Motorola reportedly scaling back Moto Mods, ditching the Moto X5

Motorola owners Lenovo are scaling back some of the brand's mobile operations, according to reports, with work on the Moto Mods extensions getting scaled back and the Moto X5 (the expected follow-up to last year's Moto X4) getting canned completely.

That's as per a source speaking to Android Police, who says the company is going to focus on the E, G, and Z phones instead. Motorola loyalists shouldn't panic too much, because there are still going to be plenty of Moto handsets for them to buy in the coming months.

The news shouldn't come as a massive shock – Motorola puts out a lot of phones at the moment, and the mid-range X line no longer really had a distinct identity between the premium and budget handsets being released, reducing the appeal of the phones.

Keeping costs down

As for the Mods, Motorola is going to be concentrating on the more mainstream options going forward, the source says. In other words, the more practical add-ons (to improve battery life, for example) will most probably stick around for the foreseeable future.

Lenovo hasn't commented on the rumor, or on reports that the Motorola operation is losing a large chunk of its team in a cost-cutting drive. The market continues to be a tough one for the smaller players, and the move would make Motorola more efficient.

You can still expect plenty of hardware from Motorola in the future though: the latest leaks suggest a mobile VR headset is on the way, probably following the lead of the Daydream View in letting you jump into virtual reality experiences with your mobile phone.