Motorola has been quick to release software updates for its “Moto” crop of devices but that doesn’t mean it has forgotten about the devices that don’t carry this moniker. It was reported earlier in the week that Motorola and Verizon will push out the Android 4.4.4 update for Droid Maxx, Droid Ultra, and the Droid Mini. Sure enough that has happened today. The latest Android update is now available for download on these smartphones. Some users had actually received the update earlier this week though that was as part and parcel of a soak test. Basically the carrier rolls out the update to select few users to make sure that there are no issues with it or the roll out process.
After a few months of speculation about Android updates for this trio of DROID smartphones, Motorola and Verizon have started rolling out the update with a bit of a twist. The firmware update bumps the Android version directly to 4.4.4, making these smartphones one of the earliest OEM handsets to get the surprise maintenance release. Not bad for 2013 models. It should be noted that last January, Verizon released the Android 4.4 KitKat update for these three. Shortly afterwards, there was talk of further updates to 4.4.2 and then 4.4.3, but now it seems that Verizon skipped over those and jumped directly to the latest. Although Android 4.4.4 itself is a bit lacking in new features, Verizon took the opportunity to add some of its own flavor into the update. This practically means changes to or the addition of bloatware on the device. In particular, Verizon’s VZ Cloud and Visual Voicemail have been updated and ISIS Mobile Payment has been added, though the latter will probably be renamed as reported earlier. Motorola is also giving it’s own side to the update. Since this 4.4.4 update also covers 4.4.3, we’re seeing some of the new features that made their way to Motorola’s other smartphones recently. This includes improvements to the Camera app, which not only has improved quality and consistent exposure but can now also pause and resume video recording right through the camera app’s viewfinder. The update also ropes in Motorola Alert, the manufacturer’s new emergency notification service that it launched last May.
