Motorola’s 2015 Moto X Pure Edition was one of the last phones that they made before Lenovo began phasing out their brand name, but a long legacy and wide acclaim apparently aren’t enough to motivate Lenovo and Moto to keep the phone on the bleeding edge of software updates, as it is just now receiving the December 2016 security patch for Android. The update is beginning to hit unlocked Moto X Pure Edition units as of today, and brings the software version up to 24.331.16 in the US. The update, according to the included change log, brings nothing to the table except a security update to the December patch level, which is two months behind the Pixel and Nexus lineups, who recently got their February update.
The December 2016 security patch for Android may not be the most up-to-date patch out there right now, but it is adequate for most users who aren’t using their phones in mission-critical security applications where they may expect heavy attacks, such as in enterprise or government sectors. Users are protected from a plethora of local and network attack types, and most things that an everyday user may encounter through endeavors like downloading apps outside of the Play Store or leaving their phone lying around for attackers to get a hold of are stopped in this update. Recent updates up the ante by knocking out newer and riskier types of privilege-escalation exploits, among other things.
The venerable 2015 flagship from Motorola was one of the last handsets to carry most of the distinctive design tropes that defined Moto’s phone lineup from the 2013 Moto X onward, including the well-loved Nexus 6. Elements of this design are still present in modern phones like the Moto Z family and the newest Moto G, but elements like the Moto dimple and the gentle curves that taper both ways from the camera and contour to a user’s hand are either toned down or done away with entirely in newer phones, in favor of a more spartan design that prizes minimalism, but still feels good in the hand. A new Moto X could be in the pipeline, but there is no word just yet on what the design is like, if this is indeed the case.
