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The Moto X Play was released in 2015, as a larger version of the X Style with a much bigger battery. In the United States, it was rebranded to the 'Droid Maxx 2,' a Verizon exclusive. Both models shipped with Android 5.1 Lollipop, and were later updated to Marshmallow. The Moto X Style received Android 7.1.1 Nougat in September of last year (at least in India), but the Maxx 2 has been stuck with 6.0.
Back in 2015, Motorola released the Moto X Play, a 5.5" phone with a massive 3,630mAh battery. In the United States, the phone was called the DROID Maxx 2, and was a Verizon exclusive. Over the past month, Android 7.1.1 has slowly been rolling out to the X Play in some regions, with the phone previously running Android 6.0. An update is planned for the Maxx 2, but it hasn't been released yet.
Cracking the screen glass is the easiest way to damage a modern smartphone, if only because there's just so much of it. Verizon isn't the only company making offers for a protection plan, giving customers a little peace of mind for reduced-price phone repairs in exchange for a few bucks a month. But the newest version of the plan does have an interesting bonus: they're offering same-day screen replacement for some of the carrier's most high-profile devices. Verizon is hoping that people will be willing to shell out some extra dough for the chance to fix up their screens without having to deal with shipping.
In a move sure to piss off owners of the 2014 Moto X on Verizon, the carrier has released a Marshmallow update for the Droid Maxx 2. There was a fair amount of speculation as to whether the phone would get an update to Google's latest OS considering that the device never landed on Motorola's official list. Alas, Verizon and the OEM seem to have come through.
With Valentine's Day fast approaching, love is in the air. Or is that a mix of rampant consumerism and hormones? Oh well, same thing pretty much. You can celebrate the special day with a pair of phones from Motorola/Verizon and get half off of one of them. If that's not romance, I don't know what is.
When Marshmallow was first released, Motorola released a list of devices that it deemed Marshmallow-worthy. Noticeably absent from that list was the Moto E 2015 (2nd gen), despite the company promising timely updates in its marketing of the device 219 days earlier. That caused a legitimate online uproar from Moto E users who weren't expecting to be left behind so abruptly and cold-bloodedly. So what's the company to do to silence the cries of scorned loyal users? Do an about-face and fix the issue, that's what. Except it still didn't manage to fully solve the problem for everyone.
You can't get the new Moto X from any of the carriers directly, but Verizon does have two Motorola devices ready to go right now. The newly announced DROID Maxx 2 and Turbo 2 are on sale through Verizon's website and in stores. The Turbo 2 is the more expensive of the two, but the Maxx 2 isn't what I'd call cheap, either.
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Verizon and Motorola are announcing the latest entries in their long-running DROID series in Chicago today. The DROID Turbo 2 is the new flagship, and its "shatter-proof" screen is the clear highlight, but the partners also announced an updated version of the popular DROID Maxx from 2013. The new DROID Maxx 2 is a mid-range device that shares a lot of design DNA with the Moto X Play revealed earlier this year. It will go on sale on Thursday on Verizon's website and in retail stores with a price of $16 a month - that's $384 over a two-year period.
Verizon's yearly refresh of its exclusive DROID line is fast approaching. The company will announce its new Motorola-produced phones on October 27th (a week from Tuesday), but thanks to a series of leaks, there won't be a lot of surprises on stage. The latest one is a pamphlet for the DROID Turbo 2, a high-end sequel to last year's flagship, and the DROID Maxx 2, a mid-range option that focuses on battery life. The leak comes from Droid Life, and it confirms several details that were leaked and/or rumored previously.
Gmail gained the ability to handle non-Google email accounts in Lollipop, but most OEMs still make their own stock email client. Motorola is no different, and now it's added that app to the Play Store so it can be updated regularly. As an added bonus, the screenshots of the updated app were apparently taken on a Droid Maxx 2, which hasn't been announced yet. Very subtle, guys.
When Motorola unveiled this year's flagship Moto X, it didn't stop at just one device. Here in the states, we have just the Moto X Pure Edition. But in certain other countries, you can also get the Moto X Play. This is a less expensive phone with significantly more battery life and a smaller screen. Now Motorola has made the kernel source code for this device available on GitHub. Tinker away, tinkering types.
Just last weekend we heard some rather convincing (but unconfirmed) rumors that the reason the Moto X Play was conspicuously absent from Motorola's US store was that Verizon's long-standing relationship with the manufacturer would result in an exclusive phone. Today we've been sent some photos that look like the real deal: a mid-range phone that mostly matches the Moto X Play, but with Verizon and DROID branding. Say hello to the Motorola XT1565, presumably coming to market as the DROID Maxx 2.