Moto X software update significantly improves camera quality

Motorola optimizes its image processing and removes the purple sheen.

Read the whole story

 

[redleader]

Ah cool. I really want to believe that they've solved the formidable dynamic range issues associated with WRGB sensors, so the weak results from the X were disappointing.

 

[ClownRazer]

Hrm, some improvement, but after looking at the non-low-light before and afters it seems that some of them just have increased contrast, which can loose some detail in the low light.

The low-light photos don't seem much improved in terms of what is visible, but the yellow cast is gone.

There is an improvement in detail when viewing full size though.

Hard to say if there's still need for more improvement without direct comparisons to other cameras under the same conditions.

 

[kansanian]

That's fine and dandy. Now fix the noise cancellation, please. It's a phone. Not a camera with a phone attached to it.

https://forums.motorola.com/posts/6d0e66e3c1

Issues like this makes Apple's software update system seem near perfect.

Being that I just switched to Verizon, I have little hope of them getting either of these issues fixed within a month. If they do, they'd do much to improve the image of themselves, Moto, and Google.

 

[sigma8]

Should a Moto X article mention that the Moto X is also sponsoring(?) your very cool anniversary re-skin flashback?

 

[florinandrei]

ClownRazer[/url]":wunodsx6]The low-light photos don't seem much improved in terms of what is visible, but the yellow cast is gone.

I own a Moto X. The main thing was the ultra-excessive denoise processing. It created huge artifacts, visible especially in low light. That stuff has been toned down A LOT. Just by looking at the examples posted above, I can tell they've cranked it down very significantly. This is great.

In full daylight, this also means much more visible detail. Look at the left-hand edge of the staircase, and the tree leaves.

I can't wait to update it myself.

 

[Grimmjowww]

kansanian[/url]":3uytw01h]That's fine and dandy. Now fix the noise cancellation, please. It's a phone. Not a camera with a phone attached to it.

https://forums.motorola.com/posts/6d0e66e3c1

Issues like this makes Apple's software update system seem near perfect.

Being that I just switched to Verizon, I have little hope of them getting either of these issues fixed within a month. If they do, they'd do much to improve the image of themselves, Moto, and Google.

Apple does not roll out an update to anyone without getting it approved from all carriers. At Least here the TMobile customers dont have to wait.

 

[SPCagigas]

sigma8[/url]":3miv9oc5]Should a Moto X article mention that the Moto X is also sponsoring(?) your very cool anniversary re-skin flashback?

Was it not completely obvious? Does their sponsorship somehow call Ars's editorial integrity into question? Are you just looking for reasons to kvetch?

 

[kansanian]

True, though the "all at once" method seems to have its benefits.
I am honestly a bit excited, and definitely glad to hear about this update. I can only hope that they can fix the noise cancellation issue as easily, and that both updates get sent by all carriers soon

 

[doctorcaligari]

The fix apparently includes "Fixed choppy audio issue during voice calls". Can any T-Mobile Moto X users confirm that it works?

The noise cancellation issue is a big one. As my wife said, "What good is a phone if I you can't talk on it?" I've got 5 days left to return the phone, and I really don't want to. It is a great phone (well, except for the phone part right now).

kansanian[/url]":1iqiqd68]That's fine and dandy. Now fix the noise cancellation, please. It's a phone. Not a camera with a phone attached to it.

https://forums.motorola.com/posts/6d0e66e3c1

 

[Shudder]

So happy to see this. The Moto X seemed like the perfect phone but all I kept reading about was how bad the camera was. After being let down continuously by my last phone's camera I didn't want to move on to a worse one than I have now (A pretty good EVO LTE).

Looks like I have a lot less to worry about when I hop over to it.

 

[kansanian]

doctorcaligari[/url]":asjfo219]The fix apparently includes "Fixed choppy audio issue during voice calls". Can any T-Mobile Moto X users confirm that it works?

The noise cancellation issue is a big one. As my wife said, "What good is a phone if I you can't talk on it?" I've got 5 days left to return the phone, and I really don't want to. It is a great phone (well, except for the phone part right now).

kansanian[/url]":asjfo219]That's fine and dandy. Now fix the noise cancellation, please. It's a phone. Not a camera with a phone attached to it.

https://forums.motorola.com/posts/6d0e66e3c1

Can you point out where you saw release notes? ...I'd also be very curious to know whether or not this update included others. The Moto forum has been rather quiet about it, other than to say (unofficially, of course) that it's being worked on.

It is irksome, yes. The only solution I've found is that when it's acting up, to get very close to the mic and speak a bit more ...sternly... not really much louder than normal, just a bit more. This seems to work in most cases, but it makes talking a bit of a chore at times.

 

[Shudder]

kansanian[/url]":28yc66ra]
Can you point out where you saw release notes? ...I'd also be very curious to know whether or not this update included others. The Moto forum has been rather quiet about it, other than to say (unofficially, of course) that it's being worked on.

There's a screenshot on Android Central.

http://www.androidcentral.com/moto-x-up ... ra-quality

 

[redleader]

kansanian[/url]":1v54w8lr]That's fine and dandy. Now fix the noise cancellation, please. It's a phone. Not a camera with a phone attached to it.

https://forums.motorola.com/posts/6d0e66e3c1

Issues like this makes Apple's software update system seem near perfect.

Being that I just switched to Verizon, I have little hope of them getting either of these issues fixed within a month. If they do, they'd do much to improve the image of themselves, Moto, and Google.

Good luck with that. Verizon screwed up the 2/3G towers in my city for a subset of phones, and for like 9 months refused to acknowledge that there was maybe a 20% chance that any given phone call would only connect voice going in one direction. I think it only got fixed when they started rolling out new equipment for 4G.

 

[milan616]

SPCagigas[/url]":139c1j0l]

sigma8[/url]":139c1j0l]Should a Moto X article mention that the Moto X is also sponsoring(?) your very cool anniversary re-skin flashback?

Was it not completely obvious? Does their sponsorship somehow call Ars's editorial integrity into question? Are you just looking for reasons to kvetch?

Wait, what re-skin flashback?

 

[xryancat]

Grimmjowww[/url]":3pf58vim]
Apple does not roll out an update to anyone without getting it approved from all carriers. At Least here the TMobile customers dont have to wait.

Apple does not ask nor require approval from carriers before software updates.

 

[kansanian]

Either way, Apple's updates seem to have one thing that is very, very right - if it works on your device, it works on your device, period. The fragmentation issues with Android are just insane.

The screenshot said "choppy" audio. That would seem to me to mean something other than noise-cancellation fix, such as a TDMA/GSM fix, but then again, I suppose it'd be hard to say which it is without further word from T-Mobile users who would be able to know the difference.

 

[Achilles]

This makes me quite happy. If for some reason the forthcoming "Nexus 5" doesn't appeal to me, the Moto X was a secondary choice. With such bad camera reviews, though, it's been a very distant second. Until now it seems.

 

[ClownRazer]

milan616[/url]":3tfd5iep]

SPCagigas[/url]":3tfd5iep]

sigma8[/url]":3tfd5iep]Should a Moto X article mention that the Moto X is also sponsoring(?) your very cool anniversary re-skin flashback?

Was it not completely obvious? Does their sponsorship somehow call Ars's editorial integrity into question? Are you just looking for reasons to kvetch?

Wait, what re-skin flashback?

Look at the top of the homepage. I recommend spinning in circles and holding your breath before clicking on the circa 2000 view...it amplifies the rate of eye bleeding to put you out of your misery faster.

 

[bigstrat2003]

"We're waiting for the update to roll out to our Verizon version to see for ourselves."

As a Verizon customer with a Galaxy Nexus, pardon my cynicism when I say "Good luck with that." I have never seen such insane foot-dragging about updates as what Verizon does.

 

[ws3]

bigstrat2003[/url]":quvgz2pw]"We're waiting for the update to roll out to our Verizon version to see for ourselves."

As a Verizon customer with a Galaxy Nexus, pardon my cynicism when I say "Good luck with that." I have never seen such insane foot-dragging about updates as what Verizon does.

That is... unless you have an iPhone on Verizon.

 

[grommit!]

ClownRazer[/url]":162vtcc5]
Hard to say if there's still need for more improvement without direct comparisons to other cameras under the same conditions.

Droid-life has some comparison shots with other phones:

http://www.droid-life.com/2013/09/23/mo ... ew-vs-old/

 

[bigstrat2003]

ws3[/url]":1xm3jwao]

bigstrat2003[/url]":1xm3jwao]"We're waiting for the update to roll out to our Verizon version to see for ourselves."

As a Verizon customer with a Galaxy Nexus, pardon my cynicism when I say "Good luck with that." I have never seen such insane foot-dragging about updates as what Verizon does.

That is... unless you have an iPhone on Verizon.

True enough. As much as I dislike Apple in general, I have to give them props for standing up to carriers and saying "Fuck you. We're doing it this way because it is the sensible way, and also benefits our customers. And you're going to just have to deal."

I would love for the same thing to be able to happen with Android phones, but nobody has the leverage Apple does. So alas, it is not to be.

 

[bug77]

The article at Anand says:

There’s more chroma noise but again I like this tradeoff.

That's not right, chroma noise can be removed without sacrificing detail (detail being the tradeoff referenced by the quote). Either the author wrote chroma instead of luma, or there's still too much chroma noise in Moto X's photos. Fwiw, I'm just nitpicking, my phone doesn't take more than a couple dozen photos a year.

 

[Entegy]

ClownRazer[/url]":1mo33v3x]

milan616[/url]":1mo33v3x]

SPCagigas[/url]":1mo33v3x]

sigma8[/url]":1mo33v3x]Should a Moto X article mention that the Moto X is also sponsoring(?) your very cool anniversary re-skin flashback?

Was it not completely obvious? Does their sponsorship somehow call Ars's editorial integrity into question? Are you just looking for reasons to kvetch?

Wait, what re-skin flashback?

Look at the top of the homepage. I recommend spinning in circles and holding your breath before clicking on the circa 2000 view...it amplifies the rate of eye bleeding to put you out of your misery faster.

Only non-subs see it because technically it's an ad and subs don't see ads.

 

[milan616]

Entegy[/url]":11yv449v]

ClownRazer[/url]":11yv449v]

milan616[/url]":11yv449v]

SPCagigas[/url]":11yv449v]

sigma8[/url]":11yv449v]Should a Moto X article mention that the Moto X is also sponsoring(?) your very cool anniversary re-skin flashback?

Was it not completely obvious? Does their sponsorship somehow call Ars's editorial integrity into question? Are you just looking for reasons to kvetch?

Wait, what re-skin flashback?

Look at the top of the homepage. I recommend spinning in circles and holding your breath before clicking on the circa 2000 view...it amplifies the rate of eye bleeding to put you out of your misery faster.

Only non-subs see it because technically it's an ad and subs don't see ads.

Weird, even when I logged out and disabled AdBlock (already disabled for Ars, even though I'm a sub, but disabled everywhere as well) and FlashBlock and I still didn't have it come up. There was a broken image doubleclick ad at the top, maybe that was it. Lame that they didn't make it available to the people most likely to want to see it.

 

[Shudder]

thegrommit[/url]":22n6lw56]

ClownRazer[/url]":22n6lw56]
Hard to say if there's still need for more improvement without direct comparisons to other cameras under the same conditions.

Droid-life has some comparison shots with other phones:

http://www.droid-life.com/2013/09/23/mo ... ew-vs-old/

Thanks for the link. Those look pretty good IMO (at least relative to everything else shown)

 

[joetron2030]

bigstrat2003[/url]":1e8ubb4b]"We're waiting for the update to roll out to our Verizon version to see for ourselves."

As a Verizon customer with a Galaxy Nexus, pardon my cynicism when I say "Good luck with that." I have never seen such insane foot-dragging about updates as what Verizon does.

Here, here. I'm a VZW GNex user, too. I believe we've been promised 4.3, right? Think we'll see it before the end of the year? I'm not holding my breath.

 

[artifex]

milan616[/url]":cio51arl]

Entegy[/url]":cio51arl]

ClownRazer[/url]":cio51arl]

milan616[/url]":cio51arl]

SPCagigas[/url]":cio51arl]

sigma8[/url]":cio51arl]Should a Moto X article mention that the Moto X is also sponsoring(?) your very cool anniversary re-skin flashback?

Was it not completely obvious? Does their sponsorship somehow call Ars's editorial integrity into question? Are you just looking for reasons to kvetch?

Wait, what re-skin flashback?

Look at the top of the homepage. I recommend spinning in circles and holding your breath before clicking on the circa 2000 view...it amplifies the rate of eye bleeding to put you out of your misery faster.

Only non-subs see it because technically it's an ad and subs don't see ads.

Weird, even when I logged out and disabled AdBlock (already disabled for Ars, even though I'm a sub, but disabled everywhere as well) and FlashBlock and I still didn't have it come up. There was a broken image doubleclick ad at the top, maybe that was it. Lame that they didn't make it available to the people most likely to want to see it.

I don't see it any more; I wonder if they removed it or the promotion ended? It was kinda fun on my desktop, but annoying in Chrome Beta for Android, and I really like the current interface best anyway.

 

[tawpy]

Am I the only one who hates Arstechnica's commenting system?

 

[SPCagigas]

tawpy[/url]":1ayyl90j]Am I the only one who hates Arstechnica's commenting system?

Yes. Yes you are.

 

[Entegy]

There's a forum for giving feedback. Post what you don't like there.

 

[tawpy]

Entegy[/url]":1i43fcqb]There's a forum for giving feedback. Post what you don't like there.

Yeah. I actually didn't know the commenting system was tied into the forum section. I'm a huge forum advocate too. My apologies