Well, it looks like that soak test for the Verizon Moto X's Android 4.4 update went smoothly. Motorola just announced that the Verizon version of the Moto X is now receiving its over the air update to Android 4.4 KitKat. Along with a bump up to the latest version of Android, owners of the Verizon-spiced Moto X can expect to find an improved phone dialer with the ability to search for contacts, new gallery effects, an enhanced "touch to focus" option in the Camera app and quite a bit more. Motorola's changelog for the update is as follows:
- Android™ 4.4, KitKat®: Android 4.4, KitKat, is the latest release of the Android platform. KitKat includes enhancements such as restyled status and navigation bars, a new full-screen mode, color emoji support, improved closed captioning support, stronger security, smarter power use, and more tools and capabilities for better app development.
- Phone dialer: Improved the phone app with the ability to look up contacts directly from the dial pad, see and tap frequent contacts, and search your corporate directory easily.
- Camera - Focus and exposure: Enhanced the "touch to focus" option with a new circular, on screen control that can be dragged by your finger around the viewfinder to adjust a photo's focus and exposure.
- Gallery - Photo editing: Added new photo editing options to the Gallery app including new filter effects, draw on your photos, advanced cropping, and adjustments to color, exposure, contrast and more.
- Hangouts -SMS/MMS support: Incorporated a new version of Google Hangouts that supports integrated SMS/MMS messaging. Hangouts can be set as the default SMS app under Settings > Wireless > Default SMS app.
- Touchless Control - "Find my phone": Added a new "Find my phone" command to Touchless Control. Just say "OK, Google Now-find my phone" and your Moto X will ring loudly to let you know where it's hiding when you've misplaced it nearby.
- NFC - Host card emulation: Enhanced support for NFC Host Card Emulation (HCE), to improve experiences such as contactless payments, loyalty plans, transit passes, card access and more.
- Accessory support: Added support for Square credit card reader
As is usually the case with software updates, Motorola says that this one is rolling out in phases, so don't fret if your Verizon Moto X takes a little time to get its own KitKat bar. If you're feeling impatient and/or hungry, you can check for the update manually by heading into Settings > About phone > System updates.
Motorola recently confirmed that the Moto X would begin receiving its update to Android 4.4 soon, but it's still kind of a surprise to see KitKat hitting the X before devices like the Nexus 4 and Google Play edition phones. That's especially true when you remember that Verizon isn't known to be the quickest with smartphone software updates. As for the other Moto X variants, Motorola says that it'll have more Android 4.4 news to share for other carriers "very soon," so your own taste of KitKat may not be far off. Stay tuned.
Via Motorola
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