Before the Motorola brand was acquired by Lenovo, the company was widely praised for its first generation Motorola Moto X and Motorola Moto G smartphones, both released in 2013. The latest iterations of these smartphones, the Motorola Moto X4 and the Motorola Moto G6, were released in 2017 and this year respectively. While the Motorola G brand is still going strong, it seems that Motorola has retired the Moto X brand after the cancellation of the Moto X5. But it seems that we’re now being joined by a new Moto lineup and the first smartphones in this lineup are called the Motorola One and the Motorola One Power.
We’ve long been fans of the Motorola brand. Their smartphones captured the hearts and minds of Android enthusiasts by featuring decent hardware specifications and innovative software features (Moto Display, Moto Voice, etc.), at a relatively low price. Over time, the company’s offerings became less enticing when you shopped around. Furthermore, the speed at which they rolled out software updates, something they were once quite good at, began to slow down significantly. This unfortunate trend has continued to the present day—the latest Moto G6 and Moto E5 devices will have poor software support. Something we’ve hoped to see from Motorola for many years now is an embrace of the Android One program, and with the Motorola One and Motorola One Power, it seems that the company has finally gotten on board.
Both devices have been extensively leaked before today’s announcement. Press renders of the Motorola One were leaked online in late June followed by the specifications appearing on TENAA in late July. Press renders of the Motorola One Power and even real-life photos of the device were leaked online earlier this year followed by the specifications showing up on TENAA. Earlier this month, the Motorola Moto P30 launched in China, though just like HMD Global’s Nokia-branded smartphones that are sold in China, the Moto P30 does not run stock Android. In contrast, the Motorola One series does run a near-stock build of Android. If Motorola’s strategy is to copy what HMD Global does, then we’re all on board. In any case, here’s what we know about each device. (The press release, official product page, and Amazon Spain listings lack many details. We also filled in what we know about the Motorola One Power from the TENAA listing. We’ll update the article once we learn more about each device from Motorola.)
Motorola One
| Specification | Motorola One |
|---|---|
| Dimensions and Weight | 150 x 72.2 x 8.0mm
99.8g |
| Display | 5.9-inch FHD+ (2246×1080) 19:9 notched LCD, “Max Vision” |
| CPU/GPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 with Adreno 506 GPU |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB, expandable up to 256GB microSD |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh, Motorola TurboPower |
| Rear Camera(s) | 13MP dual camera system |
| Front Camera(s) | 8MP |
| Software | Android Oreo (Android One) |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | LTE: B1 (2100: B3 (1800) B5 (850) B7 (2600) B28 (700 APT) UMTS: B1 (2100) B2 (1900) B5 (850) B8 (900) GSM: B2 (1900) B3 (1800) B5 (850) B8 (900) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Ports | USB Type-C (USB 2.0) |
| Security | Fingerprint scanner (rear) |
Motorola One Power
| Specification | Motorola One Power |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.2-inch FHD+ (2246×1080) 19:9 notched LCD “Max Vision” |
| CPU/GPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 with Adreno 509 GPU |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB, expandable up to 256GB microSD |
| Battery | 4,850 mAh, Motorola TurboPower |
| Rear Camera(s) | 16MP + 5 MP |
| Front Camera(s) | 12MP |
| Software | Android Oreo (Android One) |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Ports | USB Type-C |
| Security | Fingerprint scanner (rear) |
Since both devices are in the Android One program, the flavor of Android they run is not ZUI, it’s stock Android with some added OEM apps and features. The best part about both smartphones being in the Android One program, though, is that they’re supposed to get monthly security patch updates. The updates, unfortunately, are still handled by Lenovo/Motorola and not Google, so the updates are not guaranteed to roll out on the same day as the monthly security patch bulletins are published.
The company promises two major Android version updates (to Android Pie and Android Q) and three years of guaranteed monthly security patches starting from September 2018 and October 2018 for the Motorola One and Motorola One Power respectively. Although the phones don’t launch with Android 9 Pie, Motorola promises an update to Android Pie “soon after launch.”
Motorola One and Motorola One Power Pricing and Availability
The Motorola One will be available at a price of €299 in Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific countries in the coming months.
The Motorola One Power will be available in India starting in October.
What’s next for Motorola?
With the release of these devices, there doesn’t seem to be anything left for Motorola to unveil for the rest of the year. The last Motorola smartphone that was announced internationally, the Motorola Moto Z3 on Verizon, is likely the last Motorola flagship released this year. That’s unless Motorola pulls a fast one on us and unveils a new flagship smartphone lineup that’s not a Moto Z device. Motorola continues to do well in Brazil, Mexico, India, and a few other regions, but it feels like the company has given up on competing in the high-end smartphone space. We hope they prove us wrong, though, as we’re dying to see what Motorola cooks up for us next year.
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