Big Moto Edge Plus software update adds Android 11 and mobile desktop feature

By Andy Boxall Published March 17, 2021

Own a Motorola Moto Edge Plus, or considering getting one? There’s good news on the software front as an Android 11 update is headed to the phone very soon, along with a new set of features called “Ready For,” where your phone can be connected to other devices for a big-screen experience.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

To access Ready For, the Edge Plus connects to a TV or monitor using a USB-C to HDMI or USB-C to USB-C cable, where the Ready For Experience Hub pops up to guide you through the new functionality. At its heart, Ready For works a little like Samsung’s DeX, where you view multiple windows, documents, videos, and images on a larger screen just like if you were using a desktop computer. The Moto Edge Plus also works with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to complete the desktop-like experience.

Recommended Videos

It goes beyond basic productivity work too. Pair a Bluetooth games controller and Ready For puts mobile games on the television and lets you relax when you play. Additionally, videos stored on your phone can be streamed to a TV or monitor when connected using the Ready For system, and you can watch videos through streaming apps from your phone in the same way.

While all Ready For really needs is a cable and a compatible screen to work, Motorola has also made a special dock. It holds the Moto Edge Plus in portrait orientation, and the cable needed to connect to the screen extends out of the back of the dock, rather than your phone. It’s ideal if you want to make your workstation semi-permanent. If you use the dock, Ready For also activates a video call feature, with the option to use the front camera or flip the phone around to use the rear 108-megapixel camera instead. You get a better resolution, a wide field of view, and the call is shown on the connected screen rather than the phone.

Android 11 and the Ready For feature will be available as a software update for the Motorola Moto Edge Plus on Verizon starting from March 17. It has not announced availability or a price for the dock yet. If you own the phone, don’t expect the update to immediately appear, as often these releases are staggered to ensure it all goes smoothly. Just have patience, and know that it’s on the way.

Topics

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Mobile

How I learned to love the OnePlus 11’s controversial software

The OnePlus 11's screen.

When I picked up the OnePlus 10 Pro, I missed the old OxygenOS immediately. Gone was the fluid and feature-light software that made OnePlus phones such a great experience, replaced by the heavy, slower, and more annoying ColorOS-inspired software few liked as much. I liked it even less on the OnePlus 10T, and I wasn’t the only one.

I really like the OnePlus 11, but I wasn’t expecting to like OxygenOS 13 much. My early impression of ColorOS 13 was good, but I didn’t trust the newly Oppo-ified OnePlus enough to think it would carry over. But after using, and loving, the OnePlus 11 for several weeks, I no longer feel any animosity towards OxygenOS. Have I simply become used to it, or has the software actually got better?
What’s the problem with OxygenOS?

Mobile

The OnePlus 11’s excellent alert slider is also a big problem

A close-up shot of the alert slider on the OnePlus 11.

What makes a OnePlus phone a OnePlus phone? It's a question with many answers that have changed over the years, and one I'm pondering again now that the OnePlus 11 is here. It used to be a device with impressive specs at an ultra-competitive price, but rising costs over the years have changed that. It also used to be clean and lightweight software, but OxygenOS 13 has taken OnePlus in a very different direction.

Something that has remained (mostly) consistent is the iconic alert slider — the small, physical switch on the side of OnePlus phones for quickly changing your notification volume. OnePlus tried removing it on the OnePlus 10T last year, but after receiving unrelenting backlash, the alert slider has returned on the OnePlus 11. And while OnePlus will pat itself on the back for resurrecting the feature while fans praise its return, I'm ready for something new.
The OnePlus 11's alert slider is incredible ...

Mobile

The OnePlus 11 is launching on February 7 with two fan-favorite features

Event teaser for The OnePlus 11 "Cloud 11" event.

OnePlus is planning on starting the new year off with a bang by revealing the much-anticipated OnePlus 11. Launching on February 7 during the company's annual first-quarter showcase, the OnePlus 11 boasts the return of two user-favorite features: the company's signature alert slider and Hasselblad photography integration — both of which were absent on the OnePlus 10T.

Although OnePlus is still keeping most of the official details about the OnePlus 11 under wraps until February, there have been plenty of leaks and rumors surrounding the phone — and they've painted it as a worthy successor to the OnePlus 10T, the company's most recent flagship.