They’ll be missing out on key enhancements meant to protect their personal data. People who bought the Moto G Power in 2020, for example, will not be able to upgrade their phones to Android 12. It is hard for a company to keep providing the security update to the older versions.” The security update usually goes hand in hand with the software update, because new security updates are typically based on the new version.

“In the version upgrades, many small security problems are also fixed. He's a cybersecurity researcher at Syracuse University. “Security updates are important and should be made ,” writes Wenliang Kevin Du in an email. And of that lot, Motorola has the worst software update policy, often leaving consumers languishing with phones that are a year or two old but no longer receive security patches or critical Android updates. The company has been ruling the budget class with its Moto G series for years, but there are now seriously great budget-friendly alternatives from competitors like Samsung, OnePlus, HMD Global (Nokia), and Google vying for your attention.

The problem? Motorola might be making the right decisions to grow its business, but as WIRED’s resident smartphone reviewer, I’m finding it harder and harder to automatically recommend Motorola devices. Lenovo says its previous quarter was the best ever for its mobile business,“with profit reaching a new historic high of $89 million,' which helped it officially become the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the US behind Samsung and Apple.

Ever since LG exited the smartphone market early this year, Lenovo-owned Motorola has been quick to fill in the gap, nearly doubling its market share from 7 to 12 percent since the same period last year.

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