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It's no secret why CyanogenMod is the most popular custom ROM out there; not only does it support a metric crapload of Android devices, but it also keeps them going far past their primes. The latest devices to get support for CM14.1 (Android 7.1 Nougat) nightlies include two variants of the Galaxy S III, the second-generation Moto X, a few Oppo devices, two versions of the HTC One Max, two Xiaomi phones, and more.
Motorola is swiftly making its way through its Moto X flagship series, upgrading all of them to Android 6.0. Today it's the Moto X 2014 Pure Edition's turn - that's the one that was sold carrier-free in the US on Motorola's website between last fall and this fall. Several Android Police readers, plus posters on Reddit and XDA, say they've been given the over-the-air update as of yesterday. To be clear, we haven't heard anything about the various carrier editions of the Moto X 2014; presumably those will be trickling in over the next few weeks as the carriers run their various tests and certifications.
The Moto X 2014 International Version Is Now Receiving Its Marshmallow Over-The-Air Update In Europe
Last year's update to the Moto X gave Motorola a flagship that was a match for any high-end phone on the market at a steal of a price, and quick updates from the manufacturer were no small part of its appeal. If you're outside the US and still happily rocking the 2014 model, check your status bar: you might just have an update coming in. According to Android Police readers in Germany, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, the Marshmallow over-the-air update is coming in across Europe this morning. It might be even more widespread than that.
The Moto X series has been known for being a good deal when compared to other flagship phones. If you're OK with buying last year's model (which is still more than serviceable, and is scheduled to get a Marshmallow update at some point), Amazon is selling it for just 9.99 today. This is the American GSM version, so it should work on AT&T, T-Mobile, and similar MVNOs. It's a new phone featuring the stock 16GB of storage. The price is only valid for the next 16 hours (ending at 5 AM Eastern US time), so get an order in quickly if you want one.
It's only been a few days since we heard of the soak test, but it looks like it's been successful enough for Motorola and Verizon to fast track the latest Moto X 2014 update. Verizon announced the Android 5.1 over-the-air update in its usual way, so at least some users should see the update alert by the end of the day. The rest of you will be waiting for up to a week or more, unless you manage to track down the OTA ZIP file from a user forum.
The Moto Maker customization tool, first introduced with the original Moto X and later expanded to the second-gen model and (technically) the Moto 360, has been one of the company's more unique offerings. It's been slowly expanding since its launch in 2013, from the US to the UK, Germany, France, and China. Next up on the schedule is probably India, presumably starting with the second generation Moto X.
Motorola has really been pumping up the customization option for the newer model of the Moto X, and the exotic wood and leather backs are probably the most interesting part. Today the Moto Maker website in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Mexico has added an option for red Horween leather on the back panel, just in case you want to match up with the soles of your designer shoes.
Motorola figures that if you're buying a brand new Moto X Pure Edition, you could probably find a use for a 3G Moto E as well. It's a great phone to give to a family member, especially as a starter phone. If nothing else, you could use it as a test device or keep it lying in a drawer somewhere as a backup.
It takes a while to fit the latest version of Android on a device, get it carrier certified, and push it out to users. I get that. But for whatever reason, AT&T's version of the 2014 Moto X got lost in the shuffle. While the pure edition of the flagship phone received Lollipop back in November, with Verizon following shortly thereafter, AT&T's version is apparently only just now going out over the air.
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).
Imagine the horror: one minute, you think you're finally getting Lollipop on your phone, the next your phone is soft bricked. That's the reality for owners of the 2014 Moto X on Canada's WIND Mobile, according to a flurry of reports on Reddit and elsewhere. At this point, the only surefire recourse seems to be bringing the phone to WIND to get it sent away for repair.
Motorola got folks pretty excited when it started soak testing Android Lollipop for the pure edition of this year's Moto X, signaling that the update would soon arrive. It did. But not everyone bought the Moto X this way. Many Americans don't even know this is an option, instead walking into the carrier store and pointing out the phone they want to the person in the red shirt. What about them? Well, it looks like something sweet is heading their way.
If you've got a Moto X 2014 Pure Edition or a Moto G 2014, then you stopped reading this story at the headline and you're furiously tapping the "System updates" option in your Settings menu. For those of you who are still with us: those phones are getting an official over-the-air update to Android 5.0 today. Motorola announced the updates on its official blog. This comes shortly after soak tests (closed betas) for the update on both phones.
The 2014 releases of the Moto X and Moto G have been available for a few weeks, but for some reason Motorola has been a bit slow to release the usual mandatory kernel source code. Today you can find them both on Motorola's development GitHub, confirmed by a Motorola employee in the comment section of the wider MSM kernel. Get after it, ROM cookers.
Thanks to high-end specs, a relatively "clean" build of Android, and Motorola's improved reputation, the Moto X 2014 (AKA Moto X Second Generation) is fast becoming a favorite among Android power users. And now that it's been out in the wild for a few weeks, the modders are lining up to write the usual custom ROMs and tweaks. To help facilitate that, the folks at Team Win have brought their custom recovery to the new flagship.
Reviews for the new Moto X have been pouring in over the last month, and for the most part, critics are once again decidedly optimistic about Motorola's new flagship device.
Just like the original Moto X, AT&T customers were the first ones to get a taste of the new model on the customization site Moto Maker. But it looks like that carrier exclusivity isn't going to last anywhere near as long this time around: the official Verizon Wireless Twitter account said that Big Red versions would be available starting tomorrow. Just like the AT&T version, the on-contract model will cost $99.99 with a two-year commitment. A black version will be available from Verizon retail stores and online.