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Out with the old, in with the new: LineageOS cut support for Android 9 Pie earlier this year, and to make up for the loss, the open-source project has just released version 18.1 based on Android 11. It comes with official support for about 60 phones and tablets.
The LineageOS custom ROM used to support just about every phone imaginable, but lately the project has been going for quality over quantity. Oreo (15.1) builds have to fulfill stricter requirements to receive official status, and now Lineage is dropping support for 30 unmaintained phones and tablets.
Last year's Moto Z2 Play was a fine device, considering its relatively low price tag at launch. And now, the Verizon variant is finally getting out of Nougat territory with an update to Android 8.0, bringing with it all the Oreo goodness we've come to expect.
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- Lineage just posted a changelog for all the changes since July 19. Here's the full list:
The last time we visited the LineageOS project, official Oreo builds for the Nextbit Robin, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, and other devices became available. In the two weeks since that post, even more devices are receiving Oreo, including phones from Motorola and Wileyfox.
While Android Pie rolls out to phones from Google and Essential, most OEMs haven't announced which devices will receive the update. HTC revealed a few days ago which of its phones are being updated, and now it's Motorola's turn.
Lenovo-owned Motorola has definitely passed its glory years, but the company is still pretty good about releasing the kernel sources for the new updates on its phones. The Moto Z2 Play (albus) is up next, with Lenovorola pushing the device's Oreo kernel sources to GitHub.
Motorola has been pushing Moto Mods for its Z-series phones over the last few years, but few of the Mods have been any good. Serial leaker Evan Blass just outed an upcoming Moto Mod that will most likely continue that tradition. The Motorola Virtual Viewer is billed as a Mod, but it'll probably just be another Daydream headset.
The Moto Z2 Play is one of Motorola's dozen budget phones; if you want something relatively-inexpensive with Moto Mod support, this is the phone for you. The original $499 price tag was somewhat ridiculous, and Motorola temporarily dropped the price to $350 last month. If you missed out on that sale, the unlocked Z2 Play is once again $349.99 from the company's website.
Valentine's Day is coming up soon, and that apparently means it's time for phone sales... who knew. Anyhow, Lenovorola will take $150 off the price of a brand new Moto Z2 Play starting on Sunday, February 4. That means you would only have to pay $349.99, which isn't too bad.
Lenovo-owned Motorola might have been onto something with its modular phone accessories for the Moto Z series, but a combination of slow development of compelling products and poor availability leaves them in a precarious position. Nevertheless, the company is pushing on with the project in 2018 and has some new Moto Mods coming soon, plus a new design competition.
Motorola is offering some nice discounts on several devices for an after-holiday sale, including a significant $100 savings on the Moto Z2 Play.Usually retailing for $499, an unlocked Moto Z2 Play with 64GB of storage is going for $399 at Motorola's website, in either dark gray or gold colors. Best Buy isn't offering the unlocked version, and even the unlocked version without a U.S. warranty is still $75 more expensive at Amazon.This Z2 Play also has a Snapdragon 626, 4GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch, 1080p AMOLED display, and a 3000mAH battery. It sports a 12MP rear camera and 5MP for selfies. It can also take advantage of the Moto Mod ecosystem of accessories, if that's your thing.In his original review of the Moto Z2 Play, AP's Ryan Whitwam evaluated the device as a decent phone, but not worth the price. With $100 off, maybe it feels even more decent.
Projector phones always seemed like an idea that made more sense in science fiction than in present reality, which is probably why the Galaxy Beam failed to gain much traction. Such as it is, the benefit of the Moto Mod design allows anyone with a compatible phone to add on a countless number of peculiar peripherals... one at a time. Now, at Verizon, you can get a free Insta-Share Projector Moto Mod for free when you purchase any other Moto Mod. At $300 off, it's quite the bargain.
The mass frenzy of Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales has ended, but there are still a few deals popping up for holiday shoppers. Motorola has now discounted most of its product catalog on its online store, including the Moto Z2 Play, Moto G5 Plus, Moto X4, Moto E4 Plus, and the original Moto Z.
Despite some of our misgivings about the Lenovo-owned Motorola, the company is still producing some decent devices. Misguided zealotry over mods aside, the Moto Z2 Play has proven to be an okay phone. If you're a Verizon customer, then Best Buy is offering the Z2 Play for just $7.99/month, making the phone cost $191.76, a whole $216 off MSRP.
Motorola has struggled to come up with compelling Moto Mod accessories, and its latest attempt is a partnership with Polaroid. The new Insta-Share Printer Moto Mod plugs into your Moto Z device so you can print your snapshots instantly on 2x3-inch adhesive sheets. Does that sound vaguely fun? Well, you'll pay $200 for the privilege.The Moto Z camera gains a few new capabilities with this mod attached. You can take Polaroid photos with filters and borders, then print them immediately. However, the prints come out in front of the camera, so that's going to slow you down. You can also print older shots or grab images from Facebook, Instagram and Google Photos. The photos are small, but they're also stickers. I mean, who doesn't like stickers?[EMBED_YT]https://youtu.be/O23ISH8Fd0w[/EMBED_YT]The Insta-Share Printer uses the ZINK inkless paper system from Polaroid's other mobile printers. In fact, this Mod is really just one of Polaroid's existing printers that sticks to the back of your phone. It's twice as expensive, though. The paper is spendy, too. A 20-pack of ZINK paper is $9 on Amazon.The Insta-Share Printer Moto Mod goes on sale at Verizon this week. It'll be exclusive there for a while, but the printer will launch elsewhere at a later date. Motorola is taking pre-orders and will ship them at the end of the month.Source: Motorola
Motorola may not be great with updates anymore, but at least it's pretty good at getting kernel sources for its new devices out in a timely manner. The Moto Z2 Play (albus) is the latest Lenovorola device to have its source code uploaded to GitHub.
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- Motorola has published a blog post confirming all the devices above, along with the as of yet unreleased Moto X4. We also forgot about the Moto Z Play Droid - whoops. We've added both to the list above.
Back in the days when the Moto X could be used with one hand and Moto Maker was a cool new thing, Motorola was one of the best manufacturers with software updates. Since their skin is so minimal, anything else would be disappointing. But Motorola is not what it once was, and it's fallen behind in terms of software support. The Lenovo-owned company has just released its update roadmap for Android 8.0 Oreo.
Motorola began pushing its Moto Mod accessories last year with the Moto Z and Z Force. Those phones were underwhelming, but the Moto Z Play won some fans thanks to the incredible battery life, solid performance, and the lower price. It also worked with all the same Mods, if you were so inclined. Not even a year later, Motorola has kicked off the Z2 era with the Moto Z2 Play. It's available now on Verizon and (soon) unlocked from Moto, priced at $400.
Six new Moto Mod concepts announced, including DSLR lens, DirecTV, and "Moto 360 Camera" attachments
Back in 2016, Motorola committed to releasing twelve Moto Mods per year - a rather ambitious amount. However, it appears that the Lenovo-owned company hasn't forgotten about that promise, as it revealed six new Moto Mod concepts a few days ago at an event in Ghana. Moto has shown off Moto Mod concepts in the past (alongside production Moto Mods), but these are new.