Motorola certainly didn’t win fans with their first announcement of Marshmallow for only a very limited set of devices, notably excluding the just released Moto E Gen 2. Motorola has further advised that Marshmallow is now arriving on the Moto X Gen 2 in Australia right now.
The list of devices which Motorola has advised will be receiving the Marshmallow update was quietly updated last week to include the Moto E Gen 2 in the Latin America, Canada, Europe and Asian markets and Motorola Australia has advised that this update will hit Australian models beginning in Q1 2016.
Also of note is that the Moto X Gen 2, which sold outright in Australia is also receiving its Marshmallow update right now. The update is being made available as a staggered update so may take a few days or more to arrive.
Motorola has previously listed the improvements in their almost stock-Android update for Marshmallow, advising they were removing two features: Moto Assist and Moto Connect due to similarities to features in Android 6.0. Other features you can expect in Android 6.0 include:
- Doze Mode – This new feature monitors your phone and puts it into a deep sleep when it’s not being used, which can extend battery life substantially.
- Now on Tap – We love Google Now, and it’s improved in Android M. Simply long press the home button to bring up the Google Now feature and display information based on whatever you’re doing at the time.
- Android Pay – Android M allows you to bring up Android Pay with a simple tap and easily make purchases without having to open a separate app.
- Direct Share – Share your photos, news, links, etc. with your favourite contacts easily and quickly.
- Simpler volume controls – A more intuitive way to control ringtone and media volume.
We’ll be following up with Motorola in the New Year to see whether we can expect any more good news regarding older Motorola handsets but for now, this will have to do.
Have you received Marshmallow on your Moto X Gen 2?
So is X 2014 getting Marshmallow before the X Play? or will X Play updates begin now as well? Seems odd 2014 X would get it before the Play
The X 2014 is getting it first. However, xda has the soak test Marshmallow updates for India, Canada and Brazil for the Play. The downside is you have to wipe your phone and install those regions’ Lollipop version before you can install the update. My Play is rooted, so I installed a TWRP backup of the Indian firmware which someone uploaded.
There’s really nothing exciting about it, apart from a few things being removed. I just wish CyanogenMod for the Play was more stable.
I was going to say the same where is my X Play update. I would have hoped it would be already on my phone by now. I hope they can get double chop for the flashlight to work. It would be good if they would work out how to get cardboard to work properly too but I fear that it is due to it missing a gyro or something.
And yet Australian/Asian Moto X Style still doesn’t have Marshmallow (even though every other subvariant has it). Moto please stop torturing me…
It was nice to wake up to an update notification this morning for my X. Very snappy and looks like Doze is working quite well.
Is it only certain models of the X that will get the 6.0 update? I was thinking of buying one off eBay, but want to make sure it will get the update before I buy.
Mine is an Australian 2nd Gen. Can’t vouch for if other models will get the update.
The update popped up on my handset this afternoon.
I’m glad I waited until I got home – 884.9MB!