Motorola’s 2013 Moto X offered innovative features but unfortunately was an also-ran in a market dominated by Apple’s iPhone 5s and Samsung’s Galaxy S4. But the midsized, second-generation Moto X, available later this month for $99 with a two-year contract, eclipses its predecessor in every way.

From enhanced voice controls to its helpful Moto Display, the second-gen Moto X, which is coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, is worlds better than its older sibling. Does the new Moto X have what it takes to beat a new crop of excellent smartphones? You’d better believe it.

Designing your own phone

Like the original Moto X, the second-gen Moto X can be purchased using Motorola’s Moto Maker customization service, which lets you design the look of your Moto X from front to back. It’s available only for AT&T and Verizon customers, though. Sorry, T-Mobile people.

You can choose between two front colors — white or black — and 25 different back panels, including 17 colors, four types of leather, and four kinds of wood. You also get to select an accent color, and you can even get a message laser-etched into the phone’s back. Basically, you can make your phone look as weird as you want.

Beyond what you can customize, the Moto X’s new hardware is absolutely gorgeous. This time around, Motorola chose to eschew the plastic frame of last year’s phone in favor of aluminum, giving the handset a more premium look and feel.

Like HTC’s One M8, the Moto X’s speakers are now located above and below its display. But whereas the 5-inch HTC One M8’s front speakers stretch its body to 5.8 inches, the Moto X, which features a larger 5.2-inch display, measures only 5.5 inches tall.

In fact, the Moto X is only a tenth of an inch taller than the iPhone 6, which sports a smaller 4.7-inch display. Samsung’s Galaxy S5 is a hair taller than the Moto X at 5.6 inches.

Displays and sound

With a higher resolution of 1920 × 1080, the new Moto X’s 5.2-inch AMOLED display blows away last year’s model. In fact, the second-gen Moto X’s screen is so good that it’s neck and neck with the Samsung Galaxy S5’s 5.1-inch, 1080p Super AMOLED display, my favorite screen on the market.

AMOLED display technology offers better contrast and deeper colors than most competing technologies, which is why the Moto X’s screen looks so great. The downside to AMOLED screens is that they don’t get very bright and can be difficult to read in direct sunlight. Samsung’s Super AMOLED display addresses this issue, making it easier to read outside than the Moto X’s screen.

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The HTC One M8’s 5-inch 1920 × 1080 Super LCD3 screen offers razor-sharp text and images, but it’s incredibly dim, which can impact your viewing experience while watching movies and TV shows, or even looking at dark photos.

Apple’s iPhone 6 will sport a 4.7-inch, HD “Retina” display, which the company says offers higher contrast and better viewing angles. We’ll see if it can top the Moto X and Galaxy S5.

Motorola chose to move the Moto X’s speaker from the back of the phone to the front this time around, positioning it just below the handset’s display, and it pays off wonderfully. And while it doesn’t sound as precise as the HTC One M8’s dual front-mounted BoomSound speakers, the Moto X does pump out great audio. Bass hits are loud and booming, and guitar solos squeal loudly.

Android as it was meant to be

The second-gen Moto X comes loaded with Google’s Android 4.4 KitKat operating system and nothing more. Motorola doesn’t add its own special interface to the Moto X like other Android phone makers. Instead, you get a pure Android experience devoid of any fluff, and the phone is better for it.

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One of the advantages of using a smartphone that comes with an unaltered version of Android, like the Moto X, is that it’s much more likely that you’ll be able to get the latest version of Google’s mobile OS as soon as it’s available for download. That means once Android L hits the Web, you should be able to grab it right away.

Samsung and HTC owners, on the other hand, will have to wait until those companies push out their own versions of Android L.

Moto apps

Motorola does have its own software on the phone; it’s just not enmeshed in the operating system. The new Moto app combines the company’s Moto Assist, Moto Actions, Moto Voice, and Moto Display in one location for easy access. Moto Assist lets you set specific parameters for using your Moto X and adjust to them accordingly.

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For example, you can set Moto Assist to keep your phone silent and turn off Moto Display while you sleep. To do this, you just have to set the time for when you’re going to be asleep, say 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and as soon as the clock strikes 11 p.m. you won’t hear a peep from your phone until the next morning.

You can also set the phone to ring only if a favorite contact calls while you’re asleep, or if a person calls you twice within 5 minutes.

Moto Assist offers similar functionality for when you’re in meetings. It can silence the phone based on your calendar schedule. Using the Moto X’s GPS, Moto Assist can determine if you’re driving and put the phone into drive mode, so you can use voice controls to listen to music. It can also have the Moto X read text messages and tell you who’s calling.

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Moto Actions let you wave your hand over the Moto X to silence phone calls and snooze alarms, which can be a problem for someone who loves sleeping as much as I do.

The Moto X’s Moto Display feature shows all of your latest notifications on the phone’s lock screen as white app icons, even when the display is off. Motorola chose to use white text against a black background to show Moto Display notifications, as it consumes very little power.

You can check your notifications by long-pressing them on the lock screen. You can also reply to notifications by dragging them to the top of the screen.

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So, if you get an email, you can tap the email icon to read it, or drag it to the top of the screen to open the message in the email app.

Morola’s Moto Voice is the Moto X’s standout feature, as it lets you control nearly every aspect of the phone with nothing but your voice by always listening for your voice, even when the phone is locked. You can, for example, tell the Moto X to post a message to Facebook or play something on YouTube without ever lifting a finger.

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You can also dictate text messages, open your email, make phone calls, and more, all by using your voice. Heck, you can even tell the Moto X to open Spotify and play Green Day and it’ll start streaming “Basket Case” instantly. It’s that good.

Not just anyone can use your phone’s Moto Voice feature, though, as you have to program it specifically for your voice during the setup process.

Camera

This Moto X gets an updated 13-megapixel camera. The phone’s camera app is bare-bones, but in a good way. Options include the ability to shoot in high dynamic range (HDR) mode, change the image resolution, adjust the exposure and panorama mode, and that’s about it. You’re not hit over the head with 100 other confusing settings and options, like in Samsung’s camera app.

The Moto X’s two best camera features are its Best Shot and Highlight Reel. Best Shot is a passive function that snaps photos just before and after you press the shutter.

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If the Moto X sees that someone was blinking in the photo you took, it will present you with one of the other photos it captured and recommend that you use it. It’s a slick feature and one that can come in handy, especially when taking pictures of large groups.

Highlight Reel lets you comb through your photos and combine them to create short videos complete with automatically generated music. If you don’t like the way the Highlight Reel video comes out, you can always edit it later.

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Images I shot with the Moto X were sharp and offered plenty of detail, but the coloring was a bit off. Compared with photos I took with the Galaxy S5’s excellent 16-megapixel camera, the Moto X’s shots looked yellowed. The S5’s pictures, on the other hand, were bright and vibrant.

Performance

The Moto X comes packed with the same quad-core processor and 2 GB of RAM found in the Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8, which means performance won’t be an issue. Games ran smoothly, and I didn’t notice any slowdown while testing the handset.

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During my time with the Moto X, the handset’s battery lasted each day without needing to be recharged. Toward the end of the day, I’d start to notice I was running low on juice, but that was usually after leaving the display on for a while and generally messing around online. So it’s safe to say the handset will get you through the day without issue. Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8, though, both offer more powerful batteries.

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If the Moto X’s battery does die, Motorola has an optional turbo charger power adapter that will fill the Moto X with eight hours of battery life in just 15 minutes. The phone has to be really low on power, though, since charging slows as the battery fills.

Should you get one?

I’ve reviewed a lot of phones over the years, and the second-gen Moto X is easily one of the best I’ve ever used. Its interface is simple and easy to navigate, its voice controls are above reproach, and its Moto Assist scheduling capabilities are incredible.

Beyond that, the phone itself is an absolute beauty, and its display is one of the best you’ll find. Performance is equally wonderful, and its battery will last you the day without leaving you stranded.

With the Moto X, Motorola has managed to craft an amazing handset that is well worth getting your hands on.

Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley or on Google+ here.