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Android 4.4 now rolling out to the Moto G, here’s what’s new

Last week, Motorola announced that the Moto G would soon begin to be updated to Android 4.4 KitKat. Today, it looks like the update has finally started rolling out to users, as both Seth and I have received the update on our respective Moto G devices. The update comes in at roughly 191MB and bumps the device to build number 172.44.4.en.US.

New in the update are many of the changes we’ve come to know and love in KitKat. For one, all the new white-gradiants are present, replacing the blue, as is the new transparent notification bar. Not included is the new launcher found on the Nexus 5, though Google touts that as being exclusive to Nexus devices. You can always side load it, of course. Motorola also touts that new camera controls, such as manual focus and exposure, are included, though that was also included in an update to the Motorola Camera app on Google Play.

One of the biggest selling points of KitKat is improved performance on devices that don’t have the most powerful internals, and although the Moto G is relatively powerful on its own, KitKat seems to have further improved its performance. Everything just seems smoother and quicker to launch. And that’s saying something, seeing that performance with the device on Android 4.3 was quite good on its own.

There are also a variety of other bug fixes and improvements present in this update, such as new photo editing options in the Gallery app, the ability to print photos, Google Docs, and emails, support for new accessories, and much more.

If you own a Moto G, definitely check that software update option, as KitKat is a drastic update for the device. You can do so by heading into Settings > About Phone > System Updates.

 

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