A few years ago, if you were a die-hard Android enthusiast, you would get a Moto X. Not only did Motorola offer a very clean operating system, they also added very useful features. Features that are still being employed on hundreds of smartphones today. So the question I ask is, can the Moto X4 recapture what made the Moto X brand so great?

What made the Moto X so great?

There wasn’t just one thing that made the Moto X series so great, it was a combination of things. Motorola covered all of the bases when it made the X. Not only was it customizable aesthetically through Moto Maker, it was customizable in the software department as well. All Moto X devices have been heavily supported with custom development and are still active even today. The devices also featured ahead of their time tech.

One of the biggest selling points of Moto X devices was its voice recognition software, which paved the way for Google Assistant. You could wake the phone using a phrase, such as “Ok Moto X” to perform various tasks. It was also the first device to Active Notifications.

Active Notifications is something that still is underappreciated, yet Motorola got it right all these years ago. Not only were you able to see your notifications on the screen when the screen was off, but you could interact with them. This is something that no other manufacturer has really taken advantage of. Ambient display is a huge part of Android in 2017, but they are just a means to show notifications, not interact with them.

Can the Moto X4 pull it off?

The Moto X4 definitely has the specs to live up to the Moto X brand. As we reported earlier, the new X4 will come with an octacore Snapdragon 630 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of on-board storage that is expandable. What is also interesting is that it will come with dual-cameras and a 16 megapixel front-facing camera with a flash. To top it all off, the X4 will be IP68 water resistance . Most importantly, it is rumored to come at an “affordable” price tag.

One would expect for the X4 to be successful, it would most definitely have to be priced below $500. Even near that price range it would be competing with the OnePlus 5, which has far greater specifications. Ideally, the Moto X4 would be priced around $400, which is where the Moto X Pure Edition left off.

What made the Moto X brand so great, aside from the price, was the ability to customize phones through Moto Maker. It might be a little hopeful to wish for that to return on the X4, especially since it has a aluminum body. If Moto Maker does return, it would not be as customizable, but it would be appreciated.

Software support is key for the new Moto X

Lastly, in order for the new Moto device to really “pull it off”, software support needs to be a key part in this. Android’s biggest issue is how long it takes for non-Google phones to get updated to the latest OS. Although Google has made this easier for OEMs, it is still a problem.

Since the X4 is slated to go to Google’s Project Fi, one would think Google would push Lenovo/Motorola to keep their devices up-to-date. For me personally, one of the strongest factors I take into consideration when purchasing a new phone is how soon will it get updates. If the X4 is promised to get the latest version of Android even a month or two after it’s released, I would call that a win.

THe Moto X4 can do it

The Moto X4 has some big shoes to fill. The last Moto X device was released two years ago, so Motorola has definitely had time to think and hard about the X4. So, can the X4 recapture what made the X series so great?It can with strong software support, an affordable price tag, and customization. Those are what made the original X phones so great. We won’t truly know until the phone is released, which is expected to be before the holiday season in Q4.