Google refreshes its search for the future

The Moto X was Google's vision for the future of mobile technology. Billed as the world's first artificially intelligent phone, its permanent listening mode enabled it to serve up directions or give weather forecasts in response to spoken commands. That was until the search giant called an end to the adventure with the $2.9bn (£1.8bn) sale of Motorola to rising Chinese star Lenovo on Wednesday, a move that will free its engineers to focus on other revolutionary technologies. Google's recent acquisitions – from robot maker Boston Dynamics to a London company that aims to make computers think like humans – show how its ambitions stretch far beyond the smartphone. After all, mobile phones are now a low-margin, high-volume manufacturing business, which makes them a better fit for Lenovo than Google.