Review: Moto Z is a brilliant modular device

The Moto Z's modular approach is a winner as long as its gets the backing of third party developers.

The Moto Z. GDA via AP Images

The Moto Z takes the modular smartphone approach first (hesitantly) introduced by the LG G5 and makes it a reality.

To the tech layman, the Moto Z’s Modular, or “Mods” system means the ability to add bits and bobs to your smartphone to enhance its cap­abilities. Time will tell whether such Mods are more than a passing fad, but thankfully Len­ovo’s latest also gets the basics right, making it worthy of consideration on its own merits.

Design-wise the Moto Z is undoubtedly a premium device, with clean lines reminiscent of the LG G5 and HTC 10, even if the fingerprint reader below the display looks a little out of place.

At 5.1mm, it’s an incredibly thin device, the trade-off being that the 3.5mm headphone jack has been sacrificed.

The 5.5-inch Quad HD Amoled display is up there with the best, its deep colours coming close to matching those of the Galaxy S7.

Camera-wise the Moto Z’s 13 megapixel (MP) rear camera and 5MP selfie camera take very decent shots in normal lighting conditions, even if the device struggles in lower light conditions.

All of this makes the Moto Z a pretty good device. Its modular system, however, transforms it into a potentially great one.

Hats off to Lenovo for making the modular process so seamless. Instead of removing the bottom of the phone as with the LG G5, the Moto Z lets you remove the back cover and magnetically attach the “Mod” of your choice, including a strap-on battery pack, mini-projector, external speaker or Hasselblad camera unit.

It’s brilliantly intuitive, takes two to three seconds and doesn’t require restarting the phone, as with the G5. The jury is still out on whether modular smartphones will fly or not, but Lenovo’s vision is the most compelling so far.

The Moto Z doesn’t come cheap, retailing at Dh2,599, although Lenovo has sweetened the deal with a JBL SoundBoost speaker mod thrown in for no extra cost. On its own, it’s a pretty good smartphone, but its intuitive modular system makes it one to watch, if – and it’s a big if – third party developers get behind the concept.

Q&A

So the future of smartphones is the ability to strap on different attachments to do cool things then?

Lenovo would like you to believe that, but most people aren’t too sure. Beyond some pretty changeable covers, there aren’t many “Mods” available, and even fewer are really compelling.

So what Mods are available for the Moto Z right now?

The Hasselblad True Zoom camera unit (Dh999), the Moto Insta-Share Projector (Dh1,299), the JBL SoundBoost speaker (included, or sold separately for Dh399) and a battery pack (Dh299).

And are any of them any good?

Good, yes. Worth buying? Less so. Both the mini-projector and speaker unit work perfectly well. The Hasselblad’s 10x optical zoom is brilliant, but its pictures aren’t dramatically better than the inbuilt camera. But stand-alone speakers, compact cameras and projectors are all available for the same price or less, often offering superior performance while not tying you into the Mod ecosystem. You get the feeling that Lenovo has to come up with some new compelling Mods pretty quickly before people lose interest in the concept, as was the case with LG’s “Friends” modules.

How successful has the Moto Z range been so far?

Earlier this month Lenovo said that 1 million Moto Z handsets have been sold so far this year, in part due to the success of the slightly cheaper Moto Z Play (available in the UAE for Dh1,999).

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