Last week, Motorola has reportedly begun a "soak test" for the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for its new Moto X Pure Edition smartphone. However, Motorola product manager David Schuster recently clarified that the software test invitations were actually not for an Android 6.0 soak test.
In a Google+ post, Schuster mentioned that "There have been a couple reports of a Marshmallow 'soak test' that has started for Moto X 2015 Pure Edition. Just want to make it clear that we have NOT started a formal 'soak test.' We have started a small TestDrive for the Marshmallow upgrade on Moto X 2015 Pure Edition."
For those not familiar, soak testing is a process where a manufacturer makes software available to a small number of users in order to test its stability and performance. It is somewhat similar to beta testing. As Schuster mentioned, Motorola is merely conducting a small test drive to see how the software works on the Moto X Pure Edition.
The small test will be run for a couple of weeks, and the feedback that the company receives from those who participated will determine when the actual soak test will begin for real. The test drive also signifies that Motorola is indeed planning for an Android M upgrade, which is good for those who own recent Motorola handsets.
If things go smoothly, the new Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS could start arriving at Motorola models soon enough. The Lenovo-owned manufacturer already confirmed plans to distribute the update to several of its devices, including all Moto X and G models released in 2015. It means that the Moto X Pure Edition (a.k.a Moto X Style internationally), Moto X Play, and the third-generation Moto G.
For the company's 2014 lineup, Android 6.0 is slated to arrive at the Droid Turbo, Moto Maxx, the 2014 Moto X Pure, and the second-generation Moto X released in Europe, Latin America and Asia. The second-generation Moto G and Moto G LTE is also included in the Marshmallow waiting list.
On the other hand, the second-generation Moto X from AT&T and Verizon, will not receive the update, neither will the original Moto X, the first-generation Moto G and the entire Moto E range. The news of the Moto E's exclusion from the Marshmallow update list stems from a recently published post by Motorola showing which devices are scheduled to be upgraded.
This may be strange since a new version of the Moto has just been released this year but for some reason, the device maker decided not to make the new Android version available to the device. This means that owners of the Moto E will be stuck with the Android 5.1 Lollipop OS. It is not clear why the Moto E did not make the cut, but tech observers presume that it might have something to do with the model's hardware limitations since it is a budget-focused handset.
