Once the update is made, it barely matters at all what region they release it to, so this makes zero sense - unless there's carrier pressure, which seems unlikely in this case. Either way, since the first news of lack of 6.0, I was done with Motorola. If they release 6.0 I'll update my Moto E LTE, otherwise I'll go with the Cyanogenmod 12.1 that should have a stable 5.1.1 release soon (see here https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=surnia&am... Whatever happens, my next phone in 2016 will be a Nexus. I'm done playing OEM bullsh*t.
Same here. A year ago when I bought an M8, one of the biggest driving factors in not getting a Nexus directly from Google was that I'd be paying the ~$400 worth of device subsidy to my carrier built into their monthly pricing over the next two years while still paying full price on my phone. That was more of a premium than I was willing to pay. Now, while I suspect that switching from my current plan and a new subsidized phone to VZWs new plan and BYOD will probably be marginally more expensive; the difference will be much smaller.
PS Replying to "That Commenter" in advance: However well they work for you, I live too far from a major city for TMobile or Sprint's coverage to be acceptable.
I've been using my last two Nexus devices (5 and now a 6) on Cricket Wireless and it has been pretty great. With the Autopay discount I was paying $35 a month for a 2.5gb LTE plan with unlimited calls/texts in the USA using AT&T towers. After discount it's $45 for 5gb and $55 for 10gb currently I believe. The LTE speeds are capped, but I have no trouble using Youtube/Netflix on my device.
It is owned by AT&T and is designed around low cost phones paid in full or BYOD.
FYI, BYOD on a "Verizon" plan gets you the $20 line access same as if you did a device payment or full retail through Verizon. You only pay the full $40 line access if you get the phone through the 2-year contract discount, which you would have to do before moving to the Verizon plan, as once you're on it, you can only get new phones on device payment or full retail.
I just retired my two year old Droid Maxx. It really was a great phone but update wise, it went from 4.4.2 when I got it to 4.4.4...and that was it. It's been on the list to get 5.x for a long time but I have to believe that will never happen. Guess the lesson learned is that you have to be happy with what comes on the phone when you get it. Don't expect any future update to fix it or make it better than it started. what you see is what you get.
Both of the Nexus devices this year are pretty good. I'm hoping Google makes a "Premium" version of the Nexus 5 next year. The 6P is very nice, but I'd rather have a smaller phone.
It's their most budget phone. I have a Moto g first gen that launched with 4.3 an got all the way up to 5.1.1 before finally no longer getting updates. That's a slightly longer upgrade period than nexus guarantees. The Moto E is very much the exception to Motorola's excellent upgrade track record and it should surprise no one that it's a 100 dollar phone that's the exception. Nexus only recently came with a 2 year update guarantee.
You're right, it's not really surprising. It's the same throughout the industry.
Even so, the upgrading and updating of the Nexus is looking more and more like something that's worth the money. Even with Motorola's industry leading(*snicker*) two year OS upgrade policy, you're still missing monthly security updates that Nexus devices receive. With how much data is on phones these days, that's worth more then a few bucks at device purchase time. No one wants to get bit by the next unpatched heartbleed or stagefright. Throw in the unlocked bootloader on the Nexus and why would you ever fight with another OEM?
Maybe I'm just expecting more now that the smartphone market has matured?
This is great news for picking up a cheap API level 23 device to use as an alternative to a dedicated GPS device (because for the same price, any dedicated GPS is going to be both much slower in terms of UI, and likely have a much poorer TN display). Going for something with Marhsmallow rather than Lollipop means even without further updates (it'll never have an account signed in so security is of minimal concern) updates to mapping apps will be available for the longest time possible. The other front-runner was the Xperia Z3 which has AOSP 6.0 support, but requires you compile Android yourself to produce a flashable image.
A few points here: - What you describe as one LTE versions are actually 6 different variants: XT1514, XT1521, XT1523, XT1524, XT1526, XT1527 - The 5.0 stink is not quite fair because it was one of the first devices to ship with that version while everyone else with the exception of Google was (best case) shipping 4.x - Motorola (unlike others) officially supports unlocking of the bootloader so custom ROMs can be installed easily - There're plenty of custom ROMs available including official builds of the outstanding CyanogenMod with OTA updates so who gives a crap about what Motorola is officially going to support?
The Moto E is for me definitely one of the best Android smartphones on the market. The only improvements I'd like to see are NFC, 802.11ac, higher screen resolution, OLED and gorilla glass in the exact same form factor; then it would be perfect. The Motorola phones are nice feature wise but too big for my taste...
@Daniel I agree with you on all the points except the third one. Motorola doesn't support unlocking of the bootloader. When you will go to its website for retrieving the key to unlock the bootloader, you will see the warning message clearly mentioning that the moment you will get the key in your mailbox, your warranty will be voided. Motorola treats your warranty as voided even if you only have the key and have not unlocked the bootloader. So, it is not an official support.
The void warranty is US-only AFAIR, it's definitely not valid in Europe. Anywhoo, they offer an unlock key while many other companies definitely do not which is a lot worse.
If you want to play safe and care about the warranty: Keep your device locked and on Motorola software as long the warranty lasts and unlock it only after.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1... has some legal background of why a vendor cannot simply declare the warranty void but have to prove that a defect was caused by the unlocking of the device. Of course the usual the customer has to prove that the defect was not caused by the customer after 6 months still applies...
As usual when talking about this stuff, there is the issue of warrant vs. warranty. In the EU, there is the legally mandated warranty stuff. Which means 24 months of coverage after purchase. But that applies only to the vendor. If a device breaks in that period, you can issue a claim and get it repaired or get a new one. But that only happens within the first 6 months after purchase, because after that the burden of proof shifts from the vendor to the buyer. And then there is the manufacturer warranty, which is a voluntary service provided with large restrictions. If the manufacturer states that their warranty is void after unlocking the bootloader and they can proof that the bootloader was unlocked (by idiocy of the user or having a hardware switch inside the phone) they can deny you coverage. Now, that will not necessarily effect your lega status vs. your vendor, but that is another kind of warranty.
Isn't it out of warranty already? Most manufacturers provide a one year warranty, which presumably most purchasers of this phone will have had it for before they decide they want to go down the CM13 or similar route.
I have a verizon moto e, and verizon does NOT allow bootloader unlocking. So there is no way for me to flash cyanogenmod-- an official update is the only way to go to android 6.0 on my device, ever.
Now I got it for $10 on a lark on black friday, so I'm not all broken-up about it. It was a heck of a deal. But I would definitely like to be on marshmallow.
I bought the moto e lte version last month for $10 as my very first android device. I'm honestly very surprised at the amount of value this thing has. Very smooth OS and gives me a chance to experience a different system. Did the same with the lumia 640 lte that I snagged for $10 as well. Sometimes I marvel how far along we've gotten with technology where I'm holding two computing devices that can do so many things in the palm of your hand and barely cost anything.
Got them both from Best Buy, they had a great black friday sale. The lumia model was $30, I happened to have a $20 coupon. Love both the phones though to be honest I'm in love with the lumia and can't put it down.
Right the Moto E is locked to verizon but there are ways to make it work on Tmobile but I believe the boot loader is locked and there's no way to root it. Which is unfortunate as I wanted to try out CM 12 on it.
Although the Lumia is an AT&T gophone, I requested an unlock code and got it in a matter of hours and am now using it on T-mobile with an upgraded windows 10 mobile.
Ditching Moto E as fast as I can. Definitely not a reliable phone (resets itself to factory settings, volume is inconsistent). So disappointed because I've had Motos in the past.
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euskalzabe - Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - link
Once the update is made, it barely matters at all what region they release it to, so this makes zero sense - unless there's carrier pressure, which seems unlikely in this case. Either way, since the first news of lack of 6.0, I was done with Motorola. If they release 6.0 I'll update my Moto E LTE, otherwise I'll go with the Cyanogenmod 12.1 that should have a stable 5.1.1 release soon (see here https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=surnia&am... Whatever happens, my next phone in 2016 will be a Nexus. I'm done playing OEM bullsh*t.Mr Perfect - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
I hear you, next one for me is going to be a Nexus as well. I'm tired of playing these games.DanNeely - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Same here. A year ago when I bought an M8, one of the biggest driving factors in not getting a Nexus directly from Google was that I'd be paying the ~$400 worth of device subsidy to my carrier built into their monthly pricing over the next two years while still paying full price on my phone. That was more of a premium than I was willing to pay. Now, while I suspect that switching from my current plan and a new subsidized phone to VZWs new plan and BYOD will probably be marginally more expensive; the difference will be much smaller.PS Replying to "That Commenter" in advance: However well they work for you, I live too far from a major city for TMobile or Sprint's coverage to be acceptable.
tarqsharq - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
I've been using my last two Nexus devices (5 and now a 6) on Cricket Wireless and it has been pretty great. With the Autopay discount I was paying $35 a month for a 2.5gb LTE plan with unlimited calls/texts in the USA using AT&T towers. After discount it's $45 for 5gb and $55 for 10gb currently I believe. The LTE speeds are capped, but I have no trouble using Youtube/Netflix on my device.It is owned by AT&T and is designed around low cost phones paid in full or BYOD.
Ashinjuka - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
FYI, BYOD on a "Verizon" plan gets you the $20 line access same as if you did a device payment or full retail through Verizon. You only pay the full $40 line access if you get the phone through the 2-year contract discount, which you would have to do before moving to the Verizon plan, as once you're on it, you can only get new phones on device payment or full retail.Ratman6161 - Monday, December 14, 2015 - link
I just retired my two year old Droid Maxx. It really was a great phone but update wise, it went from 4.4.2 when I got it to 4.4.4...and that was it. It's been on the list to get 5.x for a long time but I have to believe that will never happen. Guess the lesson learned is that you have to be happy with what comes on the phone when you get it. Don't expect any future update to fix it or make it better than it started. what you see is what you get.Shadow7037932 - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Both of the Nexus devices this year are pretty good. I'm hoping Google makes a "Premium" version of the Nexus 5 next year. The 6P is very nice, but I'd rather have a smaller phone.Gogogoran - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
It's their most budget phone. I have a Moto g first gen that launched with 4.3 an got all the way up to 5.1.1 before finally no longer getting updates. That's a slightly longer upgrade period than nexus guarantees. The Moto E is very much the exception to Motorola's excellent upgrade track record and it should surprise no one that it's a 100 dollar phone that's the exception. Nexus only recently came with a 2 year update guarantee.Mr Perfect - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
You're right, it's not really surprising. It's the same throughout the industry.Even so, the upgrading and updating of the Nexus is looking more and more like something that's worth the money. Even with Motorola's industry leading(*snicker*) two year OS upgrade policy, you're still missing monthly security updates that Nexus devices receive. With how much data is on phones these days, that's worth more then a few bucks at device purchase time. No one wants to get bit by the next unpatched heartbleed or stagefright. Throw in the unlocked bootloader on the Nexus and why would you ever fight with another OEM?
Maybe I'm just expecting more now that the smartphone market has matured?
edzieba - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
This is great news for picking up a cheap API level 23 device to use as an alternative to a dedicated GPS device (because for the same price, any dedicated GPS is going to be both much slower in terms of UI, and likely have a much poorer TN display). Going for something with Marhsmallow rather than Lollipop means even without further updates (it'll never have an account signed in so security is of minimal concern) updates to mapping apps will be available for the longest time possible. The other front-runner was the Xperia Z3 which has AOSP 6.0 support, but requires you compile Android yourself to produce a flashable image.Daniel Egger - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
A few points here:- What you describe as one LTE versions are actually 6 different variants: XT1514, XT1521, XT1523, XT1524, XT1526, XT1527
- The 5.0 stink is not quite fair because it was one of the first devices to ship with that version while everyone else with the exception of Google was (best case) shipping 4.x
- Motorola (unlike others) officially supports unlocking of the bootloader so custom ROMs can be installed easily
- There're plenty of custom ROMs available including official builds of the outstanding CyanogenMod with OTA updates so who gives a crap about what Motorola is officially going to support?
The Moto E is for me definitely one of the best Android smartphones on the market. The only improvements I'd like to see are NFC, 802.11ac, higher screen resolution, OLED and gorilla glass in the exact same form factor; then it would be perfect. The Motorola phones are nice feature wise but too big for my taste...
ajitsingh - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
@Daniel I agree with you on all the points except the third one. Motorola doesn't support unlocking of the bootloader. When you will go to its website for retrieving the key to unlock the bootloader, you will see the warning message clearly mentioning that the moment you will get the key in your mailbox, your warranty will be voided.Motorola treats your warranty as voided even if you only have the key and have not unlocked the bootloader. So, it is not an official support.
Daniel Egger - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
The void warranty is US-only AFAIR, it's definitely not valid in Europe. Anywhoo, they offer an unlock key while many other companies definitely do not which is a lot worse.If you want to play safe and care about the warranty: Keep your device locked and on Motorola software as long the warranty lasts and unlock it only after.
Olaf van der Spek - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
AFAIK the same issues are present in the Netherlands / Europe.Daniel Egger - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1... has some legal background of why a vendor cannot simply declare the warranty void but have to prove that a defect was caused by the unlocking of the device. Of course the usual the customer has to prove that the defect was not caused by the customer after 6 months still applies...Death666Angel - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
As usual when talking about this stuff, there is the issue of warrant vs. warranty. In the EU, there is the legally mandated warranty stuff. Which means 24 months of coverage after purchase. But that applies only to the vendor. If a device breaks in that period, you can issue a claim and get it repaired or get a new one. But that only happens within the first 6 months after purchase, because after that the burden of proof shifts from the vendor to the buyer. And then there is the manufacturer warranty, which is a voluntary service provided with large restrictions. If the manufacturer states that their warranty is void after unlocking the bootloader and they can proof that the bootloader was unlocked (by idiocy of the user or having a hardware switch inside the phone) they can deny you coverage. Now, that will not necessarily effect your lega status vs. your vendor, but that is another kind of warranty.PrinceGaz - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Isn't it out of warranty already? Most manufacturers provide a one year warranty, which presumably most purchasers of this phone will have had it for before they decide they want to go down the CM13 or similar route.schizoide - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
I have a verizon moto e, and verizon does NOT allow bootloader unlocking. So there is no way for me to flash cyanogenmod-- an official update is the only way to go to android 6.0 on my device, ever.Now I got it for $10 on a lark on black friday, so I'm not all broken-up about it. It was a heck of a deal. But I would definitely like to be on marshmallow.
SniperWulf - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Unless you have the verizon variant. Then you're SOL.faizoff - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
I bought the moto e lte version last month for $10 as my very first android device. I'm honestly very surprised at the amount of value this thing has. Very smooth OS and gives me a chance to experience a different system. Did the same with the lumia 640 lte that I snagged for $10 as well. Sometimes I marvel how far along we've gotten with technology where I'm holding two computing devices that can do so many things in the palm of your hand and barely cost anything.Olaf van der Spek - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Damn, where do you find it for that little? It's at least 99 euro in Europe.faizoff - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Got them both from Best Buy, they had a great black friday sale. The lumia model was $30, I happened to have a $20 coupon. Love both the phones though to be honest I'm in love with the lumia and can't put it down.DanNeely - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Those prices are probably for carrier locked models too I suspect.faizoff - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Right the Moto E is locked to verizon but there are ways to make it work on Tmobile but I believe the boot loader is locked and there's no way to root it. Which is unfortunate as I wanted to try out CM 12 on it.faizoff - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Although the Lumia is an AT&T gophone, I requested an unlock code and got it in a matter of hours and am now using it on T-mobile with an upgraded windows 10 mobile.Daniel Egger - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
You're aware that there's a difference between a SIMlock and a locked bootloader?faizoff - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Yes I do, I guess I didn't mean to make it sound all the same. Was just rambling on.Marilynn - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
Ditching Moto E as fast as I can. Definitely not a reliable phone (resets itself to factory settings, volume is inconsistent). So disappointed because I've had Motos in the past.patel21 - Friday, December 11, 2015 - link
They would update Moto E, but not my MOTO X 2014 :-(