The story behind Motorola’s new global platform: a calling to our inner power
September 29, 2021
Today, we’re excited to share the next wave of Power To Empower, the Tech With Heart series. We’re sharing 12 authentic stories from real Motorola users on how technology empowers them to pursue their passions, use their voices and achieve their goals. With these stories, we want to reassure people that technology is for everyone and that when applied well it can empower both you and your communities to achieve your greatest potential.
With the help of The Masses and the direction of Juan Amusategui, these stories were narrated by people of different countries (Argentina, Chile, France, Colombia, UK, US, Taiwan Region, India and Hong Kong), realities, languages, races, and cultures. Bringing this to life required a truly global collaboration – interacting with people from 18 nationalities, creating more than 20 Terabytes of data, and working across 21 countries.
Be sure to check back weekly as we unveil their stories! First up, a story about a deaf dancer from Taiwan who uses technology to learn and dance with people all across the country. Technology today empowers us and connects us in many different ways. It helps us overcome limits and supports us as we define and work towards new goals, regardless of nationality, age, gender or race.
Behind Power to Empower
Power To Empower, the Motorola brand platform was created by WTF Agency to encourage people to fulfill their goals, express themselves, connect and unleash their inner voices through the power of technology. Through Motorola’s technology, we are determined to help our users embrace their inner power and create positive change.
“Last year changed the lives of everyone and from Motorola, we needed to show to millions of people all over the world that technology can support their lives positively and to show them a better future,” said Renata Altenfelder, Global Director Brand Marketing at Motorola. “It was an interesting challenge that encouraged us to create this new concept and that will serve as an incredible brand platform.”
In July, the team kicked off the Power To Empower platform with a film that brought the essence of the concept through real people and their stories.
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Motorola introduces its vision for the future of mobile technology during Tech World 21
September 8, 2021
With each of these concepts, platforms and experiences, Motorola continues its mission to deliver meaningful and innovative, on-the-go solutions that improve mobility, pocketability and overall convenience for consumers. And looking ahead, we will bring devices and solutions to our customers under One Lenovo.
Technology is at the center of our daily lives and has become even more crucial as we thrive into this next reality. Whether we’re still working from home or back to traveling the world, we’re now more dependent than ever on technology to keep us connected and entertained.
Today at Lenovo Tech World ‘21, Sergio Buniac, SVP of Lenovo’s Mobile Business Group and Motorola’s President, along with other key spokespeople at Motorola unveiled experiences that will empower consumers, transform and ease the way they interact with technology. Here are some of the major highlights from Motorola at Lenovo Tech World ‘21:
Unleashing the power of your smartphone
At Motorola, we understand that smartphones have become so much more than just being a tool for communication – they are the hub for information, entertainment, productivity and even content creation.
And what better way to elevate those experiences, than to bring them to the big screen and beyond with Ready For, a platform that unleashes the power of our smartphones by connecting with multiple screens* and working seamlessly with our Lenovo PCs.
Together with Lenovo, we are bringing unified experiences to the market. For example, thanks to Ready For you can now connect your phone to a monitor, a PC, and even explore AR with Lenovo’s ThinkReality A3 smart glasses.*
A new era of wearable technology
In addition to Ready For, we also previewed a new era of wearable devices that will change the way we interact with the world around us all powered by 5G technology.
As we look at a world where the smartphone can seamlessly connect to purpose-driven displays, PCs and glasses, we are working to address the needs of our consumers.
We all want a more portable smartphone – something easy to put in your pocket or perhaps easy to wear without feeling its presence. During today’s event, we demonstrated a wearable 5G form factor that always keeps you connected and allows you to display content to the bigger screens around you.
Seamless charging through over-the-air power
Finally, Tech World ‘21 also showcased a collaboration with GuRu Wireless, Inc. and Salom Electric Co. to bring an over-the-air wireless power solution to Motorola smartphones in the future through a seamless charging demonstration. With this, we will allow users to charge multiple phones at the same time without the limitations of wires or charging pads, so they can stay connected no matter what.
While we announced our partnership earlier this year, today’s event reinforces our joint progress towards transforming the way we live and bringing freedom and flexibility to consumers by easily keeping their devices charged.
With each of these concepts, platforms and experiences, Motorola continues its mission to deliver meaningful and innovative, on-the-go solutions that improve mobility, pocketability and overall convenience for consumers. And looking ahead, we will bring devices and solutions to our customers under One Lenovo.
Salom is a leading global manufacturer of power supplies for consumer electronics products. A manufacturing partner for Motorola for over 30 years, Salom has produced over 600 million Motorola chargers and is Motorola’s global licensee for charging accessories. Salom products are trusted by some of the most successful electronics companies in the world, quietly powering devices across the globe for more than 40 years.
About GuRu Wireless Inc.:
GuRu Wireless, Inc. enables safe, effective, and customizable transmission of power over-the-air using proprietary millimeter-wave (mmWave) integrated circuits and modules and proprietary Smart RF Lensing technology. A miniature-sized power transfer system delivers power at an unprecedented distance efficiently and with precision. GuRu’s wireless solution can be used as a charging hub or a power source in many settings where access to power is needed. It is easy to install, safe, and smart to find and adjust for various power levels in sync with the needs of any device. Even during use, it can continuously charge multiple devices and as a safety measure, can reroute power as necessary. Founded in 2017 by a team of scientists and engineers from Caltech, GuRu aims to ensure access to power is as ubiquitous as WiFi.
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Motorola’s Path to a Brighter, More Sustainable Future
September 1, 2021
At Motorola, our vision is to provide smarter technology that builds a brighter, more sustainable future for our customers, colleagues, communities, and the planet. Today, with the publication of Lenovo’s 2020/21 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, we reflect on our fifteenth year of sustainability efforts, acknowledge the progress we ve made, and outline how we are moving forward.
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Get Ready For back to school with these tips for teachers, students and parents
August 27, 2021
As summer vacation comes to a close, teachers, students and parents alike are preparing to head back to school. Whether that’s completely virtual, hybrid or in-person, technology is helping to improve the educational experience so students can continue to get the best possible education no matter if they’re in the classroom or in their kitchen. And Motorola’s Ready For software platform is one of them.
Ready For unleashes the power of the smartphone by providing new ways of interacting across devices and amplifying everyday experiences to larger displays. And when it comes to education – teachers, students and parents can all reap the benefits of an intuitive, immersive platform like Ready For.
The Teacher
Ready For lets users activate advanced subject tracking** when video calling & recording. The advanced subject tracking feature automatically determines the best camera to use, tracks movement and zooms in and out to ensure you’re always front and center, regardless of if you’re writing on the whiteboard or sitting at your desk.
And with Ready For PC¹, teachers can also more easily multitask during lessons. By simply downloading the Ready For assistant application on your Windows device and scanning a QR code, your Ready For Mobile Desktop will appear on your Windows screen, so you can text your colleagues status updates or attendance records while also teaching a new lesson.
The Student
In addition to leveraging advanced subject tracking for A+ worthy presentations, Ready For lets students use their phone as their PC by connecting to a TV* and using a mouse and keyboard. This means students can use existing technology around the house, like a TV, to easily view pre-recorded lectures, review class notes, and study materials content on a larger screen.
For those students who do have a PC, Ready For PC¹ will make it easier to stay focused as it brings all your notifications to one screen, so there’s no need to switch back and forth between devices or open unnecessary tabs.
The Parent
Whether you are constantly trying to find the charger to the laptop or making sure your child is actually doing their homework, as a parent, you no longer need to stress about keeping track of all your child’s technology. Because with Ready For, you can use one device – the phone. Wirelessly connect to a TV*, so you can see the homework while still being able to use your phone to check the answers (because let’s be honest 5th graders are smarter than most of us). And you’ll never hear: “I forgot to bring my school computer” or “I don’t have my homework assignment with me”, again. Now it’s all on one device.
Ready For is available on motorola edge 20 pro, motorola edge 20 and motorola edge 2021, edge+ and g100. Ready For PC is available on motorola edge 20 pro, motorola edge 20, motorola edge (2021) and motorola edge 20 lite.
To learn more about our Ready For platform and its capabilities, please visit our website.
¹Ready For PC is available on selected devices, and on Windows 10 or 11. Visit the FAQ page for a full list of device and software compatibility. Requires PC app download. PC and mobile device to connect wirelessly must share the same Wi-Fi AP (access point) OR must be connected via USB-C cord.
*Video-enabled USB-C cable or USB-C-to-HDMI adaptor required; TV or monitor must have HDMI port or USB-C video-in port.
** can recognize up to 3 faces/people in the same frame.
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Meet Our New Brand Platform: Power to Empower
July 29, 2021
When was the last time you thought about the power your mobile phone can give you? We all have the power to make a difference in the world, and it´s just waiting to be unleashed. Phones are at the center of people´s lives and connect us like never before, and they have the power to empower the next generation of thinkers, innovators, and change makers.
This idea has inspired us to usher in a new moment for our brand and launch our global brand platform Power to Empower.
At Motorola, we want to be generators of positive change. We´re a trustworthy presence in the mobile industry, building on a 90-year legacy of craftsmanship and expertise that centers on our desire to bring meaningful, reliable, high-quality technology to our consumers. We take great care in designing and engineering innovative products that create mobile connections for millions of consumers around the world. And we approach innovation with an inclusive mindset, representing the incredible diversity of our consumers.
Now, we´re reinforcing our commitment to these existing values across our product portfolio, our partnerships, and our business as a whole. And most importantly, we see Power to Empower as an opportunity to create an emotional space where we can engage with our consumers in new and creative ways.
We developed this brand platform along with WTF? Agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina and worked with Magma and The Masses to build our first Power to Empower campaign around real stories about how people use technology that inspired us. We look forward to exploring this important change to our brand alongside them, building a brighter future for our communities and our planet.
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Motorola razr 5G wins Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021
July 16, 2021
Motorola has scooped the coveted Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021 with its distinguished razr 5G device, for its high design and user experience quality. Since its launch last year, the device has been recognized widely for its groundbreaking design.
Motorola strives to innovate around the design and engineering of smartphones in order to create devices that meet the needs of consumers while also providing them with an element of surprise and delight. This extends across the entire portfolio of products but was most recently recognized by Red Dot for razr’s unique clamshell foldable design.
“razr 5G was designed to create a totally new smartphone experience that utilizes flexible display technology and answers a real consumer pain point – the need for portability without sacrificing access to content”, says Ruben Castano, Head of Customer Experience at Motorola. “Every decision throughout the development process was geared toward delivering a strikingly beautiful device with a totally unique, but totally practical, pocketable design. As a result, razr succeeds at embodying each of Motorola’s core design principles: simplicity, surprise, and richness”.
The Red Dot Award: Product Design dates back as far as 1955 and recognizes the best products for a given year. The roughly 50 jurors were once again true to the motto “In search of good design and innovation” in the 2021 competition. The international panel of experts comprises specialists from a wide variety of sectors. They scrutinized the products entered in the competition in a process that spanned several days and were guided by assessment criteria such as the product’s formal quality, ergonomics and longevity.
razr 5G can be seen in the online exhibition on the Red Dot website. Starting on June 22, 2021, the razr 5G is also included in the exhibition “Design on Stage” in the Red Dot Design Museum Essen, where all of the award-winning products are showcased. Visitors to the museum can experience the quality of the designs in a space that features contemporary design solutions and historical industrial architecture.
To read more about the motorola razr 5G please visit the website.
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Hello Pride Month: Celebrating our LGBTQ+ community
June 21, 2021
From our products to our employees, our goal is to always make people feel empowered, supported and included. And this Pride Month is no different, as we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and amplify their voices.
To learn more about what this month means to them, how being proud has impacted their career and what they’re most looking forward to post-pandemic, we sat down with a few of our very own PRIDE members and allies:
Q1: What does Pride Month mean to you?
Johnny Cheganças, Global Brand Marketing Analyst: Pride Month to me means a celebration of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is a special occasion to honor those who paved the way for us to earn the rights to be free being who we are.
Nataly Gonzales Molano, Sales Operations Specialist: For me, Pride Month means celebrating diversity and working together to ensure that our society and laws respect and treat everyone the same. Today, there are still people who suffer from discrimination due to their sexual orientation and gender identity and as allies, we can contribute by creating an environment where everyone feels included and can be themselves.
Eduardo Lagreca, Director of Sales Operations: Pride Month, for me, is an opportunity to honor those who came before us and fought for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, to reflect on what has been accomplished, to make plans for what still needs to be done and to celebrate love with friends!
Q2: How do you feel being proud in the workplace has benefitted your career?
Johnny: It would be overwhelming and exhaustive if I couldn’t be myself in my workplace. It was such a battle for me before I could understand who I am and feel comfortable with myself, that I’d never put myself at a place where I am not allowed to be me. Having a place that is welcoming of me is already a victory.
Nataly: I believe that when you are proud in the workplace you can be authentic and you are motivated to bring the best of you. In my case, I am passionate about learning, developing new ideas, and participating in different projects. I feel that in this company we have the autonomy to thrive professionally, whilst also having people that guide, support, and encourage us.
Eduardo: I think it must be very hard to go into work every day having to pretend you are someone you are not. Being out and proud has made me a happier, wholesome person and has benefited my life in general, including my career.
Q3: How do you find strength in your community?
Johnny: Sadly, we have a lack of opportunities in the LGBTQIA+ community and when the opportunities do exist, sometimes we still need to prove that we are just as good as straight people. I have seen this happen with my close friends. But personally, I am lucky to have never experienced this in my workplace or during school and this made me grow up with confidence and strength regardless of my sexual orientation. I think that strength comes from having parents, family and friends that accept/respect who I am and that gave me a “rock” or solid base.
Nataly: Being part of PRIDE LATAM as an ally has been an amazing experience. Here, you can be sure that your peers listen to your ideas and encourage you to be authentic. It is also incredible to contribute to raising awareness on the important issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community and teach others that even if you do not belong to the community you can make a difference and celebrate diversity.
Eduardo: Participating in PRIDE gave me the opportunity to meet and get to know such wonderful people! LGBTQ+ and allies working together, sharing a passion for diversity and inclusion and connecting at a very human level. I’m very grateful to be part of this team!
Q4: What’s something you look forward to doing with the LGBTQ+ community once things start to open back up again?
Johnny: I absolutely would love to travel to visit my friends who live in different countries. We have been apart for so long that I want to be surrounded with all of my friends as much as I can!
Nataly: I would like to continue to actively support the community after Pride Month is over. Since my teenage years, I have dedicated my spare time to several volunteer programs related to inclusion and I learned that if we want to be agents of change and help others, the most important thing is to be an ally in not just some but every situation.
I am looking forward to continuing to learn and get involved in the initiatives of PRIDE LATAM and building a better workplace for all. I think that empathy, and willingness to learn will help me to be a much better ally.
Eduardo: Face-to-face happy hours! We’ve been working remotely for a long time now… once we get back together the first thing on the list should be to celebrate!
Wishing a Happy Pride Month to everyone celebrating! #hellopride
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Motorola’s President reflects on fiscal year performance and what’s to come in the year ahead
May 27, 2021
Yesterday, Lenovo announced its Q4 and full-year earnings, and our mobile business unit contributed to the company’s impressive results with a record-breaking performance in the fourth quarter. This performance demonstrates the success of our transformation journey since 2018 and positions us for continued momentum as we leverage go-to-market synergies as “One Lenovo.
As we close out the fiscal year, Sergio Buniac, Motorola’s President, reflects on the key highlights of our performance, lessons learned and what’s to come in the year ahead.
#1: What are the highlights from Motorola’s business performance in the past fiscal year?
This past year has been a rollercoaster year with the uncertainty brought on by the global pandemic. However, it brought out the best in our organization by forcing us to focus on our strengths and recover from a tough situation. As a result of our resilience, we succeeded in four key areas:
Accelerating our trajectory: We recovered from initial market slowdowns to achieve Q/Q revenue growth in each quarter while also improving our profitability. We ended with a record FQ4, achieving our highest quarterly profit since the Lenovo acquisition and our highest Y/Y revenue growth in the past 8 quarters. As a result of our strong performance throughout the year, we grew +9% YTY and outgrew the market by +5 pts premium-to-market Y/Y unit growth.
Driving growth in our geos: We also drove broad-based growth with premium-to-market volume and revenue growth across all our markets. In our stronghold markets, we achieved our best market position with a record 20.9% share in LA, and 4 consecutive quarters of PTM growth in NA. In other markets, we continued our hypergrowth trajectory with double-digit premium-to-market volume and revenue growth in Europe, APMEA and India.
Growing profitability: We managed to drive growth across our geos while achieving record profitability for 2 quarters in a row. On top of that, all of our geos were operationally profitable 4 quarters in a row – the first time this has ever happened since Motorola’s acquisition by Lenovo!
Expanding our strategic initiatives: Finally, we continued to drive strategic initiatives. We continued making 5G more accessible than ever with the launch of moto g 5G plus (1st to 5G in mid-tier) and moto g (bringing 5G to $250 price tier), we focused on innovation that matters and introduced new experiences like “ready for” to amplify our smartphone’s capability beyond the small screen, and we launched ThinkShield for mobile to satisfy the needs of our B2B customers and to drive synergies with the broader Lenovo go-to-market.
#2: What are some of the most unexpected lessons you’ve learned over the past year?
This past fiscal year has tested our resilience, patience and adaptability. And I could not be more proud of how our team has handled this uncharted territory together. We worked in entirely new ways to address the novel challenges of the past year while protecting our employees.
One of the key aspects that we had to adapt to is the fact that the strong industry recovery created industry-wide shortages. As a result, we have had to get creative to gain access to critical components and drive innovation.
We accomplished that by leveraging the broader Lenovo strength to negotiate strategically with our suppliers and to be nimble and innovative in the way we bring our products to market.
This agility also involved taking a unique approach with our product development and roadmap, but it is a testament to our ability to innovate.
#3: What are the key opportunities you see in the year ahead and how will your business group leverage Lenovo’s new service-led strategy to drive success?
Going into FY21, we have tremendous momentum in our business with the highest demand for our products and continued improvement in our NPS scores. In addition, we have a wide customer footprint with our 5G products being sold in 80+ partners across 35+ countries. All of these factors have strengthened our reputation as a trusted global brand.
Given our strong performance, and our momentum, we expect to continue our strategy of profitable growth in FY21. On top of these opportunities, we are also excited about the strategy of broader “One Lenovo” and believe we are well positioned to capitalize on leveraging the synergies across the business groups.
To hear from leaders of all Lenovo’s business units please visit the Lenovo Story Hub.
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Hello Milwaukee: Motorola x Milwaukee Bucks announce official jersey patch partnership
May 21, 2021
We´re saying hellomoto to an exciting new addition to our North American sports partnerships portfolio: the Milwaukee Bucks! Motorola and the Milwaukee Bucks have formed a multi-year partnership that will bring the iconic Motorola batwing logo to the front left shoulder of all Bucks jerseys, beginning with the 2021 NBA Playoffs. In addition to being the Bucks new jersey patch partner, Motorola has joined the list of Bucks and Fiserv Forum Founding Partners and is now the team´s Official Mobile Smartphone Partner.
a slam dunk deal
As part of the partnership, Motorola will also have its branding displayed on Bucks practice jerseys, a first for the team´s jersey patch partner, and will be part of in-arena replays and digital displays at Fiserv Forum. Motorola and the Bucks will also be able to market their partnership internationally as part of the NBA´s International Team Marketing Program.
The Bucks and Motorola, in conjunction with the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation, will also collaborate on a community initiative with a focus on STEM education and advancement. Further details of this community program will be announced at a later date.
a message from our executives
As we embark on our playoff run, we´re proud to have Motorola with us every step of the way as our new jersey patch partner, said Peter Feigin, Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum President Like the Bucks, Motorola is a global company with roots in the Midwest that´s known for its forward thinking and innovation. We´re thrilled that they ll be sewn into the fabric of what we do, both as part of our uniform and as our newest Founding Partner, and we´re excited to bring the best of both companies to an international audience.
Motorola and the Milwaukee Bucks share rich histories of tradition, innovation and a passion for putting consumers first, said Rudi Kalil, VP and general manager, North America at Motorola. The team´s energy, enthusiasm and dedication to their craft is infectious. We´re proud to officially welcome the Bucks into the Motorola family and are thrilled to connect with their fans and NBA sports fanatics worldwide.
keep up with the action
With Motorola as the team´s Official Mobile Smartphone Partner, the Bucks’ social accounts will be capturing and posting content exclusively from Motorola devices throughout the season. Follow the action on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok as well as via #hellomilwaukee.
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Designing for accessibility with Motorola’s Wendel De Assis
May 20, 2021
At Motorola, we strive to deliver meaningful innovation to all of our consumers. And with over 1 billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experiencing some form of disability, creating solutions that are accessibility friendly is a major priority for us.
This Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we sat down with Wendel De Assis, a Software Engineering Manager at Motorola who has become an advocate for accessibility awareness, created a group focused on identifying and improving accessibility-friendliness in our products, and spearheaded a number of initiatives aimed at doing the same.
Q1: What inspired you to bring more accessibility awareness to your team and the projects you work on?
I could say there were two main moments when I realized this was something that we should prioritize in our projects. The first was when we were doing a brainstorming session and one of the participants had some eyesight disabilities and mentioned that it was impossible for him to use one of our main features, as it wasn’t properly supporting the color inversion accessibility functionality. The second was when I discovered that about 1 billion people identify themselves with some type of disability. I felt there was a huge group of people that we could better support through even the smallest changes in our devices.
Q2: What recent initiatives has the group spearheaded to improve accessibility in Motorola’s products?
We’ve picked up the Moto App project, which includes some of Motorola’s key features, such as Display, Gestures, Personalize and Tips. Designed to provide users with a way to find all the features that make Motorola phones so easy and enjoyable to use, we started by testing the app to look for accessibility improvement opportunities. We used automated accessibility testing tools and some help from real users to get their insights about our application. So, we’ve listed all the issues raised and worked together with our design and development teams to improve the application in many ways, like adding labels for the talk back functionality, improving the design of the screens, color updates and so on. These design, display and visibility changes can be accessed in the updated Moto App available for download via the Google Play Store.
Q3: Why is this work important to you specifically?
If you look at the current number of people who have some type of disability, that would be enough to care about. However, it isn’t just that. We still have people with disabilities that don’t identify with the community and those who are friends or family with someone with a disability. Also, everyone may have some kind of temporary disability, such as when you break an arm or are carrying a bag from the market and just don’t have enough hands. So, it turns out that designing for accessibility is actually making your product better for everyone, while helping those who need it the most!
Q4: How do you see this initiative continuing to progress in the future? What are you focused on going forward?
We’ve added accessibility checks as part of our development tasks, so we make sure all new features developed by the team are taken into consideration. Going forward, we are working to raise awareness to all of our internal Motorola groups, and hope to apply this work to every aspect of our devices that we design going forward. In the future, we’d like to expand our small group into an “Accessibility Champions Board” entirely dedicated to auditing our products, collecting customer feedback and identifying the ways we can improve accessibility across all of our franchises and experiences.
