Motorola Droid Turbo 2 — Still Great 3 Years Later
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In November 2015 I purchased a top-of-the-line Motorola Droid Turbo 2 for $200 (down from $600 after credits.) After 3 years of rugged use, I recently replaced it… with a used DT2 for $74! Why not an iPhone XR, Google Pixel 3 or Samsung Galaxy S9+? Well, other than the almost $1,000 price tag, the DT2 is still an excellent device 3 years later! With a 5.4″ high-DPI shatterproof AMOLED screen, 21MP camera, 3,760mah fast charging battery, moto actions and good performance, it provides almost everything I want from a smartphone. Check out the full specs at GSMArena. My only complaints are that it only supports Android 7.0 and it can’t run recent versions of Google Camera.
I’m doubtful that the DT2 will ever see an Android version higher than 7.0, which is unfortunate and almost enough to make me consider a Pixel. Right now it’s not an issue, but after 3 more years I am worried about what I’ll be missing. Similarly, camera upgrades to the camera software are unlikely because of the uncommon Sony sensor which requires special drivers.
Aside from that, this DT2 is awesome, starting with the camera.
At this point, my DSLR mostly collects dust because I can usually get by with just the DT2 camera, with gets an excellent DXOMARK MOBILE 84 score.
Performance is also excellent with the DT2’s Snapdragon 810 (8 cores @ 2 gHz) and 3GB RAM. Granted I don’t game, but for everything else this is way more than I ever need.
The durability is difficult to beat with the shatterpoof screen and water-repellent nano-coating. My original DT2 was beginning to show its age, but I abused it. At some point I stepped on the charger cord launching the device through the air and damaging the USB port, causing it to no longer TurboCharge nor connect to devices like a DJi drone remote. I also literally threw it into a concrete floor ones, which seemed to damage the bluetooth connectivity. The final straw was peeling of the shatterscreen (which was easily solved with super-glue!) caused by the bite of a foster dog, which resulted in everyone saying “Dude, you need a new phone!” so I caved. Even so, it still works and that’s after almost 1,000 days of sitting on it in my back pocket, random drops and no case.
The battery life and charging speed is spectacular. Currently I’m on pace for 30 hours on one charge, and recharges in about an hour.