Moto X Style, Moto X Play, Moto G: Motorola reveals trio of new phones

August 18, 2015 Troy R

Motorola has announced Australian details for its upcoming Moto X Style and Moto X Play, as well as the third version of its budget Moto G.

The company says the former two will be available to Australians from "early September" while the latter will land "later".

However, there's a catch, which will be a turn-off for some: two of the three will be exclusive to Vodafone.

Moto X Style

The Moto X Style is Motorola's top of the line phone, which "offers powerful performance and looks gorgeous all at the same time".

It's almost identical to the "pure edition" of the phone known in the United States simply as "Moto X", except the biggest selling point of that phone — the ability to customise the colour, material and finish of the case before it is shipped — is not available in Australia (which means if you really want animal skin on your phone, you'll still have to go with LG).

Luckily for us, the phone comes in a striking white, metal and bamboo finish that definitely lives up to its name. For those not into wood, there is a plain black-on-black textured finish.

In terms of specs, the Style packs a 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 3GB RAM and a 21 MP f/2.0 aperture main camera.

The device is water-resistant with an IP52 certification and has a big 3000 mAh battery. It benefits from Motorola's so-called "turbocharging" technology (the company maintains 15 minutes of charge will ensure 10 hours of battery life).

This is a seriously big phone with a 5.7-inch, quad HD screen, and like other recent Motorola phones should deliver the Android operating system more or less as Google intended.

If you want the Moto X Style, you'll have to sign up for a contract with Vodafone, which will give you one for $83 a month on its $80 Red plan. Motorola has yet to indicate whether Style will be available elsewhere in the future.

Moto X Play

If you're happy to sacrifice some performance for a better battery life, the Play is for you. It cuts back slightly on the Style's specs across the board, with lower numbers on the processor, RAM, cameras and size (although it's still a 5.5-inch screen).

What you get for that sacrifice is a massive 3630 mAh battery, which with some conservative use should have no problem reaching the two-day benchmark set by Sony's flagship phones. The size reduction means the Play is lighter than the Style, despite the added battery.

Available in white or black, the Play is exclusive to Vodafone. It is available on a $40 plan (for a total of $45 per month).

Motorola has stated that a "variant" of the Moto X Play "may be released outright through retail partners at a later date; to be confirmed". Which means if you want one but don't want to go with Vodafone, you should wait.

Moto G

The latest version of Motorola's budget phone is bright and round and happy-looking, but still seems to delivers a good performance for the price.

The device packs a more modest 1.4 GHz Snapdragon, 2 GB RAM and a 13 MP primary camera.

The 5-inch, 720p screen is covered in Gorilla Glass 3 (the same as the other two phones), meaning it should stand up to a bit of abuse. It's also water-resistant with an IPX7 rating.

The Moto G comes in black or white but there's a large range of colourful shells available, some of which also wrap around to protect the screen. This version is available to everyone through retailers, and will cost $369.