Motorola

About Motorola

Lenovo owns Motorola's phone business. It bought Motorola Mobility from Google in a deal that closed on October 30, 2014, and runs it as a wholly owned subsidiary.

This page covers the phones and gadgets sold under the Motorola and moto names: razr flip and fold phones, edge, moto g and the signature flagships, plus tablets, earbuds, watches and tags.

It stops at two-way radios, body cameras and command center software. Those carry the Motorola name too, but they come from Motorola Solutions, a separate company with its own New York Stock Exchange listing.

Who owns Motorola?

Lenovo does, through Motorola Mobility LLC. The footer on motorola.com says its phones are designed and made by Motorola Mobility LLC, "a wholly owned subsidiary of Lenovo."

Lenovo announced the deal on January 29, 2014 and closed it on October 30, 2014. The price was about US$2.91 billion: roughly US$660 million in cash, US$750 million in Lenovo shares and a US$1.5 billion three-year promissory note.

Lenovo got the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark portfolio and more than 2,000 patent assets.

Inside Lenovo, it sits in the Intelligent Devices Group, alongside PCs and tablets.

Did Google own Motorola?

Yes, from 2012 until the sale to Lenovo in 2014. Google agreed on August 15, 2011 to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings for $40 a share in cash, about $12.5 billion in total.

Larry Page later wrote that Google acquired Motorola in 2012 "to help supercharge the Android ecosystem." In January 2014 he announced the sale to Lenovo for $2.91 billion.

The patents are the part people forget. Google kept the vast majority of them and Motorola got a licence instead, so Lenovo bought the phone business and the brand, not the whole patent pile.

Is Motorola Solutions part of Lenovo?

No. Motorola Solutions is a separate, independent company. Lenovo bought Motorola Mobility, not Motorola Solutions. Both came out of the old Motorola, Inc.

On January 4, 2011, Motorola, Inc. completed the separation of Motorola Mobility Holdings, gave shareholders one Motorola Mobility share for every eight they held, and renamed itself Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI). The Mobility half went to Google, then to Lenovo.

Motorola Solutions stayed on its own. Its 2025 annual report describes mission-critical safety and security technology for public safety, government and enterprise customers: radio networks, video security and access control, and command center software.

So if you need two-way radios or body cameras, you want Motorola Solutions. If you want a phone, you want Motorola Mobility.

Who owns the Motorola name?

A company called Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC, and it sits on the Lenovo side. Motorola's own site says MOTOROLA and the Stylized M logo are registered trademarks of that company.

Motorola Solutions fills in the rest in its 2025 annual report. It no longer owns the MOTOROLA mark. Motorola Trademark Holdings is currently owned by Motorola Mobility. And Motorola Solutions has licensed the Motorola marks from it since 2010.

So the licensor is Motorola Trademark Holdings (owned by Lenovo's Motorola Mobility) and the licensee is Motorola Solutions. As of that filing, for the year to December 31, 2025, the licence was still in place.

That's how two separately owned businesses end up with the same logo.

How does Motorola sit next to Lenovo's other brands?

Motorola is Lenovo's phone brand. On Brandligo it sits next to ThinkPad, the business laptops Lenovo got with IBM's PC division in 2005, and Lenovo Legion and Yoga, the gaming and premium consumer PCs.

The lines cross over a bit. Motorola's US site sells the Lenovo Tab Plus next to its own moto pad, and its business menu lists ThinkShield Mobile Security beside moto for business.

Want a laptop? Motorola isn't where you look. Go to ThinkPad for work machines, or Legion and Yoga for gaming and home use.

Who are Motorola phones for?

Start with the shape you want. razr is the folding family, sold as flip and fold phones, including a razr fold. Motorola leans hard on what it calls the "iconic razr flip design."

The signature line is the top end. Motorola calls it its ultra premium devices, and it unveiled the signature 27 on September 22, 2026 as its most advanced flagship to date.

edge and moto g are the non-folding ranges. Motorola's US site pitches moto g as stylish yet durable.

Brandligo also lists moto e. It doesn't appear on Motorola's US phone page, so check it's sold where you live.

Need radios for a crew, or laptops for an office? Motorola Solutions or ThinkPad will serve you better.

What should you check before buying or partnering?

First, check which Motorola you're dealing with. Phones come from Motorola Mobility (Lenovo), which runs motorola.com and its support pages. Radios and public safety systems come from Motorola Solutions. Different companies, different contracts.

Second, check the model year. Motorola puts the year in the name, and the US site sells an edge 2026 next to an edge 2025.

Third, check your region. Not every family or model is sold everywhere.

Buying for a team? Motorola has a moto for business section on its site. Ask what support and security come with the deal before you sign.