Smartphones And Mobiles
Want to get the most out of your Motorola Moto X? You?ve come to the right place. We?ve been investigating every feature and secret of the phone to find out the ways to get that little bit more out of it. It?s not quite ready for primetime fresh out of the box.
Here are our top tips, tricks and secrets of the Motorola Moto X.
One of the slight disappointments of the Moto X is that it does not have the Google Experience interface used in the Nexus 5. Instead, it has the plain old ?normal? Android KitKat interface used in the Nexus 4.
There is a way to unlock the Google Experience UI in the Moto X, though. You just need to download a special apk installer file that acts as a loader for the launcher (which is actually already on the phone). Android Police has the file. And we?ve tried it. It works.
Transfer it to the phone's internal memory then use ES File Explorer (or another file manager app) to find and run it. Once installed, when you press the home button you'll be given the choice of which launcher UI to use.
One of the key design differences between the Moto G and the Moto X is that the X has a non-removable backplate, despite being pretty similar in terms of how it?s made. Having foolishly tried to see if the back does come off our Moto X, we can confirm that the rear is glued down.
It?s part of the reason why it feels a bit nicer in-hand than the Moto G, without any of the creakiness of that cheaper one.
The Moto X?s OLED display means the phone can use its Active Display feature without killing the phone battery. However, it does have an impact on stamina.
You can turn Active Display off completely in Settings > Active Display. There?s a tick box for the feature that acts as a global switch for the notification.
If you don?t want to kill Active Display completely but do want to reduce the amount of battery it drains, you can manually select the notifications that make Active Display fire up. This handily lets you remove any email accounts that are mostly spam, and any notifications you simply don?t care about.
We recommend turning off game notifications as they are mostly nonsense messages to try and get you playing again. You?ll find the checklist of Active Display apps in Settings > Active Display > Manage notification types.
One of the first tweaks to make with the Moto X is the keyboard. The Android keyboard that comes pre-installed just isn?t quite good enough in our book. However, the very similar Google keyboard (free from Google Play) is. It offers gesture typing, the one big omission from the ?Android? version.
If you don?t like either, other keyboards worth checking out include Touchpal (free), Swiftkey and Swype. However, we?re happy with the Google tapper.
The Moto X is not loaded with apps fresh out of the box. Part of its strategy is to keeps things simple, virtually guaranteeing good performance and a nice, clean UI.
It does mean you?ll need to download a bunch of apps to get going, though. Our top picks include Whatsapp, Facebook, BBC iPlayer, Spotify, Flipboard and TuneInRadio. They?re all free (although some offer paid-for premium versions).
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Smartphones And Mobiles
Motorola Moto X tips and tricks
Want to get the most out of your Motorola Moto X? You?ve come to the right place. We?ve been investigating every feature and secret of the phone to find out the ways to get that little bit more out of it. It?s not quite ready for primetime fresh out of the box.
Here are our top tips, tricks and secrets of the Motorola Moto X.
How to get the Nexus 5 interface on the Moto X
One of the slight disappointments of the Moto X is that it does not have the Google Experience interface used in the Nexus 5. Instead, it has the plain old ?normal? Android KitKat interface used in the Nexus 4.
There is a way to unlock the Google Experience UI in the Moto X, though. You just need to download a special apk installer file that acts as a loader for the launcher (which is actually already on the phone). Android Police has the file. And we?ve tried it. It works.
Transfer it to the phone's internal memory then use ES File Explorer (or another file manager app) to find and run it. Once installed, when you press the home button you'll be given the choice of which launcher UI to use.
Don?t try to remove the back cover
One of the key design differences between the Moto G and the Moto X is that the X has a non-removable backplate, despite being pretty similar in terms of how it?s made. Having foolishly tried to see if the back does come off our Moto X, we can confirm that the rear is glued down.
It?s part of the reason why it feels a bit nicer in-hand than the Moto G, without any of the creakiness of that cheaper one.
How to turn off Active Display
The Moto X?s OLED display means the phone can use its Active Display feature without killing the phone battery. However, it does have an impact on stamina.
You can turn Active Display off completely in Settings > Active Display. There?s a tick box for the feature that acts as a global switch for the notification.
How to customise Active Display notifications
If you don?t want to kill Active Display completely but do want to reduce the amount of battery it drains, you can manually select the notifications that make Active Display fire up. This handily lets you remove any email accounts that are mostly spam, and any notifications you simply don?t care about.
We recommend turning off game notifications as they are mostly nonsense messages to try and get you playing again. You?ll find the checklist of Active Display apps in Settings > Active Display > Manage notification types.
Get the Google keyboard for faster typing
One of the first tweaks to make with the Moto X is the keyboard. The Android keyboard that comes pre-installed just isn?t quite good enough in our book. However, the very similar Google keyboard (free from Google Play) is. It offers gesture typing, the one big omission from the ?Android? version.
If you don?t like either, other keyboards worth checking out include Touchpal (free), Swiftkey and Swype. However, we?re happy with the Google tapper.
Essential apps to download
The Moto X is not loaded with apps fresh out of the box. Part of its strategy is to keeps things simple, virtually guaranteeing good performance and a nice, clean UI.
It does mean you?ll need to download a bunch of apps to get going, though. Our top picks include Whatsapp, Facebook, BBC iPlayer, Spotify, Flipboard and TuneInRadio. They?re all free (although some offer paid-for premium versions).
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- Moto X Android 5.0 Lollipop Update Leaks, And Here's What You'll Be Getting
The Moto X 2014's Android 5.0 Lollipop update has been leaked from an internal test device, and shows us the goodies to expect when the software is launched publicly. Screenshots of a Moto X 2014 running Android 5.0 Lollipop have been published online...
- Motorola: We Knew Moto G Would Be A Success
Motorola has claimed it knew the Moto G would be a consumer hit, but cedes it could not have anticipated just successful the affordable phone would become. Having brought the manufacturer back from smartphone obscurity, the Moto G launched late last...
- Motorola Moto G Tips And Tricks
The Motorola Moto G is a game-changing phone -- its quad-core chip, pure Android 4.3 and pin-sharp HD screen are fantastic value at the bargain-basement price of £135. It's likely to find its way into many a stocking this Christmas, so familiarise...
- 5 Out-of-the Box Things You Can Do With Your New Moto 360
So you took the plunge and made the wise decision to buy a brand new Moto 360. And now? You look fantastic. You feel fantastic. Now let?s get you up and running with five cool things you can do with your Moto 360 right out of the box. Step It UpKeep...
- The Download: New Touchless Control Command, Selective Migrate, Smart Sims, And More.
We?ve got a bunch of new updates to share with you all. We?re keeping the momentum going this week with a swath of new enhancements that both tighten up the backend and bring some new goodies to the user experience. Here?s the latest Download: What?s...