To say we were impressed during our review of the Moto Z Play, the “budget-but-without-compromises” sibling of the Moto Z, would rank way high among the understatements of the year.
We praised the sensible hardware choices, great battery life and called Moto’s Mod-ular implementation as “the most well thought-out and ergonomic implementation of modular accessories”.
With the Z Play offering a great entry point to try out Moto’s Mods, how then does the fully-kitted out, bells-and-whistles-sporting Moto Z fare, and is it worth the extra fifteen grand?
Pros:
- Flagship-spec performance
- Great screen
- Best implementation of modularity
- Bloat free vanilla Android
- Nougat update rolled out
Cons:
- Too thin for comfort
- Pricey compared to the competition
- Underwhelming battery
- No water resistance
- USB-C only for audio
What’s Good?
Despite the 5.2-mm razor thin form, Moto has pulled out pretty much all the stops when it comes to packing top-shelf hardware into the Moto Z.
You get a quad-core Snapdragon 820, ably assisted by 4 gigs of memory and a capacious 64GB of storage, and if you’re not using the second SIM slot, you can go all the way up to 2 TB of added storage. The 5.5-inch display offers a 1440x2560 resolution, and the result is tack-sharp and stunning to look at, even outdoors.
Performance wise, the Moto Z breezed through everyday use, as is to be expected by the near-vanilla Android that Moto chooses to run on its phones.
The camera, a 13-megapixel shooter with a f/1.8 aperture lens, boasts of laser autofocus, optical image stabilisation and colour-corrected rear flash. While it turns out excellent results in good light – sharp images with a rich vibrancy of colours – the Moto Z’s camera struggles with focus issues in low-light conditions and turns out somewhat noisy images.
The images are probably the best we’ve seen from any Moto yet, but they’re still bested by the S7 and the Pixel in difficult shooting conditions. Well, at least there’s decent 4K shooting and a wide front camera with its own flash.
And, better late than never, Moto has finally rolled out the Nougat update to the Moto Z, making the phone the first non-Google phone to support Daydream, Google's mobile VR platform.
In addition to the already butter-smooth experience on the Z, the Nougat update brings in native multi-window support, plus you can double-tap the ‘Recents’ button to switch right back to the last app you had open.
What’s Bad?
It’s undeniably the most premium Moto phone ever, a slab of metal and glass that looks every bit the forty-grand pricing Moto has launched the Z at. It’s razor thin at 5.2 mm, and Moto vying for the “slimmest phone” title results in a phone that’s a tad too slender for most hands.
It feels precarious in hand, and you almost miss the nice in-hand-feel and the heft of the Z Play. I strongly recommend using the Moto style shells when you’re not using the Mods – they cover the Mod-contacts, add some grip to the phone and cover up that camera hump as well.
In other places too, the design seems a bit off, from the extra chin below the screen to the fingerprint sensor that looks like a home button, but isn’t. I can’t remember the number of times I ended up unintentionally locking the phone when all I wanted to do was hit the home button.
Unlike the Z Play, there’s no 3.5-mm port – there is only the USB-C port and a dongle to use the included 3.5-mm type headphones. This is a bit logic-defying, but then again, Moto is not the first and it won’t be the last to bid adieu to the port. As is the omission of IP-compliant water and dust resistance, which is now par for the course with the S7 and the iPhone this year.
The pursuit of slimness on the Z has compromised what was one of the biggest strengths of the Z Play. The 2,600 mAh battery gets you past a day of moderate use, but push the phone a bit and you’re going to have to carry the charger with you.
The good bit is that Motorola’s proprietary Turbo Charging technology goes from zero to 50 in half an hour, which is nice.
Insta-Share Projector Mod
Of course, one of the biggest reasons you’d consider the Z or the Z Play is the Mods, and along with the Hasselblad True Zoom we reviewed with the Z Play, the Insta-Share Projector Mod (Rs. 19,999) is one the most interesting and frankly, insanely cool, implementations of the Mod concept.
Snap it onto the Moto Z and you get a pico-projector on the back of your phone, projecting whatever you can see on the phone onto a wall nearby.
Design wise, the Insta-Share is a well thought-out mod – it packs its own battery for about an hour of viewing, and can be plugged into the Moto Z’s USB-C charger for extended viewing sessions. There’s even a fold-out stand that allows you to project at an angle, even on the ceiling if you’re careful about it, and you can adjust the keystone and focus to adjust the image.
Projection is a painless experience, and you can go up to a 70-inch screen but with a native resolution of 854x480 pixels. We wouldn't recommend going that big – it’s best in the 30-40-inch region.
Make the room dark enough, and the projector shines, but if there’s a fair bit of ambient light, colours start looking dull. The cooling fan is also pretty loud, so if you’re planning a movie, get a pair of external speakers to drown out the din.
The ability to project your phone display on any flat surface is rather compelling, whether it’s to watch the latest Youtube video with the family or quickly show the latest version of the PPT at work, and had it been slightly more reasonably priced, it would have earned an easy recommendation.
Why Buy It?
Motorola has nailed the modular phone concept but even without the Mods, Moto Z is a stylish phone with a lot on offer, albeit one that favours form over function. The Mods are a great little ace up its sleeve, but then again, you could get all of that along with better battery life with the Z Play.
There is the matter of pricing with the Z, too. You’re paying an awful lot over, say, a OnePlus 3T just to be able to use Mods, and either the Insta-Share or the Hasselblad Mod will set you back by nearly sixty grand! Our advice?
If you’re set on the Mods – the Insta-Share does make for a compelling case – pick up the Z Play instead.
(Tushar Kanwar is a technology columnist and commentator and has been contributing for the past 15 years to India’s leading newspapers and magazines. He can be reached at @2shar.)
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