Brazillian users of the popular Moto X Style device should expect an update to Android 7.0 (Nougat) to begin rolling out soon, following a recent report that Motorola began rolling out on March 18. As for what the update for the Moto X Style will bring with it, the test update is about 1.3 GB in size and brings with it many of the features to be expected with Nougat. Users can also expect a snappier, more optimized experience. In addition to those, however, it also brings some new Moto-specific additions – including new Moto Actions like a one-handed use mode. That particular feature is not quite working properly yet with the soak test update according to the source, but Motorola should have time to work out the bug before the final update is released.
Soak tests generally take place just weeks before official over the air updates and are a great way to gauge how stable an update is in the real world. They are usually sent out to more active users of a given device within a company’s support forums and are preselected because a soak test also serves the purpose of helping to catch any deal-breaking bugs. For that reason, the results of such a test can sometimes also lead to a delay in the final update release to general users. On that note, it should be remembered that soak tests are designed to really and truly test new software under the most strenuous circumstances. Since it isn’t really plausible to test for everything within a lab setting, the tests act as a kind of beta run. If major unforeseen bugs cause a delay in this update, it wouldn’t be the first time such a delay has occurred. Meanwhile, Motorola also has a release date for Nougat for the German version of the X device family set for May. So Brazil’s Moto X Style could easily get the update first, but it is really going to come down to how well the soak test itself performs.
While certainly not the newest device, the Moto X Style was a flagship when it first released. That means it still holds its own reasonably well when compared alongside an array of other devices and the update to Nougat can only serve to make the handset that much better. At this point, a more general roll-out is only a matter of time.