Motorola is a popular smartphone brand that has been in the industry for many years. When considering purchasing a Motorola phone, you may be curious about where these devices are manufactured. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the brand or considering purchasing your first Motorola phone, this guide will provide you with all the information you need to make an informed decision.
The first Motorola phone was the DynaTAC 8000X, which was introduced in 1983 and commercially available in 1984. It was manufactured in the United States. It was the world’s first handheld cellular phone and weighed about 2 pounds. It had a battery life of 30 minutes and a memory capacity of 30 phone numbers. It cost a whopping $3,995 at the time of launch in 1984.
As you can see from this introduction, Motorola has a long history of manufacturing phones in the US. But are Motorola phones still made in the US? Where are Motorola phones made today? Our complete guide answers your questions in detail. Let’s get into the meat of the article.
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The History of Motorola Phones
Once upon a time, Motorola phones used to be a part of the Motorola Corporation, also known as Motorola Inc, an American technology company with headquarters and manufacturing facilities on US soil. The first mobile phone was a Motorola, and for many years, it was the largest cell phone brand in the world. In January 2011, Motorola Inc. split into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions.
Motorola Solutions remained a US company, carries on the legacy of Motorola Inc., and continues to produce 2-way radios, telecommunications equipment and products till date. Motorola Mobility, on the other hand, was acquired by Google in 2012 and continued to manufacture Motorola phones under the same brand name.
After years of being unable to grow the cell phone business, Google also sold the Motorola Mobility division to Chinese technology company, Lenovo. And so, it was that Motorola phones stopped being American and became Chinese. Motorola Mobility, and hence Motorola phones, have remained under the umbrella of Lenovo till date.
Where Are Motorola Phones Made Or Manufactured?
After the Lenovo acquisition, Motorola Mobility shut down its US manufacturing facility in Texas in 2014 and moved all manufacturing of Motorola phones outside the country, namely China and Brazil. Motorola has also opened a manufacturing facility in India in recent times. So, while Motorola Mobility has kept its corporate headquarters in the United States, its manufacturing capacity is not in the US.
Are Motorola Cell Phones Made In The USA?
Motorola phones were once made in the United States. Not anymore. The manufacturing facility in Texas was opened in 2013 was used to assemble the Moto X smartphone, which allowed customers to customize their devices via Moto Maker. However, the Moto X did not sell well enough to justify the high costs of running the factory, which employed around 700 workers at the time of closure. And so, the Texas factory was the last to make Motorola phones in the US. It had a short-lived run.
Motorola cell phones have not been manufactured or made in the USA since way beck in 2014 when manufacturing was moved to Brazil and China.
Motorola was once the largest phone maker in the world from 1998 to 2000. It overtook Nokia in 1998 with a market share of 17.4%, but lost its lead in 2000 when Nokia regained the top spot with 30.6%. Motorola’s market share declined further in the following years due to increased competition from other brands and lack of innovation.
The phone maker called Motorola Mobility is currently the 3rd largest smartphone shipper in the United States of America, after Apple and Samsung in first and second places respectively. And like them, production is now done entirely outside of the US.