2016 is indeed a weird year for smartphones, we’ve seen smartphones in the early year that could have it all, can be modularized and even loose a headphone jack. But it doesn’t stop there are we saw more smartphones having thinner bezels, smaller bodies and even the right modular function. Meet the Moto Z from Moto (Yes no longer called Motorola), acquired by Lenovo 2 years ago the refreshed brand is a new symbol of innovation in the smartphone industry.
If you can’t read too much, we also have a video review of the Moto Z.
The Moto Z is the thinnest premium flagship smartphone in the market right now, measuring at only 5.2mm. It has a 5mp wide angle lens on the front with LED flash and fingerprint sensor. The glass is made of Corning Gorilla Glass 4 with curved edges on the sides, due to the thin body you’ll definitely feel an edgy corner on the sides.
The display is a 5.5″ AMOLED display with ample brightness even at bright conditions. Along with its QuadHD or 2k resolution, it gives a much deserved viewing experience especially smooth 50-60fps videos on the screen.
Power and volume are both on the right, nothing is at the back except for the Camera and Moto Mods module as it will get blocked when you use a Moto Mod. At the back is a 13mp camera with dual focus system (Phase and Laser Auto Focus) and Dual LED flash. Along with it is that the 3 piece assembly is the back is to increase signal reception (Glass top and bottom, mid is metal).
Contact grills are located at the bottom of the device, you can easily attach moto mods with its strong magnets. Once attached the mods will work instantly, in our case the JBL Sound Boost we have didn’t have any problem filling up a room with sounds thanks to its 6W speakers.
Prepare your phone to be chunky though as the JBL SoundBoost adds a hefty 13mm thickness. But it’s the great concept of modular smartphone where you can easily snap on and off for convenience.
Respectable Performance
The Moto Z is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, Adreno 530 GPU, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It might not be using the latest 821 processor, but it’s really more than enough to handle anything even with its 2k resolution screen.
Great Camera performance
Moto Z captures color rich and sharp photos in our experience. We love how fast and intuitive the controls are as it uses stock android experience. Even with the Pro-Mode activated, you’ll enjoy how fast to control the settings to get your favorite shot. You can see a sample video in our youtube video above.
Expected downsides
Unfortunately, the Moto Z only has a 2600mAh battery cause of its thin body, not enough to power us longer than other phones. We get around 5-6 hours of use before looking for a charge, sometimes even less. Motorola provided a TurboPower charger to fast charge in 1 hour to full, but we tried other Qualcomm 3.0 quick charge head units and it was not working. So don’t forget to bring your TurboPower charger in most needed trips.
Also, the lack of a 3.5mm audio jack needs some adjustment stage, we have Bluetooth devices but not inside our car so we have to use the provided USB-Type C to 3.5mm jack to work. On the upside is that the audio quality is really good, bass is more rich and highs are clearer, we probably guess this is cause from the audio chip inside the phone.
Expected downsides
We recommend getting the Moto Z for two things.
1.) If you want a ridiculously thin phone – Everyone loves a thin phone, its so thin that its a conversation starter for our experience. By all means, get the Moto Z.
2.) If you are willing to spend for the Moto Mods – The mods aren’t cheap, the cheapest will be the JBL sound boost for 5,999, or the cheapest will be the replacement moto style cover for Php699. If you won’t utilize the modular smartphone feature, then its like buying another flagship smartphone.
The Moto Z is available now in the market for Php33,999, its a great flagship even without the modular feature. But since it’s the only one with the intuitive modular experience, as compared to the LG G5’s already declared discontinued modular smartphone. So if you are up to the snap on and snap off feature, we really recommend the Moto Z.
We give the Moto Z our 100% Satisfying Modular Smartphone award cause of its intuitive experience, flagship class performance and best modular experience.
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