Motorola To Roll Out Sweet Android 7.0 Nougat Goodness To Many Legacy Moto Phones

It's always with eager and hopeful anticipation that Android device owners wait to find if and when a major new version of Google's mobile operating system is headed to the their handset. Well, if you're rocking a semi-recent Motorola phone, the odds are in your favor. That's because Motorola published a list of more than a dozen handsets that will be receiving an update to Android 7.0 Nougat.

"Are you ready for the sweetest OS update yet? It’s one that speaks your language (particularly if you speak fluent Emoji), offers the ability to seamlessly switch between apps with just a double-tap, more efficient notification controls and improved battery and data saver features. We’re happy to confirm Android 7.0 Nougat is on its way to a lot of our smartphones, we’ll be starting in Q4 with Moto Z and Moto G (4th Gen)," Motorola stated in a blog post.

Android 7 Nougat Statue

The Moto Z and Moto G (4th Gen) are just two of 15 phones that Motorola has committed to updating to Android 7.0 Nougat. Here's a look at the full list:
  • Moto G (4th Gen)
  • Moto G Plus (4th Gen)
  • Moto G Play (4th Gen)
  • Moto X Pure Edition (3rd Gen)
  • Moto X Style
  • Moto X Play
  • Moto X Force
  • Droid Turbo 2
  • Droid Maxx 2
  • Moto Z
  • Moto Z Droid
  • Moto Z Force Droid
  • Moto Z Play
  • Moto Z Play
  • Droid Nexus 6
That's an extensive list, though there are some notable omissions, such as the Moto X Pure Edition. Still, it's nice to see Motorola pouncing on Nougat. The unfortunate reality is receiving an update to the latest and greatest version of Android is never a given—Android 5.x Lollipop is still the most widely used version of Android, with it being installed on 35 percent of all Android devices. That's followed by Android 4.4 KitKat at 27.7 percent, followed by Android 6.0 Marshmallow at 18.7 percent.

It's also nice to see that Motorola is planning to dole out Nougat updates starting this quarter rather than dragging its feet to 2017 before kicking things off.