Motorola Mobility has reportedly confirmed that the latest Android 5.0.2 Lollipop will soon be rolled out to all Moto series devices soon.
"First of all: peace! :-) There is so much anger floating around this topic, I just want to reassure we're working really hard on it, and, as promised, our Moto products from 2014 and 2013 will be updated to Lollipop really soon," said Luciano Carvalho, senior software engineer, Motorola Mobility.
During the pilot program of Android Lollipop preview test conducted over last couple of months in select regions across the world, some bugs were found to be affecting the performance in the devices.
"There are a lot of reasons for what that happen, but, basically, each phone has a unique set of components and a way they interact. When Google creates a new release, they don't validate it for all the possible combinations there are, and they won't fix anything that's not reproducible on a Nexus device, that's our job," added Carvalho.
He has advised that the first generation Moto X, Moto G and Moto E owners should install the company's 'Motorola Update Services' from Google Play Store in order to get the latest Lollipop OS.
Some of the first gen Moto series phones including our own 2013 Moto X (XT1052) model is still not compatible with the Motorola Update Services app. However, the company has reassured consumers that the new compatible app will made available to these devices soon.
Motorola Moto series smartphone owners can also track OS update status at the official Android Lollipop update tracking webpage [HERE].
Motorola users, who are impatient and eagerly want to experience the new Google mobile OS on their device before anybody else, can enroll themselves at Motorola Feedback Network (HERE). Once confirmed as a member, user's phone will become eligible to take part in the soak test of Android Lollipop OS.
Here are the official change-log details of Android 5.0 Lollipop for Moto series devices:
Material Design | You will quickly notice a whole new colourful look and feel to your device - from fluid animations to new application and system themes, colours and widgets. |
Notifications UI & Priorities | In order to alert you to the most timely and relevant information, the format and behaviour of notifications have evolved:
|
New Interruptions & Downtime Settings | You can tailor how interruptions behave, choosing to allow all, none, or only priority interruptions. You can personalise what counts as a priority interruption (reminders, events, calls, messages) and even tailor them to be from only contacts you specify. The Downtime setting will allow only priority interruptions during the times and days that you specify. e.g. allow only priority interruptions on the weekend. |
Recent Apps (Multi-tasking) | The redesigned Overview space (formerly called Recents) will include both applications and separate activities within those applications. For instance, each open tab in Chrome will also appear here along with recent applications; both your Gmail Inbox and a draft email message will appear as separate cards. This provides a consistent way to switch amongst tasks. |
Ambient Display | While your phone's display is off, Ambient Display can show notifications without turning on the full display. This will be triggered when a notification arrives. You will see notifications similar to that shown on the lock screen. You can turn this feature on in the Display menu in Settings, and note that it will increase the power consumption of your device. |
Motorola Assist and Downtime | Motorola Assist integrates the new Downtime settings to control when you don't want to be disturbed. Motorola Assist also now uses the new Interruptions settings so that you can customise exceptions, such as letting only people on your starred contacts list get through. |
Flashlight | Lollipop includes a new flashlight option as part of Quick settings (swipe down with two fingers from the status bar to see it). |
Share your Device | You can now set up multiple user accounts on your phone. Guest mode is enabled by default. You can give calling and text privileges to other users of your device, or restrict them as you like in the Users menu under Settings.Note that the personalised Motorola experiences (Motorola Assist, Motorola Connect) are for the owner account only.The Motorola Camera, Motorola Gallery, and Motorola FM Radio applications support multiple user accounts. |
Pin a view/app | Screen pinning allows you to keep a specific app or screen in view. For example, you can 'pin' a game and your child will not be able to navigate anywhere else on your phone. |
Battery | The battery settings panel now shows an estimated projection for how much time you have left while discharging or charging. You can also enable a new battery saver mode that will save power by reducing performance and most background data operations to extend your battery life. |
Smarter Internet Connections | With Android Lollipop, your phone will not connect to a Wi-Fi access point unless there is a verified Internet connection. This feature improves hands-off between Wi-Fi and cellular connections, helping to maintain your video chat or voice-over-IP (VoIP) call as you switch. |
Performance | Your phone now uses the new Android Runtime to help optimise application performance. After upgrading to Lollipop, your applications will undergo a one-time optimisation process. Note that the optimisation for ART requires more space. |
Smart Lock (Trusted Devices) |
Android Lollipop adds native support for allowing trusted devices to keep your phone unlocked (such as your Moto 360, a Bluetooth car kit or headset, etc.). Smart Lock replaces the prior trusted device capability in your Motorola phone. Note that you will need to add your trusted devices back after the transition to Lollipop in the security settings menu under Smart Lock. |
Security | Encryption can now use a stronger 256-bit key to help protect your data. Note that the stronger key will only be used after you perform a factory reset on Android Lollipop. Otherwise encryption will continue to use 128-bit key. You can turn on encryption in the security settings menu |