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If you expected major software updates for the Moto E5, we have bad news for you

If the lack of major updates for the Moto E5 is true, it would further cement Motorola's bad track record for software updates.
By
April 20, 2018
Moto E5
TL;DR
  • Motorola reportedly promised one major OS update for the Moto G6 series, but made no such promise for the Moto E5 series.
  • Both series will reportedly get security updates, but not on a monthly basis.
  • If true, the Moto E5 series could reach software end-of-life status in six to 12 months.

Thanks to their price tags and clean software, Motorola’s Moto G6 and E5 smartphone lines will grab plenty of attention this year. Unfortunately, both series will also grab attention for their shaky software update schedules.

Covering the Moto G6 and E5 launch event in Brazil earlier today, Ars Technica reported that the Moto G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play will get one major Android update. More depressingly, the Moto E5 and E5 Plus are not guaranteed a major update.

Neither series will get monthly security updates. Instead, updates will reportedly arrive “every 60-90 days.” Android Authority reached out to Motorola to confirm the information and update this article accordingly.

If the report turns out to be accurate, it would further cement Motorola’s status as one of the worst Android manufacturers relative to software updates.

You can blame a lack of resources, a large smartphone portfolio, Motorola being a Lenovo subsidiary, or a combination of the three. At the end of the day, Motorola is dreadful when it comes to pushing Android updates, major and minor, to its devices.

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As an example, the Nokia 3 and Moto G5S Plus launched in April and August 2017, respectively. Even with a relatively weaker MediaTek processor, the Nokia 3 received its Android Oreo update over a week ago. The Moto G5S Plus is somehow still stuck on Android Nougat.

Perhaps a lack of updates for the Moto E5 and E5 Plus is some sort of strategy to offer cheap phones for those who want it, but push others to the G series. Either way, buying a Motorola smartphone is almost like an unspoken agreement to not receive timely software updates.