10 Features That Make Lenovo’s Modular Moto Z a Serious Contender

Lenovo’s Modular Moto Z is made so users can swap out components, for example, a movie projector, battery and speakers, to fit their needs.

The Moto Z comes with a feature known as Moto Mods fastened to the back smartphone, which has integrated magnets so users can attach new features. For instance, separately purchased Moto Mods can turn the smartphone into a movie projector or a boom box. Users also can tack on a power pack for additional battery life. Modularity is central to the Moto Z experience.

Battery life is a make-or-break feature for many customers. So, it’s worth noting that the Moto Z comes with what Lenovo calls “all-day battery life.” While it’s unclear what the company might mean by “all day,” most users can expect to get at least eight hours from the battery before it needs to be recharged. Better yet, the device comes with a rapid charging feature that charges up to eight hours of battery life in just 15 minutes. Nice.

Lenovo left nothing to chance on the Moto Z’s design. The device comes with a metal frame and a slim profile that make it one of the more attractive Android-based smartphones on the market. In addition to the Moto branding on the front and the big camera on the back, Motorola has included a rough exterior finish to reduce the chances of the device slipping out of one’s hands. It’s a well-thought-out design.

The handset has a rear-facing 13-megapixel camera in the Moto Z with optical image stabilization. Lenovo is quick to point out that it also has laser autofocus and comes with improved low-light performance. The rear-facing camera can record video content in 4K resolution, and its front-facing 5-megapixel camera has a wide-angle lens to appeal to selfie lovers.

Although Lenovo has had some success with Windows 10 on the computing side, the company has stuck with Android on Moto Z. It runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with the proprietary Moto user interface overlaid. It’s unclear whether owners will be able to update the smartphone with Android Nougat when Google releases that version later this year.

The Moto Z launches with a 5.5-inch AMOLED screen with a 1,440p quad-HD display. While that won’t allow users to enjoy 4K-resolution video content, Lenovo says it has a whopping 535 pixels per inch, which should deliver outstanding resolution for most games and movies.

The Moto Z is a nicely powerful smartphone, boasting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor alongside the Adreno 530 GPU. To aid in its voice-recognition features, the Moto Z also has an on-board natural language processor and contextual computing processor. There’s even 4GB of RAM to handle apps.

Customers will be able to choose between 32GB or 64GB of on-board storage in the Moto Z. While that might not seem like much—and it isn’t—Lenovo has said that the smartphone will come with microSD card support, adding up to 2TB of additional storage. That’s more than enough for most users.

As noted, Lenovo plans to launch the Moto Z on Verizon’s network July 28. However, the company said it plans to launch an unlocked version of its handset this fall. This will allow buyers to run the handset on the mobile carrier of their choosing. Too bad Lenovo didn’t do that in the first place.

Lenovo’s Moto Z comes with high-end features and a high-end design. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that it also comes with a high-end price. The Moto Z starts at $624 and goes up, depending on the amount of storage buyers choose. Those who want to take advantage of its modularity should expect to pay extra for those accessories.