Motorola appears to have started working on the sequel to its 2015 flagship that on release date will likely take the name Moto X 2016. The fourth-generation handset, which has a high chance of running too on near vanilla Android OS, was teased in a leaked photo that suggests of a major design overhaul, upscale finish and high-end specifications.
If the image published by Chinese blog site cnBeta is to be believed, the next Moto X will unbox all clad in metal, which will be a big departure from the first three models. If so, the Moto X 2016 while gaining a premium flagship build will likely ditch the customization feature that the first three installments were known for.
Essentially, the Moto X next year will not only bump off the 2015 version but will close the chapter on the Moto Maker feature, iDigitalTimes reported. Gone would be the option for Motorola fans to personalize their handset - practically owning the device by picking on the front and back panel accent of their choice.
In exchange, however, the Moto X 2016 will graduate from being a mid-range smartphone option to full flagship status. As noted by Droid Life, the leaked Moto X photo seems pointing to a path first set out to by Apple with the iPhone models then by Samsung with the Galaxy S devices and other Android flagship makers.
Now owned and operated by Lenovo, it all looks like that Motorola is breaking a new ground for its smartphone lines, boldly taking on the biggies like Apple and Samsung. In such case, then the Moto X of 2016 will certainly present top-notch specs to go with the premium metal and glass build.
It should be safe to assume that the Moto X 2016 muscle will be fired up by the obvious Android flagship processing chip of next year - Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 that likely will be paired with 3GB of RAM (at the minimum or more). The report that accompanied the cnBeta leak also suggested of a significant camera bump without providing details. The best guess on this should be no less than 16MP shooter for the main camera, combined with an 8MP front cam with the expected hardware and software shooting upgrades.
The target release date for the Moto X 2016 should be the second half of next year and the device will likely rollout with a near stock version of Android 6.xx Marshmallow but all set to jump to Android N once the latter becomes available.