In the past weeks, several smartphone OEMs such as BlackBerry, HTC, Nokia, Huawei and Sony have confirmed on the smartphones that will be upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo. Today, Motorola has also confirmed on the list of smartphones that will be getting the Oreo upgrade.

Motorola has released several smartphones in this year and 2016. However, the Android 8.0 Oreo will not be coming to a couple of handsets. Below mentioned Motorola smartphones would be upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo:

• Moto Z
• Moto Z Droid
• Moto Z Force Droid
• Moto Z Play
• Moto Z Play Droid
• Moto Z2 Play
• Moto Z2 Force Edition
• Moto X4
• Moto G5
• Moto G5 Plus
• Moto G5S
• Moto G5S Plus

Read More: Android 8.0 Oreo Customs ROMs Arrives for Popular Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Motorola Phones & More

Motorola has mentioned on its official blog that the software rollout will begin this fall. The Moto E4, E4 Plus, Moto C and Moto C Plus smartphones that were released this year are not present on the above list which indicates that these phones may not receive Android 8.0 Oreo update.

Moto G4, Moto G4 Play and Moto G4 Plus were launched in May last year with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. These handsets have already Nougat update. However, it seems that even though they are over 1-year old devices, they may not be upgraded to Android 8.0. Hence, they are not listed above.

Motorola is rumored to be working on an Android One version of the Moto X4 smartphone and it is rumored to be aimed towards the U.S. markets. This smartphone is also expected to get the Oreo upgrade. In the U.S. Verizon is confirmed to release Android 8.0 Oreo update for Moto Z2 Force, Moto Z2 Play, Moto Z Force, Moto Z and Moto Z Play. Their unlocked versions are also confirmed to receive Android 8 update.

AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are also going to release Oreo update for Moto Z2 Force. AT&T and T-Mobile will also release Android 8.0 firmware to Moto Z.  Lastly, the unlocked versions Moo G5, Moto G5 Plus, Moto G5S and Moto GS5 Plus are also going to receive the software update.

(source 1, 2)

The post Android 8.0 Oreo Update for 12 Motorola Smartphones Confirmed appeared first on Gizmochina.

The Motorola Moto Z smartphone that was launched in 2016 can not only be customized by attaching various kinds of Moto Mods accessories, but also by adding interchangeable rear covers called Moto Style Shells. Now, Louie Chan HK, a Weibo user has revealed some of the upcoming Moto Style Shells. Unlike previous Moto Style Shells that were made of different materials like Oak and Leather, the newer ones seem to be focused on certain kind of design.

Read More: Leaked Moto X (2017) Hands-on Images Shows its Design from Different Angles

As it can be seen in the above image that was shared on Weibo, the design of the new Style Shells is focused on scenery. One of them shows the beauty of a skyscraper and another one shows an evening shot of a city and the other one displays a view of the sunset between two buildings.

Like the currently available Style Shells, the newer ones appear quite thin. Moto Z phones have a protruding rear camera module. Hence, adding a Moto Style Shell can help the phone to sport a flat rear.

There is no information on the material of these Moto Style Shells. However, they appear to be built from the same material and have a glossy appeal. There is a possibility that these Moto Style Shells could be made of plastic or metal. The different designs that can be seen may not be engraved on the cover but it could be overlaid by using some kind of material such as vinyl or silicon.

All the three Moto Style Shells have a circular cut-out for the round-shaped rear camera of Moto Z. It seems that it can be also used on the upcoming Moto Z2 flagship that also features a circular-shaped camera housing. Below the camera cut-out is the circular Moto batwing logo on each shell.

The existing Moto Style Shells are available for $20 each. There is a possibility that these new shells that sport elaborate designs which may be printed in a manner to last longer might come with a costlier pricing. It is likely that the new rear covers may launch and become available globally for purchase by this week.

The Moto Z2 and Moto Z2 Play leaked images and details have already surfaced. Since the predecessor models debuted in June last year, rumors have it that Lenovo will be unleashing the next-generation Moto Z phones in June 2017.

(source|via)

The post Moto Style Shells Spotted Ahead of Alleged Launch this Week appeared first on Gizmochina.

Most Moto Mods that we have had so far are the ones that have brought new features to Moto Z. A new Moto Mod called Edge Mod brings a new kind of notification light to the phone that lights up the entire edge of the phone and thereby accentuating the appeal of Moto Z.

The Edge Mod accessory that is equipped with multiple LED lights in a wide range of colors is built by a third-party firm, the Imagine Tech. The company has created a prototype of the Edge Mod

According to the company, it is “the world’s first RGB lighting system for Moto Z phones.” When notifications arrive, the Edge Mod can light up the sides of the Moto Z in various patterns such as flow, follow, wave and fill.

Related: Moto Z (2017) Rumors, Key Specs: Everything We Know So Far

The notification lights can be completely customized with different colors for calls, messages, emails, alarms, calendar events and more.  The Edge Mod will be made available in two variations.

The Edge Mod will be made available in two variations.

The first one is called Edge Force (measures 152.5 x 73.2 x 5.0 mm) that with a battery of 2,000 mAh capacity. It can be used to recharge the Moto Z. It can either charge the phone when it is snapped on to it or users can set a certain percentage and it will begin or stop charging from that mark.  It can alert the user when the phone needs to be charged.

The Edge Air is another variant that brings wireless charging to Moto Z. After snapping it on, the phone can be placed on a wireless charging bed. This Mod is thinner than the Edge Force as its dimensions are 152.5 x 73.2 x 3.5 mm.

There is an Edge Mod app available for Android users.  Through the app, users can choose a notification, pick a color and set the desired glowing pattern. Once done, the Edge Mod will start glowing with respective colors for different kinds of alerts.

The Edge Mod has a soft finish on its durable polycarbonate build that assists in gripping the phone and it is compatible with Moto Z, Moto Z Play, Moto Z Force and their Droid versions. It will be arriving in three colors, Midnight Black, Might Silver, and Crimson Red.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CwZZ3tRBic

Imagine Tech has stated that “the final product will have a custom electronics, with LEDs going all around the edges of the module and space for a larger battery / QI receiver, unlike the prototype.’ It is now available for crowdfunding on IndieGoGo is expected to be available public by July this year, a month after the probable release of Moto Z (2017) in June.

The goal of the crowdfunding campaign is $15,000.  As of today, the total amount of funds raise for Edge Mod is $30,577. The Edge Force and Edge Air Moto Mods are priced at $59 excluding shipping charges.

The post Edge Mod Illuminates Moto Z Edges for Enhanced Notifications Experience appeared first on Gizmochina.

Lenovo has officially taken the wraps off the Moto Z and the specs are not different from what we reported was spotted on Antutu.

The Moto Z Play is the mid-range variant of the Moto Z and Moto Z Force. That means it has lower specs than its siblings, right? Not entirely. The Moto Z Play trumps its siblings in its own ways.

Specifications of The Moto Z Play

It is fitted with the same 5.5” Super AMOLED display with gorilla glass but has a lower resolution at 1080p. There is 3GB of RAM, and 32GB/64GB of storage which can be expanded to 2TB if you do roll like that.

The camera on the Moto Z Play (16MP f/2.0) is higher than the Moto Z (13MP) but it lacks the latter’s optical image stabilisation. However there is still laser auto-focus and phase-detection auto-focus. The front facing camera is a 5MP wide-angle lens with its own flash.

A less power-hungry Snapdragon 625 clocked at 2.0GHz is under the hood. For the GPU, there is an Adreno 506 which isn’t bad.

The Moto Z Play has the same connector pins on the back which means you can slap on any of the existing moto mods and you are ready to go.

Lenovo has brought back the 3.5mm audio jack and also given the phone a water-repellent nano-coating. The fingerprint scanner is still up front on the chin as well as a front-ported loudspeaker. You also get NFC, so mobile payment is covered.

The most interesting feature of the Moto Z Play is the 3510mAh battery. Way bigger than that of the Moto Z (2600mAh) and just 10mAh more than that of the Z Force. The combination of a large battery, power efficient processor, and lower screen resolution means owners will get more on-screen time. As much as 50 hours as the company puts it. The battery supports Moto’s own TurboPower which will give you 9 hours of power for just 15 minutes of charging.

Other features include 4G LTE, Android 6.0.1, dual WiFi bands, single or dual nano-SIM  slots, USB type-C port, and Bluetooth 4.0 LE.

RELATED: Moto M Gets Certified by TENAA

The Moto Z will be available later this month for $449.99 globally. Select markets that get the dual-sim variant may shell out a few more bucks. It will sell for €499 in Europe and $408 ($17) in the US as the Moto Z Play Droid on Verizon. An unlocked version will also be available on Motorola.com and definitely Amazon.

(Via)

The post Moto Z Play Officially Launched: Gets Snapdragon 625, Audio Jack, and Moto Mods Support appeared first on Gizmochina.

It’s been just a few days after the Lenovo Moto Z Play passed through TENAA, revealing the specs and images of the device, and now the Moto Z has also been spotted on the Telecommunications authority TENAA’s website. Both smartphones are expected to be available this month and they both have been certified ahead of their foray into the market.

The Moto Z and Moto Z Play have featured in numerous leaks and renders, so their expected specs and what they both look like is not hidden. The TENAA listing just goes to confirm the rumored specs of the China version of both smartphones.

The Moto Z carried the model number XT1650-05 on TENAA and is shown to have a somewhat similar design style with the Moto Z Play, save for some few features which differentiate the Moto Z from the higher end Moto Z Play. The positioning of the front camera sensors is different on the two smartphones. Also, the 3.5mm audio jack is notably absent on the phone.

The TENAA listing reveals the Moto Z as featuring a processor clocked at 1.8GHz , likely to be the 2.15GHz Snapdragon 820 chipset with a lowered clock frequency. There is also a 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable storage on the flagship device. The device is also listed as packing a 2480mAh battery, a little lower than the 2600mAh earlier rumored. There is also a 5.5-inch 2K display, with an ultra thin and lightweight build. The entire device has a dimension of 75.3 × 155.3 × 5.2 mm and weighs just 138 g. In addition, the Moto Z is listed to have a 13MP camera at the back and a 5MP camera up front as well as having dual-SIM and full network support.

Read More: Lenovo announces September 6 launch date for Moto Z in China

The Moto Z is expected to be formally launched in China on September 6, and the China edition of both the Z and Z Play smartphones are expected to feature the One UI operating system.

The post Lenovo’s Moto Z with Octa-core 1.8GHz Chipset Passes through TENAA appeared first on Gizmochina.

We had reported earlier on that the Moto Z will likely pop in China sometime in September and that is about to happen. Lenovo has sent out invitations to a news conference billed for September 6 where the Chinese edition of the Moto Z will be officially released. This was officially announced today by Lenovo’s Mobile Business Group co-President, Chen Xudong on Weibo.

The potential release of the Moto Z in China is coming two months after the Moto Z and Z Force were released in the international market. The China version of the Moto Z, which may likely be launched alongside the Mot Z Force, is said to come pre-loaded with the One UI which is actually Lenovo’s Vibe UI 3.0 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. This interface will be exclusive to devices shipping to China so may not feature the Google Play Store but rather sport what appears to be a Chinese app store on the home screen.

The Moto Z is reputed to be the world’s thinnest flagship with a 5.2mm thickness. The Moto Z and Z Force both come with 5.5-inch AMOLED display with 2k resolution and powered by the Snapdragon 820 chipset. The both devices also feature 4GB RAM and two memory sizes of 32GB and 64GB respectively.

However, the Moto Z and Moto Z Force differ in the camera specs and battery capacity. While the Moto Z comes with a 13MP main camera and 8MP front-facing camera setup, the Z Force features a large 21MP main camera and 8MP camera up front. Both cameras are said to feature OIS and laser focus.

Read More: Leaked Image of Moto Z Camera Mod Shows It Will be Made By Hasselblad

The Moto Z Force will also feature a 3500mAh battery with Turbo fast charge which delivers up to 50% charge is just 15 minutes. The Moto Z on the other hand, comes with a 2600mAh battery. Both versions also come with the MotoMods magnetic technology inside but only the Z Force will feature a Shatter-Shield on top of its display to protect against screen damage.

As for the price of the flagship devices, the Moto Z is said to likely start at 2998 yuan ($448), whereas the Moto Z Force is rumored to carry a price tag of about 5288 yuan ($790).

The post Lenovo announces September 6 launch date for Moto Z in China appeared first on Gizmochina.

Lenovo launched the Moto Z and Moto Z Force in June and mentioned that a lower version, tagged the Moto Z Play is in the works.

A Google+ page by the name HelloMotoHK, which is known for leaking Motorola products has posted real images of the Moto Z Play. There is an image showing the phone running Lenovo’s One UI which is used for their products in China, hinting at a possible China launch.

The Moto X Play which is a lower version of the Moto X Style (Moto X Pure Edition) launched in India last year. Apart from the possible Asia launch they will have in common, the Moto Z Play is expected to have a larger battery than its siblings just like the X Play.

The design of the Moto Z Play doesn’t look much different from the other Moto Z phones, and we can see it also sports a connector and pins which means it should work with Moto Mods out of the box. Not looking different means it will retain the disadvantages such as the large camera hump and the fingerprint magnet.

RELATED: Moto Z Play Variant Spotted on Antutu

Two of the pictures also show the phone with the tag ”Vector” which was one of the code names used for one of the Motorola devices ahead of the Moto Z launch.

It is currently unknown when this phone will launch and if it will be available outside of China. While it does feature nice specs and cool features, the price will determine if folks will choose it over the Moto G4 Plus, considering that the Moto Mods are expensive as well.

The post Pictures of Lenovo Moto Z Play Surfaces appeared first on Gizmochina.

Lenovo-owned Motorola’s flagship Moto Z and Moto Z Force smartphones which were announced months back is now up for pre-orders in the US available exclusively to US mobile carrier Verizon Wireless. The device will remain for some time exclusive to Verizon after which a network unlocked version will be rolled out.

The latest news about Moto Z and Z Force is that the devices would roll out in China by early September. As earlier reported, the version that would be unveiled in China would come pre-loaded with the One UI which is actually Lenovo’s Vibe UI 3.0 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. This interface will be exclusive to devices shipping to China so it is no surprise that the UI doesn’t feature the Google Play Store but rather sports what appears to be a Chinese app store on the home screen.

There are also news about the price of the flagship devices with the Moto Z said to start at 2998 yuan ($448), whereas the Moto Z Force is rumored to carry a price tag of about 5288 yuan ($790).

The post Moto Z & Z Force said to land in China in September, starting at 2998 Yuan appeared first on Gizmochina.

Moto Z and Z Force smartphones have been announced by the company but they will only be released later this year. These two models will also go on sale in China, however, they could have one major difference. HelloMotoHK reveals that Moto Z devices sold domestically will come with Lenovo’s Vibe UI instead of the traditional near Android look. Luckily, it looks like the Vibe UI will only be installed in the phones sold in China, which means other international regions still get the Moto Z with its Moto Pure Android system. Given that HelloMotoHK has a pretty good record when it comes to Motorola smartphones, this could indeed turn out to be true.

Another reason why this is possible is because Chinese people love customized UI interface. This is why we see most Chinese manufacturers having a heavy UI on top of the Android version. But that isn’t the case with international customers since we have seen that many love the clean Android look. So, it could be a win-win situation for all users.

As for the pricing, Moto Z is expected to retail at 2998 Yuan ($456) in China. The Moto Z Force model should cost around 5299 Yuan ($806).

So what do you think about Lenovo’s move to install its own custom UI on Moto smartphone sold in China?

RELATED:

Moto Z Play With Snapdragon 625 Spotted, Could Be Priced At $306

The post Moto Z Sold In China Could Come With Lenovo’s Vibe UI appeared first on Gizmochina.

For the past few weeks, we have been consistently bombarded with leaks and rumors about Moto Z flagship. Now, the rebranded Moto Z family is official and it’s everything we expected it to be. There will be two models in the series, namely the Moto Z and the Moto Z Force. There are two major highlights of these devices. First of all, they don’t come with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. So, you have to use USB Type-C port for listening to music. Secondly, they come with a special 16 pin connector at the back for “MotoMods”. We’ll talk about them in detail soon, but before that let’s look at the specs of the two devices.

The company is calling the Moto Z, the thinnest flagship in the market right now. The phone features an all-metal body that measures just 5.19mm in thickness, which is really thin. But it doesn’t look like this thickness includes the protruding camera of the device. The company has also limited the weight of the device to just 136 grams. The stainless steel + aluminum body also gets nano waterproof coating so that the phone is protected from splashes.

As for the specs, the Moto Z comes with a 5.5-inch 2K display with the mighty Snapdragon 820 quad-core chipset under the hood. There will be 4GB of RAM inside with 32GB / 64GB storage options and MicroSD expansion up to 2TB! At the back, the Moto Z comes with a 13MP sensor with f/1.8 aperture, OIS and Laser Focus. There’s dual tone flash as well. Up front, you get a 5MP wide angle sensor with its own flash. Like the Moto G4 Plus, the phone comes with a front facing fingerprint sensor. Inside, you have a 2600mAh battery with Turbo Charge technology that gives you about 8 hours of battery life with 15 minutes of charging.

Next up, is the Moto Z Force. Looks wise, they both have the same design. But specs are upgraded than the Moto Z. The phone also features a slightly thicker 7mm metal body and weighs 163 grams. The screen up front remains the same as the Moto Z, i.e. 5.5-inch 2k resolution panel, but Motorola has added Moto Shattershield to ensure greater protection to the display.

As for the specs, the basic configuration remains the same. But the camera has been upgraded to 21MP and the battery capacity is also increased to 3500mAh which the company claims is good enough for 40 hours of battery life.

Now, coming to the main highlight of the conference, the Moto Z family gets the MotoMods accessories. These accessories can connect to the phone using the 16 pin connector at the back. These nifty add ons can be used to add new functionality to the device. For example, there are different MotoMods available like JBL Soundboost Music module, projector module, battery module and other ones in wood and leather finish. Unlike the LG G5, these are magnetic attachments which stick to the back. So, no need to take out the battery as in the case of the G5.

The Moto Z family will debut in US this summer. The company has also revealed that the devices will make it to UK, Europe and internationally in September. Unfortuantely, we have no information on the pricing of these handsets yet.

The post Moto Z, Moto Z Force & MotoMods Accessories Official appeared first on Gizmochina.