Although Motorola’s Project Ara never really went into mass production, part of its modular concept did get a lot of attention. It could have even been partly responsible for modular accessories that were introduced with the ASUS ZenPad 7.0, and more recently the LG G5. It is only natural then that Motorola would want join the party too, and it has now done so with its latest Moto Z family of phones and their Moto Mods snap-on accessories. Currently, only the Moto Z DROID Edition and Moto Z Force DROID Edition are available for sale but unfortunately, as the ‘DROID’ branding would suggest, they’re only available to customers of Verizon, a US based telco. Moto Z DROID is priced at US$ 624 (~RM 2,531) for 32 GB and US$ 674 (~RM 2,734) for 64 GB variants, while the Moto Z Force DROID has been pegged at US$ 720 (~RM 2,921) and US$ 770 (~RM 3,124) for 32 GB and 64 GB variants respectively. As for those of us outside the US, Motorola has confirmed that the international variants, without the DROID branding, will be available worldwide beginning in September, together with their Moto Mods.
Both Moto Z (MZ) and Moto Z Force (MZF) are aimed at the premium segment and come with refreshed hardware and updates on existing Motorola technologies. There are only 4 major differences between the two devices but they are significant; which should explain why they have a price difference of US$ 96 (~RM 387.5). The highlights are still the proprietary Moto ShatterShield technology on the MZF, and the extensive customisation options via Moto Maker, but this time around, the Moto Mods range of accessories are now in the spotlight too for the first time.
Crafted from aircraft-grade aluminium and stainless steel, MZ is also claimed to be the world’s thinnest phone at 5.19 mm. MZF on the other hand is the larger of the two and it comes with a slightly thicker, but still commendable, waistline of 6.99 mm. Both devices are powered by the same SoC and graphics, and these have been lumped together with the Natural Language Processor and the Contextual Computing Processor; these collectively make up what is called the Motorola Mobile Computing System.
On the imaging side, though MZ is missing the PDAF and only has a 13 MP camera, the important features like OIS, laser autofocus and the Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) dual-LED flash have all been brought over from MZF. The front 5 MP camera, with its large 1.4 µm pixel size and LED flash are the same too on both devices.
Water-repellent nano coating, TurboPower charging that gives up to 15 hours for MZF, and 8 hours for MZ, in just 15 minutes, and great battery life (up to 40 and 30 hours respectively for MZF and MZ) are some of the other useful features the phones are equipped with. Additionally, MZF goes one-up with its Moto ShatterShield technology that protects its display as well as its embedded lens against shattering and cracking for 4 years from the original date of purchase.
| Moto Z DROID Edition | Moto Z Force DROID Edition | |
| SoC / CPU / GPU | 64-bit quad-core (2x 2.15 GHz Kryo processors + 2x 1.6 GHz Kryo processors) Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (MSM8996) SoC, with Qualcomm Adreno 530 graphics. Combined together with Natural Language Processor and Contextual Computing Processor to make up Motorola Mobile Computing System. | |
| OS / UI | Runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with Moto Pure UI. | |
| Display | 5.5”, 2560 x 1440 (QHD), AMOLED display with a pixel density of 534.04 ppi. Comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. | 5.5”, 2560 x 1440 (QHD), AMOLED display with a pixel density of 534.04 ppi. Comes with Moto ShatterShield shatterproof glass. |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM (LPDDR4) with 32/64 GB (UFS 2.0) internal memory, and accepts microSD card of up to 2 TB. | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band (MIMO) with Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, NFC, Moto Mods connector, and USB 2.0 via Type-C 1.0 connector. | |
| Data / Network | GPRS, EDGE, HSPA+ and 4G LTE Cat 9. Single nano-SIM slot. | |
| Camera | 13 MP rear camera, with laser autofocus, Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), and Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) dual-LED flash. 5 MP front camera, with 1.4 µm pixel size, wide-angle lens, and LED flash. Camera aperture sizes are f/1.8 for the rear and f/2.2 for the front. | 21 MP rear camera, with Sony IMX230 Exmor RS CMOS BSI sensor and Deep Trench Isolation, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), laser autofocus, Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), and Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) dual-LED flash. 5 MP front camera, with 1.4 µm pixel size, wide-angle lens, and LED flash. Camera aperture sizes are f/1.8 for the rear and f/2.2 for the front. |
| Additional info | Water repellent nano-coating, TurboPower charger for 15 hours battery life in 15 minutes, Moto Mods port, fingerprint reader, Gyroscope, Professional mode camera, closed loop image processing, video stabilisation, 4K (30 fps) video capture capable, slow motion video at 60 fps, free 2 years Google Photos backup in original file size, stereo sound recording, FM Radio, front-ported loud speaker, USB Type-C to 3.5 mm audio jack port adapter included, active noise cancellation with 4 dedicated mics, Bluetooth audio streaming with additional codec (aptX), and supports additional formats/codecs for audio (FLAC, OGG) and video (H.265, MKV, WebM). | |
| Battery | 2,600 mAh, non-removable Li-ion battery with support for fast charging. | 3,500 mAh, non-removable Li-ion battery with support for fast charging. |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) and weight | 153.3 x 75.3 x 5.19 mm and weighs 136 g. | 155.9 x 75.8 x 6.99 mm and weighs 163 g. |
| Colour(s) | Comes in Black front with Lunar Grey back & trim, White front with Fine Gold back & trim, and Black front with Rose Gold back & trim colour options. | |
Moto Mods
Moving on to the Moto Mods range of accessories, both MZ and MZF phones now have the ability to do even more with just a quick attachment. The Mods that are available now include Moto Style Shells (Fabric Style Shells and Wood Style Shells are priced at US$ 19.99 each, Leather Style Shell at US$ 24.99), Incipio offGRID Power Packs (Black/White regular packs at US$ 59.99, Kate Spade/TUMI designer packs at US$ 79.99) that can be lumped together with a wireless charger (available to all packs for an additional US$ 10, and supports Qi 1.2.1, PMA 3.0 standards), JBL SoundBoost Speaker (US$ 79.99), and the impressive Moto Insta-Share Projector (US$ 299.99). The power packs are capable of adding 22 hours more to the device’s battery life; the speaker system (2x 27 mm speakers, rated at 3 W each) comes with its own 1000 mAh battery that can keep it going for 10 hours without using up the phone’s battery; and the DLP projector, which can throw videos up to 70” in size (diagonal) in WVGA resolution (854×480), comes with its own 1100 mAh battery too to keep it going for about 1 hour.
To build an entire new ecosystem of Moto Mods, Motorola is providing an open architecture as well as tools for ‘modders’ to bring their own Mods to life via the Moto Mods Developer Program. To spur the developers on and to fund the ideas that they may have, the Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group (LCIG) has set aside US$ 1,000,000 in equity funding for individuals or companies that comes up with the best Moto Mods prototype by March 31, 2017.
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