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Motorola Marketed the Moto E 2015 On Promise of Updates, Stops After 219 Days

Posted by Soulskill on from the bait-and-switch dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Over the past few years, Motorola has emerged as one of the best manufacturers for low-to-mid-range Android phones. Unlike many other major manufacturers, they keep their version of Android close to stock in order to keep OS updates flowing more easily. When they began marketing the Moto E 2015, updates were one of the features they trumpeted the loudest. But after the company published a list of devices that will continue to get updates, Android Police found the Moto E to be conspicuously absent. The phone launched on February 25, a mere 219 days ago. According to an official Motorola marketing video from launch day, "...we won't forget about you, and we'll make sure your Moto E stays up to date after you buy it."

33 of 123 comments (clear)

  1. That was then, this is now by Darinbob · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They already got money from the current customers so why continue to pander to them? Now they want new customers with new wallets to extract money from.

    This is standard business practice in many places. New customers make you money but old customers are a drain on your financials.

    1. Re: That was then, this is now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It wasn't standard for Motorola. This looks like Lenovo's influence.

    2. Re: That was then, this is now by melios · · Score: 3, Informative

      As someone who bought the Motorola i1 with Android 1.5 on the promise of updates it never received, I'd have to disagree.

    3. Re: That was then, this is now by tyr · · Score: 2

      As someone who bought the Motorola i1 with Android 1.5 on the promise of updates it never received, I'd have to disagree.

      I tend to agree with melios here, Moto did the same thing with the Photon 4G, right around the time Google acquired them (so that they could play the lost in the shuffle game). Locked it down hard on the way out too. Sadly, while they make excellent hardware, software after the sale has been hit or miss. I bought a Samsung Galaxy S3 after they did that, and as much as I want Moto quality hardware, I'll not be buying from them again.

    4. Re:That was then, this is now by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      IMO since we're entering the IoE (Internet of Everything) age, I think it's probably worth having some kind of legislation that every company that sells a consumer product that is network connected must provide free security updates for a minimum of 5 years after the device's end of manufacture date (i.e. when the last batch of product hits channel.) If not, we're looking at a new era where the whole world is under a constant threat of botnet DDoS, spam, and identity theft.

      This could be enforced with hefty fines and civil liability in the event the device owners are targeted after 90 days of a known exploit and no patch is available. If they can't patch it, then a recall is required. If the company folds, then whoever buys the biggest portion of its assets assumes responsibility. If it folds and nobody buys its assets, then the source code for all components (including signing keys) must be released to an escrow company (no, open sourcing it all isn't practical for various reasons) that can fulfill the security updates for the remainder of the 5 year period. The escrow service would be paid by some kind of insurance (or bond) that must be paid prior to the company being legally allowed to sell network capable products to consumers within the US.

    5. Re:That was then, this is now by Irate+Engineer · · Score: 2

      Doing all this requires people to actually give a fuck. If they don't care to leave the carrier for another provider and are content to just bitch, nothing will get done. No one cares to move this off center, and the companies KNOW this.

      --

      Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!

      Vote for Bernie in 2016!

    6. Re:That was then, this is now by davester666 · · Score: 3, Informative

      And yet Apple has the longest update policy of all phone manufacturers of any significant volume [there might be one or two outliers that provide updates for longer than Apple does, but they only sell a very small number of phones].

      The iPhone 4S I bought new in 2011, then passed onto my dad, is still supported by iOS 9 [started with iOS 5].

      With Android, you do have a choice of vendors. Roughly equally poor vendors [w.r.t. updating their software].

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    7. Re:That was then, this is now by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2
      Right. In the UK, the sale of goods act (which was strengthened last week and extended to cover downloads and a few other things) permits you to return a product as not suitable for the purpose for which sold. That means that not doing anything promised in the ads is grounds for a full refund. Just mentioning the relevant law on a call to their support line was enough for Apple to courier a new battery out to me (which arrived at 9am the next morning) for a 3.5-year-old (our of warranty) MacBook Pro, because it was only holding 20% of its rated maximum charge and the discharge counter was significantly below the 300 charge cycles that their support pages claimed.

      If someone buys a phone based on the promise of long-term support, but doesn't receive it, then they are entitled to a full refund from the seller, who is then entitled to a full refund from the manufacturer (and less likely to keep selling phones from a manufacturer if they get too many returns). I'd slightly disagree with this claim though:

      Which is why consumer protection legislation exists; so corporations have more responsibility than profit mongering.

      Corporations are expected to continue profit mongering, the goal of consumer protection legislation is to align incentives so that failing to take responsibility hurts the profits more than taking responsibility. Having to issue individual refunds to every Moto E customer would cost a lot more than back-porting security fixes and pushing out updates. Especially when you include the accompanying news articles.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  2. lawsuits....3...2...1...go! by itzdandy · · Score: 2

    Here's the thing, if a company says something to entice a purchase, they are likely to be sued and give refunds to everyone that purchased based on those promises.

  3. Re:They have your money... by danbob999 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If they don't want to sell any phone again, then you are right.

  4. Hardware requirements for Marshmallow? by vivek7006 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Moto E is a low end phone. Maybe it doesn't not satisfy the Marshmallow hardware requirements?

    1. Re:Hardware requirements for Marshmallow? by erice · · Score: 2

      Moto E is a low end phone. Maybe it doesn't not satisfy the Marshmallow hardware requirements?

      Plausible. The Moto E has only 1GB of RAM. However, Moto X 2013 is also missing from the Marshmallow list. It has 2GB just like the 2014 model, which is on the list.

    2. Re:Hardware requirements for Marshmallow? by feranick · · Score: 2

      Moto E 2015 uses the same processor (snapdragon 410) and RAM of the 2015 Moto G, which is getting the update. This is just plain lame from Motorola.

  5. Lenovo... by Kennon · · Score: 4, Informative

    Motorola, brought to you by the same parent company that gave you Superfish and adware injections from the BIOS on fresh Windows OS installs...I'm sorry, are you surprised? You must be new here. :-)

    --
    "All those moments, will be lost in time...like tears in rain..."
  6. Really? by sims+2 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have a samsung convoy 3 (Not a smart phone) it was released August 29, 2013.
    The last update for it was released on April 2nd, 2015.

    That's 581 days of support if I never get another update.

    Don't mind me I'm just comparing rocks to lolipops.

    --
    Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    1. Re:Really? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 3, Informative

      My iPhone 5s was released Sept. 20, 2013 and will be receiving updates until at least next Sept.

      I never understood why they segmented the Android market so much. It would have been better for consumers if Google had a core that could be updated from Google and the various phone manufacturers put their custom software on top. There could be some system that would prevent roll-outs until the manufacturer tested any updates to the core on their phones. If they stopped checking then the update would go to the customer directly but with a huge warning about the phone/apps not working. The phone would need a way to restore the previous system easily.

      The whole fragmentation and not knowing when/if updates are coming is preventing me from checking out Android. That, plus all they seem to be pushing is the large phones, like Apple. I know what my handle says but Apple is moving away from their roots. I used to like the iPhone because it was intuitive and easy to use. But with each new "feature" they are making it more difficult to use. Instead of designing to make things easy to use in any situation they are building their apps and phones for certain use cases. I don't fit in their use cases. It didn't matter before. Now it does. And so Apple has gone from what I want to use to being just the best of the bunch.

  7. Fool Me Once, Shame on Me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Moto did this way back with the Moto Droid Devour, an aluminum slideout-keyboard Android unit. They didn't even release enough updates to fix the many bugs it had, let alone an OS update. I swore off Moto devices from that point forward as I'll only be completely abandoned by a manufacturer once. I wouldn't even buy the Nexus 6 even though in theory that should see updates for years.

    To Moto E owners, I'm sorry and I feel your pain, you aren't the first and not the last to be burned by a phone manufacturer when they renege on promises.

  8. Re:Money makes the world go round. by orasio · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The advertising said you would have at least one update. There was one.
    The claim was fulfilled that's not false advertising. Specially not for such a cheap phone, that already has Android 5.1

  9. Re:Vista? by sexconker · · Score: 2

    They certainly have better politicians, lawyers, and maketers.

  10. UK users can take it back by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    in the UK you can return it as electrical goods have a 6year warranty, the stipulation is the fault must of been present when manufactured, not fit for purpose.
    EU users have 2 years.

    http://www.dailymail.co./news/...

  11. We promise! by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 3, Funny

    "...we won't forget about you, and we'll make sure your Moto E stays up to date after you buy it."

    (time passes...)

    "Ha ha, just kidding! We can't believe you fell for that shit!

    But look over here, Citizen- we'll give you $5 off The New Shiny if you sign up for a 50-year unbreakable contract."

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    1. Re:We promise! by willworkforbeer · · Score: 2

      "We really, truly Volkswagen-Promise!"

      --
      Pretending this is my office full of bitter coworkers..
  12. Re:Vote with your wallet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I voted with my wallet. I bought an iphone. 5s - Got it launch day September 20th 2013

    Just over 2 years old. Installed iOS 9.0.2 the other day- Scheduled the install for the middle of the night while I was sleeping.

    Of course, I could have stuck with my 4s... That's still currently supported. Launched early october 2011 - Just under 4 years old and it too can run iOS 9.0.2.

  13. Re:Vote with your wallet... by Samuel+Dravis · · Score: 3, Informative

    Exactly. I've used Nexus devices single the Galaxy Nexus, and I do not understand anyone who does not use the reference device wanting Android updates in a timely manner. If you go with a carrier, expect to be used for profit during the current fiscal year.

  14. Broken by Moof123 · · Score: 2

    I can't bring myself to buy an Apple, but it is crap like this that makes me foolish for not doing so. My last phone got a couple updates, but they brought it from slow to cripplingly slow (Galaxy Victory POS). I went higher end this time with a Nexus 6 hoping it will be supported longer, has less bloatware, and be fast enough to survive a few update cycles. Who knows...

    It is very sad that a dual core 1.2 GHz processor and a gig of RAM would not be enough to keep a stupid phone fast enough to be usable. Now I have a 4 core monster in my pocket with more pixels than my PC, but no real assurance it won't turn into a paper weight in a couple years.

    1. Re:Broken by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Because despite some of the fuckery that goes on in the Android market there are many many upsides to various devices that the iPhone just doesn't have.

  15. Re:Updates? Android?? by Shados · · Score: 2

    Android updates work fine on Nexus. They have an official SLA and they stick to it. Only hiccups are sometimes they're delayed, but they come.

  16. Hardly by feranick · · Score: 2

    Moto E 2015 uses the same processor (snapdragon 410) and RAM of the 2015 Moto G, other than the smaller res screen. Moto G is is getting the update. This is just plain lame from Motorola.

  17. 5 year support by emil · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The first Android OEM to promise and deliver 5 year support on their devices will likely become the dominant player. Current Android OEMS are in a race to stab their customers in the back. Google is winning by far.

  18. Microsoft.. by BrianMosley · · Score: 2

    I know I'm gonna get downgraded real fast for this, but my $50 Lumia phone is running the most recent build of Windows 10 for phones with no issues. I refuse to pay a premium for the Apple logo, and Android is just a mess. Have an android tablet and even it can't update worth a $#!+.

    1. Re:Microsoft.. by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      running the most recent build of Windows 10 for phones with no issues

      I call bullshit. No one runs windows 10 without issues. :-)

  19. Lenovo? by Karmashock · · Score: 2

    Its hard to ignore the elephant in the room here... Motorola was passed to Lenovo... and then suddenly things change.

    Coincidence? I rather doubt it.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  20. Try CM12.1 (Lollipop 5.1.1) as an alternative... by heilbron · · Score: 2

    Try CM12.1 (Lollipop 5.1.1) as an alternative and become independent of Motorola's update policy: Here is a link to the respective threads on XDA!