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Motorola One launches in the US on November 11th for $399
You'll soon be able to buy the Motorola One in the US. The phonemaker says it's bringing the Android One phone stateside "after a successful launch" in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe where it's sold for €299. In the US, the device will set you back $399 as an unlocked GSM device. It's already up on Best Buy's website for pre-sale and will be available in store starting on November 11th. Take note, though, that its black version is an online exclusive, while the white one will be sold in brick-and-mortar outlets.
Motorola and iFixit sell official DIY phone repair kits
Many tech companies frown on unofficial repairs, but not Motorola -- in the right circumstances, it'll encourage you to fix devices yourself. The Lenovo brand has become the first major phone maker to provide parts to iFixit, which now sells official Motorola repair kits. If you need to replace your Moto Z Play's cracked screen or install a fresh battery in your Droid Turbo 2, you'll have all the parts and tools you need to do it at home.
Here are all the new phones at IFA that you won't get in the US
I know what you're thinking: Why should you care about a bunch of phones you might never get to buy? Well, in addition to feeding your FOMO, it's also worth learning about technologies available elsewhere in the world. Things that first showed up abroad (think: all-screen phones) have a habit of showing up stateside after some time. There are already a few phones in other countries that offer advanced features like in-screen fingerprint readers that we're expecting to arrive in the US soon. Granted, the phones we saw at IFA weren't groundbreaking flagship devices, but it's still worth noting what we're missing out on. Fasten your seatbelts, close your tray tables and return your seats to the upright position and join me on this journey around the world.
A proper explanation of Google’s Android One program
I must admit I didn't know much about Android One before coming to IFA 2018. I had assumed it was some form of software or set of specifications for midrange phones, although a lot of people around me were also confusing it with Android Go. Android One is neither of those things. If you're here expecting an Android Go explainer, sorry. Best go live your life now. This is not the (An)droid you're looking for.
Motorola launches two notched Android One phones
Motorola has officially launched the One and the One Power, two new phones created for Google's Android One program. While that doesn't mean they're created specifically for emerging markets -- Android One initially focused on entry-level devices but evolved into a series of phones that gets updates from Google quickly and consistently -- they're not quite flagship material either. Inside One Power, you'll find last year's Snapdragon 636 1.8GHz octa-core processor and 64GB of built-in storage, which is thankfully expandable and double that of LG's recently unveiled G7 One. The device also has a 6.2-inch full HD display and, like previous leaks showed, an iPhone X-like notch and a vertical dual rear camera to go with battery life that can last up to two days.
Moto Z3 review: When novel ideas get old
2016's Moto Z and Z Force proved that a company could make sophisticated, truly modular smartphones. Need better battery life? Slap a new one onto the Z's back. Not loving the built-in camera? Go ahead and add one made by Hasselblad. The list goes on. Motorola's system of magnetically attached Mods was -- and remains -- an elegant way to make a phone better than it was out of the box.
Motorola isn't giving up on its smartphone Mods just yet
Not long before the second-generation Moto Z flagship was released, Motorola made a clear promise: its Moto Mod accessories would absolutely work for three generations of devices. With the Z3 Play and Z3 officially out there now, that's three generations accounted for -- the company made good on its word. As a result, some -- myself included -- sort of assumed that Moto would give up on its Mods entirely once that obligation had been met.
Motorola's new Moto Z3 is a Verizon exclusive with 5G ambitions
We're not sure that Moto's Mods were the game-changers they were intended to be, but that hasn't stopped Motorola from making one more modular smartphone. The Lenovo subsidiary just unveiled the new Moto Z3 at its Chicago headquarters, and there are a few things worth noting right off the bat.
Motorola's smartphone Mods weren't the game-changers we hoped for
Two years ago, Lenovo-owned Motorola embarked on a grand plan to build modular smartphones that weren't cumbersome. It worked. Moto Mods are accessories that magnetically attach to the company's Moto Z smartphones, and they let people easily expand their phones' feature sets. And later this week, we're expecting Motorola to unveil what might be its most ambitious Mod yet: a 5G modem for high-speed data. (Never mind the fact that, as of this writing, there are no commercially accessible 5G networks in the US.) The brand's execs first started talking about the possibility of a 5G mod in late 2016, and the idea of adding next-generation wireless performance to an existing smartphone is as enticing as ever.
Motorola could launch its notchy flagship in two sizes
Motorola is planning to release not one but two smartphones under the Motorola One banner, Android Headlines reports. The Motorola One Power was leaked earlier this month, and according to new images and details provided by the site's sources, the similarly titled Motorola One is another phone you can expect to see very soon.
Amazon adds Moto G6 Play and Z3 Play to Prime Exclusive phone lineup
Amazon already has quite a few Motorola phones in its Prime Exclusive roster, and now it's adding two more to its lineup. The e-commerce giant now offers the Moto G6 Play and Z3 Play as unlocked, Alexa-enabled devices that you can use with Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint lines. You can summon Alexa on both phones by double pressing the power button when they're unlocked or, if you set it as the default assist app instead of Google Assistant, by a long press on the home button. For a limited time, you can also get a free Moto Smart speaker with a Z3 Play, so you can access the voice assistant hands free.
The Moto Z3 Play packs a bigger, better screen and full Mod support
It wasn't that long ago that Motorola revealed its new G-series phones, and it's already giving us yet another option to consider. This time, we're looking at the Moto Z3 Play — it's the follow-up to one of the brand's most beloved smartphones, and as you might've guessed from the name, it's fully compatible with all of Motorola's magnetic Mod accessories.
Leaked Motorola One Power may borrow heavily from the iPhone X
Remember how an earlier leak suggested Motorola would join the hordes of companies making phones with notches? That dream is still alive, apparently. Android Headlines and 91mobiles claim to have details of the One Power, an Android One-based device that would borrow more than a few pages from the iPhone X book. It would not only have a notched display with curved corners, but an iPhone-style vertical dual rear camera arrangement with the flash in between the two sensors. About the only major differences are the construction (no mix of steel and glass here) and a small chin with a prominent "Motorola" logo.
The Moto E5 Plus is Motorola's biggest budget phone yet
Ever since their debut in 2014, Motorola's Moto E series phones have garnered a very specific reputation: they're decently competent and very, very cheap. With the new Moto E5 Plus, though, Motorola has decided to fiddle with the formula in some interesting ways. It's easily the most premium Moto E the company has ever made, a fact made more apparent when you compare the E5 Plus to its less powerful sibling, the new Moto E5 Play. In some respects, The E5 Plus even outclasses the more modest of the two new Moto Gs announced today. It's clear that the role of the Moto E line is shifting, but after some hands-on time, I think Motorola might be onto something here.
Motorola aims to keep the cheap phone crown with the G6 and G6 Play
Year after year, Motorola churns out some of the best inexpensive Android phones money can buy and parent company Lenovo is eager to keep that streak alive. That's where the new Moto G6 and G6 Play come in — Motorola has embraced some of the trends that have made this year's premium phones so palatable, and that's great news for smartphone shoppers who don't feel like shelling out flagship-level wads of cash.
Researchers say some Android phone makers hide missed updates
A number of Android phones have a tendency to skip the occasional security patch while making it appear that the device is fully up to date, Wired reports. Researchers with Security Research Labs (SRL) looked into 1,200 phones from manufacturers like Google, Samsung, Sony, Nokia, Huawei, Motorola, LG, HTC, ZTE and TCL and found that there's often a gap between what the phones say have been updated and what patches have actually been installed. "It's small for some devices and pretty significant for others," SRL founder Karsten Nohl told Wired.
Despite layoffs, Motorola says Moto Z line is alive and well
There were rumors this week of a 50 percent reduction in Motorola's Chicago workforce and that the Moto Z line was finished. Given that we're still hearing about upcoming products for Moto Z phones like a VR headset Moto Mod, the news is confusing at the least. We reached out to parent company Lenovo, and a spokesperson confirmed that while there have been some layoffs, both rumors are incorrect.
Motorola's low-cost E5 Plus may pack a big screen in a sleeker body
Motorola might not reserve large updates for its higher-end smartphone models this year. Leaker Evan Blass has posted an image of what should be the Moto E5 Plus, the bigger-screened device in the brand's expected low-cost phone lineup, and it's clearly not just a speed bump for the E4. For one, there's a different camera array -- there's just one camera (despite the two cutouts), but this definitely isn't a rehash of 2017. The picture also suggests a much sleeker-looking body that tucks the fingerprint reader at the back in return for smaller bezels (albeit large enough for a prominent "Motorola" at the bottom).
Motorola's 2018 lineup may include an iPhone X lookalike
Someone might have just spoiled Motorola's 2018 in a big way. Droid Life has posted a trio of leaks which, if accurate, hint at some big changes to the Lenovo brand's smartphone lineup. The headliner would be the Moto X5, and it's not hard to see why: the device reportedly includes a 5.9-inch, 18:9 aspect ratio display with an iPhone X-style notch. There's no visible fingerprint reader, for that matter, so the X5 is either relying on face detection (the dual front cameras could help with this) or has a fingerprint reader tucked under the screen.
The Moto Z's keyboard mod feels like an imperfect blast from the past
Motorola's first great Android phone had a physical keyboard, and when I stuck Livermorium's keyboard Moto Mod onto a Moto Z2 Play, waves of nostalgia started washing over me. After I started using the keyboard, though, I suddenly remembered why the smartphone world had moved on from these designs. You'll be able to pick up one of these Mods for $99 before the winter ends, but it's going to be a hard sell for anyone who didn't grow up pounding out texts on actual buttons.