Moto X Force pre-orders start in the UK

The Moto X Force got official as the international version of Verizon's Droid Turbo 2 last week, and now it's already up for pre-order at several retailers in the UK.

You can pre-order the Moto X Force in SIM-free and unlocked form from Handtec for £497.99,Clove for £499, Expansys for £499.99, or Carphone Warehouse for £529.99.

If you want to get the phone on an operator contract, Carphone Warehouse is the only option for now. The Moto X Force is free on Pay monthly plans starting at £37.50 per month. That cheapest choice is at O2, and it delivers unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and 1 GB of 4G data each month.

At the exact opposite end of the spectrum we find a £59.99 per month plan at EE, which gives you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and 20GB of data. There are many other options in between, though, as you'd expect.

Handtec expects to have the Moto X Force in stock on November 9, while Carphone Warehouse promises that pre-ordered units will be delivered by November 10, and Clove says the phone is due around November 14.

The Moto X Force has a shatterproof 5.4-inch QHD touchscreen, a 21 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front snapper, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 powering it, and a 3,760 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

Android 6 Marshmallow for Moto X : Features and Release date

Marshmallow is the next big update for Motorola Moto X series. Google is going to unveil the next major Android revision on September 29th. It will be available in AOSP website after the launch. Motorola recently updated Moto X 1st Gen to Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Previously Motorola released both Android 5.0.2 and Android 5.1.1 updates for Moto X 2nd Gen. In July Motorola also unveiled two Moto X flagships named as Moto X Play and Moto X Style (Pure Edition) which run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS. Now Motorola has to update all these flagships to Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system.

According to reports, Motorola may start building Marshmallow updates for Moto X series in October. Moto X Style or Moto X Pure (2015) may receive Marshmallow earlier than other flagships. It will receive Android 6.0 update in the end of October or in November. Moto X Play will be next in the line to receive Marshmallow after Pure. Play edition may receive Android 6 update in November or in December. Moto X 2nd Gen and 1st Gen might get the Android Marshmallow update in December or January. Full details about the rollout of Marshmallow to Moto X flagships will be revealed in coming days.

There are no major User Interface changes in the Marshmallow update. But Google has improved Material design in Marshmallow. As Motorola uses stock Android in Moto X with almost no UI modifications, users can enjoy stock Marshmallow UI like Nexus users. New app permissions of Marshmallow is an exclusive improvement over previous android versions. New app permissions feature to install apps more easily. Marshmallow is also coming with 25MB Google Drive space to backup apps and app settings automatically. So users can easily migrate to a new device or restore apps after factory reset.

Doze mode is also an exclusive feature of Marshmallow. It improves device Standby time much. So Moto X drvices standby time will improve much after Marshmallow update. Google also improved performance in Marshmallow so that Moto X devices will run much faster on Marshmallow. New Google Now app is more user friendly. Now users can view weblinks in apps without switching between apps with new Chrome tabs. New Chrome tabs open as a window over app in a small portion. More interesting features of Marshmallow will be revealed in coming days.

Moto X Pure Edition arrives at Best Buy in white, black and bamboo

The Moto X Pure Edition is now available from Best Buy for in-store pickup. The retail chain started selling the unlocked smartphone this week in white, black or bamboo options.

You won’t get all the customization options that come when you order the new Moto X Pure Edition straight from Motorola. Using Moto Maker you can pick a variety of color combinations, along with a personalized engraving. But on the plus side, if you pick up the device from Best Buy you could be using it a lot sooner.

Best Buy is offering the Moto X Pure Edition starting at $399 (same as Motorola). That gets you 16GB of storage with the option to add more via microSD card. You’ll have to pay an extra $25 for a bamboo back panel though, and adding more built-in storage means a $50 price bump to 32GB as well.

Whichever way you buy it, the Moto X Pure Edition is a pretty awesome smartphone, packing powerful specs and excellent software at a very fair price. It comes equipped with a 5.7-inch Quad HD display, a Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 21-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter and a 3000mAh battery. It also runs a near stock version of Android with a handful of helpful tweaks and additions from Motorola.

If you need to get your hands on the latest from Motorola as soon as possible, hit the source link below to see if any nearby Best Buy stores are carrying the device.

Moto X Pure Edition pre-orders start in the US

Motorola has made it official: the new Moto X Pure Edition will go up for pre-order in the US tomorrow. As previously announced, it will start at $399, and the only way you're going to be able to get one will be if you use Motorola's Moto Maker service. This means all units will be sold unlocked, you will not find this device at any of the carriers (though Verizon is apparently working on its own variation of the Moto X Play, but that's another handset entirely).

The new Moto X Pure Edition is going to be called that only in the United States, for whatever reason. In the rest of the world, the exact same product will be sold as the Moto X Style. This was unveiled in July alongside the Moto X Play.

Motorola says the Moto X Pure Edition works on "all major networks", and the price is really competitive given its specs. The handset comes with a 5.7-inch QHD touchscreen, a 21 MP rear camera with dual-tone dual-LED flash, a 5 MP front snapper with a LED flash of its own, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 808 SoC with hexa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, 16 / 32 / 64GB of expandable storage, and a 3,000 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

Oddly enough, this isn't the first time Motorola unveils a launch date for the Moto X Pure Edition through a tweet - the same thing happened last month, though the date was differentand that tweet eventually got deleted. Hopefully that won't be the case this time around.

Source

Moto X Pure Edition lands in the US on September 3

A few weeks ago Motorola announced the Moto X Style, its flagship smartphone for 2015. Back then the company told us to expect the handset to make it to the US sometime in the fall, but under a different name - Moto X Pure Edition.

The new Moto X Pure Edition, to be precise, because there was a Moto X Pure Edition last year too - but obviously based on the previous Motorola flagship.

All branding confusion aside, today the company has finally unveiled the actual release date for the new Moto X Pure Edition in the US: it's September 3.

This has been revealed through a tweet sent out by Motorola's official account. Intriguingly though, it has since been deleted. So either someone jumped the gun and published that information too soon, or there's a slim chance it wasn't accurate - keep that in mind.

You'll be able to customize the device as you see fit using the Moto Maker service, and order one that suits your tastes. The Pure Edition will be sold exclusively online through Moto Maker, though it will be able to work with the networks of all the major US carriers.

This Moto X Pure Edition will start at $399.99, unlocked. You can make the price go up by adding non-standard options in Moto Maker during the order process.

Like the Moto X Style, the Pure Edition comes with a 5.7-inch QHD touchscreen, a 21 MP rear camera with dual-tone dual-LED flash, a 5 MP front snapper with a LED flash of its own, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 808 SoC with hexa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, 16 / 32 / 64GB of expandable storage, and a 3,000 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

Via

Second-gen Moto X receives a price slash in India

The Motorola Moto X (2nd Gen) has received a price cut in India, where it is now being sold for INR 3,000 ($47) less than its usual price.

While the 16GB variant is now available for INR 26,999 ($426), the 32GB model will set you back INR 29,999 ($473). For those who aren't aware, this is the second time the 16GB model has received a price cut - its price was first slashed from INR 31,999 ($505) to INR 29,999 ($473) when the 32GB variant was released last year.

Both the models, along with special editions of the device, are available exclusively on Flipkart.

Source | Via

Motorola posts Android 5.1 changelog for Moto X 1st gen

Motorola is now (finally) rolling out the Android 5.1 update to the first generation Moto X, which is still on KitKat. So far Brazil is the only country getting the update but it's likely that it will spread to other regions shortly.

The company has posted a changelog on the website in Portuguese, some of which are posted below.

• Material Design
• Improved lockscreen and homescreen notifications with support for priority notifications
• New Overview mode for multitasking with card view
• New Moto Assist features, including Moto smart screen, Moto Voice, and Moto Shares
• Moto Screen feature that shows notifications on lockscreen without waking entire display and uses the low-power processor
• Smart Lock (Trusted Devices) that keeps the phone unlocked when paired with a smartwatch or in a particular area.

There are more features, which you can check out in the link below.

Source (translated) • Via

Google Play Services update fixes Android Auto on Galaxy S6

Android Auto is perhaps one of the most interesting undertakings to bring the power of your smartphone straight to your car's dashboard. The technology goes far beyond a simple screen sharing app and offers a custom, tailor-made interface and functions, developed particularly for in-car use.

Eager early adopters of the new technology, however, have been reporting a lot of problems with compatibility. A lot of recent handsets, like the Galaxy S6, were struggling to connect with Android Auto, but luckily Google has wasted no time in addressing the issue.

The latest version of Google Play Services brings a fix for the connection problems. As far as we can tell from the release notes, the update should also cover devices such as the HTC One M8 and M9,Moto X, a lot of Nexus devices, as well as the already mentioned Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. But the list is probably longer and seeing how Android Auto is still very much in its infancy, other bugs are also expected.

So, if you are among the early adopters of the new tech and have already sprung for a compatible car stereo, be sure to check for the update and keep a close eye on Google Play Services, as more improvements and fixes are sure to come.

Also, be sure to report back with any additional info on Android Auto compatibility and problems, based on your experience.

Source | Via

Motorola begins testing Android 5.1 Lollipop for first-gen Moto X

The original Motorola Moto X, released in 2013, has been in disadvantage since the official Lollipop release. Due to the dated Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset the Android updates need further tweaking before their rollout and first-gen Moto X was always the last of the Moto lineup on the update queue.

The Moto X (2013) got its official Android 5.0 Lollipop update just a month ago after a few delays and soak tests. Today, a new soak test begins in Brazil and this time around it's for the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop OS.

The 5.1 version of Android is already available on the Moto X(2014) and it brings both usability and stability improvements. It enhances the quick settings, gives better control over notifications and interrupts, improves the performance of the camera and Android system, plus it contains lots of bug fixes.

A similar update is now rolling out in Brazil for the first generation Moto X. If all goes smooth it should roll out worldwide in May. Motorola is dedicated to providing regular updates for the Moto X (2013) until the end of 2015, so more Android updates will be following later this year for sure.

Via

How to solve battery life problem of Moto X after KitKat (Android 4.4) update

Android  4.4 (KitKat) update for Moto X is really a sweet treat  for all Moto X owners. Most of us are enjoying the new and improved features in our Moto X after the KitKat update.

However, some users reported  battery drain problems (i.e., shorter battery life) after the Android 4.4 update. They noticed the battery percentage drops faster than that before the update.  For example, after 8 hours normal usage,  your Moto X now reports  less than 15% juice left.  But you remeber before the KitKat update, you used to get about 30% left when reaching home. It seems your Moto X drains battery faster after the Android 4.4 update.

The most likely cause of the battery life issue in Moto X: battery calibration

Why does the battery life of Moto X become shorter after the KitKat update? Is something  wrong with the Android 4.4? or is something  wrong with the Moto X battery?

The answer is:  there is nothing wrong with the Android 4.4 (KitKat) or Moto X.  Most of the time,  it is just battery calibration issue. Of course, it occasionally  may be caused by some crappy apps.

So if you are facing this battery life issue  or you feel the Moto X drains battery faster now, you may just follow the following 4 steps top solve the battery life issues for your Moto X.

5-step solution for battery life problem in Moto X

• Step 1:  Use your Moto X as normal

• Step 2:  When battery percentage is lower than 5%, watch videos, surf the web, and do whatever that drains battery faster

• Step 3:  Continue to use  your Moto X until it shuts down itself (no more juice)

• Step 4: Charge your Moto X for 3-4 hours without powering it on.

• Step 5: Power on your Moto X, and use it as normal.

Why need I drain the battery completely?

It sounds stupid that your Moto X has to “guess”, not  measure, the juice left. But this is the reality for all smartphones today.

Moto X gives you the percentage of battery juice left based on the discharge curve. However, to correctly use (define) the discharge curve, Moto X needs to know at least two battery states: full and empty.

The full state (100%) is easy to get because when  the full capacity is reached (when charging), the circuit in the battery will stop the charging to protect the battery from being over-charged.  Almost all batteries in today’s smartphones have this circuit already.

But your Moto X has no way to know the empty state unless you drain it completely.  Moto X has to guess based on previous usage. It is a trial-and-error process.

The problems may comes after the major update because Moto X has to re-start a new trial-and-error process. This is the reason why the technician in the service centre always asks you to wait a few days to see whether the battery life changes after the major update.

But sometimes, you can facilitate the trial-and-error process for your Moto X by providing the empty state (by drain the battery completely). This is needed only when you notice considerable battery life reduction in your Moto X.

Will draining battery completely hurt my Moto X?

A lot of smartphone users are scared  of draining the battery completely. They feel this may hurt or damage the smartphone.

If you still sceptical about the possible damages  to your Moto X , you can drain the battery to 0% and continue to use 5-15 mins. Then put it on the charger. This will also help the battery calibration in Moto X.For most Android phones, at least for Moto X, this is seldom an issue.  Moto X is shut down automatically when battery reach the “near-empty” state, which is not based on percentage readings. This is different from removing battery when the phone is working.  Actually, for  a lot of smartphones with removable battery, you may have to manually remove the battery when the phone hangs (not responsive to any buttons). Seldom you may hear warranty claims related to battery removal.

Will draining battery completely hurt the battery in Moto X?

Another concern some Moto X owners may have is whether draining battery completely will hurt or damage the battery in Moto X.  As Moto X has a non-removable battery, you have to ask Motorola’s authorized service centre to replace the battery when you need replace the battery.  This may take considerable time, and is usually not cheap.

The quick answer to this concern is: no.

Actually, draining your battery to 1o% is not different from draining it to 0%. Normally, draining the battery to less than 20% (some vendors use 15%) is considered as one deep discharging cycle. After 30o-500 deep discharging cycles, your battery will lose considerable (about 15-30% for good-quality batteries) capacity (this is that battery life  that you have). This explains most smartphones ask you to charge them when battery is lower than 15% or 20%.

But most vendors do not tell you, the Lithium-ion  or Lithium polymer battery also loses capacity with time with or without deep discharging.  After 2 years without using it or without deep discharging, the battery loses about 20-40% of the (original) capacity. Deep discharging only slightly accelerates the process for most users.

Another misconception is draining battery completely may damage the battery.

This is actually baseless. For Lithium-ion  or Lithium polymer batteries, when you drain the battery completely, it is actually not “completely” drained.  Once the current or voltage reaches certain level, the  circuit inside will stop the power supply to protect the battery cells automatically.

What should you do if the 5-step solution does not work for you?

Battery life problems in Moto X after the Android 4.4 update may also be caused by some crappy apps.  A most common and most obvious symptom is a “warm”  Moto X.  If you feel  the Moto X is always warm even when you are not using it, then the battery life problem is very likely caused by some apps, not battery calibration.

If this happens, you may try to backup your data, and perform a factory reset.

If factory reset does not solve the issue, and your Moto X is still warm all the time (even when not in use), you may try to find out the culprit apps. You may follow this guide to identify the culprit app (it was written for Galaxy Note, but it works for Moto X as well).

Moto X 2013 getting Android L Soak Test in Brasil, Leaked Images

Update: Captured OTA Link
Motorola has started seeding the Moto X 2013 with the Android 5.0.2 in Brasil. There are all the changes that should have got to theMoto X 2013, that is the Moto Voice and the Active Display, Moto X 2013 has got the Voice Control from Moto X 2014. Moto X 2013users are really excited for the update, just like us!

The Android 5.0.2 update consists of 400 MB which is less, and even after waiting for such a long time Moto X users still getting the 5.0.2 version although 5.1 version was being speculated.

The Soak test has started and hence in about a month we should get the new Android Lollipop taste. But as we all know still some Moto G 1st Gen And 2nd Gen users are waiting for the update, it will be rolled out in phases. That means you might have to wait more than some other users but you will surely get the update.

We have got hold of some images of the updated Moto X in Brasil:

We have even got the Captured OTA from Brasil which you may Install on your Moto X 2013(At your own risk).
Link