Motorola unveiled which of its devices will get the next major version of Android (Marshmallow). The upgrade includes all the major new features in Android 6.0, as well as some that are replicating older Motorola features, making those unnecessary.
All of the 11 smartphones that will receive the Android Marshmallow update seem to be from 2014 or earlier:
2015 Moto X Pure Edition (3rd gen)2015 Moto X Style (3rd gen)2015 Moto X Play2015 Moto G (3rd gen)2014 Moto X Pure Edition in the U.S. (2nd gen)2014 Moto X in Latin America, Europe and Asia2 (2nd gen)2014 Moto G and Moto G with 4G LTE2 (2nd gen)DROID Turbo2014 Moto MAXX2014 Moto TurboNexus 6
The owners of the above phones will be happy to receive all of the following Android Mashmallow features:
Doze Mode
This new feature puts the phone in deep sleep when it's not being used, which ends up significantly increasing the standby battery life, as well as the overall battery life by about 30 percent, according to Google's David Burke at Google's recent keynote.
Android Pay
Android Pay allows users to make store purchases with a single tap, without having to open an extra app. Android M also brought native fingerprint authentication, but none of these phones have fingerprint sensors, so the feature will use a PIN, passphrase or pattern for authentication instead (the same authentication necessary for unlocking the phone).
Direct Share
The new version of Android allows users to share photos, news, links and so on more easily with favorite contacts.
Simpler Volume Controls
Android volume controls have been hit and miss over the years, and Android 6.0 takes another shot at making the volume controls easier to use.
Now On Tap
The Now on Tap feature is an extension of Google Now, which instead of using only data Google already has on its servers through the different services Android phone owners use (such as Gmail, Maps, Google search, etc.), it can also see the information coming from other active applications, and make recommendations based on those.
Deprecating Motorola Features
Android 6.0 brings many other features, and some of them, such as a Do Not Disturb setting, Motorola Migrate, as well as Moto Assist, have been replicated by native Marshmallow features, making them redundant. The Google Chrome extension found in Motorola connect will also be retired, as multiple third-party applications found in the Play Store can now replace this functionality.
Motorola hasn't given an exact timeline for when these phones will receive updates, but it promised it will unveil more details about release details in the coming weeks.
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