Lenovo/Motorola To "Streamline" Their Devices

Because of a rather vague blog post about “streamlining” the Motorola brand, the tech blogosphere was abuzz with the news that Lenovo may decrease production of Motorola smartphones. In fact, the speculations had gone so extreme as to say that the top-selling models Moto G and Moto E may be discontinued, to highlight the Lenovo Vibe line of smartphones.

However, Motorola via Lenovo has since reached out to the press, and clarified that the company will maintain the two brands. What was specified in the article, and most likely what Motorola/Lenovo meant about “streamlining” was that they’ll shorten the “Motorola” brand and just adopt “Moto” for their phones.

Initial reports have indicated that Moto may be reserved for the high-end flagship phones, while Lenovo Vibe will be the brand for mid-range and budget-friendly units. A company representative sent this note to Mashable:

“Moto will be our innovative trendsetting brand. Vibe will be our mass-market challenger brand. The brands will overlap in some price points and key geographies, but with different brand identities, features experiences and designs. The product brands are meant to be complementary and address multiple target audiences and ends of the product price spectrum.”

Still rather vague? Well, what we can glean from that is that Moto and Lenovo will continue to exist to hit different market segments. It’s a game of diversifying, that’s what’s clear for now.

The Verge maintains that the market will have to expect less units being churned by the now-Chinese-owned company, however. A representative also sent them notes, indicating, “Although we are simplifying the combined Motorola and [Lenovo] portfolio, we have no plans to retire Moto G, our most successful smartphone, or Moto E.” The Verge was quick to point out that should Lenovo retire the Moto G line, it would be “a strange decision” for the Chinese company, given that the line was selling so well.

In any case, all’s well that ends well, as the Lenovo-acquired Motorola Mobility seems to thrive. More than that, Lenovo looks like it’s planning to truly leverage the brand, albeit the mention of “streamlining” may have caused some extreme speculations for a while there.

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The official blog post released by Motorola: https://motorola-blog.blogspot.com/2016/01/motorolas-next-chapter-as-brand.html

The Verge’s take on the “streamlining” announcement: https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/12/10755756/moto-g-not-being-killed-will-continue-lenovo

Mashable’s report on Motorola’s changes: https://mashable.com/2016/01/12/motorola-moto-g-moto-e-dead/#9sv4L_GOqaqk