Moto CEO for 2015: no tablets, no smaller flagships, Moto Maker expansion, and more

Motorola CEO Rick Osterloh took to Twitter to answer questions from Moto fans and revealed a few hints about the Lenovo-owned company’s plans for this year.

Starting with Lenovo, the executive said Motorola employees already feel at home in the Lenovo fold, and that the Chinese company gave them a “very warm welcome.” Motorola has been officially integrated into Lenovo on October 30, following a $2.9 billion purchase from Google; since then, representatives of both companies said that Motorola enjoys extended autonomy and that it would remain Lenovo’s main brand in the Western markets.

While Motorola has established a strong foothold in several big markets from around the world (Brazil, India, and China included), the company will continue to expand in 2015, with Central and Easter Europe singled out by Osterloh as targets. Moreover, Brazil is said to be a priority for the expansion of the Moto Maker program.

Asked if Motorola plans to release new tablets in the close future, Osterloh said there are no such plans and pointed towards tablet offerings from Lenovo, including the Yoga line. Motorola’s last tablet was released in 2011. That contradicts the statements of Lenovo boss Yang Yuanqing, who said in October that Motorola-branded tablets are in the pipeline.

There are no plans either for a Motorola flagship that is smaller than five inches. Motorola will probably keep the display of the Moto X (2015) to at least 5.2-inch, though an even larger screen is also a strong possibility.

Osterloh said Motorola will stick to its roughly annual release cycle for the next Moto X, meaning a release in early fall is likely.

“Contextual awareness, Moto Maker options and “premium value”” are Motorola’s main points of focus for its upcoming devices. Osterloh hinted that Moto Maker might be enhanced with more materials, joining the wood and leather “natural” options currently available.

Overall, the company hopes to “expand consumer choices (price points and options), expand our country reach and introduce cool new innovations.”

Osterloh also revealed that Lollipop for the Moto X (2013) is in early testing, that Motorola would love Android Wear to work with iOS (no plans though), and that an LTE variant of the Moto G (2014) is coming “pretty soon.”

More on Rick Osterloh’s Twitter feed.