Ever since the first Moto X and Moto G were unveiled, it's been clear that Motorola decided to take Google's Nexus strategy -- of offering well-built, unlocked pure Android devices for a fraction of the cost of big brand names -- and run with it.

With the new third-generation Moto X Style (or Pure Edition in the U.S.), Motorola has reached a new pinnacle of balancing hardware, design, flexibility and solid performance.

Here's what we've learned after using the Moto X for a month.

Premium-Level Hardware

Display

The first thing about the Moto X Style that you'll notice is its screen. At 5.7-inches, it's a good deal larger than the second-gen Moto X's display, and Motorola dialed up the resolution this year to a full quad HD 1440 x 2560p, yielding a pixel density above 500 pixels per inch. And the IPS LCD displays brilliant colors.

This makes the Moto X's display a real competitor against big brands like the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 that cost hundreds of dollars more -- and it outright beats Apple's top-of-the-line phablet, the iPhone 6S Plus, which only comes with 1080p resolution.

Interestingly, while the display is half-an-inch larger than the 2014 Moto X, the side bezels on the Moto X Style have been thinned out so much that it's just as easy to use with one hand as its predecessor. The only thing Motorola skimped on, and it may simply have to do with manufacturing schedules, is the Gorilla Glass 3 protection, which is the same as on the 2014 Moto X.

Processor

Powering the device is a hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 system on a chip (SoC) running at 1.8GHz for the dual-core and 1.44GHz on the quad-core, along with an Adreno 418 GPU and 3GB RAM.

To be sure, the Snapdragon 808 is quite snappy, especially running pure Android without any UI layer to bog the SoC down. And it's likely Motorola wanted to avoid any heating issues that made the first incarnation of Qualcomm's 2015 flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 810, a no-go for many Android OEMs.

But it also means the Moto X won't be winning any benchmark competitions against Samsung's best 2015 flagships. It's not slow, it's just not the fastest processor possible. The only slight lag I've noticed so far is with messaging, and that could easily be the fault of Hangouts or Android's stock keyboard.

Like many of Motorola's other hardware choices, the Moto X Style's chipset is exactly enough to be within spitting distance of great.

Camera

Speaking of close to great, the Moto X Style's 21-megapixel camera won't likely outperform Samsung or Apple, and it doesn't come with any special tricks. But it's so much better than the herky-jerky shooter on the 2014 Moto X.

Besides upping the megapixel count, Motorola added phase detection autofocus, an f/2.0 aperture and a dual-tone flash.

Most importantly of all, the camera finally focuses quickly enough to pull out the device and snap a quick, clear picture. This was far from the case for the Moto X 2014 and Motorola knew it had to do something about it. Shutterbugs will be glad they did.

The only hitch is low-light pictures without flash, which will still take some adjustments with the Moto X Style's camera before you get a good picture.

As for the 5-megapixel front-facing camera, Motorola added a first-ever for smartphones: a dedicated LED flash on the front, for nighttime or indoor selfies. Its got a wide-angle lens as well, which is also perfect for selfies.

Storage

The Moto X Style comes with three internal storage options, ranging from a measly 16GB to 32GB and 64GB. Of course the storage amount you get depends on how much you want to spend, but the 32GB and 64GB options won't hit your wallet too hard.

My personal Moto X Style has the 64GB option, while the device supplied by Motorola had the baseline 16GB. If you're more than a casual smartphone user, upping the storage at least one tier is recommended.

But beyond that, with the Moto X Style this year, Motorola did something that's so against the grain in Android design now that it almost seems like a miracle: While most big Android brands are losing the microSD card slot in favor of premium builds, Motorola went from the no-microSD unibody design of the 2014 Moto X to the same solid build in the Moto X Style -- but with a microSD slot that allows you to expand your storage up to 128GB.

I can fit my entire music library on a 128GB external microSD card with room to spare, and having that kind of storage in your pocket just feels opulent.

Battery

The Moto X Style comes with the largest battery Motorola has ever put in a phone, and it's necessary, given that beast of a 5.7-inch quad HD screen. The 3000 mAh battery will last all day, and it's definitely an improvement over the previous generation, though other Android smartphones still outperform in this department.

However, Motorola added a much more important feature: TurboPower charging with the Nexus 6-style charger, which is included in the box. Motorola boasted that the Moto X Style was the "fastest charging smartphone in the world" during its launch, and that claim is actually easy to believe. With the TurboPower charger, you can get about a third of the battery juiced up in 15 minutes. In terms of usage, that's about 9 or 10 hours of battery life in the time it takes to read this article.

Design & Moto Maker Customization

Motorola didn't stray too far from its usual design language with the Moto X Style. It still has the curved metal sides, the unibody construction (meaning a non-removable battery), and the same ergonomic curve on the back of the device.

The Moto logo dimple has been minimized, making more room to show off the back panel of your choice, thanks to Moto Maker customization.

This continues to be a strong Motorola feature that lets you choose from seven accent colors, 10 color choices for the soft grip plastic back panel, as well as premium backing choices like four different tones of Genuine Saffiano leather or four stains of wood.

No matter how you build it, it'll stand out from the crowd of boring black smartphones (unless that's your thing). For my personal Moto X, I chose a classic look: ebony wood with silver accents. The Moto X Style that Motorola supplied had black soft grip with grey accents.

One warning with the wood backs is that the phone is heavy enough, and the wood back is slippery enough, that it slides around in the car if it's not secured well. That isn't a problem with the soft grip backs.

Conclusion

The Moto X Style continues in the Motorola tradition, started when the company was owned by Google a couple of years ago.

But Motorola has gone further than Nexus when it comes to building great devices with incredibly practical features and the flexibility of being unlocked at rock-bottom prices.

Motorola released the Moto X Style without any carrier support, yet the one device supports all carriers. It starts at $400 unlocked, yet is just as much of a premium smartphone as devices that cost a minimum of $200 to $300 more. And Moto Maker lets you decide how you want the device to look to a degree far beyond the usual three or four color options offered by its competitors.

The Moto X Style outdoes what Motorola has done before, which was already impressive. This year's phone is incredibly impressive, and will undoubtedly become a model for the entire industry for how low-cost, premium unlocked Android smartphones should be built and sold. I highly recommend the Moto X Style (Pure Edition).