14 DAY TRIAL // Motorola has been kind to its second-generation Moto X flagship, delivering the latest software updates at a timely pace. But regarding the first-gen Moto X, Motorola hasn't been so quick.
The device maker announced last month that the older phone would be updated directly to Android 5.1 Lollipop, thus skipping the Android 5.0 version altogether.
Users have been anticipating the rollout for a long time, and this week, Motorola’s Senior Director of Software Product Management David Schuster has confirmed in a Goolge+ post that the company has initiated a soak test for Android 5.1 for the Moto X (2013) in US and Latin America.
The company’s official also says that it took so long to begin the rollout due to the lack of support from some of Motorola’s partners. On top of that, the company had to deal with some hardware issues too, since the first-gen Moto X uses an outdated dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor.
Hopefully, the update is not far from us
If everything goes smoothly with the soak test, the final update will be pushed to the masses in the upcoming weeks.
The company hasn't provided a detailed timeline, so we can’t tell you exactly when you should expect the update to hit your device.
Last month, Motorola talked about the improvements Android 5.1 Lollipop would bring over Android 5.0.
With Android 5.1 Lollipop on board, the first-gen Moto X will add support for multiple SIM cards, Device Protection and HD voice on compatible devices.
What’s more, other changes include easy handling of Wi-Fi toggles, Bluetooth from Quick Settings, fixes for random app crashes, improved security in case the user has alienated the handset or lost it, improved heads-up notifications that let users swipe up to collapse, plus a new and all-important “No interruption until next alarm” option in Priority mode.
On top of that, the Android 5.1 update might bring the new Chop Twice feature to the table too, just like in the case of the newer Moto X (2014).
This allows users to shake the phone twice in order to activate the flashlight. Motorola hasn't confirmed this part yet, though, so take it with a grain of salt.