Verizon has started rolling out Android 5.1 Lollipop to the second-generation Moto E, bringing with the update a number of new features and improvements for Motorola's mid-range smartphone.
The wireless carrier announced [pdf] that the update will bump the Moto E's software version to 23.11.17 and will include a number of minor enhancements to the user interface, including new icons in the volume settings panel to match the icons in the status bar, additional controls in the pull-down menu, and increased minimum swipe distance if the phone is in Ambient Display.
The update also includes other new features that existing Android 5.1 users already enjoy, such as the ability to block notifications until the next alarm and change notification volume during media playback. The second-gen Moto E will also now have Device Protection, which locks lost or stolen devices unless the phone's owner signs in with his Google account.
As usual, Verizon will release the update over the air in phases, which means not every Moto E owner will receive the update right away. Meanwhile, the international version of the 2015 Moto E received Android 5.1 last month.
Other Motorola handsets on their way to receiving the new firmware include the Droid Turbo, whose claim to fame is a massive 3,900 mAh battery. Last week, David Ruddock of Android Central announced in a tweet that Verizon was getting ready to roll out build number 23.11.33 for the Turbo, with an expected release date of June 10.
However, no updates have been made for the Turbo, and the handset is languishing behind in Android 4.4 KitKat while other Motorola phones start getting Android Lollipop. Earlier this year, Motorola engineer Luciano Carvalho said Motorola was going to bypass Android 5.0 for the Turbo because of the numerous bugs that plagued the first version of Android Lollipop and was going to jump straight ahead to Android 5.1, which appears to be imminent.
The 2013 Moto X is also facing a possible release next week, as Motorola's senior director of software product management David Schuster himself revealed on Google+ that the phone is currently undergoing Android 5.1 Lollipop soak tests in France and Germany before the new firmware is fully deployed in the coming days.
