Today is a very important day for Google and Motorola. The Moto X, a smartphone that the entire tech world has been watching all summer, has finally unveiled its mysterious veil and been officially announced.
Before its official announcement, the Moto X garnered such high attention for good reason. After just a few hours of hands-on operation by foreign media Business Insider, the Moto X received extremely high praise. It features a very clean system, with Motorola making very few changes to the native Android system—this contrasts sharply with Samsung's TouchWiz.
The Business Insider website believes that the few added features are indeed quite useful. Consumers can quickly launch the camera function by shaking the phone, which is very helpful for capturing fleeting moments without missing any scene they want to record; consumers can also activate the voice assistant without touching the phone while it's on standby; the Moto X is also equipped with a sensor that detects in real-time whether the phone is being touched or picked up, allowing users to display time, text messages, or notifications simply by lightly tapping or flipping the phone.
Unfortunately, although the Moto X is very impressive, almost no one will buy it. Why?
In fact, before the Moto X came out, there was already a cautionary tale.
In January this year, BlackBerry launched its new flagship smartphone Z10, featuring the BlackBerry 10 system, along with extensive market promotion efforts, and it received a flood of favorable reviews. However, the sales of the Z10 were very poor.
In March this year, HTC also released a flagship product, the HTC One. Like the Z10, the HTC One garnered significant attention and received widespread acclaim. Although the HTC One has sold millions worldwide, it remains far from HTC's original goals.
Nokia has sold millions of Lumia series Windows Phone 8 smartphones, but most of these are mid-to-low-end models. In the second quarter of 2013, Nokia sold a total of 7 million smartphones, but this still falls short in improving the competitive landscape between Windows Phone 8, Android, and iOS.
Currently, the high-end smartphone market is almost saturated, largely dominated by the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4. With the Moto X starting at a contract price of $199 (approximately RMB 1200), it aligns with the same product positioning as the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5. Even if the Moto X is truly an excellent smartphone, the majority of future mobile phone market profits will still be split between Samsung and Apple.
Perhaps after its launch, the Moto X will gain the same positive reputation as the HTC One and BlackBerry Z10. Features like the X8 Mobile Computing System processor, customizable services, and touch-free control will be pursued by both media and consumers. However, facing an already saturated high-end smartphone market, the Moto X currently lacks the strength to shake the market positions held by Samsung and Apple.