Motorola Droid Turbo 2 Review – Battery Life & Customization Make it a Winner

When the Motorola Droid Turbo came out, I figured the phone was nothing but a bigger battery, sacrificing user experience and performance. After using it for a while, I figured it was a sleeper hit since it provided a lot more than long lasting battery life.  Now that the Motorola released the Droid Turbo 2, how can they improve it over the original?

 

Design and Build 

The Droid Turbo 2 isn’t the most luxurious looking phone. But it’s the aesthetic you’re used to from Motorola. They’ve taken a note from the Moto X and now you can “build yours” on Moto Maker as well. I always enjoy the Moto Maker experience more than I realize I would, and it always takes me longer to complete building my Moto phone than I thought I would, because it’s really the only time I have to customize my device. I didn’t build my Droid Turbo 2 though. I got the gray ballistic nylon back cover with silver accents. Simple but effective. The Turbo 2 isn’t the most luxurious looking phone.

Experience

After using so many phones, I always try to look for defining moments that stand out while using. In the case of the Droid Turbo 2, the experience is messing with the shatterproof screen and the long lasting battery life.

Display and Software

Since the phone was deemed shatterproof (we kept “testing” them at the launch event) the display is more important than usual. The display is decent, but not the sharpest or brightest on the market. Drop testing phones is difficult for me. Hurting them on purpose hurts me. But it had to be done.
When it comes to software the Droid Turbo 2 is exclusive to Verizon Wireless, which means it comes preloaded with Verizon apps. Put them in a folder if you don’t want them in the way. The Android runs nearly stock with

Features

– Shatterproof screen: I mentioned this in the display category, but this is definitely one of the major reasons you would buy the Droid Turbo 2. If you’ve been reading my reviews for a long time, you know that I protect my phone like a newborn child (I get screen protectors and cases ASAP). I can’t stand the eyesore of a shattered screen. To test the Turbo 2 thoroughly, I had to forgo the screen protector. Besides dropping it on purpose, the phone fell a handful of times. There are a few nicks here and there on the body and screen itself, but no shattered screen. So far so good.

Moto Assist:The Moto Assist features never get old. Turning the wrist to open up the camera is pretty nice. Double karate-chop to get the flashlight on is something I use more than I realize. But the feature I use the most is seeing the notifications even, when the phone is on standby with Moto Display.

I am not a huge fan of the camera, It’s a better than good, but it’s not great. Even though the camera has gotten a lot better, I’ve gotten used to more sophisticated camera features. I don’t like that you can’t “click to focus” before taking a picture. I think it helps with the clarity in the picture. Your best bet for getting great pictures on the Droid Turbo 2 is using HDR and having lots of natural lighting. Besides that, the pictures are pretty good. I have to admit the pictures came out better than I expected.

You have a very simple camera interface. Slide to the left to get the gallery, and slide to the right to get the camera options.