Motorola Mobility LLC, marketed as Motorola, is an American
consumer electronics
Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually r ...
manufacturer primarily producing
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s and other mobile devices running
Android. It is a subsidiary of the Chinese multinational technology company
Lenovo
Lenovo Group Limited, often shortened to Lenovo ( , ), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, Personal computer, personal computers, ...
.
[;]
;
Motorola Mobility was formed on January 4, 2011, after a split of
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
into two separate companies, with Motorola Mobility assuming the company's consumer-oriented product lines (including its
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
business, as well as its
cable modem
A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and coaxial cable infrastructure. Cable modems are primaril ...
s and
pay television
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...
set-top box
A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...
es), while
Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions, Inc., is an American video equipment, telecommunications equipment, software, systems and services provider that succeeded Motorola, Inc., following the spinoff of the mobile phone division into Motorola Mobility in 2011. The ...
assumed the company's enterprise-oriented product lines.
In May 2012 Google acquired Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion; the main intent of the purchase was to gain Motorola's
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
portfolio, in order to protect other Android vendors from litigation. Under Google, Motorola increased its focus on the entry-level smartphone market, and under the
Google ATAP
Google's Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) is a skunkworks team and in-house technology incubator, created by former DARPA director Regina Dugan. ATAP is similar to X, but works on projects, granting project leaders time—previou ...
division, began development on
Project Ara
Project Ara was a modular smartphone project under development by Google. The project was originally headed by the Advanced Technology and Projects team within Motorola Mobility while it was a Google subsidiary. Google retained the ATAP group whe ...
—a platform for modular smartphones with interchangeable components. Shortly after the purchase, Google sold Motorola Mobility's cable modem and set-top box business to
Arris Group
Arris International Limited (styled as ARRIS) is an American telecommunications equipment company engaged in data, video and telephony systems for homes and businesses. On April 4, 2019, Arris was acquired by network infrastructure provider CommS ...
.
Google's ownership of the company was short lived. In January 2014, Google announced that it would sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. The sale, which excluded ATAP and all but 2,000 of Motorola's patents, was completed on 30 October 2014. Lenovo disclosed an intent to use Motorola Mobility as a way to expand into the United States smartphone market. In August 2015, Lenovo's
existing smartphone division was subsumed by Motorola Mobility.
History
On January 4, 2011,
Motorola Inc.
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...
was split into two publicly traded companies;
Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions, Inc., is an American video equipment, telecommunications equipment, software, systems and services provider that succeeded Motorola, Inc., following the spinoff of the mobile phone division into Motorola Mobility in 2011. The ...
took on the company's enterprise-oriented business units, while the remaining consumer division was taken on by Motorola Mobility.
Motorola Mobility originally consisted of the mobile devices business, which produced
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s, mobile accessories including Bluetooth headphones, and the home business, which produced
set-top box
A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...
es, end-to-end video solutions, cordless phones, and
cable modem
A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and coaxial cable infrastructure. Cable modems are primaril ...
s.
Legally, the split was structured so that Motorola Inc. changed its name to Motorola Solutions and spun off Motorola Mobility as a new publicly traded company.
2012–2014: Under Google ownership
On August 15, 2011, American technology company
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
announced that it would acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, pending regulatory approval.
Critics viewed Google as being a
white knight
A white knight is a mythological figure and literary stock character. They are portrayed alongside a black knight as diametric opposites. A white knight usually represents a heroic warrior fighting against evil, with the role in medieval literatu ...
, since Motorola had recently had a fifth straight quarter of losses. Google planned to operate Motorola as an independent company. In a post on the company's blog, Google CEO and co-founder
Larry Page
Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American business magnate, computer scientist and internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin.
Page was the chief executive officer of Google from 1997 unt ...
revealed that Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility was a strategic move to strengthen Google's
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
portfolio. At the time, the company had 17,000 patents, with 7,500 patents pending.
The expanded portfolio was to defend the viability of its
Android operating system, which had been the subject of numerous
patent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may v ...
lawsuits between device vendors and other companies such as
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
,
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
and
Oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
.
![Motorola Mobility Logo Being Installed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Motorola_Mobility_Logo_Being_Installed.jpg)
On November 17, 2011, Motorola announced that its shareholders voted in favor of the company's acquisition by Google for $12.5 billion. The deal received regulatory approval from the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
on February 13, 2012.
The deal received subsequent approval from Chinese authorities and was completed on May 22, 2012. Alongside the completion of the acquisition, Motorola Mobility's CEO
Sanjay Jha was replaced by
Dennis Woodside, a former senior vice president at Google.
On August 13, 2012, Google announced that it would cut 4,000 employees and close one third of the company's locations, mostly outside the US.
On December 19, 2012, it was announced that
Arris Group
Arris International Limited (styled as ARRIS) is an American telecommunications equipment company engaged in data, video and telephony systems for homes and businesses. On April 4, 2019, Arris was acquired by network infrastructure provider CommS ...
would purchase Motorola Mobility's
cable modem
A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and coaxial cable infrastructure. Cable modems are primaril ...
and
set-top box
A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...
business for $2.35 billion in a cash-and-stock transaction.
In May 2013, Motorola opened a factory in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, with the intent to assemble customized smartphones in the US. At its peak, the factory employed 3,800 workers.
[ On April 9, 2014, following the departure of Woodside, lead product developer Rick Osterloh was named the new president of Motorola.]
Under Google ownership, Motorola's market share would be boosted by a focus on high-quality entry-level smartphones, aimed primarily at emerging market
An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...
s; in the first quarter of 2014, Motorola sold 6.5 million phones—led by strong sales of its low-end Moto G
Motorola Moto is a range of Android mobile devices manufactured by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. The Moto brand is also used and marketed for certain public-safety products from Motorola Solutions and by Motorola brand licensees on ce ...
, especially in markets such as India, and in the United Kingdom—where the company accounted for 6% of smartphone sales sold in the quarter, up from nearly zero. These goals were compounded further by the May 2014 introduction of the Moto E—a low-end device aimed at first-time smartphone owners in emerging markets. In May 2014, Motorola announced that it would close its Fort Worth factory by the end of the year, citing the high costs of domestic manufacturing in combination with the weak sales of the Moto X (which was customized and assembled at the plant) and the company's increased emphasis on low-end devices and emerging markets.
2014–present: Under Lenovo ownership
On January 29, 2014, Google announced it would, pending regulatory approval, sell Motorola Mobility to the Chinese technology company Lenovo
Lenovo Group Limited, often shortened to Lenovo ( , ), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, Personal computer, personal computers, ...
for US$2.91 billion in a cash-and-stock deal, seeing the sale of $750 million in Lenovo shares to Google. Google retained the Advanced Technologies & Projects unit (which was integrated into the main Android team), and all but 2000 of the company's patents. Lenovo had prominently disclosed its intent to enter the U.S. smartphone market, and had previously expressed interest in acquiring BlackBerry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
, but was reportedly blocked by the Canadian government due to national security concerns. The acquisition was completed on October 30, 2014. The company remained headquartered in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, and continued to use the Motorola brand, while Liu Jun () — president of Lenovo's mobile device business, became the company's chairman.
On January 26, 2015, owing to its new ownership, Motorola Mobility re-launched its product line in China with the local release of the second-generation Moto X, and an upcoming release of the Moto G LTE and Moto X Pro (a re-branded Nexus 6
The Nexus 6 (codenamed Shamu) is a phablet co-developed by Google and Motorola Mobility that runs the Android operating system. The successor to the Nexus 5, it is the sixth smartphone in the Google Nexus series, a family of Android consumer ...
) in time for the Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...
.
Lenovo maintained a "hands-off" approach in regards to Motorola's product development. Head designer Jim Wicks explained that "Google had very little influence and Lenovo has been the same." The company continued to engage in practices it adopted under Google, such as the use of nearly "stock" Android, undercutting competitors' pricing while offering superior hardware (as further encouraged by Lenovo), and placing a larger focus on direct-to-consumer selling of unlocked phones in the US market (as opposed to carrier subsidized versions). On July 28, 2015, Motorola unveiled three new devices, and its first under Lenovo ownership—the third-generation Moto G, Moto X Play
Moto X Play is an Android (operating system), Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. Unveiled on July 28, 2015, it was one of three devices that succeeded the Moto X (second generation), second-generation Moto ...
, and Moto X Style—in three separate events.
Integration with Lenovo
In August 2015, Lenovo announced that it would merge its existing smartphone division, including design, development, and manufacturing, into the Motorola Mobility unit. The announcement came in addition to a cut of 3,200 jobs across the entire company. As a result of the change, Motorola Mobility will be responsible for the development and production of its own "Moto" product line, as well as Lenovo's own "Vibe" range.
In January 2016, Lenovo announced that the "Motorola" name would be further downplayed in public usage in favor of the "Moto" brand. Motorola Mobility later clarified that the "Motorola" brand will continue to be used in product packaging and through its brand licensees. The company said that "the Motorola legacy is near and dear to us as product designers, engineers and Motorola employees, and clearly it's important to many of you who have had long relationships with us. We plan to continue it under our parent company, Lenovo."
In response to claims by a Lenovo executive that only high-end devices would be produced under the "Moto" name, with low-end devices being amalgamated into Lenovo's existing "Vibe" brand, Motorola Mobility clarified its plans and explained that it would continue to release low-end products under the Moto brand, including the popular Moto G and Moto E lines. Motorola stated that there would be overlap between the Vibe and Moto lines in some price points and territories, but that both brands would have different "identities" and experiences. Moto devices would be positioned as "innovative" and "trendsetting" products, and Vibe would be a "mass-market challenger brand".
In November 2016, it was reported that Lenovo would be branding all its future smartphones under the brand "Moto by Lenovo". In March 2017, it was reported that Lenovo would continue to use the "Motorola" brand and logo, citing its recognition
Recognition may refer to:
*Award, something given in recognition of an achievement
Machine learning
*Pattern recognition, a branch of machine learning which encompasses the meanings below
Biometric
* Recognition of human individuals, or biomet ...
as a heritage cellphone brand. Furthermore, Motorola president Aymar de Lencquesaing stated that Lenovo planned to phase out its self-branded smartphones in favor of Motorola.
Under Lenovo, Motorola has faced criticism for having an increasingly poor commitment to maintaining Android software updates for its devices, exemplified by negative responses to a 2019 announcement that Android 9.0 "Pie" updates to the Moto Z2 Force in the United States would only be available to the Verizon Wireless
Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the divi ...
model.
Products
Razr
Motorola Mobility's predecessor Motorola Inc released the Razr V3 in the third quarter of 2004. Because of its striking appearance and thin profile, it was initially marketed as an exclusive fashion phone, but within a year, its price was lowered and it was wildly successful, selling over 50 million units by July 2006. Over the Razr four-year run, Motorola sold more than 130 million units, becoming the bestselling clamshell phone in the world.
Motorola released other phones based on the Razr design as part of the 4LTR
The Motorola 4LTR line refers to series of mobile phones from Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to ...
line. These include the Pebl U6, Slvr L6, Slvr L7 (more expensive variant of Slvr L6), Razr V3c (CDMA
Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communication ...
), Razr V3i (with upgraded camera and appearance and iTunes syncing for 100 songs), V3x (supports 3G technology and has a 2-megapixel camera), Razr V3xx (supports 3.5G technology) and Razr maxx V6 (supports 3.5G technology and has a 2-megapixel camera) announced in July 2006.
The Razr series was marketed until July 2007, when the succeeding Motorola Razr2
The Motorola Razr2 (often stylized as RAZR2) is a series of clamshell/flip mobile phones from Motorola, and is one of the series in the 4LTR line. It is the successor to the popular Razr series. The Razr2 is 2 mm thinner than its predecessor ...
series was released. Marketed as a more sleek and more stable design of the Razr, the Razr2 included more features, improved telephone audio quality, and a touch-sensitive external screen. The new models were the V8, the V9, and the V9m. However, Razr2 sales were only half of the original in the same period.
Because Motorola relied so long upon the Razr and its derivatives and was slow to develop new products in the growing market for feature-rich touchscreen and 3G phones, the Razr appeal declined while rival offerings like the LG Chocolate LG Chocolate is a brand name used for a variety of fashion mobile phones produced by LG Electronics, in a variety of color and models. The name covers two different phones' designs: one available in Asia, Europe, and Canada, and the other in the U.S ...
, BlackBerry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
, and iPhone captured, leading Motorola to eventually drop behind Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
and LG in market share for mobile phones. Motorola's strategy of grabbing market share by selling tens of millions of low-cost Razrs cut into margins and resulted in heavy losses in the cellular division.
Motorola capitalized on the Razr too long and it was also slow adopting 3G. While Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
managed to retain its lead of the worldwide cellular market, Motorola was surpassed first by Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
and then LG Electronics
LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...
. By 2007, without new cellphones that carriers wanted to offer, Motorola sold tens of millions of Razrs and their offshoots by slashing prices, causing margins to collapse in the process. CEO of Motorola Ed Zander
Edward J. Zander is an American business executive. He was CEO and Chairman of the Board of Motorola from January 2004 until January 2008, remaining as chairman until May 2008. His work in the technology sector included management positions at D ...
departed for Dell
Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
, while his successor failed to turn around the struggling mobile handset division.[
Motorola continued to experience severe problems with its cellphone/handset division in the latter-2000s, recording a record $1.2 billion loss in Q4 2007. Its global competitiveness continued to decline: from 18.4% market share in 2007, to 9.7% by 2008. By 2010 Motorola's global market share had dropped to seventh place, leading to speculation of bankruptcy of the company. While Motorola's other businesses were thriving, the poor results from the Mobile Devices Unit as well as the 2008 financial crisis delayed the company plans to spinoff the mobile division.]
Early Android smartphones
Droid
In 2008, Sanjay Jha took over as co-chief executive officer of Motorola's mobile device division; under Jha's control, significant changes were made to Motorola's mobile phone business, including most prominently, a shift to the recently introduced Android operating system as its sole smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
platform, replacing both Symbian
Symbian is a discontinued mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typic ...
and Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants.
Its origin dated back to Windows CE in 1996, though Windows Mobile itself first appeared in 2000 as Pock ...
. In August 2009, Motorola introduced the Cliq, its first Android device, for T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 perc ...
. The device also featured a user interface known as Motoblur
Motoblur (often stylized as MOTOBLUR) was an Android (operating system), Android UI replacement and push technology, push-based service focused on social networking, developed by Motorola. It aimed at functional similarity to Palm, Inc., Palm's ...
, which aimed to aggregate information from various sources, such as e-mail and social networking service
A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...
s, into a consistent interface.
A month later, Motorola unveiled the Droid, Verizon Wireless
Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the divi ...
's first Android phone, which was released on November 8, 2009. Backed with a marketing campaign by Verizon, which promoted the device as a direct competitor to the iPhone with the slogan "iDon't," "Droid Does," the Droid was a significant success for Motorola and Verizon. Flurry estimated that at least 250,000 Droid smartphones had been sold in its first week of availability. ''PC World
''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication.
It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...
'' considered the sales figures to be an indicator of mainstream growth for the Android platform as a whole. The Droid was also named "Gadget of the Year" for 2009 by ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
''. Other ''Droid''-branded devices would be released by Verizon, although not all of them were manufactured by Motorola.
In 2010, Motorola released the Droid X
The Droid X is a smartphone released by Motorola on July 15, 2010. The smartphone was renamed Motoroi X for its release in Mexico on November 9, 2010. The Droid X runs on the Android operating system, and the latest version supported was 2.3 G ...
along with other devices such as the Charm
Charm may refer to:
Social science
* Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others
* Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear
Science and technology
* Charm quark, a type of elementary particle
* Ch ...
, Flipout, and i1. In July 2010, Motorola reported that it had sold 2.7 million smartphones during the second quarter of 2010, an increase of 400,000 units over the first quarter. Jha stated that the company was in "a strong position to continue improving our share in the rapidly growing smartphone market and improve our operating performance." In its third quarter earnings report, Jha reaffirmed that the Droid X was selling "extremely well."
Atrix 4G, Droid Bionic, XOOM, and Droid RAZR
On January 5, 2011, Motorola Mobility announced that the Atrix 4G and the Droid Bionic were headed to AT&T and Verizon, respectively, with expected release dates in Q1 of 2011. The Atrix was released on February 22 as the world's first phone with both a Dual-Core Processor and 1 GB of RAM. The phone also had optional peripherals such as a Multimedia Dock and a Laptop Dock which launched a Webtop UI. On February 24, two days after the release of Atrix, the company released Motorola Xoom
The Motorola Xoom is an Android-based tablet computer by Motorola, introduced at CES 2011 on January 5, 2011. It was the first tablet to be sold with Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The Verizon branded Xoom was the first tablet to run Android 3.1. The ...
, the world's first Android 3.0 tablet, and followed it up shortly afterwards with an update to make it the world's first Android 3.1 tablet.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, Motorola unveiled the Droid RAZR
The Verizon Droid Razr (GSM/UMTS version: Motorola Razr; both versions styled RAZR) is an Android-based, 4G LTE-capable smartphone designed by Motorola that launched on Verizon Wireless on November 11, 2011. It was announced on October 18, 201 ...
, the world's thinnest 4G LTE smartphone at that time at just 7.1 mm. The Droid Razr featured Kevlar
Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...
backing, the same used in bulletproof vest
A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. T ...
s, and a Gorilla Glass
Gorilla Glass is a brand of chemically strengthened glass developed and manufactured by Corning, now in its seventh generation. Designed to be thin, light and damage-resistant, the glass gains its surface strength, ability to contain flaws, and c ...
faceplate. The phone was very successful through Verizon Wireless, and many color variants were released. In addition, a Maxx version of the Droid RAZR with an extended battery was released at CES 2012. The Droid RAZR MAXX won CTIA's "Best Smartphone" award. The company also announced new products by late 2011 and early 2012 such as the Xoom 2 tablets, the motoACTV fitness watch with Android, and the Droid 4 with 4G LTE for Verizon Wireless.
Though Jha managed to restore some of the lost luster to Motorola Mobility, it struggled against Samsung and Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
. Even among Android manufacturers, Motorola had dropped behind Samsung, HTC, and LG in market share by the second quarter of 2011. This may have been due to the delay in releasing 4G LTE-capable devices, as well as setting the prices of its new products too high. Jha was replaced by Dennis Woodside as CEO by May 2012, when the Google acquisition was complete.
Motorola released the Droid RAZR HD
The Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD are Android-based, 4G LTE-capable smartphones designed by Motorola as the successor to the Droid Razr series released nearly a year prior. Notable changes from their predecessors include 720p resolution ...
(and Droid RAZR MAXX HD) as its 2012 flagship devices, featuring improvements over 2011's RAZR. A lower end RAZR M was released, along with an Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
powered RAZR i. Through late 2012 until 2013's third quarter, no further devices were released, except for the lower end RAZR D1 and D3 devices for Latin America.
Google era
Moto X (2013-2015)
In an August 2013 interview, Motorola Corporate VP of product management Lior Ron
Lior Ron (born December 12, 1982) is an Israeli–American entrepreneur and music composer based in Los Angeles. His debut feature score was for the 2012 animated biopic "Pablo" (Jeff Bridges, Andy Garcia, Jon Voight), which premiered at the Ro ...
explained that the company will focus on the production of fewer products to focus on quality rather than quantity. Ron stated, "Our mandate from Google, from Larry, is really to innovate and take long-term bets. When you have that sort of mentality, it’s about quality and not quantity".
Speaking at the D11 conference in Palos Verdes
The Palos Verdes Peninsula (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a landform and a geographic sub-region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the Sou ...
, California, in May 2013, Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside announced that a new mobile device would be built by his company at a 500,000 square-feet facility near Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, Texas, formerly used by Nokia. The facility will employ 2,000 people by August 2013 and the new phone, to be named " Moto X", will be available to the public in October 2013. The Moto X featured Google Now
Google Now was a feature of Google Search of the Google app for Android and iOS. Google Now proactively delivered information to users to predict (based on search habits and other factors) information they may need in the form of informational c ...
software, and an array of sensors and two microprocessors that will mean that users can “interact with he phone
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
in very different ways than you can with other devices”. Media reports suggested that the phone will be able to activate functions preemptively based on an "awareness" of what the user is doing at any given moment.
On July 3, 2013, Motorola released a full-page color advertisement in many prominent newspapers across the US. It claimed that Motorola's next flagship phone will be "the first smartphone designed, engineered, and assembled in the United States". On the same day that the advertisement was published, ''ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
'' reported that customers will be able to choose the color of the phone, as well as add custom engravings and wallpaper at the time of purchase.
In early July 2013, the ''Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' reported that Motorola will spend nearly US$500 million on global advertising and marketing for the device. The amount is equivalent to half of Apple's total advertising budget for 2012.
On August 1, 2013, Motorola Mobility unveiled the Moto X smartphone. It was released on August 23, 2013, in the US and Canada.
On September 5, 2014, Motorola Mobility released the Moto X (2nd generation)
The second generation Moto X, marketed as moto X and referred to in the media as Moto X (2014), is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Released on September 5, 2014, it is the successor to the original Moto X released in 2013. I ...
smartphone. This continued the trend of the company letting consumers customize their devices through their Moto Maker website, and added new customization options like additional real wood choices and new leather options. The device also got many increases in specs. With a new 5.2 inch (13 cm) 1080p
1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...
super AMOLED
AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode, ) is a type of OLED display device technology. OLED describes a specific type of thin-film-display technology in which organic compounds form the electroluminescent material, and active matrix ...
pentile PenTile matrix is a family of patented subpixel matrix schemes used in electronic device displays. PenTile is a trademark of Samsung. PenTile matrices are used in AMOLED and LCD displays.
These subpixel layouts are specifically designed to opera ...
display, a faster 2.5 GHz Qualcomm
Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...
Snapdragon
''Antirrhinum'' is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers, snapdragons and dog flower because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are native to r ...
801 processor, and an improved 13-megapixel rear camera capable of recording 4k resolution
4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K Ultra-high-definitio ...
video with a dual LED flash
A flash is a device used in photography that produces a brief burst of light (typically lasting 1/1000 to 1/200 of a second) at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a ...
. The device also came with new software features along with new infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
proximity sensors.
The Moto X Play
Moto X Play is an Android (operating system), Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. Unveiled on July 28, 2015, it was one of three devices that succeeded the Moto X (second generation), second-generation Moto ...
and Moto X Style smartphones were announced in July 2015, and were released in September 2015. Many customers who have ordered customized Moto X Pure Editions via Motorola's website have experienced delays receiving their devices. These delays have been attributed to issues including manufacturing issues, lack of parts needed to complete assembly of custom phones (black fronts, Verizon SIM cards and 64 GB versions), a possible redesign due to initial phones having a defect that causes one of the front facing speakers to rattle at high volume and multiple day delays clearing US Customs at FedEx's Memphis, TN hub due to issues related to the import paperwork.
The Moto X Force was launched on October 27, 2015. in the US, it was branded as the Droid Turbo 2, and was the flagship Motorola device of the year, offering Snapdragon 810 processor and 3 GB of memory. Like other Moto X devices, it was customizable through Moto Maker. This is the first Motorola smartphone that features Motorola's "ShatterShield" technology, which consists of two touchscreen elements, reinforced by an internal aluminum frame to make it resistant to bending and cracking, although this does not protect against scratches or other superficial screen damage. The top layer of the display is designed to be user-replaceable. The screen and case also have a water repellent nanocoating to protect the device from liquids that could damage internal components. This was also one of the last Motorola phones to be released under Google's ownership.
Droid Mini, Ultra and Maxx
Droid Mini, Droid Ultra and Droid Maxx were announced in a Verizon press conference on July 23, 2013. These phones share similar design with the predecessing Droid Razr HD lines in different screen and battery sizes, while all featuring the same Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System is a chipset from Motorola for Android-based smartphones, based on Qualcomm Snapdragon System on a chip S4 Pro. CPU of S4 Pro is ARM-compatible dual-core Krait, and GPU of this chip is 4-core Adreno 320. Several l ...
as the first-generation Moto X, with exclusive features like Motorola Active Notifications and 'OK Google' on device neural-based voice recognition system.
In September 2015, Droid Maxx 2 were launched as Verizon exclusives in the US market, which share the same overall design as the Moto X Style, with Verizon software on board. Unlike its Moto X counterpart, Droid Maxx 2 does not support Moto Maker for further customization. Instead, Moto Shell with 7 different colors was introduced specifically for the device.
Moto G
On November 13, 2013, Motorola Mobility unveiled the Moto G (1st generation)
The Moto G is an Android smartphone developed and manufactured by Motorola Mobility, at the time a subsidiary of Google. Released on 13 November 2013, the phone was initially aimed at emerging markets, although it was also available in developed ...
, a relatively low-cost smartphone. The Moto G has been launched in several markets, including the UK, United States, France, Germany, India and parts of Latin America and Asia. The Moto G is available in the United States, unlocked, for a starting price of US$179. The device is geared toward global markets and some US models support 4G LTE
In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA standards. It improves on those standards' capacity and speed by us ...
. Unlike the Moto X, the Moto G is not manufactured in the United States.
On September 5, 2014, Motorola Mobility released its successor to the 2013 version of the Moto G, called the Moto G (2nd generation)
The second-generation Moto G (marketed as simply Moto G) is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility (a subsidiary of Google when it was launched, but then becoming a subsidiary of Lenovo). Released on September 6, 2014, it is a succ ...
. It came with a larger screen, higher resolution camera, along with dual front-facing stereo speakers.
On July 28, 2015, Motorola Mobility released the third generation of the Moto G series, called the Moto G (3rd generation)
The third-generation Moto G is an Android smartphone developed by Lenovo's subsidiary Motorola Mobility, unveiled in India on July 28, 2015 and released the same day. The Moto G4 is its successor.
Specifications
The third-generation Moto G has ...
, in a worldwide press conference in New Delhi, India. It retained the same screen as before but upgraded the processor and RAM. Furthermore, it has an IPx7 water-resistance certification and comes into two variants - 1GB RAM / 8GB ROM and 2GB RAM / 16GB ROM. The device also has the latest (at the time) Android Lollipop OS v5.1.1.
In May 2016, Motorola released three fourth generation Moto G smartphones: Moto G⁴, Moto G⁴ Plus, and Moto G⁴ Play.
On February 26, 2017, Motorola Mobility released two fifth generation Moto G smartphones during Mobile World Congress
MWC Barcelona (formerly but still commonly referred to as Mobile World Congress) is an annual trade show organised by GSMA, dedicated primarily to the mobile communications industry.
The event is held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain at the Fir ...
: Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus.
On August 1, 2017, Motorola added two 'special edition' models to the Moto G lineup, the Moto G5S and Moto G5S Plus.
In May 2018, Motorola released the sixth generation of the Moto G line up in three variants, the G6, G6 Plus and the G6 Play. The G6 and G6 Plus have two rear cameras, capable of taking 4k video (Plus model only), and a larger screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The specification ranges from 3/32GB to 6/128GB.
In February 2019, Motorola launched the Moto G7 with 3 extra variants, the Moto G7 Play, Moto G7 Power and the Moto G7 Plus.
Moto E
The Moto E (1st generation)
Moto E is an Android smartphone developed and manufactured by Motorola Mobility. It was unveiled and released online in India and the United States on May 13, 2014.
Released in the wake of the success of the Moto G, the Moto E was designed to ...
was announced and launched on May 13, 2014. It was an entry-level device intended to compete against feature phones by providing a durable, low-cost device for first-time smartphone owners or budget-minded consumers, with a particular emphasis on emerging markets. The Moto E shipped with a stock version of Android " 4.4 "KitKat"."
The Moto E (2nd generation)
The second generation Moto E (marketed as the New Moto E) is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Released on February 25, 2015, it is a successor to the Moto E released in 2014. The New Moto E is a low-end device for first-time ...
was announced and launched on March 10, 2015, in India. Released in the wake of its successful first generation, the second generation of the Moto E series still aims to provide a smooth experience to budget-oriented consumers. It increased the screen size to 4.5" but kept the resolution at 540 x 960px. It came in two versions, a 3G-only one powered by a Snapdragon 200 chipset and a 4G LTE version powered by a Snapdragon 410 chipset. As before, it shipped with a stock version of the latest (at the time) Android 5.0 "Lollipop".
In 2015 Motorola Mobility marketed the 2nd generation Moto E with the promise of continual updates and support, "And while other smartphones in this category don't always support upgrades, we won't forget about you, and we'll make sure your Moto E stays up to date after you buy it." However, 219 days after launch Motorola announced that the device would not receive an upgrade from Lollipop to 6.0 "Marshmallow". It was later announced that the LTE variant of the device would receive an upgrade to Marshmallow in Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Asia (excluding China). China and the US carrier-branded versions of the device remained on Lollipop, with a minor upgrade to version 5.1. However, the 2nd generation Moto E in the USA did continue to receive support via Android Security Patch updates until at least the October 1, 2016 patch for the LTE variant and the November 1, 2016 patch for the non-LTE variant.
Google Nexus 6 / Moto X Pro
The Nexus 6 was announced October 15, 2014 by Motorola Mobility in partnership with Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
. It was the first 6-inch smartphone in the mainstream market, and came with many high-end specs. It was the successor to the Nexus 5, Google's previous flagship phone from their Google Nexus
Google Nexus is a discontinued line of consumer electronic devices that run the Android operating system. Google managed the design, development, marketing, and support of these devices, but some development and all manufacturing were carried ...
series of devices. Its design was similar to the Moto X (2nd generation)
The second generation Moto X, marketed as moto X and referred to in the media as Moto X (2014), is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Released on September 5, 2014, it is the successor to the original Moto X released in 2013. I ...
but with a larger display and dual, front-facing speakers rather than the single front-facing speaker on the Moto X. It was the first phone running vanilla Android Lollipop
Android Lollipop (code name, codenamed Android L during development) is the fifth major version of the Android (operating system), Android mobile operating system developed by Google and the 12th version of Android, spanning versions between 5.0 ...
, receiving software updates directly from Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
. It was later updated to Android Marshmallow
Android Marshmallow ( codenamed Android M during development) is the sixth major version of the Android operating system developed by Google, being the successor to Android Lollipop. It was announced at Google I/O on May 28, 2015, and released ...
in 2015 and Android Nougat
Android Nougat ( codenamed Android N during development) is the seventh major version and 14th original version of the Android operating system. First released as an alpha test version on March 9, 2016, it was officially released on August 22, ...
in 2016, though later versions of Android 7.X took some time to arrive, and it never received Android 7.1.2 update, ending its support with Android 7.1.1 in the end of 2017.
On January 26, 2015, Motorola Mobility announced that they would sell the Moto X Pro in China. The Moto X Pro was similar to the Nexus 6 in terms of hardware, but excluded all of Google's services and applications. The phone was released in April 2015 with Android 5.0.2 'Lollipop'. However, it never received any Android version update throughout its lifetime despite the same hardware as the Nexus 6.
Droid Turbo / Moto Maxx / Moto Turbo
The Droid Turbo (Moto Maxx in South America and Mexico, Moto Turbo in India) features a 3900 mAh battery lasting up to two days. Motorola claims an additional eight hours of use after only fifteen minutes of charging with the included Turbo Charger. The device is finished in ballistic nylon over a Kevlar fiber layer and is protected by a water repellent nano-coating. Droid Turbo uses a quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor clocked at 2.7 GHz, 3 GB RAM, a 21-megapixel camera with 4K video, 5.2-inch screen with resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels. The Droid Turbo includes 32 or 64 GB of internal storage, while the Moto Maxx is only available in 64 GB.
In late 2015, Droid Turbo 2 was introduced as a Verizon exclusive, which was a rebrand of Moto X Force. It was the first Droid device to offer Moto Mods for extensive customization, and ShatterShield display technologies.
Lenovo era
Moto Z and Moto Mods
The Moto Z lineup was introduced in June 2016. The smartphone features Motorola's Moto Mods platform, in which the user can magnetically attach accessories or "Mods" to the back of the phone, including a projector, style shells, a Hasselblad-branded camera lens, and a JBL speaker. There were three versions of the original Moto Z. The global flagship model Moto Z, and Moto Z Droid as a Verizon exclusive, were introduced as the thinnest premium smartphone in the world, according to Motorola, and featured a 13-megapixel camera with 4K video, 5.5-inch screen and 4 GB of RAM. and an underclocked Snapdragon 820 chipset at 1.8 GHz, but was able to unlock with root permission granted. Moto Z Play, on the other hand, featured a less powerful processor and a bigger battery. Moto Z Force Droid, only introduced as a Verizon exclusive, featured the Snapdragon 820 chipset with standard frequency, a display with Motorola ShatterShield technology and a 21 megapixel camera. These phones ship with near stock Android 6.0
Android Marshmallow ( codenamed Android M during development) is the sixth major version of the Android operating system developed by Google, being the successor to Android Lollipop. It was announced at Google I/O on May 28, 2015, and released ...
'Marshmallow' with usual Moto experiences. They were later updated to Android Nougat
Android Nougat ( codenamed Android N during development) is the seventh major version and 14th original version of the Android operating system. First released as an alpha test version on March 9, 2016, it was officially released on August 22, ...
and Android Oreo
Android Oreo ( codenamed Android O during development) is the eighth major release and the 15th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as an alpha quality developer preview in March 2017 and released to the publ ...
in early 2017 and 2018, a substantial delay compared to older Moto X models.
Moto Z2 Play
Moto Z2 Play is a mid-range Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility, as the successor to 2016's Moto Z Play. As with other smartphones in the Moto Z series, it supports Motorola's magnetically attachable " MotoMods" modules.
Specific ...
was launched in June 2017 with updated Moto experience, a slightly faster processor than Moto Z Play
Moto Z Play is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Unveiled in August 2016 at IFA Berlin, it is a mid-range version of the Moto Z, distinguished primarily by its larger battery (thus making it a ''de facto'' successor to the Mot ...
, and Android Nougat
Android Nougat ( codenamed Android N during development) is the seventh major version and 14th original version of the Android operating system. First released as an alpha test version on March 9, 2016, it was officially released on August 22, ...
. Moto Z2 Force was launched in July 2017, and was the last Motorola flagship phone with up-to-date processor as for now. It was the first non-Google phone to feature 'A/B partition' and 'seamless update' features of Android Nougat
Android Nougat ( codenamed Android N during development) is the seventh major version and 14th original version of the Android operating system. First released as an alpha test version on March 9, 2016, it was officially released on August 22, ...
, allowing users to install update in the background and finish with just a restart. It was updated to Android Oreo
Android Oreo ( codenamed Android O during development) is the eighth major release and the 15th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as an alpha quality developer preview in March 2017 and released to the publ ...
in the end of 2017, which was fairly speedy compared to other Android OEMs. In China, the phones run ZUI from ZUK, a subsidiary of Lenovo instead of near stock Android, and Moto Z2 Force was rebranded as 'Moto Z 2018'. There were also several Moto Mods
Moto Z is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Unveiled on June 9, 2016, as its flagship model for the year, the Moto Z is distinguished by the "Moto Mods" technosystem which allows case accessories to be magnetically attached t ...
released in 2017, including a Motorola TurboPower Moto Mod with fast charging capabilities.
The Moto Z3
The Moto Z3 (stylized as Moto z³ by Motorola and not to be confused with the Moto Z3 Play) is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility, as the successor to the Moto Z2 Force Edition. It is the world's first 5G-upgradable smartphone. ...
lineup was released in August 2018, consisting of Moto Z3 Play with Snapdragon 6-series SoC and Moto Z3 with last generation 8-series SoC, both supporting all Moto Mods introduced. The 5G Moto Mod was introduced alongside the Moto Z3 lineup, and was a Verizon exclusive at launch in early 2019. It enables 5G connectivity for Moto Z2 Force and later Moto Z devices when the mod is attached on the phone. The phones launched with Android Oreo
Android Oreo ( codenamed Android O during development) is the eighth major release and the 15th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as an alpha quality developer preview in March 2017 and released to the publ ...
and was later updated to Android Pie
Android Pie ( codenamed Android P during development), also known as Android 9 (API 28) is the ninth major release and the 16th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 7, 2018, and ...
with a similar software experience as earlier Moto Z devices.
The Moto Z4
The Moto Z4 (stylized as Moto z⁴ by Motorola) is an Android phablet developed by Motorola Mobility, as the successor to the Moto Z3 and Moto Z3 Play. It was released in May 2019, and made available in June.
Specifications Hardware
The SD6 ...
was launched in May 2019 with a 48 megapixel camera sensor and enhanced night sight features, as well as an intergraded fingerprint sensor. It featured a Snapdragon 675 SoC, 4 GB of memory, and launched with Android Pie
Android Pie ( codenamed Android P during development), also known as Android 9 (API 28) is the ninth major release and the 16th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 7, 2018, and ...
. Unlike older Moto Z models, this phone was focused on upper mid-range market, and came with a Moto 360 Camera Mod in the box.
Moto M
The Moto M was introduced in late 2016. It was a mid-range device launched in markets such as mainland China and Hong Kong, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, and South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
. It featured an octa-core MediaTek
MediaTek Inc. () is a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company that provides chips for wireless communications, high-definition television, handheld mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers, navigation systems, consumer multimedia pr ...
processor and 3 or 4 GB of memory depending on storage, and ran near-stock Android. Despite the Moto branding, the bootloader and software update software came from Lenovo directly instead of Motorola, similar to the Moto E3 Power.
Moto C
The Moto C
Moto C is a smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. It is a low-end device developed primarily for the emerging markets. It was released on May 1, 2017.
The focus of these handsets is on offering reasonable specificatio ...
was announced in 2017 as a low-end device, slotting in below the Moto E as the cheapest in the Moto range. The base model includes a 5-inch display, MediaTek
MediaTek Inc. () is a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company that provides chips for wireless communications, high-definition television, handheld mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers, navigation systems, consumer multimedia pr ...
quad-core processor, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, and an LED flash for the front-facing camera. It is accompanied by a higher-end model, the Moto C Plus, which features a more powerful processor, larger battery, 8-megapixel camera, and a 720p display.
Moto X4
The Moto X4
, released = September 1, 2017
, available = United Kingdom, France, Germany, India September 22, 2017 Australia September 27, 2017 India November 14, 2017
, discontinued =
, unitssold =
, unitsshipped =
, predecessor = Mot ...
was introduced in August 2017. It featured a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS display compared to Moto X 2014, and 3, 4, or 6 GB of RAM depending on versions. There were three iterations: a retail one from Motorola, an Android One
Android One is a family of third-party Android smartphones promoted by Google. In comparison to many third-party Android devices, which ship with a manufacturer's customized user interface and bundled apps, these devices run near- stock versi ...
version from Google, and an Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
edition. Not to be confused with older Moto X models, this phone does not carry on the older Moto X line, and it did not offer some older Moto X exclusive features such as the Moto Maker. The phone came with Android Nougat
Android Nougat ( codenamed Android N during development) is the seventh major version and 14th original version of the Android operating system. First released as an alpha test version on March 9, 2016, it was officially released on August 22, ...
7.1.1 and Moto features, with support of 'A/B Partitions' and 'seamless update'. It was updated to Android Oreo
Android Oreo ( codenamed Android O during development) is the eighth major release and the 15th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as an alpha quality developer preview in March 2017 and released to the publ ...
and Android Pie
Android Pie ( codenamed Android P during development), also known as Android 9 (API 28) is the ninth major release and the 16th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 7, 2018, and ...
in late 2017 and 2018. It was succeeded by the Moto One lineup since 2018.
Motorola One lineup
In 2018, Motorola launched the Motorola One lineup as upper mid-range replacements for the Moto X4
, released = September 1, 2017
, available = United Kingdom, France, Germany, India September 22, 2017 Australia September 27, 2017 India November 14, 2017
, discontinued =
, unitssold =
, unitsshipped =
, predecessor = Mot ...
. In August 2018, the first phones in the lineup, the Motorola One and Motorola One Power were launched. Both phones featured dual camera setup, displays with 'notches' for sensors and front facing camera, and they were all in the Android One
Android One is a family of third-party Android smartphones promoted by Google. In comparison to many third-party Android devices, which ship with a manufacturer's customized user interface and bundled apps, these devices run near- stock versi ...
program by Google, with guaranteed three-year security updates. The phones launched with Android Oreo
Android Oreo ( codenamed Android O during development) is the eighth major release and the 15th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as an alpha quality developer preview in March 2017 and released to the publ ...
8.1, and were later updated to Android Pie
Android Pie ( codenamed Android P during development), also known as Android 9 (API 28) is the ninth major release and the 16th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 7, 2018, and ...
and Android 10
Android 10 ( codenamed Android Q during development) is the tenth major release and the 17th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 13, 2019, and was released publicly on Septembe ...
at the end of 2018 and 2019.
Motorola One Vision and Motorola One Action were introduced in May and August 2019. These devices all feature Samsung Exynos
Exynos, formerly Hummingbird (), is a series of ARM-based system-on-chips developed by Samsung Electronics' System LSI division and manufactured by Samsung Foundry. It is a continuation of Samsung's earlier S3C, S5L and S5P line of SoCs.
Exy ...
processors. Moto One Vision featured dual camera setup, with the main shooter being 48 megapixel. It featured a 'hole punch' display for front camera, and 27W TurboPower fast charging. The Motorola One Action featured a triple camera setup with an ultra-wide lens. Both phones were a part of Android One
Android One is a family of third-party Android smartphones promoted by Google. In comparison to many third-party Android devices, which ship with a manufacturer's customized user interface and bundled apps, these devices run near- stock versi ...
program by Google. They launched with Android Pie
Android Pie ( codenamed Android P during development), also known as Android 9 (API 28) is the ninth major release and the 16th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 7, 2018, and ...
, and were updated to Android 10
Android 10 ( codenamed Android Q during development) is the tenth major release and the 17th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 13, 2019, and was released publicly on Septembe ...
in early January 2020.
Motorola Razr (2020)
The Razr is the first foldable smartphone from Motorola, utilizing a similar design as the original Razr. It was introduced in November 2019 and was expected to launch in 2020. It featured mid-range Snapdragon 7-series SoC and Android Pie
Android Pie ( codenamed Android P during development), also known as Android 9 (API 28) is the ninth major release and the 16th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 7, 2018, and ...
, with promised updates to Android 10
Android 10 ( codenamed Android Q during development) is the tenth major release and the 17th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 13, 2019, and was released publicly on Septembe ...
in 2020.
Motorola Edge & Edge+
The Motorola Edge and Motorola Edge+ were introduced in April 2020. The Edge uses the Snapdragon 765G, while the Edge+ uses the Snapdragon 865; both feature Android 10.0, standard 5G and a curved 90 Hz OLED display. The Edge+ is the first Motorola phone to use a 108 megapixel sensor for the main camera with 6K video recording, and marks a return to flagship devices for Motorola.
Smartwatches
Motoactv
Motoactv is a square smartwatch running Android 2.3 released by Motorola Mobility in 2011. It contained a number of hardware features and software applications tailored to fitness training.
Moto 360
Moto 360 is a round smartwatch, powered by Google's Android Wear OS, a version of Google's popular Android mobile platform specifically designed for the wearable market. It integrates Google Now and pairs to an Android 4.3 or above smartphone for notifications and control over various features. The second version of this smartwatch was released in 2015.
MINNIDIP x RAZR CH(AIR)
In August 2020, the MINNIDIP x RAZR CH(AIR) was announced by Motorola.
Corporate image
File:Motorola.svg, Original Motorola logo
File:Motorola Mobility.svg, Motorola Mobility logo between 2011 and 2013.
File:Motorola logo 2013.png, Motorola logo between 2013 and 2014.
File:Motorola Mobility Logo 2015.svg, Motorola logo from 2015 to 2016.
Brand licensing
The company has licensed its brand through the years to several companies and a variety of home products and mobile phone accessories have been released. Motorola Mobility created a dedicated "Motorola Home" website for these products, which sells corded and cordless phones, cable modems and routers, baby monitors, home monitoring systems and pet safety systems. In 2015, Motorola Mobility sold its brand rights for accessories to Binatone
Binatone is a British-Chinese telecommunications company. Binatone was started in the United Kingdom in 1958 by two brothers, Gulu Lalvani and Partap Lalvani, to import and distribute consumer electronics. The company was named after their siste ...
, which already was the official licensee for certain home products. This deal includes brand rights for all mobile and car accessories under the Motorola brand.
In 2016, Zoom Telephonics
Minim, Inc., formerly Zoom Telephonics, is an American networking company that develops software and designs hardware for Internet security. Headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, the company offers a mobile app, cable modems, gateways, WiFi ...
was granted the worldwide brand rights for home networking products, including cable modems, routers, Wi-Fi range extenders and related networking products.
See also
* iDEN
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN) is a mobile telecommunications technology, developed by Motorola, which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular telephone. It was called the first mobile social network by ma ...
* WiDEN
Widen is a municipality in the district of Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
At the end of the 12th century a manor called "Wyda" is mentioned the first time, there's no exact year. "Widen", in the way like it's writ ...
* List of electronics brands
* List of Motorola products
This is a list of Motorola products. Motorola Mobility is an American subsidiary company of Chinese multinational technology company Lenovo that manufactures consumer electronics and telecommunications products.
Computers
Laptops
* ML910
* M ...
* List of Illinois companies
This is a list of Illinois companies which includes notable companies that are headquartered in Illinois, or were previously headquartered in Illinois. In general, this list does not include companies headquartered in one of the municipalities of ...
* Motorola Moto
Motorola Moto is a range of Android mobile devices manufactured by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. The Moto brand is also used and marketed for certain public-safety products from Motorola Solutions and by Motorola brand licensees on ce ...
* Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions, Inc., is an American video equipment, telecommunications equipment, software, systems and services provider that succeeded Motorola, Inc., following the spinoff of the mobile phone division into Motorola Mobility in 2011. The ...
*
References
External links
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