Motorola One Action is a phone that doubles as an action cam

Motorola’s got an interesting new concept: a smartphone, called Motorola One Action, that’s designed to compete with a GoPro camera. 

This somewhat unlikely hybrid looks, feels, and definitely is a smartphone. But one of its three rear cameras is an ultra-wide, 16-megapixel sensor that’s tailored to take great action videos. 

In practice, this boils down to several features. First, you can take horizontal videos with a 117-degree field of view, while holding your phone vertically, which is a pretty cool idea. The sensor is also assisted by Motorola’s “Enhanced Video Stabilization” tech that should make video clips smoother. Finally, the sensor boasts 2.0 micron Quad Pixel tech that should deliver brighter and sharper videos in low light scenarios. 

Motorola also took a cue from Sony’s recent phones and put a 6.3-inch, ultra-wide, 21:9 screen into the One Action, making it more suitable for viewing ultra-wide videos. The display has a full HD resolution and a punch-hole cutout in the upper left corner for the 12-megapixel selfie camera. 

Other specs of note include a 12-megapixel main camera and a 5-megapixel depth sensor on the back, an Samsung Exynos 9609 octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage memory (expandable via microSD cards) and a 3,500mAh battery. The phone comes with Android 9 Pie. 

Motorola One Action will be available in Denim Blue, Pearl White and Aqua Teal. The phone will launch on August 16 in Brazil, Mexico, and several European countries, at a price of 249 euros ($275). It will roll out to Latin America, the rest of Europe and Asia Pacific “in the coming month,” and it will become available in the U.S. and Canada in October.