MOTO X

Moto X (2014)

Leather or wood? Your call

• Customizable exterior
• Handy Moto Assist apps
• Nearly stock Android

• No expandable storage
• Average battery life
• Camera is still just okay

The Moto X was one of our favorite phones of 2013, and it's grown up a bit in late 2014 and remains a contender in 2015. Motorola shed the diminutive size of the original and scaled the display up to 5.2 inches at 1080p. It's also improved the camera quality a bit with a 13-megapixel shooter capable of recording video in 4K resolution. Motorola's also added a video highlights feature, so you can easily share the best of your events in just a few touches.

But the standout feature of the Moto X continues to be its software. Motorola doesn't do much to the basic look and feel of Android as Google intended it to be, but there are a few choice customizations that will help your phone be smarter when you're sleeping, driving and busy in meetings.

And Motorola has set the bar extremely high when it comes to updating the software on its phones, so you'll likely get the newest version of Android before just about anyone else. (It was one of the first to get Android 5.0 Lollipop, and the Android 5.1 updates.)

What's more is that you can customize your own Moto X, getting it in a variety colors and styles. (Leather, anyone? Or how about wood!) It's currently available.