SLURM23blog

Finally, three months after my trusted S3 gave up on me, I once again have a smartphone to call my own. The choice was a surprisingly difficult one. I briefly owned the OnePlus One and seriously considered the OnePlus 2, but in the end Motorola XT1572 turned out to be the right device for me. Being sold under various names, be it Moto X Pure Edition or Style, it has a slightly different set of functionalities in some parts of the world. Yet, in all cases the XT1572 is a superior device at an affordable price.

I opted for a black phone with gray accents and ebony wood back. The customization worked well, the delivery was transparent and quick – this aspect stands out compared to OnePlus. What impressed me most, was the ease and unobtrusiveness with which the phone could be unlocked. After having irreparably bricked a OnePlus One in July, this positive experience was most welcome. I went for TWRP with this phone and have been nothing but impressed…

What’s more, the phone doesn’t come pre-loaded with bloatware – I didn’t even need to install Titanium to freeze a bunch of apps. Overall, I significantly cut my app footprint, adding instead some very useful Xposed modules to the mix. The most awesome feature of the XT1572 though, is without doubt its 21MP camera. Unlike some other owners, I love the stock camera app, the photo quality is amazing, and I finally get to shoot 1080p video content myself (haven’t tried the 4K option yet).

To summarize – this phone blew me away and was well worth the long wait…