The idea behind the Moto Z series of smartphones is not new. The most notable example of the early concept I can think of is Google's "Project Ara" that was discontinued in 2015. LG also attempted to take on this idea with the G5 but the lack of modular accessories killed that phone quickly too.
Motorola seems, at least for now, to be the only company to get the concept right. The first generation of Moto Z devices proves just that. But this year the second generation came out with upgraded specs and not much else. The same modular accessories that worked with the first generation will work with the second. In fact, Motorola promised at least 3 years of new modular accessories (MotoMods they call them). So some people may want to embrace this ecosystem, but would rather spend less money on last years flagship as an entry... Should you do this too?
MotoMods are accessories that add functionality to any phone in Motorola's Z family. They absolutely rekt the whole "world's thinnest phone" idea, but at the same time, they are the best take on modular smartphones we've seen so far (remember the G5).
Motorola seems, at least for now, to be the only company to get the concept right. The first generation of Moto Z devices proves just that. But this year the second generation came out with upgraded specs and not much else. The same modular accessories that worked with the first generation will work with the second. In fact, Motorola promised at least 3 years of new modular accessories (MotoMods they call them). So some people may want to embrace this ecosystem, but would rather spend less money on last years flagship as an entry... Should you do this too?
First things first: Raw specs
- Body
- Dimensions: 153.3x75.3x5.2mm
- Weight: 136g
- SIM: Dual SIM (nanoSIM), dual-standby or Single SIM (nanoSIM) + microSD Card up to 2TB
- Display: 5.5" AMOLED, 1440x2560px (~535ppi), Gorilla Glass 4
- Connectivity: USB Type-C gen 3.0, w/QuickCharge 3.0 & USB-OTG (host) support
- Platform
- OS: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, upgrade to 7.1.1 Nougat, rumored upgrade to 8.0.0 Oreo
- Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon SDM820
- CPU: Quad-Core (2x1.8GHz + 2x1.6GHz)
- GPU: Ardeno 530
- Memory
- Card Slot: Yes, microSD, uses SIM 2 slot, up to 2TB
- Internal: 32/64GB (I will be reviewing the 32GB model)
- RAM: 4GB
- Camera
- Main: 13MP, f/1.8, 1.12nm pixel size, laser AF, Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), Dual-LED flash, HDR
- Video: 4k @ 30FPS, 1080p @60/30FPS, HDR
- Secondary: 5MP. f/2.2, 1.4nm pixel size, LED flash, 1080p @ 30FPS video recording
Those numbers may not mean anything to you so let me break them down a bit.
"The world's thinnest smartphone" - that's the title you'll get as a smartphone if you are only 5.19mm "thick". It certainly feels nice in the hand, but it's really slippery. You will want to change this. Get a case or...
"Build out your phone". How do you do that? Magnets. And those gold pogo-pins on the back of the phone. I'll explain everything later.
Now, in that shortened spec-sheet I've attached you might have noticed that there is no mention of a headphone jack. That's no mistake. The Moto Z lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack, you'll have to rely on the USB-C port, on Bluetooth or on the USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter included in the box of the phone. This brings to light the one major disadvantage of this implementation: you can't both charge your device and listen to music or watch videos.
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| No headphone jack |
Another thing worth mentioning before I begin is the huge camera-bump... First, it looks ugly. Second, you'd expect that such a big housing would hide a very powerful camera but the Moto Z's camera falls short when you turn the lights off compared to other flagship devices.
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| Just look at it... it sticks out too much |
Even if at launch the Moto Z was more expansive than the Moto X, its successor, the Z2 Force, takes that price even higher... Yet despite the incremental upgrades such as the processor, GPU, and camera, the original Moto Z might be a compelling choice for those who want to enter the MotoMod ecosystem: it is more expansive than the lesser spec-ed Z Play or Z2 Play yet more powerful (maybe not when it comes to battery life) but cheaper than the new Z2 Force.
Design
As I've mentioned earlier, the Z took thinness to a whole new level: the steel frame that surrounds the 5.5" AMOLED panel is only 5.19mm thick. At 136g it feels great in the hand but it is somewhat slippery.
At the back of the phone, between the bottom glass panel for the antennae and the camera you can find what makes this phone so special: the 16 gold pogo-style pins that carry data and power back and forth between the phone and the mods.
The entire back plate is magnetized, as are the mods that click into place and can't be easily separated.
The fingerprint sensor sits on the front of the device right at the bottom, underneath that subtle "moto" logo. It lacks home button functionality, but your brain will try to use it that way in the first few days anyhow. However, there is something it does other than unlocking your phone: it can put the device back to sleep. You won't have to reach for the small lock button on the side this way.
Speaking of which, the 3 side buttons are small and evenly spaced out, therefore confusing to press at times. The fact that the power button is riveted does help, but not as much as you'd think.
Fingerprints are in my opinion the biggest problem with this phone: it attracts them like a and grease like a magnet - at a record-breaking rate too. Both on the front glass and on the steel back. It's not even easy to clean off afterward... I'll give Motorola credit here tho: the smudge-prowess of this phone is an extra reason for some to buy a MotoMod to hide the gross backplate...
Speaking of MotoMods...
Speaking of MotoMods...
Moto Mods
MotoMods are accessories that add functionality to any phone in Motorola's Z family. They absolutely rekt the whole "world's thinnest phone" idea, but at the same time, they are the best take on modular smartphones we've seen so far (remember the G5).
A short list of all available MotoMods:
- The Moto InstaShare projector: a small projector that's good enough to share some quick videos with friends at meet-ups albeit at a relatively primitive 480p. It isn't the best experience however: at 50 lumens it NEEDS a dark room to function properly, the internal battery keeps the light on for only about an hour before draining the phone's battery in another hour and it costs a whopping 300$ (Motorola was giving them away with new devices purchased through their website at some point so that should give you an idea of how successful they were).
- The Hasselblad TrueZoom camera mod lets you take pics at 10x optical zoom. You also get a physical shutter button, but pictures look a bit off to me compared to those taken with the integrated camera. Unless you really want to zoom in on stuff should you spend 300$ for this accessory.
- Motorola partnered with JBL to bring you the SoundBoost and SoundBoost 2 portable speakers. They come in with great quality even at high volumes which they easily reach. A 1000mAh battery will keep the music playing for about 10 hours. The Soundboost 2 only brings splash resistance to the table and looks a little prettier. The small stand is also really helpful. You can get any of the 2 speakers for 80$.
- The Moto Z has a relatively small battery pack compared to the competition but you can change that with one of the several 2200mAh MotoMod PowerPacks that are available in exchange for some thickness. Prices vary between 60$ to 80$ because of the many different design options you can choose from.
- If all you want is to protect the back of your phone, Motorola has you covered too (pun intended). Included in the box of the phone is a StyleShell mod, a simple, basic way to add some texture (ranging from leather, wood, to fabric). The new variants of these even add wireless charging support to the phone. The new Moto Z2 devices don't have this in the box, but they can be purchased separately for 25$.
- Motorola released alongside the Z2 Play a new mod, a gamepad you satisfy your gaming needs. You can buy it for 80$, has its own 1100mAh battery you add more screen-on time.
- Alongside the Z2 Force, Motorola also released a new 360-degree camera.
Motorola promised a t least 6 new MotoMods every year and promises to support the platform for at least 2 more years. They are even opening the platform up for developers, selling a developer kit that lets people build their own mods for 125$ on their website.
Display
The Moto Z may be focused on modularity and thinness more than anything else, but it seems that Motorola didn't cut corners in the display department either.
The Moto Z comes with a 5.5" QHD AMOLED panel that features deep black and rich colors, but that's not all. This phone is supposed to be the swiss army knife of phones and even the display has some tricks up its sleeve.
One of these features is the Moto Active Display which embeds 2 IR sensors and one transmitter is the front can detect hand gestures and other movements and light up only a section of the display. This eliminates the need for an always-on display and saves battery. On the other hand, the Attentive Display feature will use the same sensor array to prevent the phone from sleeping if you are actively using it.
Back to the Active Display. It can also show discrete notification icons and you can even tap on any of them to reveal their content, slide up to launch that app or down to dismiss the notification altogether. It is an elegant way to deal with the incoming stream of notifications... Oh, and the same feature also reveals the clock. Bear in mind that none of this is exclusive to the Moto Z.
Performance
I have attached the spec-sheet of this phone above, but I will elaborate on those numbers now.
The Snapdragon 820 is 2016's flagship chip from Qualcomm, but as you'd expect in 2017 we have the Snapdragon 835 as a replacement for that. The Ardeno 530 is also last gen's best phone GPU but it was replaced with the Ardeno 540 this year. 4GB of RAM is a luxury that only flagships (even those released in 2017) can afford.
Compared to the new flagship phones of 2017, the Moto Z still holds its ground very well. It delivers great performance for the chopped down price with only a slightly higher impact on the battery life.
Even for 2016, the Moto Z was one of the faster Snapdragon 820 devices, mostly because of Motorola's near stock Android experience. With the new Android 7.1.1 Nougat, the phone never lags when flipping between menus and the camera app pops up fast.
My own device is not carrier locked and it shipped with no bloatware whatsoever. No pointless apps filled up my 32GB of storage. Only the OS occupies something like 8GB, but that's normal.
Thankfully there is support for either a Dual-SIM config or a Single-SIM with a microSD card (of up to 2TB theoretically).
The Snapdragon 820 is 2016's flagship chip from Qualcomm, but as you'd expect in 2017 we have the Snapdragon 835 as a replacement for that. The Ardeno 530 is also last gen's best phone GPU but it was replaced with the Ardeno 540 this year. 4GB of RAM is a luxury that only flagships (even those released in 2017) can afford.
Compared to the new flagship phones of 2017, the Moto Z still holds its ground very well. It delivers great performance for the chopped down price with only a slightly higher impact on the battery life.
Even for 2016, the Moto Z was one of the faster Snapdragon 820 devices, mostly because of Motorola's near stock Android experience. With the new Android 7.1.1 Nougat, the phone never lags when flipping between menus and the camera app pops up fast.
My own device is not carrier locked and it shipped with no bloatware whatsoever. No pointless apps filled up my 32GB of storage. Only the OS occupies something like 8GB, but that's normal.
Thankfully there is support for either a Dual-SIM config or a Single-SIM with a microSD card (of up to 2TB theoretically).
Camera
The Moto Z's camera is 13MP with 1.12-micron pixels and includes a f/1.8 aperture with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), laser AF and dual-LED flash. The front-facing camera is 5MP with a f/2.2 aperture, rather large 1.4-micron pixels and a LED flash for better low light selfies.
Photos will look good during daylight, almost as good as the ones taken with competing Galaxy S7 or LG G5 device.
Even with OIS and almost zero shutter lag, however, the camera struggles in low light situations. Pictures tend to get blurry more often than not and still subjects need to be still to remain in focus.
Motorola's camera app is also OK. There is a Professional mode that lets you fine-tune ISO, aperture, white balance and other manual settings. These tweaks can be applied to the front-facing camera too. In addition to this Pro mode, there is also a Basic mode that lets you shoot Panoramas, Video, and Slow-Motion video.
Videos are recorded at 4K UHD at 30FPS or at 1080p FHD at 30 or 60FPS. Slow-motion videos only work with the rear camera, but it is only recorded at 720p HD at 120FPS.
While this app is nowhere near as robust as Samsung's or LG's apps and the camera itself cannot compete against 2017's dual-camera setups, it is more than good enough for most people.
I've come to appreciate the handy gesture support this phone has. To launch the camera you need to twist the phone twice, to switch to the front-facing camera twist twice again when in the camera app and chop twice to get the flashlight working.
A small note before moving on: the rear camera shoots in a 16:9 aspect ratio at only 9.7MP, to use the full 13MP you need to manually set the aspect ratio to 4:3.
Camera samples
Battery
The Moto Z falls short in the battery department and its thinness is to blame for that. The 2600mAh non-replaceable battery pack is simply not enough for a modern 5.5" smartphone.
Yes, it will get you trough a day of normal use, but I need to remember to plug it in before I go to bed daily. It dies after about 20 hours otherwise. This isn't anywhere near the advertised 24 hours.
All of a sudden the MotoMod battery packs make a lot of sense... it's as if Motorola chose the small battery only to make the power packs an easier sell...
The shorter-than-average battery is also a reason to keep the included TurboCharger around. It manages to charge my phone from 0% to 27% in just over 15 minutes and after about an hour and 15 minutes, it was at 100%. The only thing that's bothering me about this charger is that the cable is tethered to its box. You can't detach the cable from the wall end. Such a shame.
Conclusion
The Moto Z is a unique phone, but it's not for everyone. The people who want to stand out will appreciate the modularity and the geeks will love fact that it's easy to repair (iFixit gave it a repairability score of 8/10 - that's very good for a modern smartphone). It is also the best representation of the modular phone concept we've seen so far. The creative MotoMods will change the way you think of your smartphone, regardless of their relatively high cost. You will be hooked after you get your first accessory. The chipset still performs very well compared to today's mid-range devices, so it's a better alternative than the Moto Z/Z2 Play in terms of performance, yet you would save some money you could spend on some MotoMods if you bought the Z instead of the Z2 Force.
Fast charging helps to overlook the short battery life and the decent camera, the premium build quality, and the stock Android experience all speak for the Motorola Moto Z, that you can buy on Amazon for about 400-500$.
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