Weighing 136 grammes with a thickness of just over five millimetres, Moto Z may be the lightest smartphone ever.
When Motorola first announced that its Moto Z family of smartphones would be modular, many critics were sceptical. With LG's G5 and Google's Project Ara modular smartphones seemingly crashing and burning (even before release, in Google's case), things did not bode well for Motorola's new flagship device. At first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything noteworthy about it aside from its modular nature, which some have written off as a gimmick.
Running Android 6.0.1 on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of native RAM and a 5.5-inch screen capable of producing post-HD resolution (1440 x 2560), the Moto Z's specs aren't anything to write home about for the price (23,900 baht). Truth be told, it's not that much of a departure from many higher-tier smartphones on the market.
Having spent time with the device, however, I'm happy to report that the phone's modular design is actually quite fun to play around with, working on a magnet-based attachment system that makes switching between mods quick and easy. While Motorola only provided us with the Moto Insta-Share Projector mod, if all the mods currently released (and to be released in the future) work as well as this one, then the Moto Z may very well be the first successful modular smartphone on the market.
Design
With a thickness just slightly over five millimetres (compared with 10 for the G4 Plus and seven for the iPhone 6) and weighing only 136 grammes (the G4 Plus and iPhone 6 are 155 and 172, respectively), the Moto Z might be the lightest (and thinnest) smartphone you've ever laid your hands on.
Granted, you'll definitely want to find one of those Moto Mods to bulk up your device to make it fit better in your hands, as well as cover up that unflattering bulge of a back camera and the shiny, metallic finish on the phone's back, which is ever-so-prone to unflattering fingerprint smudges.
I generally prefer my smartphones with a little heft, as I find the weight lends a more substantial feel and a more solid grip on the device. The Moto Z, while not weightless despite its slim appearance, makes me nervous when I hold it in one hand. Its thinness and light weight make the Moto Z feel like it could be sent flying at any moment. It doesn't help that I'm quite convinced the phone could literally break in half if I dropped it at the wrong angle.
The flimsy, frame-like phone case provided by Motorola does nothing to allay my fears. Of course, all this anxiety I feel over the phone's frail-looking outward appearance could be unwarranted. In truth, its slight frame may be designed with the various mods in mind, which will no doubt increase the heft of your smartphone several times over.
Looking at the back of the Moto Z, you'll notice that there are two gold-plated lines of square pegs towards the bottom of the device. These are actually magnets, which will hold whatever back cover you prefer firmly in place. These can be anything from simple, decorative covers to any of the mods released so far, such as a projector, a power bank, a simple pair of speakers or even a Hasselblad camera. It's actually quite surprising how simple and elegant a solution Motorola has used to make modular phones actually worth the trouble. Switching between mods on the Moto Z is infinitely easier than taking the case off my iPhone 6.
One glaring problem for me personally is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Moto Z -- perhaps in an effort to achieve its (arguably excessive) slimness -- instead comes with a single USB-C port, the only noticeable feature on the phone's edges besides the volume rockers and lock button on the right-hand side.
That said, Motorola (unlike Apple) is generous enough to provide its users with a USB-C adaptor to replace the headphone jack. It's definitely annoying to have to carry a little piece of cable that is probably prone to getting lost (and can't be used while you charge your phone), but at least it's better than having to fork over more money to use your own headphones.
Function
In terms of sheer processing power, the Moto Z's specs are by no means insignificant, but it isn't exactly a powerhouse either. Granted, what the Moto Z has to work with is more than enough, and I haven't noticed any significant slowdown while reviewing the unit. Running on Android Marshmallow OS, the Moto Z features the simple Google family of apps, such as YouTube, Drive, Chrome, etc.
The decision to stay away from the more convoluted, customised versions of Android often used in competing smartphones is something Motorola has always done right, and with the Moto Z they continue the tradition, giving users a clean, simple interface, uncluttered by all the custom gesture commands or sidebars.
Aside from that, there really isn't much to say about the Moto Z's performance. The 13MP camera works decently enough in well-lit environments, but low-light photos seem to result in a slight distortion of the colours. That said, the Moto Z's back camera is notably capable of HDR and even 4K recording (even if the phone's screen can't actually display in 4K), so this could be another interesting aspect of the phone.
Although the specs and camera aren't anything to write home about, it's the Moto Z's modular nature that is its real defining feature. While we only got to try out the Insta-Share Projector mod, the mod itself worked intuitively. Simply snap it onto the back of your phone, push a button, and the projector displays a 480p projection of your phone's screen onto any surface relatively close by.
It's not going to be replacing your home theatre set, but it definitely works, and if that's indicative of how the other mods will behave, then the sky's the limit of what the Moto Z can do once more mods are added to the mix.
Of course, there's a catch: each of these mods isn't necessarily cheap. The projector mod we tried out, for example, costs another 13,000 baht on top of the phone, so it's not exactly something you're going to buy on a whim.
Verdict
While quite par for the course in terms of power considering its price-point and specs, the Moto Z is perhaps one of the more exciting smartphones out there right now, simply because of its modular design.
Currently, the only available mods on the market may be limited, but it's only a matter of time until the developers release even more fun and versatile mods, which means that the Moto Z will only continue to become a more versatile product in the long run. If nothing else, this fact alone makes me want to go out and buy one for myself.
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