5 Cool Features Of Motorola's New Moto X Style Smartphone

Motorola's X-tra Style

Motorola on Tuesday unveiled two new smartphone models in its Moto X series: the Moto X Play, aimed for 55 markets excluding the U.S., and the Moto X Style, which will be released in the U.S. in September.

Motorola and its parent company, Lenovo, have been making impressive strides in the global smartphone market in the second quarter, according to market research firm IDC. Lenovo took 4.8 percent of the market in Q2 with 16.2 million phone shipments, up 2.4 percent over the same quarter last year.

The third-generation Moto X Style is expected to boost the company's market share, as the smartphone boasts an innovative display, a flashy new camera and an interesting distribution model. Following are five cool features of Motorola's new Moto X Style.

5. Display

The Moto X Style contains a 5.7-inch quad Gorilla Glass HD display, a little bit bigger than the previous 5.2-inch version of Motorola's Moto X series. The phone's glass and aluminum frame contains ultra-thin bezels on the edges.

The curved Moto X Style also leaves open-ended customization features for the display of the phone through Motorola's Moto Maker online customization tool. This includes a leather, wood or silicon back. The aluminum frame comes in gold, silver and gray.

4. Specs

Motorola's new phone is powered by a Snapdragon 808 1.8 GHz hexa-core processor and runs on Android 5.1.1. It contains internal storage options of 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB along with microSD support of up to 128 GB, as well as 3 GB of RAM.

In addition to a 3,000 mAh battery, the Moto X Style contains "TurboPower" technology, enabling quick charging, which boasts up to 10 hours of usage from 15 minutes of charging.

The phone also has extra tools like water-repellant nano coating, front-facing stereo speakers and NFC compliancy features. In addition, the phone contains IR sensors on its four corners, enabling users to wave their hands over the device to wake it up.

3. Camera

The Moto X Style's camera was Motorola's pride point for the new smartphone model, representing what the company said is a vast improvement over the second-generation Moto X released last year.

The phone contains a 21-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, along with a wide-angle lens, rapid autofocus and low shutter lag, as well as features like a color-balancing flash.

According to camera review site DxOMark, the Moto X Style's new camera received positive reviews, with an 83 out of 100. On DxOMark's mobile ratings, the Moto's camera came in third place, after the Samsung S6 Edge's camera and the Samsung Note 4's camera.

2. Distribution

The U.S. version of the Moto X Style, dubbed the "Pure Edition" by Motorola, is sold unlocked and contains the ability to work on all major phone carriers. Motorola boasts that its new phone contains universal LTE banding, and will work on any U.S. phone carrier.

Motorola did not reveal anything about on-contract carrier availability.

1. Price/Release

According to Motorola, the Moto X Style will be available in September (but no specific date was named). The U.S. "Pure Edition" of the Moto X style can be purchased unlocked and without contract for $399 from large retailers, like Motorola's website, Amazon and Best Buy. Motorola said the "Pure Edition" version will have priority for upgrades.

The other Moto X phone launched Tuesday by Motorola, the 5.5-inch Moto X Play, will be released in August and will be a cheaper device. In addition to the Moto X Style and Moto X Play, Motorola released premium upgrades to its Moto G phone, including water-resistance and a new 13-megapixel camera, going into effect starting Tuesday.