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Motorola DROID Turbo review

8.5/10 AVG.
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Motorola DROID Turbo
Motorola DROID Turbo
Motorola DROID Turbo
Motorola DROID Turbo
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8.5/10
Informr score
The Motorola DROID Turbo currently has an Informr score of 8.5 out of 10. This score is based on our evaluation of 27 sources including reviews from users and the web's most trusted critics.

What's good

  • Premium materials for durability
  • Stunning display with high resolution and clarity
  • Excellent battery life

What's bad

  • Sluggish camera shutter speed
  • No optical image stabilization
  • Display colors slightly oversaturated

Motorola was the phone manufacturer that rocketed Android to its current fame with the original Droid. While the Motorola might no longer dominate the Android market it continues to present an impressive flagship lineup. The Droid Turbo is Motorola's 2014 flagship phone and it bumps up every bit of hardware in the Moto X. It isn't necessarily the prettiest phone according to reviewers, but it is built to last. The phone comes in two different finishes: a ballistic nylon reinforced with aluminum or a metallized glass fiber with a Kevlar back. Both were designed to withstand the occasional drop and flexing. Its water-resistant nano coating also provides some protection from light rain though it cannot be submerged fully in the water as it does not have a Mil-Spec rating. Although it isn't "certified tough" experts still appreciate its overall resilience despite weighing a somewhat heavy 176 grams.

Stealing the show is the Turbo's 5.2-inch quad HD (2560x1440) Super AMOLED panel, which translates to a pixel density of 565ppi. As expected, experts were not able to discern any pixels describing it as "simply stunning" and crisp. Like all Super AMOLED displays, critics noticed slight oversaturation and some slight yellowing tinging on whites, but in all it provided rich colors, deep blacks and excellent viewing angles.

Reviewers instantly forgot the small issues they had with the display once they actually started using the device. The 2.7GHz quad-core processor and 3 GB of RAM provided them with incredibly fast performance. Android Central claims that it is, "…just as fast as anything else on the market, even with a high-resolution screen." Whether they were playing a graphics intensive game, browsing the web or navigating through the user interface, they did not notice any stutters or performance hiccup. But it isn't the HD display or fast processor that Motorola chose to market. Instead, they focused on the battery life of the 3,900mAh battery. According to the company, the battery is expected to last 2 days of moderate to heavy usage. When put through real life expert tests, the battery didn't necessarily live up to the two day hype, though it did get them comfortably through 12 to 16 hours of moderate usage. Motorola also provides several different charging options: wireless Qi charging and an add-on turbo charger that can add one percent of battery per minute.

Beyond the battery, there's the 21MP rear camera that comes with a dual LED flash. Instead of pressing a button to fire up the camera, the Turbo features a twist-to-capture gesture to open up the camera app. Despite the high megapixel count, reviewers were let down by the camera's overall performance. They noticed that the shutter speed was surprisingly sluggish and pictures, while highly detailed, often suffered from overexposure. It also struggled in low slight situations, churning out noticeably grainy images. Perhaps the biggest drawback is the lack of optical image stabilization (OIS). Without OIS many images that reviewers took were often blurry, especially in poor lighting.

Despite a less than stellar camera, reviewers still view the Droid Turbo very favorably. BGR states, "It's powerful, it's sleek and it has the best battery in the business outside of a few truly gigantic phablets." Laptop Mag adds, "… the Droid Turbo is a premium smartphone worth owning."


Android
Operating system
Operating system
Android
2.7 GHz
Processor
Processor
2.7 GHz
5.2"
Screen Size
Screen Size
5.2"
20+ MP
Camera
Camera
20+ MP
3900 mAh
Battery


What the Critics Are Saying...


The Indian Express
The Indian Express

For those looking for a performance phone, this is a great option to look at. The superb processing power and battery life make this a top shelf phone in the current market. Yes, it is a bit pricey but just the two days of battery life will make this a worthy investment for many users.

- Nandagopal Rajan, The Indian Express
Fone Arena
Fone Arena

Overall the Moto Turbo is a very capable device. As many call it, it is very much a Nexus 6 in a smaller package. Packing a gorgeous screen and a powerful processor the phone really does perform well at most of the tasks it is put up to. The two major cons are lack of OIS and the Mono speaker. Most...

- Sandeep, Fone Arena
UnleashThePhones
UnleashThePhones

The Motorola Moto Turbo is a spectacular smartphone.It’s not the lightest, nor is it the best looking. But it is unique enough to stand out thanks to that ballistic nylon, and boasts crazy powerful specs, very solid build quality, and long-lasting battery life. Heck, even the camera isn’...

- Clinton Jeff, UnleashThePhones
Digit
Digit

The Moto Turbo is by far the most powerful smartphone that we've tested so far. It outperforms the likes of the Galaxy Note 4 and lives up to its 'beast' monicker. If Motorola could just have given a flagship level camera, this would be the perfect phone for everyone.

- Prasid Banerjee, Digit
Android Guys
Android Guys

After having the opportunity to write this short review on the Droid Turbo I honestly have to rethink about stitching over to it. I already have a great smartphone but with the great build quality, awesome performance and just overall ease of use of the Droid Turbo it is hard for me not to want to d...

- Juan Vega, Android Guys


Prices (Where to Buy)




Common Questions


We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the Motorola DROID Turbo user manual here.


Motorola backs up the DROID Turbo with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.


If your DROID Turbo has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Motorola support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Motorola's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.




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Quick view

Screen Size
5.2"

The Motorola DROID Turbo's screen size is 5.2 inches with 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution.

Processor
2.7 GHz

There is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 Quad core 2.7 GHz processor (CPU).

OS

The phone runs on the Android 4.4.4 KitKat (Update Available: 5.0.2 Lollipop) operating system (OS).

Camera
20+ MP

You can take photos with the phone's onboard 20+ MP camera.

There is also a secondary front facing camera with 2+ megapixels resolution.

Storage
32/64 GB

Internal memory is 32/64 GB. No external card slot is available for expansion.

Battery
3900mAh

The phone is powered by a Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion), 3900 mAh battery. Motorola's performance ratings are 1809 minutes, 691 minutes Wi-Fi surfing.

DROID Turbo Specs

Overview
Release Date October 30, 2014
Regions Available USA, Canada, United Kingdom
Operating System Android 4.4.4 KitKat (Update Available: 5.0.2 Lollipop)

Compare Android Smartphones

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 Quad core 2.7 GHz
Internal Storage 32/64 GB
RAM 3 GB
Hearing Aid Compatible Yes
TTY/TDD Yes
Noise Cancellation Yes
SAR Head: 1.39 W/kg
Body: 0.5 W/kg
Manufacturer Warranty 1 Year
Accessories Included USB Power Adapter, Manual, Standard Battery, Data Cable
Cellular
Networks
GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO Rev. A, HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE
Mobile / Cellular Data
4G/LTE
Push-to-talk (PTT) No
Wi-Fi Calling Unknown
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) Unknown
SIM card size
Nano-SIM
Dual SIM No
Connectivity
USB Micro-USB 2.0
USB OTG Support Yes
GPS Type A-GPS
Infrared Yes
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth Profiles A2DP, AVRCP, OPP/FTP, HID, HFP, HSP, PAN
Bluetooth Audio Codecs SBC, aptX
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Mobile Hotspot Yes
Memory Expansion Slot No
NFC Yes
Data Tethering Compatibility Yes
Camera
Main Camera
Resolution / Aperture
20+ Megapixels
Zoom
4x digital
Flash
Yes (Dual LED)
Additional Rear Camera Info
Auto focus, Effects, Geotagging, Panorama, Burst mode, HDR
Video Recording Formats
3GP / 3GPP, H.264 / AVC, MPEG-4
Video Recording Parameters
Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels), 24 fps
Front Camera
Resolution / Aperture
2+ Megapixels
Additional Front Camera Info
No
Video Recording Parameters
Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels)
Display / Screen
Type Color
Technology AMOLED
Colors 16.7 million
Resolution 1440 x 2560 pixels
Pixel Density 565 pixels
Size 5.2 inches
Secondary Display No
Sensors Ambient Light, Proximity, Motion / Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Digital Compass
Multi-Touch Yes
Fingerprint-Resistant Coating No
Additional Display Features Capacitive touch screen
Power & Battery
Battery Type Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion)
Battery Capacity 3900 mAh
Removable Battery No
Wireless Charging No
Fast Charging No
Video Playback Time Up to 821 minutes
Internet Use (Wi-Fi) Up to 691 minutes
Internet Use (Cellular) Up to 570 minutes
Talk Time Up to 1809 minutes
Standby Time Up to 28.1 days
Mixed Usage
Physical Characteristics
Design Type Bar
Material Plastic
Colors Black Ballistic Nylon, Metallic Black, Metallic Red, Sapphire Blue Ballistic Nylon, Metallic Blue, Metallic Orange, Metallic Violet
Dimensions [H x W x D] 14.4 x 7.3 x 1.1 cm (5.7 x 2.9 x 0.4 in)
Weight 176 grams
Water Resistant / Waterproof Water Resistant
Rugged design No
IP Rating No
Headset Jack 3.5mm
External Speakers Yes
Input / Navigation
Sleep / Wake Key Yes
Home Key Yes
Input / Keyboard Type Touchscreen
Navigation Type Touchscreen
External Volume Control Yes
Fingerprint Sensor No
More
Additional Information Other Names (AKA): Motorola XT1254, Moto Maxx
Related Links Manual (PDF)
Motorola DROID Turbo Reviews
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