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What’s new in Android Marshmallow update for Moto X (Moto X 2015, Moto X 2014, Moto X Style and Moto X Pure edition)?

Top 10 new and changed features in Android Marshmallow update for Moto X (Moto X 2015, Moto X 2014, Moto X Style and Moto X Pure edition)

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Android Marshmallow update for Moto XMotorola has rolled out Android Marshmallow update for Moto X 2nd Gen (Moto X 2014) and Moto X Style in a few regions. The update for Moto X (Moto X 2015, Moto X 2014, Moto X Style and Moto X Pure Edition) will be available in almost all regions by the end of 2015.

This post will help you understand the new features in Android Marshmallow update for Moto X (Moto X 2014, Moto X Style and Moto X Pure edition).

For more guides on Android Marshmallow 6.0, please check this Android Marshmallow guide page.

1. Doze mode: you will get longer battery life for your Moto X

One of the noteworthy new features in Android Marshmallow update for Moto X is the new doze mode.

Doze mode helps to preserve the battery life of your Moto X automatically when it is not being used.

When your Moto X is stationary,  not charging and not in use for a long period of time, Doze mode shuts down unnecessary background processes automatically. This can increase the standby time of your Moto X substantially.

The better news is that Doze mode is enabled automatically and you need not do anything. It is a built-in feature of Android Marshmallow 6.

2. App standby: another battery saving feature for Moto X

When you exit from an app, the app actually may be still in memory so that you can quickly re-access it.  For some apps, you can even continue the previous session.

This makes your Android device very responsive and efficient without reloading the app. Android will decide whether the app is kept in memory or not based on the available resources.

But some buggy apps may cause battery drain if it is not fully “frozen”.

App standby in Android Marshmallow update for Moto X  will address this issue for such apps.

Android Marshmallow will put inactive apps into deep sleep state automatically. These apps will not be able to run any background processes before you explicitly open them.  After you exit from these apps, after a while, they will be put into … Continue to read....

Top 5 new features in Moto X 2015 (Moto X Style, Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Play) vs Moto X 2014

Moto X 2015 vs Moto X 2014: micro SD card support, improved camera, 5.7" 1440p Quad HD screen for Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Style, faster CPU and more RAM, and Moto X Pure Edition works on all networks

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Top 5 new features in Moto X 2015 (Moto X Style, Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Play) vs Moto X 2014Moto X 2015 is the third generation of Moto X.  And Motorola brought 3 models for the public: Moto X Pure edition (for the USA), Moto X Style (for other regions except for USA), and Moto X Play. There are some interesting new features in Moto X 2015 (Moto X3).

As explained in this post, Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Style are twin brothers heading to different regions (US or international markets). Moto X Play is a scaled-down version Moto X Style.

Now, the question is what are the improvements and new features in Moto X 2015 vs Moto X 2014.

This post will try to answer the question of Moto X 2015 vs Moto X 2014  to help you decide whether you should upgrade to Moto X 2015 (Moto X 3rd gen) if you own a Moto X or Moto X 2014 (Moto X 2nd gen). The new features in Moto X 2015 were explained.

#1. micro SD card support: the most welcomed new features in Moto X 2015

Motorola finally changed mind on the stance on SD card support.

Moto X 2015 supports micro SD card up to 128GB. You can instantly expand additional 128GB storage at around $60 for your Moto X 2015.

Although SD card is not often used, a lot of smartphone owners still prefer some “backup” options. You may need it one day.

Some Android vendors are going the opposite (and surely wrong) direction. For example, Samsung removed the micro SD card support in Galaxy Note 5,  Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge+.  The weaker-than-expected sales of Galaxy S6 and Note 5 already make it clear that Samsung is wrong.

Some expert may argue:

  • micro SD card is seldom used.  Samsung was misled by such experts. The survey may be legitimate. But the issue is that most owners think they may use it someday. Just like airbags in your car, you probably never use it. But if car manufacture removes it, will you still buy the car? Samsung now probably knows the answer.
  • Performance of micro SD card
… Continue to read....

Moto X Pure edition, Moto X Style and Moto X Play: which one is for you?

Moto X Pure edition vs Moto X Style vs Moto X Play: what are the major differences, and which one is made for you?

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moto_x_2015_moto_x_pure_editionFor Moto X 3rd Gen (or Moto X 2015), Motorola announced 3 models: Moto X Pure edition,  Moto X Style and Moto X Play, instead of just one model as Moto X and Moto X 2nd Gen (Moto X 2014).

Some Moto X owners and potential Moto X buyers are confused about which Moto X is for them.

This post will try to explain to you the major differences of these 3 models of  Moto X 3rd Gen (Moto X 2015) to help you make a better decision.

For user manuals of Moto X Pure edition, Moto X Style and Moto X Play, please check this page.

Moto X Pure edition vs Moto X Style: twin brothers heading to different regions

The most confusing two products are Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Style.

The hardware specs for Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Style are almost identical.

The differences between Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Style include: software and availability.

Software

Both Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Style will come with Android Lollipop 5.1.

Moto X Pure edition will be a pure Motorola phone without any bloatware or customization from carriers.

This also implies Moto X Pure edition will work on all carriers, and most other regions when you travel abroad as well.

Moto X Style, however, will be tailored for different regions and carriers. Some LTE bands and some features may be disabled in some regions, and therefore Moto X Style may not work well (mainly 4G and a few carrier specific features) in other regions.

Please note, “pure edition” does NOT mean Moto X Pure edition is running stock Android like Nexus phone. “Pure edition” simply means pure Motorola software, and there is no carrier customization.  Of course, Motorola software is very close to stock Android.  There are a few Moto apps pre-installed, for example, Motorola Assist, Motorola Alert, Motorola camera, and Motorola Gallery.

If you are currently an owner of Moto X or Moto X 2nd Gen,  you will get similar Moto  experience.

Availability

Officially, Moto X Pure … Continue to read....

Motorola Assist does not read messages, how to fix it?

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Update: Motorola just updated Motorola Assist app. The problem discussed in this post was solved in this update. So, if you still have problems to get Motorola Assist to read messages in Home mode or Driving mode, please try to update the Motorola Assist app from Play Store.

Recent Google app update broke some features in Motorola Assist. Specifically, after Moto Assist asks you to say listen, it does not response to any voice input and the phone may make noises itself. This guide is specific for this issue before Motorola updates the Motorola Assist app.  If you have other issues with Motorola Assist, please  discuss them here.

This guide works for Moto X, Moto X 2nd Gen (Moto X 2014), Moto G, Moto G 2nd Gen (Moto G 2014) and Moto E, because they share the identical Motorola Assist app.

What are the symptoms of this Motorola Assist not reading message issue?

The issue is caused by the recent update of Google App on January 12, 2015. This update breaks the messaging voice interaction feature in Motorola Assist when in driving or home mode.

The symptoms of this Motorola Assist not reading message issue include:

  1. Motorola Assist can switch to Driving mode (Driving Assist) and Home mode (Home Assist) correctly.
  2. Incoming messages and calls are announced properly.
  3. Incoming calls are not affected. You can say Answer or Ignore to pick up the phone or hang up the phone.
  4. You get noise after it asks you to “say listen” or “say send text”.  It does not respond to your voice command. Basically, you cannot listen message or reply text messages in home and driving modes.
  5. The version of Google App in your phone is 4.1.24.1672412.arm.

Please note, the issue is caused by Google app. But probably Motorola has to fix the issue in the Motorola Assist app.

Before Motorola releases the update for Motorola Assist, you can only solve the issue by uninstalling updates for Google app.

If you are a heavy user of Google Now, this fix probably is not for you because Google add … Continue to read....

Moto X 2nd generation VS Moto X 1st generation: What’s new in the new Moto X (Moto X 2014) ?

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Moto X 2nd generation vs Moto X 1st generationThe new Moto X, a successor for Moto X 2013   was announced early this month. You can pre-order this new Moto X (aka Moto X 2nd generation) from today..

Some Moto X owners are curious about what’s new in the new Moto X (Moto X 2nd generation).  This post will give you the answer.

First, the official name of the new Moto X is Moto X 2nd generation (Moto X 2nd Gen), not Moto X+1 as rumored. Of course, many may just call it Moto X 2014.

Let’s check the comparison of Moto X 2nd generation vs Moto X 1st generation.

1. Cheaper: Moto X 2nd generation vs Moto X 1st generation

One of the biggest mistake preventing Moto X (1st Gen.) to get the deserved  popularity is the stupid pricing strategy  for the old Moto X in last year.

Although almost all potential buyers are excited with the unique features in Moto X 1st generation:  touchless control (now it is re-branded as Moto Voice), Motorola Assist, Active Display and possible customization (through Moto Maker), they did not become a Moto X owner due to the wrong pricing strategy as analysed in this post: Why Moto X failed to save Motorola?

Moto X 1st generation was  packed with middle-range hardware (with best software). The pricing Motorola asked is that for the smartphones with top-notch hardware.

For the new Moto X (Moto X 2nd generation), Motorola apparently corrects this mistake. The most advanced  and high quality hardware, with the best (arguable) Android experience, is asking for a cheaper price!

The contract-free, unlocked  2nd generation Moto X (Moto X Pure edition) starts from $499. This is one of the most affordable flagship phones in 2014.

2. Faster: Moto X 2nd generation vs Moto X 1st generation

The new Moto X (Moto X 2nd generation) got a big update in processor and graphics. It is at least  3 times faster than 1st generation Moto X.

The second generation of Moto X is  equipped with Quad-core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (which has 3 times raw processing  power than Snapdragon … Continue to read....

How to add Flash Player support on Moto X (especially after KitKat update)?

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moto-x-flash-playerUpdate: if your Moto X (including Moto X 2nd Gen), or Moto G (including Moto G 2nd Gen) was updated to Android Lollipop 5.0, please check this guide on how to enable Flash on Android Lollipop.

Flash (flash player) is NOT supported on Moto X, by default.  This is not a decision of Motorola. It is actually a decision of Google and Adobe two years ago.  Adobe withdrew the flash player app from Google Play store in August 15 2012.

Essentially, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich, ICS) is the last version of Android with official flash player support.

Of course, if you need flash player for Moto X, this post will guide you to enable the flash support on Moto X.

If you think your Chrome browser in Moto X  supports flash natively as the Chrome browser in desktop, you are wrong. Chrome for Android (the default browser in Moto X) never supports Flash.

When you received your Moto X, you probably already realized you cannot open any sites that require flash player.

The flash player solution for Galaxy S4 was valid for Moto X before the KitKat (Android 4.4) update for Moto X arrived last November.  You can still use the solution if your Moto X has not updated to KitKat. But I would recommend you to update to Kitkat, because of the new features and improvements for your Moto X after the KitKat update.

Once you update your Moto X to KitKat, you will find the flash does not work again.

In KitKat, Google finally cut the cord for flash. The old flash player plugins in some third-party browsers  do not work any more. This is the reason why the flash player solution for Galaxy S4 was not working for Moto X after the KitKat update.

Luckily, the new workaround is very simple. Most of the browsers are not working. The recommended (and working) browser with flash player support in Moto X is Dolphin browser.

Steps of adding flash support to Moto X (before or after KitKat update)

To add flash support to Moto X (install … Continue to read....

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

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moto x battery life after KitKat updateAndroid  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 … Continue to read....

Top 10 improvements in Android KitKat update for your Moto X

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Moto X with Android 4.4 kitkat Motorola beats all Android smartphone makers again with the Android 4.4 (KitKat) update!

When Samsung, HTC, Sony and LG are still struggling to push Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean 4.3) update for their flagship phones, Motorola gives us the KitKat treat. We got this Android 4.4 update even a few days earlier than the owners of pure Android Nexus 4.

And it seems the update works very smoothly. Most Moto X owners are enjoying the updated phone. As a contrast, a lot of Samsung Galaxy S4 owners are grumbling about the latest Android 4.3 update.

There are quite a lot of improvements in the Android 4.4 (KitKat) update for Moto X. In this post, you will learn the top 10 improvements or new features you may enjoy everyday.

1. Unified messaging  with Hangouts

If you have  mixed contacts on phone and Google, you know all the contacts are combined in your phone.  The new Hangouts app now moves a step further: it can (optional) combine your messages (SMS, MMS) with all other conversations in Hangouts. With the new Hangouts app, all of your SMS and MMS messages are together in the same app, alongside your other conversations and video calls.

The new Hangouts app also allows  you  to share your location and send animated GIFs. This makes it better than the most popular SMS app: WhatsApp.

Essentially, the new Hangouts app eliminates the need of a separate messaging app. Of course, if you are not ready for this change, you can still use messaging and Hangouts individually (although they share the same contact list).

2. Drag to focus and expose

You can focus on any location on the viewfinder by just dragging the crosshair to the desired objects or location. Moto X will automatically adjust the expose and lighting conditions for the photo.  The result is better image quality.

This is actually a nice enhancement of  the old  “touch to focus”.  You now get the option with a new circular, on screen control that can be dragged by your finger around the viewfinder to adjust a photo’s focus and exposure.… Continue to read....

Moto X Price Halved (including Moto Maker)

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motox_moto-makerIt seems Motorola (Google) finally realized the initial price of Moto X was not accepted well by consumers, even among long-term Motorola enthusiasts.

After 2 months of  launching the handset,  Motorola halved the price of Moto X  to $99.99 (with 2 year contract) quietly.  No public announcement. This includes Moto Maker, which allows you to customize your Moto X. Very likely, the contract-free Moto X price will drop within next a few weeks.

So, if price pushed you away from getting a Moto X, now it is probably the good time to get your hands on a new Moto X. It is unlikely to see a further price cut for this handset in next a few months.

$99.99 is actually the most reasonable price for this handset.  Consumers still cares about specs, although user experiences are getting important day by day.

No one denies the unparalleled software innovation in Moto X (e.g., touchless control, Motorola Assistant), and most users enjoy them. The recent software update fixed most camera issues. Moto X is arguably the most attractive phone in the market.

Technically, the hardware in Moto X  is more than sufficient  thanks to the optimization of the code and close-to-vanilla-Android implementation. Moto X is actually more snappy than Galaxy S4 and HTC One. However, consumers are still thinking about hardware specs when touching the wallet. They are still unwilling to pay too much premium for optimized software.  The mid-range hardware specs spoil the perfect image of Moto X. Most consumers and reviewers were surprised when the price of Moto X was announced in August.

This is a lesson Motorola should learn.  Consumers are not ready to ignore hardware specs.

The price reduction is a correct step to educate consumers what a smartphone should be.  Without reaching the hands of consumers, all innovations are wasted, and competitors will close the gap soon.  Very likely, Moto Maker will not be exclusive to AT & T after middle or  late November.  This  will remove another barrier between Moto X and its potential buyers.

Another reason of … Continue to read....

Moto X or HTC One?

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htc-one-vs-moto-xWhen I was asked about the “alternatives”  for Moto X, the firs one popping out  is HTC One. Not just because of the similar screen size.

But yes, Moto X and HTC One both have small display (compared with other flagship Android phones from Samsung,  Sony and LG). It is 4.7″. Actually the display is not small. Both of them use very thin bezel and therefore, they looks even smaller than their actual size. Just for your information, Moto X has similar front surface area with iPhone 5, but with 20% more display space.

Unlike Asian users, most American users still prefer one-handed smartphone, i.e, the phone can be easily operated with one hand. Moto X apparently caters such demand. It is not a coincidence that both Moto X and HTC One are in the same size range of iPhone 5.  Of course, Android users are spoiled  with large display, so 4.7″ screen is a reasonable compromise.

Design and build quality

Among today’s Android manufactures, HTC is still a  leader in hardware design. I’m not talking about market share, for which HTC is plummeting. Maybe HTC will have to leave US market just in 2 to 3 years if the trend cannot be reversed.

The design of HTC One seems better than Moto X. The metal body will strengthen your impression when you compare Moto X and HTC One side by side.

Moto X actually deviates from Motorola’s old design,  especially the robotic Droid design. The exterior design of Moto X is very similar to HTC One: simple and elegant. What drags Moto X down is the plastic feeling.  Because Moto X wants to offer customization on the back plate, metal or tempered glass is out of the options.

So, from the view point of design and build quality, HTC One is surely better.

BTW, “designed, engineered and assembled in the USA” does not help much on design and build quality for Moto X.

Software

Both Moto X and HTC One run Android Jelly Bean 4.2. Both will be upgraded to 4.3 in a couple of months.

Moto X … Continue to read....

Top 5 Unique Features of Moto X

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Moto-X-official-photoMoto X is finally announced on August 1.  By the end of this month, you may have the chance to get one in your pocket from the major carriers in US or BestBuy.

The biggest surprise of Moto X is not the phone, is its  price. Motorola asks for similar price as  that for Galaxy S4 and HTC One, although the hardware specifications are obviously inferior (arguable).

Motorola is confident consumers will like their unique features and fork money for features rather than hardware specs. They may be correct. Most flagship Android phones are obsessed with hardware specs, and therefore are overpowered (i.e., wasted).

The problem is what these features are and why people are willing to pay for them instead of better specs.

In this post, I will share with you the top 5 unique features of Mot X.

Touchless control

Touchless control is the killer feature of Moto X.  You can control and operate the phone without touching it. It is also dam smart as well: it knows what to do and when.

Essentially, it is a combination of voice control and Google Now. What makes Moto X stand out of the crowd of Siri, S Voice and other similar apps  is  that you can use voice control  even the phone is locked. “OK Google Now” is the hot words (Moto magic) to wake up the phone.  You probably can configure this to something else like “Oh, Moto Magic” if you want.

More interestingly, Moto X only responds to your command, not others’. If 10 other people around you shout “OK Google Now” , your Moto X will not respond to them, because it knows your voice and knows you are the master. It is more loyal  than you secretary.

Google Now is one of the best innovations from Google. It  was officially unveiled in Google I/O 2012. Its predictive, not responsive, thinking make the smartphone smarter.  By combining voice control and  Google Now, Moto X  now is No.1 in intelligence and voice control among smartphones. There are no comparable products in the market yet. Of … Continue to read....

What is Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System?

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x8-mobile-computing-system-300On July 23, Motorola Mobility (a subsidy of Google) unveiled  the new generation of Verizon Droid phones (Droid Ultra, Droid Mini and Droid Maxx). The most interesting info from the event is that all these 3 phones are powered by custom-made system-on-a-chip (SoC) (based on Snapdragon S4 Pro), not the stock Snapdragon chip.

Motorola named it as the X8 mobile  computing system.  The coming Moto X phone will surely be powered by this mobile computing system.

What makes this X8 mobile computing system unique?  Will it be  a game changer for mobile phones? Why it it named as a “computing system”?

The uniqueness of X8 is its two additional cores. There are totally 8 cores in X8 (this probably explains why it is named as X8). Among them,  two CPU cores, four GPU cores, one natural language processor/core, and one contextual  computing processor/core.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S4, you probably already have a Exynos Octa 5, which has 8 cores. But all of them are CPU cores.   The 4 A15 cores at 1.8GHz  are for CPU intensive jobs, and another 4 A7 cores at 1.2GHz are for less intensive jobs to save power.

So,  8-core (actually 4 CPU cores) itself has nothing to boost. Most 2012/2013 flagship smartphones already have quad-core inside: Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S4, HTC One, HTC Butterfly, Sony Xperia Z…

We are excited about Motorola’s X8 because of their two non-conventional cores.

With the Motorola X8’s natural language processor,  Moto X is  ready to respond any voice commands without touching your phone.  It should work even when  the display is off. If Motorola can (why not?) combine this capability with Google Now, the Moto X will definitely give owner an exceptional experience. You can instantly get the  traffic info, reminders, news, calling and texting information. This is clearly demoed in the Rogers’s video.

The  contextual computing processor is even more useful.  It simply makes Moto X  smarter. The phone  always knows whether your Moto X is in your pocket, in your hand or in  your … Continue to read....