Of all the competing Android phone brands out there, none are more intertwined than Google's Pixel phones and Motorola's smartphones, in my mind; with Moto's phones feeling far more like Pixel precursors in my mind than even Google's own Nexus line.
Motorola – which Google owned between 2012 and 2014 – made phones with unspectacular but useful features, meant to make your life easier. It built up a loyal following after its Moto X-series impressed reviewers and buyers alike; though that philosophy would soon lose its form. While Google subsequently sold Motorola off and continued along its own smartphone path, the now-Lenovo-owned phone maker remains one of the biggest names producing handsets with a user experience that's comparably as clean as Google's own.
