Next-gen Moto X and Moto G will have near-stock Android (Lenovo won't alter Motorola's software strategy)

Back in January, when Google agreed to sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo, the companies said that "Lenovo intends to keep Motorola’s distinct brand identity.” Even so, some users may be worried that Lenovo could alter the software experience on the upcoming Moto smartphones. As you may know, Mototola’s latest handsets, the Moto X and Moto G, are both offering near-stock Android.

Punit Soni, VP of Software at Motorola, today answered a few live questions via Google Hangouts. One of the questions addressed exactly the issue mentioned above: “will future versions of the Moto X and Moto G stick with almost-stock Android?” Punit Soni’s answer was a definite “yes.” He continued by saying that “the core premise of the software strategy is making sure we have pure Android, and that we can provide the best experience to users.”

Well, there you have it: the rumored Moto X+1 (which is expected to be the successor to last year’s Moto X) will run near-stock Android. The same will likely happen with the Moto E (another rumored handset that should be introduced this year), although this doesn’t seem to be the Moto G’s successor, but an even cheaper device.

Punit Soni also said that Motorola will continue to provide quick software updates, and that its handsets’ camera experience (including image quality) will be improved. You can see the full discussion in the video below:

Besides making its own new smartphones, Motorola may also design a handset in collaboration with Lenovo- a device that could be launched before the end of the year. Will this have near-stock Android, too? We don't know, but we're looking forward to finding out.

First phone from Motorola and Lenovo may be planned for the fall

This is one rumor that seems a bit hard to swallow, but we're guessing that maybe someone on the inside might know more than we do on the subject. There is a new rumor from the official China Mobile Alliance Weibo account which claims that the first smartphone collaboration from Motorola and Lenovo may be planned for this fall.

The Weibo post says that Zhang Hui of Lenovo's Mobile Business Group (MBG) has said that Lenovo will release a new 4G phone by the end of June, there will be "stunning" new products either announced or released in early September, and the first phone made in cooperation between Lenovo and Motorola will be coming in either October or November. Although, again, it's hard to say if that is the planned announcement window or release window. Given that companies like to get products out in time for the holidays, we'd guess release.

The trouble is that the sale of Motorola to Lenovo hasn't passed through any of the regulatory hurdles that it needs to cross before the deal can be finalized. It is certainly possible that Google is allowing Motorola to work with Lenovo even before the deal is finalized. Though, the word is that this is a new device designed from the ground up in cooperation between the two companies. And, given how long it generally takes to design and produce a mobile device, the two sides would have had to start working together basically from January when Google first announced the sale.

We'll keep our eyes peeled for more info, but in the meantime, we'll take this one with a grain of salt, and focus on the upcoming Motorola devices that have been designed while still under the Google umbrella, like the Moto X+1 and new Moto G models.