You can thank Motorola’s Senior Vice esident of software engineering, Steve Horowitz, not only for helping with Android in its nascent stages, but for helping develop those neat always-on listening features that made Motorola’s phones worth lusting after again.  

ich is why we were excited to briefly talk with Horowitz about what’s next for things like Touchless Control, why Motorola won’t make its own interface on top of ’s stock Android. 

: One of the Moto X’s best software features is its always-on listening capability. en will we see a similar feature come to the Moto 360?

Horowitz: Moto 360 is the result of a great collaboration between Motorola ’s Android ar team. though not “always on,” it supports sophisticated voice control. In fact, voice is key to interaction with Moto 360 since you can’t easily fit a keyboard on your wrist! ’ve also introduced a new Bluetooth earbud called Moto Hint. This product offers an entirely voice-driven experience you’ll see us work really hard over the coming months to ensure all these devices work seamlessly together complement one another.

: y stick with stock Android for this second-generation Moto X? y not go the same route as other Android OEMs make your own interface overlay?

Horowitz: Rather than trying to “improve” Android or compete with its functions, we see our job as complementing it with great design experiences like Moto Voice, Moto Display Moto Assist. ’ve proven that our approach has fundamental sustainable advantages over other Android OEMs, such as performance advantages the ability to get upgrades out quickly. These things really matter to people. The fact that we’re the only company with this strategy also serves as point of differentiation. It really allows us to focus on things that matter most to our consumers rather than changing things just for the sake of change.

Simplicity has many, many user benefits. Our pure Android approach to software results in an end user experience that is faster, simpler, more robust than ever. It also allows us to deliver important OS software updates with new enhancements, security fixes, functionality faster than anyone else in the industry by a huge margin.

: at’s your personal favorite comm to shout out to the Moto X?

Horowitz: I’m a big fan of “Note to Self.” As with many of us, I’m in the car a lot I always have ideas or things I need to remember. th Moto X, I can stay focused on my driving but still capture my thoughts never forget anything!

: Are there any Easter eggs that we can shout out to the Moto X that we might not be aware of?

Horowitz: Not that I am aware of. t us know if you find any! However, there are plenty of useful comms that aren’t Easter eggs. If you have a Moto X, try telling it to take a selfie.

: at is the one app that you just can’t live without?

Horowitz: I really like nderlist. I use it to organize all my ideas, tasks for work, home, etc. It has great sync capabilities works across all the devices I use from Moto X, to tablets, to laptops.

: ich Android device are you currently sporting? And which Android ar device?

Horowitz: New Moto X, naturally, with a cognac leather back, a black Moto 360 with a black leather b.

: en did you become an Android user? at was your first Android device?

Horowitz: I became a user before Android was “Android”! I was leading the engineering team at during the initial creation of Android used several different prototype devices before we ultimately shipped the software on the original Android G1, back in 2008.