Moto G56 spec sheet reveals software support will vary based on RAM variant

Motorola is planning to unveil a handful of new smartphones under its Moto G number series, one of which is the Moto G56. Ahead of its launch, the full spec sheet of the phone has surfaced online, revealing not only all of its specifications details but also a surprising detail regarding software support.

Posted on X by Evan Blass, the Moto G56 will be quite different from its predecessor, the Moto G55 (curr. available on Amazon.de for €164.99). For starters, the G56 will have a 6.72-inch FHD+ LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1000 nits of brightness, and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection. The Moto G55 has a 6.49-inch display with Gorilla Glass 5.

Motorola will once again stick to MediaTek this year, replacing the Dimensity 7025 in the Moto G55 with the yet-to-be-announced Dimensity 7060. The Moto G56 will be available in 4GB and 8GB RAM variants with 128GB or 256GB of storage. It will have a MicroSD card slot for adding up to an extra 2TB of storage.

The Moto G56 will keep the 50MP + 8MP ultrawide dual camera setup of the previous generation, but it will ditch the 16MP front-facing camera for a 32MP sensor. Motorola is also bumping the battery capacity from 5,000mAh to 5,200mAh, and it should charge a little faster now at 33W.

Other features are stereo speakers, dual microphones, a fingerprint scanner, ThinkShield protection, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and Wi-Fi 6. The Moto G56 will also have an IP68 + IP69 dual rating for dust and water resistance as well as a MIL-STD-810H certification.

Depending on the market, the Moto G56 will either have a single SIM (1 Nano SIM + MicroSD card slot), dual SIM (1Nano SIM + eSIM + MicroSD card slot), or hybrid dual SIM slot (2 Nano SIMs or 1 Nano SIM + MicroSD card slot). The phone will be available in Pantone Black Oyster, Pantone Gray Mits, Pantone Dazzling Blue, and Pantone Dill.

The surprising detail from the leaked document is the software support. It turns out that the Moto G56's software support duration will be hinged on the RAM. The 4GB RAM variant will receive 1 year of OS updates and 3 years of bi-monthly security updates whereas the 8GB RAM variant will receive 2 years of OS updates and 4 years of bi-monthly security updates.

While it is not unheard of that certain features of a phone or tablet can be limited to select RAM variants, case in point, the Moto G56 itself which limits its Smart Connect feature to the 8GB RAM variant; this seems to be the first time software support duration is being differentiated based on the memory variant. It remains to be seen how fans of the brand will react to this news, but one can wager a guess that many won't be pleased.