New Phone - Moto X (2014) / Moto X Play / Nexus 5 (2015)

[silvagti]

Any thoughts on which phone would be the best option?

Moto X (2014) - £240

Moto X Play - £270

Nexus 5 (2015) - £??? (suspect it'll be £300-400)

I want to stick with stock-ish android so was tempted to go for either Motorola or a Nexus. Or is there something else worth going for and am I being too picky wanting stock Android. I'm looking for something with a mid-high end spec and around a 5" screen. Don't want to go for a phablet so the Nexus 6 isn't an option. I realise the Nexus 5 option is a bit pre-emptive as the specs aren't officially out yet so it's difficult to judge. Hardware wise I also quite liked the look of the Samsung Galaxy S6 but their Touchwiz skin is hideous and I'm not sure how easy it would be to revert it to near stock Android?

I've a Nexus 7 Tablet so I'm familiar with Android but my last 2 phones have been Apple iphones. However, I'm finding I'm using Google's online services far more as I have a Windows PC/laptop and no intention of buying a Mac so I'm thinking an Android phone would be a better fit.

Any thoughts?

 

[this_is_gav]

There is a Material Design skin for Touchwiz. MKBHD covered it here.

Of the other three you list I'd go for the Moto X Play at the moment, but it is 5.5". The camera doesn't sound like it's quite up to S6/G4 levels, but it seems good and on past form it's going to be a heck of a lot better than the camera on the Nexus 2015 devices (though I'm slightly hopeful that the Nexus's (certainly the LG one) are strong in this regard for once).

Personally I came close to hitting the pre-order button on an S6 Edge+ tonight, as while it doesn't have front-facing speakers it does have a great camera, it's still the same stunning device that the S6 was (despite the lack of colour options ) and the off-screen buttons free up that little bit more space (I'm surprised so many others have abandoned off-screen buttons). It got some bad press, but it's a strong device, and the S6/S6 Edge are still strong phones, especially as the prices continue to fall off-contract.

I'll try and wait until the Nexus 2015 devices spec's are relatively nailed down, the Moto X Style (my current favourite depending on the camera, but at 5.7" too big for you) and the Sony Z5/Z5 Ultra event next week before deciding where to head from my Nexus 5. There might be a Sony Z5 Compact too, so I'd wait until next week before deciding where your money goes.

 

[silvagti]

There is a Material Design skin for Touchwiz. MKBHD covered it here.

Yeah, it still kind of looks like a reskinned Touch-Wiz lite rather than native Android IMO though! Maybe I'm just being fussy about the UI design

I'll try and wait until the Nexus 2015 devices spec's are relatively nailed down, the Moto X Style (my current favourite depending on the camera, but at 5.7" too big for you) and the Sony Z5/Z5 Ultra event next week before deciding where to head from my Nexus 5. There might be a Sony Z5 Compact too, so I'd wait until next week before deciding where your money goes.

Definitely tempted to wait and see what the Nexus 5 turns out like. The Z5 compact will apparently only have a 4.6" 720p screen which sounds somewhat low rent when we're approaching 2016. I want a mid sized phone but I don't want a compact model if it means they're going to start scrimping on the specs with low end parts.

The Moto X Style sounded better spec-wise than the play but it does come with a smaller batter and as you've mentioned the screen size is pretty much phablet territory. Even 5.5" on the Play was a bit large for my liking though at least without buttons on the front it keeps the dimensions down slightly. Still If I was going to consider the Play then I guess there really isn't much difference in size between it and the Style. Maybe I should just give in and go with the current phablet craze!

I was actually erring towards ordering the 2014 Moto X in 32Gb guise given it's on offer at the moment but I'm slightly apprehensive whether buying last years models is a good move. On paper it's better specced than this years Moto X Play though aside from a smaller battery and slightly lower M/pixel camera.