to release the phone to other countries.

Verizon owns the “Droid” branding in the United States, and Motorola couldn’t legally release the phone under a brand name owned exclusively by American carrier Verizon Wireless. With that said, the Moto Maxx is every bit as powerful as the American Droid Turbo.

The Display

Motorola Moto Maxx features a 5.2-inch, AMOLED display with Quad HD resolution, i.e. 1440 x 2560 pixels. Quad HD resolution is four times that of normal HD resolution (1280 x 720), meaning that you’ll have a better viewing experience on the Motorola Moto Maxx than you will for 1080p HD or 720p HD.

Although this phone is called a “Moto Maxx”, Motorola decided to play it safe with the size – maintaining a display size that’s slightly wider than that of Samsung’s Galaxy S5 (5.2 inches vs. 5.1 inches, respectively). Motorola is also a rare manufacturer to follow in Samsung’s footsteps and manufacture AMOLED displays. This explains why Google’s Nexus 6 features an AMOLED display (it’s made by Motorola).

Motorola Moto Maxx display also has a pixel density of 565 pixels per inch (PPI), and pixel density affects the sharpness and vividness of every object and colour on your display at any given time. The Moto Maxx’s AMOLED display is a huge win here, and Motorola’s implementation of AMOLED displays with such high resolution and pixel density show that the company believes it has what it takes to compete with Samsung in the high-end market.

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The 5.2-inch AMOLED display also features Corning’s famous Gorilla Glass 3, making the Moto Maxx as shatter-resistant as most devices on the market with Gorilla Glass 3 technology.

New York glass manufacturer Corning just announced the arrival of its Gorilla Glass 4 panel to the market on December 9, 2014, and Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy Note 4 are two of the first devices on the market to feature Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 tough display panel technology. Still, Gorilla Glass 3 is strong enough to survive 10-foot drops without worry. So, Motorola Moto Maxx is very okay.

You may also be interested in Motorola Nexus 6 Specs

Processor and Memory

Motorola Moto Maxx is powered by a 2.7Ghz, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Snapdragon 805 is a relatively new chipset with lots improvement in performance and graphics.

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3GB of RAM is also the standard in high-end smartphones these days, with many moving beyond 2GB of RAM to make way for increased multitasking capabilities.

64GB of built-in storage is the new favorite for most consumers, who’ve found along the way that even 32GB of storage is no longer sufficient for their document, photo storage, and music download needs. Motorola Moto Maxx, in this regard, will please everyone.

The Cameras

Motorola Moto Maxx features an impressive 21 megapixels rear camera that also provides 4K (Ultra HD) video recording. The front camera is not as impressive, it is just a 2 megapixels camera in a selfie and wefie crazy world where 5 megapixels is increasingly becoming standard.

The 21MP rear camera is one of the most unique features of the Motorola Moto Maxx (American Droid Turbo), and it happens to be the highest megapixel (MP) camera count of any Android smartphone launched in the market in 2014. Sony’s Xperia Z3 features a 20.7MP camera, so the Xperia Z3 runs in the same circle as Motorola’s Moto Maxx.

As for the Ultra HD video recording, Motorola Moto Maxx joins the ranks of both Sony and Samsung, as the Galaxy S5 (Samsung), Galaxy Note 4 (Samsung), Sony Xperia Z3 (and Verizon’s Sony Xperia Z3v) all have 4K video recording.

The Battery

Apart from the Quad HD display (1440 x 2560 pixels), the 21 megapixels rear camera, and the ballistic nylon, Kevlar, and metallic silver build materials of the Motorola Moto Maxx, the battery is the main selling point of the smartphone.

Motorola Moto Maxx is powered by a 3900 mAh battery that provides up to 48 hours on a single charge. While a number of reviews state the 48-hour claim, those who’ve tested the device say that you’ll likely get a day and a half (36 hours) out of the device – as opposed to 48. This isn’t bad in and of itself.

Motorola claims that the battery of the Moto Maxx doesn’t “require any battery-saving modes”, taking a stab at Samsung’s Power Saving and Ultra Power Saving modes in the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4. What’s interesting is that, although Motorola attacks Samsung in its claims, the Nexus 6 (also made by Motorola) features a battery-saving mode as part of Google’s new software with the Android 5.0 Lollipop update.

If your battery proves to be too little for you, how about a fast charging feature? That’s right: Motorola Moto Maxx is also known for the same fast-charging feature as the Droid Turbo.

Charging the Motorola Moto Maxx for just 15 minutes, can add 8 hours of talktime. While this seems to be an excellent way to handle the battery problem, it may not work for some individuals who find themselves in situations where no adapter or wall plug is present. In those cases, something akin to Samsung’s Ultra Power Saving Mode is preferable.

The Conclusion

Motorola Moto Maxx is nothing short of an international version of the Droid Turbo – a good thing for consumers living outside the United States. The device comes with build materials such as ballistic nylon that you don’t find on other high-end devices on the market, and has a massive battery and camera that place it at the top of the pack for 2014 and will still be relevant in 2015.

Motorola Moto Maxx comes with Google’s Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) pre-installed and was announced on November 5, 2014. The company said in its own blog post that the Moto Maxx went global in Brazil on the day of its announcement, but that Mexico (mid-November) and other “Latin American countries” would receive Motorola Moto Maxx later.

Motorola Moto Maxx continues its fast updates, seeing that the 2014 Moto X received Android 5.0 Lollipop ahead of Google’s own Nexus devices. Yes, the Motorola Moto Maxx is a rose by another name, but it is every bit as sweet as the American Droid Turbo.

Pricing & Availability

Motorola Moto Maxx launched in Brazil in November 2014. We have no information on pricing and availability. Motorola Moto Maxx Price in Nigeria is expected to range from N125,000 to N150,000 at launch.