The attack of the Modular smartphones: Moto Z, Moto Z Play to go on sale today!

The Moto Z and Moto Z Play, which were unveiled in India two weeks ago are now available to buy from Amazon India as well as Flipkart. The Moto Z has been priced at Rs 39,990, while the Moto Z Play comes in at a more reasonable Rs 24,999.

Along with the two smartphones, Motorola’s much hyped Moto Mods, which are modular accessories that snap on to the back of the MotoZ/Moto Z Play have also gone on sale in India today.

Are the Moto Z/Moto Z Play worth spending your hard earned money on? Let's find out.

Moto Z: The World's thinnest premium smartphone

The Moto Z, which is undoubtedly Motorola’s most exiting smartphone in recent years, comes packed to the gills with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC, 4GB of RAM, a 13MP rear camera with OIS and 4K recording, a 5MP front shooter and a 2,600mAh battery along with TurboCharging support.

The ‘Worlds thinnest premium smartphone’ comes with a 5.5-inch QuadHD display protected by corning gorilla glass, a sleek and suave metal/glass body and unlimited feature expansion through Motorola’s Moto Mods.

Talking about the camera setup in detail, the 13MP rear camera has an aperture of f/1.8, zero shutter lag, optical image stabilisation, a dual LED flash and laser autofocus. The front 5Mp camera is shared with the Moto Z Play and Motorola claims has improved low light capabilities.

Moto Z Play: The younger brother!

Alongside the flagship Moto Z, Motorola also launched its younger brother, the Moto Z Play which comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display, a downgrade from the QuadHD resolution of the Moto Z.

The Play has a metal frame with a glass back and feels premium in the hand. It is quite heavier and thicker that the Moto Z, which might actually be a positive for some, as its much easier to grip in the hand.

The Moto Z Play comes with the Snapdragon 635 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 16MP rear camera with laser autofocus and the largest battery Motorola has ever put in any of its smartphones. Motorola claims the Moto Z play can give up to 45 hours of battery life and also supports Motorola’s TurboCharging technology.

The front camera is the same as the one on the Moto Z, with a 5MP sensor.

What are Moto Mods?

The distinguishing feature of the Moto Z and the Moto Z Play are the ‘Moto Mods’: snap-on accessories that can be attached to the smartphone in order to increase its functionality.

Moto Mods is the second implementation of the ‘modular’ concept after the recently launched ‘LG G5’, however, it’s implementation is far more effective that that seen in the Lg G5, which involves the removal of a battery every time one wants to add an accessory.

How do Moto Mods work?

The Moto Mods can be simply attached to the back of the device through magnets. This is an incredibly intuitive and simple machanism, and makes changing Moto Mods on the fly an absolutely effortless experience.

5 Moto Mods as of now

Five Moto Mods were announced by Motorola - A mod by JBL to add powerful speakers to your device, a mini projector by Pico, a camera add on by Hassleblad, Style shells by Motorola and a power pack by Incipio which extends the device’s battery life.

JBL SoundBoost

The JBL SoundBoost comes with powerful speakers, an integrated kickstand for extended movie sessions and 10 hours of battery life.

Hasselblad True Zoom

The Hasselblad True Zoom MotoMod is one that will appeal to photography enthusiasts. It comes with a 10x optical zoom and Xenon flash and also supports RAW files. It also comes with unlimited storage on Google Drive and backs up all your photos automatically.

Moto Insta-share Projector

This Motorola made MotoMod turns the Moto Z or Moto Z Play into a mini projector. The projector can beam an image as large as 70-inches and also gives the smartphone an extra hour of battery life.

Moto Style Shells

These are simply premium designed backs made of high quality materials that attach seamlessly to the back of the Moto Z and Moto Z Play. These can be viewed as cases for your smartphone which do not ruin the smartphones.

Incipio offGRID Power Pack

This MotoMod acts as a power bank, with one neat trick: It attaches to the back of the phone, neatly integrating into the phones design. It has a 2200mAh battery capacity and also comes in a version with Wireless Charging support.

Price and Availability

The Moto Z and Moto Z Play have been prices at Rs 39,990 and Rs 24,990 respectively and are available to buy from both Amazon India and Flipkart from today.

The Moto Z is available in two color variants, namely Black with Lunar Grey and White with Fine Gold. The Moto Z Play can be bought in either Black with Silver trim or White with Fine Gold.

The Moto Mods have been priced as follows:

JBL SoundBoost:   Rs 6,999, Introductory price: Rs 5,999
Hassleblad True Zoom:   Rs 19,999, Introductory price: Rs 14,999
Insta-share Projector:   Rs 19,999, Introductory price: Rs 15,999
Incipio offGRID Power Pack:   Rs 5,999, Introductory price: Rs 4,999

Style Shells

Wood and Ballistic Nylon:   Rs 1,099, Introductory price: Rs 899
Leather:   Rs 1,599, Introductory price: Rs 1,299

source https://www.techradar.com/news/the-attack-of-the-modular-smartphones-moto-z-moto-z-play-to-go-on-sale-today/