If there is one particular pet peeve about Android-powered smartphones that I have, it would be the lack of timely operating system updates on the device. Quite unlike Apple’s modus operandi that ensures the latest version of iOS would be released across the board so soon after an official announcement, Google’s Android takes on a very different picture. In fact, depending on the smartphone manufacturer and mobile carrier involved, the latest version of Android might take a very long time in appearing, or not at all.
This is why there are “pure” Android devices from Google that are known as the Nexus range (although they could be called the Pixel in the future), developed by various hardware manufacturers in the past such as HTC, Huawei and LG. These tend to pick up the latest Android update compared to the other models, and they do not come with the bulk of bloatware, too.
Motorola has the distinction of being one of the first smartphone makers to seed the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update to its myriad of smartphones in 2015, so it would not be too much for Motorola fans to look forward to a rollout of Android 7.0 Nougat. In fact, that could very well be the case.
With Google having introduced the Android 7.0 Nougat update to its “pure” Android devices such as the Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C and Android One, the ball is now in the other smartphone manufacturer’s court to seed the firmware, although it does not look like anyone else has done so to date. Lenovo look as though they are going to buck the trend with their Motorola devices though.
There has been no announcement from Motorola concerning the Android 7.0 Nougat update schedule yet where its smartphones are concerned. However, it does feel as if the OS rollout will happen sooner rather than later. Google might offer the firmware source code to Motorola either in September or October. When that happens, it is just a matter of a few weeks before the Android 7.0 Nougat for various Motorola devices will be unveiled.
If Android 7.0 Nougat arrives, it should make its way to the Moto Z, Moto X, Moto G, and Moto E, no questions asked. The thing is, the Moto X (2nd Gen) will not be on the receiving end of Android 7.0 Nougat since its processor will not be compatible with Google's new OS. The same applies for all other Android devices with incompatible processors.
The Moto Z series such as the Moto Z Force, Moto Z, Moto Z Droid, and Moto Z Force Droid will be part of the Nougat bandwagon, as with the Moto X series and its Moto X Force, Moto X Play and Moto X Style devices. The Moto G (3rd gen), Moto G4, G4 Plus and G4 Play too, should be able to taste some Nougat goodness along the way.
Looks like Moto X (2nd Gen) users will miss out on features such as multi-window, direct reply notifications, additional power efficiency, Google Assistant, VR interface, seamless updates, Screen Zoom, Clear All, Data saver, Improved file browser, Instant Apps, App switch, bundled notifications, improved Java 8 language support, and new emojis.
