Motorola's Big Plans for Next-Gen Devices; No Phablets, 'better is better' & More

dgstorm

Editor in Chief
Staff member
Premium Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
10,991
Reaction score
3,961
Location
Austin, TX
Googorola-mirror-logo.png

All signs sugest that Motorola is reviving their 'eye of the tiger' fire to fight back to a competitive stance in the mobile world. PC Magazine recently interviewed Jim Wicks, Motorola's design chief, and his comments are more than encouraging, they are downright exciting.

First, remember several weeks ago when Google execs made the comment that the current Motorola pipeline lacked the "wow" factor. This lead to a great deal of speculation that the Motorola X Phone and/or other phones about to be released by Motorola where somehow lackluster. Apparently, the quote was taken out of context. Jim Wicks was frustrated by that. He indicated that the first Google/Motorola collaborative phones will come in the second half of 2013. He also added,

"It comes off as kind of weird to anyone who hears it for the first time, but there have been follow-up discussions and there's no issues with that at all. We've been spending the past eight months on this next generation of phones, and we've all seen positive feedback and collaboration around things."

It seems that the Google execs who made this comment were actually referring to the current lineup of Droid RAZR products. Putting it in that context, and filling in the blanks with Wicks' statement, it's easy to speculate the next flagship Moto device to hit the streets toward the end of this year will be designed purposefully to "wow" us.

Clearing up this contextual misunderstanding would be exciting enough for one story, but there is still a whole lot more to share from the interview that really has us at HQ thrilled. Next, Wicks shared,

"Consumers love what the Android OS can do for them, and they want to have the most recent releases faster. From a software and UI perspective, our strategy is to embrace Android and to make it the best expression of Android and Google in the market. It will be the unadulterated version of Android, and I feel really good about our embracing Android and being the best Android experience."

So, basically he is implying that the next gen Motorola Androids will run a stock or "near-stock" version of Android. That's pretty awesome, but there's more!

Apparently, Motorola and Google plan to "buck the trend" when it comes to physical phone bloat. In other words, Motorola intends to stick with smaller form factor designs and do not intend to release a phablet sized smartphone. According to Wicks, they are adopting the philosophy "better is better" instead of "bigger is better." Here's what else he had to say on the subject,

"Certain people like a large screen," Wicks said. "But there's a sweet spot for consumers that we're currently exceeding in the market. There are some people that like a big display, but there's also a lot of people that want something that's just about right. I think 'just right' is important, and we're designing so we don't disappoint those people."

Wicks also shared that the fight against bloat wasn't just the size of the device, but also included Motorola's new strategy to reduce bloatware software on the device. Here's his comment,

"People don't want all that stuff pre-populated on their devices," he said. "They really want to define these things themselves. We're focusing on simplicity and the power of the consumer."

At this point, your mind might already be blown, but there is still a bit more to share. Additionally, Wicks added that Motorola intends to continue their move toward creating devices with little to no bezel, like the Motorola Droid M. He also indicated Moto plans to continue focusing on scratch-resistance and drop-resistance. He explained,

"When you buy a TV, you're not wanting a frame."

Finally, despite Motorola's excellent success with the Droid RAZR branding on Verizon, they intend to focus less on carrier exclusivity and instead develop a more carrier-agnostic market identity the way Samsung has with the Galaxy line. Motorola is shifting their strategy to offer more cross-carrier brands and fewer products. Wicks said,

"We are going to try to drive a more singular expression of our brand across multiple carriers. It's a fundamental change in the model. We're continuing to do design work on Razr and what that could look like in the future, [but] when you look at non-Razr devices, there's a little but more of a green field."

Wow! so, let's do a quick bullet-point recap to take it all in:
  1. Our earlier perceptions of the Motorola pipeline were skewed. The next-gen Moto devices (like possibly the mythical X Phone) are designed to "wow."
  2. Moto intends to adopt a more pure-Android experience for these next-gen smartphones.
  3. The next-gen Moto devices are coming out toward the end of this year.
  4. Motorola is not going to jump on the "giant phone" bandwagon just because everyone else is doing it.
  5. Moto intends to continue focusing on tougher, lighter & smaller form factors and push toward a bezel-free design.
  6. They intend to drastically reduce the amount of bloatware software on their devices.
  7. Motorola plans to branch out across multiple carriers with their next lineup of devices instead of focusing so much on exclusivity.
That's a pretty amazing check list to say the least. Share your enthusiasm for this enlightening perspective of the new Motorola & Google relationship.

Source: PCMag
 

Dusty

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
1,180
Reaction score
483
Location
DC/NoVA
Current Phone Model
Pixel 3XL
- Universal RF360 chip.

- Two or three screen sizes to chose from, with HIGHLY customizable exterior choices.

- Cutting edge internal specs. Major hardware updates only occur every year, instead of releasing a variant every 3 months.

- Priced at a sweet spot to eliminate the urge to subsidize (customization choices are what will increase individual's price).

- Pick your OS. Either "personal" (YOU choose locked or unlocked bootloader w/vanilla Android) or "business/enterprise" (locked down tight).

- Tight and virtually seamless integration with Google tech, e.g. Glass.

- Something similar to Titanium will be built in to enable complete phone backups for easy device replacement.


*** crystal ball goes dark ***

That's all I got.
 
OP
dgstorm

dgstorm

Editor in Chief
Staff member
Premium Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
10,991
Reaction score
3,961
Location
Austin, TX
- Universal RF360 chip.

- Two or three screen sizes to chose from, with HIGHLY customizable exterior choices.

- Cutting edge internal specs. Major hardware updates only occur every year, instead of releasing a variant every 3 months.

- Priced at a sweet spot to eliminate the urge to subsidize (customization choices are what will increase individual's price).

- Pick your OS. Either "personal" (YOU choose locked or unlocked bootloader w/vanilla Android) or "business/enterprise" (locked down tight).

- Tight and virtually seamless integration with Google tech, e.g. Glass.

- Something similar to Titanium will be built in to enable complete phone backups for easy device replacement.


*** crystal ball goes dark ***

That's all I got.

I like your crystal ball Dusty. Is this just a personal prediction or do you have some sources to back up these awesome ideas? :)
 

jackiescivic

Diamond Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2011
Messages
1,671
Reaction score
871
Location
Germantown, WI
If they bring something like the Maxx HD to AT&T, I'll be leaving Verizon. Otherwise, I'm not going anywhere. Really excited about less bloat though!
 

Xander Crews

Active Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Messages
355
Reaction score
23
Location
St. Louis
Wow...lots of good stuff.
Really looking forward to what they are going to come out with now.
I love Motorola and have always loved their build quality. Always a solid feeling phone.
I had a couple pre-smartphone Motorola phones and I had a D2 and the wife had a Motorola Razr (pre-smartphone) which she loved and she now has a Bionic, which she loves...all great experiences.
 

Dusty

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
1,180
Reaction score
483
Location
DC/NoVA
Current Phone Model
Pixel 3XL
Just my guess with what's available and what makes sense. I wish I had an inside track to Googorola!
 
OP
dgstorm

dgstorm

Editor in Chief
Staff member
Premium Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
10,991
Reaction score
3,961
Location
Austin, TX
^^. Darn. I was hoping we could use your info as an update to the story! :)
 

djspy

Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2010
Messages
643
Reaction score
14
Location
N. California
Whenever Google says "simplicity" now a days I cringe. They're moving towards Apple like territory.

No SD Card slot because people "get confused"
Hide Developer options
Got rid of USB Mass Storage
Chrome does not support plug ins

And now they want to push "just the right size" phones. A.K.A. iPhone size.

For the most past, I think "pure Android" is over rated and missing a lot of stuff. My fellow RAZR owners can attest to that when just about everything Motorola was removed and replaced with Google stuff. I mean, it's 2013 where the heck is the built in video editor? Motorola's My Gallery had one. A really really good and simple to use video editor.
 
Top