New Moto X rumored to have 1080p display, big battery, microSD slot

Motorola may resist the industry trend of moving to higher-resolution displays with its upcoming, third-generation Moto X. HelloMotoHK has published what it claims to be accurate hardware specs for the device, and those point to the 2015 Moto X having a 1080p screen — just like last year's. This display will be larger, however, coming in at 5.5 inches. That puts it on par with the LG G4 (which has a much sharper 2560 x 1440 resolution) and Apple's iPhone 6 Plus. If accurate, the new Moto X will be larger than the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9, though still falls short of the biggest phablets like Samsung's Galaxy Note and Motorola's own Nexus 6.

STICKING WITH 1080P COULD MEAN BETTER BATTERY LIFE

So the screen resolution may disappoint some, but if true, Motorola is likely sticking with 1080p for an important reason: battery life. The new Moto X is rumored to contain a 3,600mAh battery, which should be more than enough to carry it through an entire day of usage. Motorola has apparently chosen Qualcomm's Snapdragon 808 processor — a great performer in the LG G4 — to power its latest flagship. That should also help keep it running longer, since the 808 isn't quite as juice-hungry as the Snapdragon 810.

HelloMotoHK is also saying that the new Moto X will include support for microSD cards, which is something we've seen in Motorola's less expensive handsets. And the camera reportedly uses a 21-megapixel sensor (which could mean it's borrowed from the Droid Turbo), with a 5-megapixel front-facing cam. That's a bit less exciting to hear, since Samsung and LG have both recently shown the sweet spot for 2015 Android flagships is 16 megapixels. But who knows what optimizations and improvements Motorola has made to its camera, one of the lone weaknesses of its last Moto X. We'll be live at Motorola's New York City tomorrow bringing you the new Moto X, Moto G, and whatever else the company shows off.