Lenovo and Motorola unveiled the Moto Z family of devices at the end of last week. Each device is based around a 5.5-inch, QHD or 1440p resolution AMOLED panel, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset under the skin, 4 GB of RAM and at least 32 GB of internal storage. The two models are also relatively thin: the Moto Z is under 5.2mm thin and the Moto Z Force, which has a higher megapixel rear camera and a larger battery, is 7mm thick. However, whilst these devices have a competitive specification for a 2016 flagship device, these numbers do not surprise. Arguably, the Moto Z family might be heading into relative obscurity if it were not for Motorola’s special sauce: these devices both contain the Moto Mods connector.
The Moto Mods accessory slot consists of a sixteen-pin socket on the rear of the device and a pair of magnets. Accessory units are held in place on the rear of the device and currently include a projector, some additional battery units and a rear speaker assembly, which also contains its own internal battery. We’ve also seen Motorola show off a number of Moto Mods projects that are not yet ready for release, such as the OneCompute, a device designed to convert the Moto Z into a desktop computer running the Android operating system. The Moto Z is going to be a Verizon Wireless exclusive at first and unfortunately we don’t yet know the pricing or exact release schedule. There are, however, clues that it is coming soon and a keen eyed Reddit user has spotted that Verizon has listed and priced a number of Moto Mod accessories.
It is not entirely unexpected that prices are a little higher than we would like. The cheapest Moto Mod is the Kate Spade shell, at $79, moving to the Powerpack at $89. The Wireless Powerpack, which adds wireless charging to the Moto Z, is available for $99 but the portable projector is a somewhat more expensive $299. This is a lot of money to pay for the projector, but as other Reddit users have pointed out, smartphone projectors typically sell for around $230. Verizon Wireless is likely adding on a “new device” premium and of course, there are Moto Mods development costs to be paid for. And whilst these prices are high, that Verizon has published them could point towards the handset itself being a somewhat more reasonable purchase. It may also be coming in the next few weeks – as soon as we see any development here we will let you know.
