latest
LineageOS 17.1 adds official support for OnePlus 2, Moto X Play, and other phones
Android 10 on phones from 2015
LineageOS is the most popular custom ROM around, and version 17.1 is based on the newest Android 10 release. The Lineage project has been slowly updating older devices to 17.1, and in the time since our previous coverage, even more devices have arrived in the official roster.
LineageOS is one of the most popular custom ROMs available, with somewhere around two million active installations. It typically takes a while for the project to update to newer versions of Android, since development is largely done by maintainers in their spare time. Six months after the public release of Android 9 Pie, it looks like LineageOS is about ready to make the jump — but not before dropping older devices.
There was a time some years ago that CyanogenMod was the surest way to get the latest build of Android on your phone. It's a little slower these days, but development continues to chug along. The CM team hopes to roll out the first nightly builds of CM14.1 later tonight, but not all devices will be supported right away.
Motorola was the first major smartphone maker to start putting its stock apps in the Play Store. Before that, OEMs would only update those apps as part of an OTA update. It sounds positively barbaric by today's standards. Motorola isn't done yet, though. Just today it added its stock file manager to the Play Store. You won't see much in the way of improvements this time, but who knows what the future could bring?
The 2nd gen Moto G never really seemed like a priority for Motorola in the US. After all, they never even released an LTE variant around here. That hasn't stopped Moto from pushing a Marshmallow update to the device. We've confirmed the update is available immediately via the update menu, but you might already have the notification.
For consumers, there's no update quite like the one that delivers a new version of Android to their device. But for developers, that's just the beginning. App makers and custom ROM producers can't get their hands dirty until the source code behind that over-the-air update hits the web as well.
Two weeks ago, Motorola's Dave Schuster told everyone that the Moto G 2nd gen's Marshmallow update was being soak tested in India and since it doesn't seem like there were any glaring issues reported with the OTA, the update is now ready to roll to everyone.
Motorola's Dave Schuster keeps everyone appraised of what devices Motorola is updating, which is nice of him. Today, he's announced the start of a soak test for Android 6.0. Marshmallow is coming to the 2nd gen Moto G (the 2014 version) in India and Brazil. This includes the LTE and 3G-only version of the phone.
Black Friday is over, but there are still a ton of great deals waiting for bargain hunters on the web. Amazon has a particularly good sale for anyone who wants a great Motorola phone on the cheap. The international GSM version of the second-gen Moto G (that's the 2014 model) is now .99 on Amazon's US site, an impressive $80 off the retail price. It's an excellent deal for someone who needs a solid device without the high price (or, notably, the LTE radio) of more robust models.
Google and the various major Android device vendors and carriers are scrambling to patch the recently-discovered Stagefright exploit, a weakness in Android's multimedia processing that can allow remote access via a simple MMS message. Google has already begun patching Nexus devices, and Samsung is working its way through its extensive product range starting with flagships. Yesterday Motorola released its plans to update its phones.
Motorola hasn't let its sale to Lenovo put an end to steep discounts. The company just knocked another couple bucks off the Moto X, and there's a coupon code that can get you a slightly better deal on already discounted phones like the Nexus 6 and Moto G.
Aside from its Anker deal, Amazon has a bonus Gold Box deal today that may be of even more interest to you, fellow Android enthusiasts. The second generation Moto G is down $40 on the site, dropping to one of the lowest prices we have seen it at: $139.99. The cheapest it has been sold for was $149.99, and that was only for one day back in December.
The third generation Moto G may be around the corner, but this 2nd generation model is still one of the best low midrange Android devices, at a very affordable price. You don't get LTE or a CDMA version, but you do get a near clean Lollipop install with some of Motorola's improvements on top. It makes for a perfect smartphone for average users (hey, Father's Day is coming up!), a great backup phone if you already have a high-end device as a daily driver, or a second device you can tinker with and install plenty of custom ROMs and mods on.Amazon has both the Global GSM and US GSM versions discounted to $139.99. But as with all Amazon Gold Box deals, this one lasts only today or until stocks are available, and ships for free. Don't hold on too much before you click the Buy button, they may be gone by then.Source: Amazon
Motorola hasn't exactly been hitting it out of the park with cameras as of late. The 2014 Moto X offered a minor improvement over the 2013 model, but it's still put to shame by other flagships. At least the camera app is in the Play Store so it can be updated with new features, just like it is today.
One of the most popular dual SIM options right now is the 2nd gen Moto G, which is only available with a second SIM slot in certain markets. People in those parts of the world have reason to be excited today as the first official CyanogenMod nightly for this device is now available.
Read update
If you're going to do any serious modding on your Android smartphone, your first step is going to be unlocking the bootloader. This is a simple procedure on Nexus devices and a few other handsets, but many of the top OEMs have added security measures to prevent regular users from mucking about with their stock software. For these devices, there's a tool called Sunshine by recognized developers Justin Case (jcase), beaups, and friends. Version 3.0 just came out, and it can unlock the bootloader and acquire S-Off with almost every modern Motorola and HTC smartphone on the market.
Motorola's G series became a hit almost instantly thanks to solid build quality, clean software, and a fantastic bang-to-buck ratio. The second-gen version is no exception, and its upgraded hardware has also caught the eye of the enthusiast and aftermarket community. Though the standard model of the Moto G 2014 already has Android 5.0 (at least in some places), owners now have the option of installing the CyanogenMod custom ROM.
When Lenovo announced its intention to buy Motorola off of former owner Google, it was assumed that the Chinese manufacturer wanted an easy foothold into potentially lucrative Western markets. But apparently Lenovo is just as interested in getting Motorola's well-received hardware into the largest mobile market on the planet. Today Motorola announced in a keynote that it would begin taking pre-orders for the second-gen Moto G and the 2014 flagship Moto X in China, and showed off the Moto X Pro (basically a de-branded Nexus 6).
The days of KitKat are numbered on the Moto G as Motorola begins pushing updates to devices in both the US and India. It isn't available to everyone yet, but it's on the way. That's better than nothing, right?