Motorola is evolving itself into a lifestyle tech brand that is relevant, focused on design and experience, said Ruben Castano, VP Design, Brand and CX at Motorola Mobility in an exclusive chat with The Hindu, as the Lenovo-owned smartphone brand embarked upon a new journey with Signature, their new premium flagship smartphone series, built upon experiential services.
“Signature represents what we want to be as brand. It is going to sit at the very top of our portfolio, and for those that don’t see their smartphone as just a tool, but as a very personal object,” he added.
Signature is going to be a franchise and a product line where we will continue to invest in, said Ruben.
Ruben said that Motorola fixed its fundamentals like time to market, profitability, overall cost of products, manufacturing strategy, and has now moved into a trajectory of sustainable growth with an aspiration to grow in premium segment.
“We have been able to reconnect with young, more design conscious consumers. We clarified what we stand for in the market, which is quite cluttered.”
Motorola said that India remains one of its most important markets, globally. “It’s not only our fastest growing market, but also largest market by volume and revenue for the Edge franchise.”
Ruben said that Motorola’s Razr and Edge represent close to 40% of company’s total revenue.
Ruben agrees that India market is moving towards higher price points because there are affordability, financing and trade-in options available to the consumers, and that will certainly help Motorola grow on premium ladder.
Motorola is having a very balanced approach when it comes to sales in India. It sells across online and offline stores. “Both channels are quite important for us in in the Indian market,” said Ruben.
Ruben said that Motorola is going to launch the book style foldable phone in India later this year.
Motorola is also exporting phones from India to North America including Razr devices, said Ruben.
On competing with Apple and Samsung in the premium segment with Signature, Ruben said, “Signature is not a tool of technology, but an extension of yourself. It has got DxO gold mark for its camera system.”
Motorola has been quite focused on the designing of their phones and tied up with Pantone, Dolby and Bose in the process. “They help us grow and connect in a more relevant way with consumers.”
On the rising memory costs Ruben said that they are managing this through multiple ways. “We’re making smarter design choices. Being part of Lenovo gives us some strategic advantages. We can establish longer, more strategic partnerships with key component suppliers.”
Motorola is working to expand its ecosystem devices as well. “Over past few years, we have been building steadily to cover across different price points, TWS, Bluetooth earbuds. We are having a complete smartphone portfolio, a complete ecosystem of connected devices.” It is building on its software platforms like Smart Connect that helps in cross connectivity.
“We are on a very steady trajectory, and by 2027, will be able to double our business from where we started in 2023-24. By the end of this year, we are going to meet all our targets, both in value and volume.”
We continue to gain trust and acquire new, younger consumers that were not considering the Motorola brand previously, added Ruben.
Published – January 24, 2026 11:10 am IST
