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LineageOS 17.1 arrives on the Essential Phone, Moto X 2014, and more phones
The Android 10 custom ROM keeps on chugging
LineageOS 17.1 is the latest release of the popular custom ROM, based on Android 10. The LineageOS project was already providing daily builds for over 60 phones and tablets, but in the time since we last covered the ROM, a handful of additional phones have been granted official support.
The LineageOS project is busy as always, adding support for more devices and implementing new features. The last time we covered the popular custom ROM, official builds for the OnePlus 6T and 7 Pro arrived, and there have been plenty of additions (or re-additions, in some cases) since then.
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.
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 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?
Motorola has always offered an official bootloader unlock option for the Moto X devices, but not all variants have been eligible. Specifically, AT&T and Verizon have blocked the process. Now, that's starting to change with the addition of Verizon's 2014 Moto X to the list of unlockable devices.
Last week Motorola released the code necessary for developers to dive into the underpinnings of the Android 6.0 update for the Moto X Pure Edition. Now the company is pushing out those files for last year's flagship, the 2014 Moto X. These follow the Android 5.1 code that hit GitHub in July.
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.
As part of Google, Motorola garnished a reputation for speedy updates. These days the company has a new owner, and those OTAs don't seem to come out as reliably as they used to. But Motorola hasn't gone back on its promise to bring Marshmallow to something, and now it's beginning its rollout for the 2015 Moto X Style and the 2014 Moto X, according to Senior Director David Schuster.
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.
The new Moto X is set to come out in a week or two, but the 2014 model is still a fine device. It's even more fine if you can get one for a mere $180, as you can today on eBay. This is the Verizon model of the phone (XT1096), but that means it's unlocked and should work fine on GSM carriers.
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 published its first kernel based on Android 5.1 earlier this month. That was for the 1st generation Moto G LTE. Now it has published the bits for the 2014 Moto X, codenamed Victara.
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.
You probably know how this goes by now. According to David Schuster from Motorola, an Android 5.1 soak test started rolling out on AT&T for owners of the 2014 Moto X earlier today. He updated his post a little later to say, "Moto X (2nd Gen) on AT&T is open for pull for the 5.1 Lollipop upgrade." I suppose that means it's final now.
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.