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Moto X Force vs Moto X Style vs Moto X Play: Which is best for me?

Motorola’s latest Moto X Force comes hot on the tracks of the Moto X Play and Moto X Style. So what’s the difference between these three Motorola phones and which is best? Check out our full specs and features comparison.

At a glance

Phone Moto X Force Moto X Play Moto X Style
Screen size 5.4-inch 5.5-inch 5.7-inch
Screen resolution 2560×1440 (540ppi) 1920×1080 (403ppi) 2560×1440 (520ppi)
Processor Snapdragon 810 Snapdragon 615 Snapdragon 808
Storage 32/64GB 16/32GB 16/32/64GB
microSD slot? Yes, 128GB Yes, 128GB Yes, 200GB
Battery 3760mAh 3630mAh 3000mAh
Wireless charging? Yes No No
Cameras 21MP + 5MP 21MP + 5MP 21MP + 5MP


All three of Motorola’s 2015 Moto X phones sport a very similar design, which can be customised via the Moto Maker online service to suit your personal tastes. The Moto X Style is the biggest phone at 5.7-inches but there’s little difference between the three in terms of weight and dimensions.

The major difference is that the Moto X Force is shatter proof (allegedly) which means you can drop it from a height and the screen should happily survive. So if you’re a bit of a butter-fingers, we’d recommend stumping up for the Force.


The Moto X Force and Moto X Style both boast a gloriously sharp Quad HD screen, which packs a lot more pixels into every square inch than the Moto X Play. However, don’t be fooled by the numbers; all three phones here are great for enjoying movies on the move, with crisp, colourful images put out by Motorola’s panels.

More good news for media fans: all three mobiles also have microSD memory card slots to expand the on-board storage, so you can carry dozens of HD movies and hundreds of albums around.

Performance and battery life

All three Moto X phones enjoy solid everyday performance, helped in some part by the clutter-free interface, which is practically vanilla Android. You can play the latest games without trouble and any kind of stutter or lag is rare.

We haven’t had the chance to fully test the Moto X Force’s battery life yet but that massive 3760mAh battery should keep you going for over a day even with pretty heavy use. The Moto X Play and Moto X Style both enjoy roughly a day of decent use and can stream video for six hours or so before they need a recharge.

The Moto X Force is the only phone here to support Qi wireless charging, which isn’t exactly a deal breaker for the other handsets but it’s a nice feature nonetheless that helps to keep your desk tidy.


If photography is a key feature for you, don’t stress. All three phones here pack almost identical camera functionality, with a 21-megapixel snapper on the back and a 5-megapixel camera around the front. The only real difference is that the Moto X Play won’t shoot 4K videos, unlike the other two Moto X mobiles.