Tempted to forget iPhone 6s and order Moto X Pure instead

[Broadus]

I've held onto my iPhone 4S since October 2011, waiting till Apple came out with a larger iPhone screen. The 4-inch 5 and 5s didn't tempt me, merely lengthening the 4S. When the 6 was released, I thought that was the size the 5 should have been. So I decided to wait till the 6s "perfected" the 6.

Still, a 64GB 6s is $750, while a 16GB Moto X Pure plus a 64GB microSD card is about $425. $325 difference is not nothing, and while the Pure is not the smartphone the 6s is, it's a very good phone.

Okay, so if I go with the Pure, I lose the almost complete continuity that I enjoy with my iPad Air and rMBP, I lose the better 6s camera, and I have to learn a new OS. The ability to tweak Android does nothing for me. I am content with iOS. Those are things I have to weigh for that $325 difference.

But will I really save money with the Pure in the long run? I would probably keep the 6s for four years. Would I be content with the 2015 Moto X Pure for that long?

Any thoughts?

 

[AlliFlowers]

You won't be content with any Android phone for that long. It will be outdated in 6 months (and never get an os update). I think you've stated your case clearly. The only advantage of going with the Moto is the immediate savings.

 

[mclld]

Troll post, disregard^

You have used a 4s all these years, the camera will be a huge jump over that. You basically have to ask if you prefer ios or android

 

[nfl46]

For four years? You won't be content w/ the Moto X for that long.

 

[Broadus]

For four years? You won't be content w/ the Moto X for that long.

I know I'm an oddball around here.

 

[AppleRobert]

First things first, try it and then look at the upcoming 6s. No need to do anything now especially since you will have the opportunity to take a look see at both shortly.

 

[Broadus]

First things first, try it and then look at the upcoming 6s. No need to do anything now especially since you will have the opportunity to take a look see at both shortly.

True.

All the confusion about whether one can pay the full price for a Verizon 6s at the Apple Store on launch day and activate it on one's CDMA MVNO carrier has me looking at Androids. I probably won't go with an Android, but I'm really annoyed with Apple right now.

 

[tbayrgs]

If you're serious about the 4 years, then I have to agree with nfl46--stick with the iPhone. The original Moto X is just 2 years old now and while it was pretty good at release, it's already long in the tooth. You're going to see significant performance deficiencies with any phone over 4 years but iPhones age better than most--my daughter was using an old 4S until recently and she didn't stop because it wasn't working well enough but rather an iPhone 5 became available for her to use.

Also, if the customization and flexibility of Android aren't of interest as you say, I think you'll be happier staying in the Apple ecosystem. Yes, $325 isn't insignificant but over 4 years thats just $81.25/year extra.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

True, iPhone do age better.

Moto is your best bet though, in the android world, except maybe a nexus. R upcoming nexus 5 2015 might be a good choice as well.

The 2013 moto x was great at launch but launched with outdated hardware. This years moto is pretty good as far as hardware goes. You would probably be good for 3 years of OS updates, and then you'll still get a lot of added functionality out if individual google app updates. Android updates differently, which is something people forget. iOS may update for 4 years, but gestures are not always all encompassing.

Honestly I think you'll be good with either. I have beard nothing but good on moto phones, so read some reviews and make an informed decision.

Granted...I'm migrating to the new iPhone most likely, but I don't keep ,y phone for that long .

 

[gotluck]

Nexus probably has the longest life on android if you can handle the shortcomings in the hardware compared to OEM android

On nexus you can also downgrade if you like the previous version better say on year 4, when on iOS if you upgrade its a one way street. Android app developers tend to support older versions of the os for much longer, but ios is certainly no slouch on longevity, particularly 4s and iPad 2

If you buy a device you can rom with (unlock able bootloader) and it is popular with the community, those devices can last a long time too. Plenty of people running up to date custom roms on galaxy s 3 for example. I would imagine same is true for the note 2. my hp touchpad currently has 5.1.1 and didn't even ship with android. All depends on the device and on if you want to use some elbow grease when the device gets old.

I don't think the 808 with quad hd screen will age particularly well.

 

[Cozmosis]

As someone who owns and is returning the Pure - no, get the 6s.

 

[spriter]

As someone who owns and is returning the Pure - no, get the 6s.

Why are you returning it?

 

[JaySoul]

Clearly you should get the 6S, it's written all over your post.

 

[MRU]

You won't be content with any Android phone for that long. It will be outdated in 6 months (and never get an os update). I think you've stated your case clearly. The only advantage of going with the Moto is the immediate savings.

Sorry that's utterly inaccurate misinformation.

The Moto X Pure will come with Android L 5.1.1 - it will within a month of release get Android M, and will get it's updates - and in a likelihood just as the Moto X 2013 is still getting continued support and updates, the pure will continue to do so till at least 2017 minimum.

Whilst you miss continuity, you do get Motorola Connect which offers the ability to send SMS and such on your desktop.

----


That being said - OP stick with the iPhone 6S. I doubt you'll be content with anything else.

 

[hallux]

Sorry that's utterly inaccurate misinformation.

The Moto X Pure will come with Android L 5.1.1 - it will within a month of release get Android M, and will get it's updates - and in a likelihood just as the Moto X 2013 is still getting continued support and updates, the pure will continue to do so till at least 2017 minimum.

Whilst you miss continuity, you do get Motorola Connect which offers the ability to send SMS and such on your desktop.

----


That being said - OP stick with the iPhone 6S. I doubt you'll be content with anything else.

Yup, my 2013 Moto X just got 5.1 the other day (I'm on Verizon). While it was a long wait, it's working well and I didn't need to do a reset after the update to get it that way. While the battery life isn't GREAT, it's no worse than when I was on 4.4.4. So, saying Motorola will ignore the device less than 2 years after release is an inaccurate statement. Will it still get updates FOUR years down the road? Doubtful.

Moto Connect, Moto Voice, Moto Assist are all GREAT add-ons. Moto Assist does TTS, reading your text messages to you under certain circumstances (I don't need to touch my phone when I'm in the car and I get a text). Moto Display does notification previews on the lock screen (Android 5.1 can as well but the Moto Display capability should be less of a hit on the battery), Moto Connect does SMS through a Chrome add-on on your computer as noted above.

 

[epicrayban]

For such a long period, I agree with others... stick with the iPhone. It'll get updates for longer than most Android devices, and it'll retain its value far better.

Hopefully updates don't cripple your phone though come the three/four year mark...

 

[Cozmosis]

Why are you returning it?

Poor camera - bad autofocus mainly. Mediocre battery.

 

[Broadus]

Poor camera - bad autofocus mainly. Mediocre battery.

One of the reviews had problems with the autofocus.

 

[MRU]

Poor camera - bad autofocus mainly. Mediocre battery.

Nearly all the reviews praise the camera especially in normal daylight scenarios where it's every bit as capable as the iPhone and the S6. The main criticism about the camera is that lowlight performance is not as good as those others resulting in very grainy or poor images by comparison.

However.... as someone who photographs a lot. ..

I have always questioned this emphasis on lowlight pecormance in smartphones. I don't know how many people in every day scenarios think 'hey its do you know I think I'm going to take a picture here despite it being near pitch black'.

Indeed from all the samples I've seen of the S6 / G4 / iPhone and new Moto X, whilst they are indeed better in lowlight shooting; the end results of all of them were frankly crap. It's like someone judging steaming piles of faeces for the one with the best chunks ignoring the fact they are all *****.

MKBHD summed it up perfectly. We don't judge phones anymore by how good they are, we judge them by their faults - picking away at a tiny blemish until it becomes gaping scab.

 

[WrenFGun]

You may want to consider a phone like the one plus or robin, too. Same price as the pure, but my guess is better supported long haul because they are light ROMs at smaller companies.

As someone on an MVNO, I rarely consider an iPhone. Terrific phone, more expensive than it should be.

 

[macjunk(ie)]

You may want to consider a phone like the one plus or robin, too. Same price as the pure, but my guess is better supported long haul because they are light ROMs at smaller companies.

Not the One Plus for sure. I think they are too small to even consider supporting the older devices in the long run. For e.g., there has been no update to the OnePlus One to 5.1. OnePlus does not have a set date. One would have thought that with the light skin, OnePlus could have update the OnePlus One in a jiffy. Not the case. I am n to saying they will not update the One, I am only saying it is gonna get worse.

I tried to decouple from Apple. Sold my 2011 MBP and bought a Dell. Sold my 5S and got (Note3->Z2->OnePlus One).
Failed in the laptop department cause my Dell is now lying unused in a corner and I am using my MBP 2015. Will probably go back to the 6S too...since it looks like there is too little consistency in the Android platform...

 

[WrenFGun]

Not the One Plus for sure. I think they are too small to even consider supporting the older devices in the long run. For e.g., there has been no update to the OnePlus One to 5.1. OnePlus does not have a set date. One would have thought that with the light skin, OnePlus could have update the OnePlus One in a jiffy. Not the case. I am n to saying they will not update the One, I am only saying it is gonna get worse.

I tried to decouple from Apple. Sold my 2011 MBP and bought a Dell. Sold my 5S and got (Note3->Z2->OnePlus One).
Failed in the laptop department cause my Dell is now lying unused in a corner and I am using my MBP 2015. Will probably go back to the 6S too...since it looks like there is too little consistency in the Android platform...

That's odd. My OP1 running cyanogen is on 5.1.1. Are you on oxygen?

 

[Broadus]

You may want to consider a phone like the one plus or robin, too. Same price as the pure, but my guess is better supported long haul because they are light ROMs at smaller companies.

As someone on an MVNO, I rarely consider an iPhone. Terrific phone, more expensive than it should be.

I agree about the expense. That's what keeps me looking at Android. Were there an iPhone available in the price of a mid-range Android, I would probably go with it. For instance, I do not consider a high end Samsung because, for about the same money, I can have an iPhone that I know and keep the continuity among my devices.

I am no power phone user, that's for certain. I do like the idea of value, obvious since I take the limitations, such as they are, of an MVNO instead of paying at least twice that for a national carrier.

I am the same about a phone. You guys know more about this than I because you keep up with it and sample a lot, but if an iPhone 5s had a larger screen, I could be totally content with it and would probably buy it for the Apple continuity than a good mid-range Android. I know what the build quality of the 5s is and it remains a very capable phone. I don't doubt, considering my usage that I would keep it for three years.

But it's a 4-inch phone, and frankly, I don't want a phone that narrow. The display is simply an elongated 4S, and I want a bigger screen.

So I keep coming back to Android. I love what Motorola has done with the making the Moto X Pure carrier agnostic. That's the way phones should be made. I do need to check to see what LTE bands it has.

And the forthcoming 5.2" or so Google Nexus 5X looks very promising. That's really more in line with the size I prefer. Would I want to keep it for three or four years? That's part of my conundrum.

At any rate, I appreciate all that you folk are posting. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[macjunk(ie)]

That's odd. My OP1 running cyanogen is on 5.1.1. Are you on oxygen?

Yup...Figured there was no point wasting time with Cyanogen since their support is on a timer anyway. Oxygen OS is supposed to be strategic for OnePlus

 

[hallux]

OnePlus hasn't been around long enough to prove one way or the other that they will provide long-term OS updates.