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6 things you'll love about the Moto Z Droids — and 6 you won't
The new Moto Z Droid and Moto Z Droid Force are now available from Verizon and Motorola. They're some of the strongest Android phones on the market. Should you buy one? These 12 pros and cons could make or break your decision.
By Al Sacco
Managing Editor, CIO |
Lenovo's Motorola Mobility division this week launched the latest "Droid" Android smartphones from Verizon Wireless, the sleek and slim Moto Z Droid and the durable, long-lasting Moto Z Force Droid.
Following a lavish unveiling ceremony in San Francisco last month, Motorola sent me both devices, and I've been putting them through some serious trials ever since. The devices are similar, but the Moto Z Droid is designed to be as slim as possible, while the Z Force Droid has a "shatterproof" display, a larger battery and a higher quality camera (21MP compared to 13MP).
I found a lot to like about both phones, particularly the Moto Z Force. Unfortunately, Moto also missed its mark in many ways with the two new Droids. Here are six Moto Z Droid pros and six cons you should consider before making either device your go-to smartphone.
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6 things you'll love about Moto Z Droid, Z Force Droid
1. Motorola 'Mods' are genuinely unique
The most notable thing about the two new Moto Z Droids is their support for Motorola's "Mods," or modular peripherals and accessories that add some style or functionality to the phones. They all attach to the backs of the Droids via a set of 16 gold-colored magnetic pins at the base of the devices' rear panels.
The thin and light $19.99 (and up) Style Shell back covers come in a number of colors and textures, for example. The $79.99 JBL SoundBoost Speaker is a snap-on external speaker with better-than-average audio quality. The $59.99 Incipio offGRID Power Pack battery cover adds up to 22 hours of life, according to Motorola. And the $299.99 Moto Insta-Share Projector is designed to turn any flat surface into a large-screen display, up to 70-inches. And if Motorola has its way, many more innovative Mods will be released in the future, and they'll all be compatible with later generations of Moto phones.
At a time when innovation in the phone world has slowed to a crawl and takes place almost exclusively on the inside of devices, the company deserves a nod for such a bold and innovative idea. Motorola still has a few warts to address when it comes to the Mod concept, but potential exists in the concept, and that's exciting.
Moto Insta-Share Projector, Incipio offGRID Power Pack, and JBL SoundBoost Speaker Mods
2. Moto Z Droids' Android 'flavor' is tasty
Android device makers often try to pack all kinds of cool-sounding but ultimately useless features and bloatware into their phones, in attempts to differentiate them from rival products. More often than not, such features are novelties with little real value, and I quickly try to find ways to hide or disable them.
The "flavor" of Android that runs on the Moto Z Droids is relatively "light," meaning it's not packed with soggy bloatware, and the experience isn't too far off from Google's stock Android software. That's a good thing.
Some of the uniquely Motorola features are useful, including Moto Actions, which let you quickly shake your wrist twice to launch the camera at any time, and then twist twice again to switch back and forth between rear and front camera. A double-chop Action turns the rear-facing camera on and off. And the Moto Display can be set to show notifications on your lock screen as you receive them. Or you can choose to hide notification content until you pick up the phone and tap an app icon, which quickly shows a message preview. It's a helpful and unique take on the standard lock screen.
3. Moto Z Droids and 'TurboPower' fast charging
The concept of rapid charging is hardly new, but Motorola's "TurboPower" fast charge feature works particularly well with the new Moto Z phones. Using a compatible TurboPower charger, you can get 15 hours of power in just 15 minutes of charge time for the Moto Z Force Droid, according to Motorola. I didn't test that specific claim, but I did pit the TurboPower charger and a dead Moto Z Force Droid against Samsung's Fast Charge feature and a fully depleted Galaxy S7 Active (using a compatible charger). The Z Force Droid powered up significantly faster than the GS7 Active.
As long as you use the supplied USB C TurboPower charge cord, it shouldn't take long to at least partially replenish a dead Droid.
4. Moto Z Droids available with 32GB or 64GB of storage
Some of the most popular Android device makers recently decided it was a good idea to offer a single built-in storage option. (This means you, Samsung.) But choice is always better than a lack of options. So I appreciate the fact that both new Droids are available with 32GB and 64GB of storage space. They're also compatible with microSD memory cards up to 2TB … but good luck finding a card that big.
5. Moto Z Force Droid is durable and long lasting
Thanks to its "Shattershield" screen and whopping 3,500mAh battery, the Z Force Droid can take some serious abuse and easily last a full day of excessive use. I won't say the phone is indestructible, but I did toss the device from the second story of my office onto a marble first-floor with little visible damage. The Z Force Droid has a "waterrepellant nano-coating," which means it can stand up to minor spills and light rain, according to Motorola. I also have no complaints about battery life. For context, the power pack in Samsung's GS7 Active, which is touted as having very strong battery life, is 17 percent smaller than the one in the Z Force Droid.
6. Moto Z Droid is the 'world's thinnest premium smartphone'
Motorola says the Z Droid is the thinnest premium smartphone on the planet. I have no idea if that claim is true, but it is slim, that's for sure — especially without any Mod attached. The Z Droid is 5.5mm thick. That's more than 30 percent thinner than Samsung's sleek GS7 edge and more than 20 percent thinner than the iPhone 6s.
All of these strengths make the new Moto Z Droid and Z Force Droid some of the strongest Android phones available today. But they're far from perfect. Here's why.