Introducing the new, fully customisable Motorola Moto X

The Motorola Moto X is back. Don’t be confused by the name – it may be called the Moto X, but this is a brand new device, and one worthy of leading Motorola’s 2014 smartphone lineup.

As you may have expected from Motorola, the Moto X puts up some impressive specifications, all whilst running a very stripped-back Android experience for the purists out there (the company’s smartphone division is owned by Google now, after all).

It’s bigger, as is the trend for Android devices nowadays. The 4.7-inch 720p display found on the original Moto X has been upgraded to a 5.2-inch 1080 full-HD screen. That increase in size also sees the handset slim down: it’s now 3.8mm at its thinnest point and 9.9mm at its thickest, versus 5.7mm and 10.4mm on last year’s model.

Contained within that body is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz, just like you’d find on the new Sony Xperia Z3. There’s also an ample 2GB of RAM.

The rear-facing camera and battery figures aren’t exactly overwhelming, at 13MP and 2,300mAh respectively, but they should service the device just fine. 4K video capture is available, though.

One of the most interesting features of the new Moto X isn’t on the inside, but rather the outside. Motorola is finally bringing Moto Makr to the UK.

Moto Makr allows you to completely customise the look of your Motorola device. Initially this service will only be available for the new Moto X, but we’ve been informed that more handsets may follow in the future.

Within Moto Makr, you can choose the colour of the front of the device, the colour of the metallic trim and buttons and even a custom engraved message. With the back of the phone, not only can you choose its colour, but also its material. A series of premium materials like genuine wood and real leather are available. They come at a premium, but surely £25 is a fair price to pay for a decadent smartphone, right?

You can also choose what your Moto X’s default wallpaper and startup message will be, which is a nice touch, and even pre-load it with your Google account details so its practically set up straight out of box.

The Moto X will set you back £419 for the 16GB version, although the 32GB variant (and any wood panelling you should decide to include) will cost a little more.