Motorola is continuing its streak of updating its smartphones to the latest version of Android. It has just begun the soak test for the Android 5.1 Lollipop update in India for the Moto E (first gen) which happens to have taken place ahead of any other country in the world. The update has a size of 209.5MB and has already rolled out to more than 30 people as a test run. The soak test usually happens a fortnight before the launch so as to check for any discrepancies. So Motorola may just launch the final version soon.
The update brings in a host of changes with it. Starting off with the list of changes, the Material Design further gets improved with new colours and animations. The notifications menu gets revamped comprehensively and you will now get notifications based upon their priority.
You can now customize as to what all pops up on your screen while undertaking a task. These interruptions include reminders, events, calls and messages and this can now be customised.
The ambient display which now makes it way to the smartphone will show you notifications without turning on the complete display. It can be toggled from the Settings menu but will increase the power consumption of your smartphone. You now get Downtime Settings which let you control when you don’t want to be disturbed/interrupted.
The Quick Settings menu has been revamped too and has become a lot more functional. You can now ‘pin’ an app on your screen. In simpler terms, for instance, you can pin an app or a game on your home screen and a child won’t be able to navigate elsewhere across the smartphone. The battery life has been further improved too.
It now gets ART (Android Run Time) which helps in faster opening of apps and a better overall performance. You also get smart lock for trusted devices which helps you keep your phone unlocked such as when you are using a Moto 360, a Bluetooth car kit, headset, etc.
The list of changes is quite comprehensive and Motorola seems to have done a good job at bringing all these features to an entry level device.
