Motorola's latest flagship phones - the modular Moto Z and Moto Z Play - will be available from Australian retailers from October 13.
The handsets are a departure from last year's devices, eschewing the curved-backs and plastic bodies the company had become known for. Instead, the Moto Z and Moto Z Play look like more conventional metal-clad smartphones, but with a focus on an unconventional range of hot-swappable accessories referred to as "Moto Mods". These are designed add features like extra battery life, a better camera, or a projector (just in case you've thought your smartphone really should have a projector).
Harvey Norman, Office Works, The Good Guys, and Motorola's local online store will be ranging the Moto Z, Moto Z Play, and their accessories.
Moto Z
The Moto Z is Motorola's 2016 flagship. Measuring in at just 5.2mm at its slimmest point, its billed as the "world's thinnest premium smartphone". Unsurprisingly, this is balanced out by a somewhat sizable camera bump. Motorola has also axed the headphone jack in its pursuit of thinness, and users will have to rely on USB Type-C headphones, Bluetooth, or a 3.5mm adapter that you'll find in the box with the phone.
Key specifications include a 5.5-inch Quad HD display, Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, and a 13MP rear-facing camera. The Moto Z ships with a mostly unmodified version of Android Marshmallow.
The Moto Z will retail for $999.
Moto Z Play
The Moto Z Play sits somewhere between midrange and premium; it's more affordable than the Moto Z, but still compatible with Moto Mods.
It's not quite as thin as the Moto Z and the display isn't quite as high-resolution, bit this seems to provide a big benefit to battery life: Motorola says you'll get up to 48 hours of mixed usage. It also comes with a standard headphone port.
Key specifications include a 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, and a 16MP rear-facing camera.
The Moto Z Play will retail for $699.
Moto Mods
Moto Mods are interchangeable back plates capable of giving the phones new or enhanced features. They snap on magnetically and connect via a 16-pin connector on the back of the device. Best of all, the mods can be swapped without needing to restart the phone.
Notably, Motorola says Moto Mods are future-proof; its 2017 and 2018 phones will use the same style of Moto Mod connector.
Incipio Battery Pack
The Incipio Off Grid Battery Pack offers the Moto Z phones up to 20 hours of additional battery life. The standard battery pack will retail for $119, while a battery pack enabled for wireless charging will set you back $139.
JBL SoundBoost Speaker
The JBL SoundBoost is a hefty stereo speaker with an integrated 10 hour battery and kickstand. It will retail for $159.
Instashare Projector
The Instashare Projector allows the Moto Z to project its screen as an image up to 70-inches in size. While the actual image the Instashare Projector can create is sizable, it can only output at resolutions of 480p. Bulb brightness is rated at 50 lumen, which means you'll almost certainly need to dim the lights when using the Instashare. The Instashare Projector will set you back $429.
Hasselblad True Zoom Camera
The Hasselblad True Zoom Camera is a 10x optical zoom camera that replaces the Moto Z's standard rear-facing shooter. While it adds a bit of bulk, it the True Zoom also has a physical shutter and zoom controls. It will retail for $399.
Style Caps
Style Caps simply change the Moto Z's look and feel, rather than adding any new functionality. These come in a range of finishes and colours, including wood, leather, and fabric. At launch you'll pay $39 for black leather, and $29 for a choice of herringbone fabric, charcoal ash, crimson ballistic nylon fabric, silver oak, or washed oak.
Alex Choros
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