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Motorola Confirms Imminent Vanilla Android 6.0 Marshmallow Updates For Moto X, Moto G (2014 & 2015 Versions), Nexus 6, DROID Turbo & Moto MAXX

| Oct 02, 2015 09:22 PM EDT

Different colored examples of Motorola's Moto X phones rest on a table.

Motorola has confirmed that the Moto X 2015 and the Moto G 2015, including their 2014 versions will soon upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The Moto maker also announced that the DROID Turbo, Moto MAXX and Nexus 6 will jump from Lollipop to Marshmallow real soon. 

But the best part of the news, shared by Motorola through an official blog post, is the assurance that the upcoming upgrade will be purer than ever - meaning a number of Motorola apps that were previously preloaded will not be part of Android 6 on Moto handsets.

"We believe your phone should look and behave like you want it to. That means our approach to software is less is more," the company said.

Once Marshmallow is received by specific Motorola handsets, users will notice that that the Moto Enhancement suites - Moto Assist, Motorola Migrate and the Motorola Connect Chrome extension - will no longer be part of the package.

"These products were valuable in their time but the world has moved on and they no longer add enough value to justify taking up space in your device," Motorola explained.

Highlighted in the firmware bump is the banner features Google cooked up for its latest Android sweet such as:

-          Doze - a new power management app designed to prolong battery life.

-          Now on Tap - quick access to the Google Now digital assistant by long-pressing the home key.

-          Android Pay - Google's new online and wireless payment facility to compete against Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Motorola also provided an initial list of handsets that will chew in Android Marshmallow soon but the company made clear that it remains subject for revision:

  • 2015 Moto X Pure Edition (3rd gen)
  • 2015 Moto X Style (3rd gen)
  • 2015 Moto X Play
  • 2015 Moto G (3rd gen)
  • 2014 Moto X Pure Edition in the US (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 Turbo
  • 2014 Moto MAXX
  • 2014 Moto Turbo
  • Nexus 6

As to when the actual Android 6.0 Marshmallow release date for the devices will happen, Motorola has indicated that the plan is to deliver the software upgrade as the soonest possible time.

"We'll work fast but we won't push the upgrades out until we know they're ready. Look for more news on timing in the coming weeks," the Moto maker said.

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