Lenovo Announces Moto Z
Announced today, Lenovo has thrown its hat in the modular phone ring. The new Moto Z line of smartphones will be available in two forms and will arrive on Verizon this summer and everywhere else this fall.
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There’s one really special thing about the Moto X, a new system for add-on accessories called Moto Mods. Mods will clip on to the back using magnets and add fashion, functionality, or both, to the phone. A few announced Mods add features like improved audio and a projector to the phones.
The Moto Z will come in two flavors, the standard model and the Moto Z Force. The standard edition has a 5.5-inch, quad HD AMOLED display; Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM; 32 or 64GB of storage with expandable SD storage; 13-megapixel camera with f/1.8 lens and optical image stabilization; fingerprint scanner; and a 2600mAh battery.
The Force edition is mostly the same as the standard Z, but with a thicker chassis (7mm versus the standard’s 5.2mm), an upgraded 21-megapixel camera, and a 3500mAh battery.
While both editions of the Moto Z offer quite a few features alongside their ability to add Mods, they are notably missing a headphone jack. If you want to listen to music with headphones on the Z, you’ll have to use bluetooth or the included USB-C adapter.
Mods are the biggest feature of the Moto Z, attaching via four magnets on the back. The Mods are integrated into the phone’s software, so you’re able to check on the status of both the phone’s battery alongside the Mod’s. There is also no pairing required for the Mods to work, it’s simply a plug-and-play system.
A JBL-built SoundBoost Mod will be available that will upgrade the speaker, expanding the output of the device with two three-watt drivers and an extra 1000mAh battery. A Power Pack Mod will also be available for those that want a bigger battery, adding a 2220mAh cell. The Insta-Share Mod gives the phone a pico projector, giving customers a way to show the device’s screen up to 70 inches wide at a 480p resolution. A Style Shell Mod is included with every Z, coming in a variety of different finishes.
Moto says that Mods announced today will be forward compatible with future versions of the Z phones and it is committed to having a standard size and shape of the Z for at least two generations of phones to ensure compatibility.
US customers will be able to get the Moto Z phones on Verizon this summer, which will sell with Droid branding. In the fall, the Moto Z will be available unlocked in the US and other parts of the world.