Lenovo promised more Moto Mods in 2017, when they announced the Incipio Car Dock and Mophie Juice Pack earlier this week. Now we’re learning that there could be a very interesting Moto Mod coming our way in the future. And that is a Moto Mod that would bring 5G to the Moto Z. Lenovo’s Moto division held a small event at their headquarters in Chicago yesterday where they announced those new Moto Mods from Incipio and Mophie. PCMag caught up with a few execs there in Chicago and asked about what the future of Moto Mods might look like. The senior director of product management, John Touvannas, told them that they have ideas for baby monitors, e-ink displays and a 5G modem. Of course, the 5G modem was the one that caught everyone’s attention.
Remember that these Moto Mods are able to access direct display interfaces, talk to the camera unit of the phone as well as communicate over USB 3.1. Surprisingly enough, USB 3.1 would be fast enough for a 5G radio. Let’s not forget that Verizon is already testing out 5G at their headquarters in Basking Ridge, NJ and plan to have trials beginning in 2017. With Verizon being Moto’s main partner in the US for the Moto Z lineup, it wouldn’t be that surprising to see Verizon working with Lenovo to make this Moto Mod happen sooner rather than later.
Lenovo is also planning to step up their Moto Mod production next year. With plans to release about four Moto Mods each quarter, starting in mid-2017. Which would also mean that the successor to the Moto Z, Moto Z Force and Moto Z Play will all come with Moto Mod functionality. That’s something Lenovo promised when they announced the devices earlier this year, so it’s great to see them keeping up with that promise. Currently there are six Moto Mods available, a Pico Projector, the JBL SoundBoost, Incipio’s offGRID battery pack, the Hasselblad True Zoom, Mophie Juice Pack and the Incipio Car Dock not to mention the numerous Style Shells that are also available to make the Moto Z look a bit more stylish.