Moto Z/Moto Z Force First Impressions [Video]

Following Lenovo’s acquisition of Lenovo a few years ago, we were all a bit scared for the future of Motorola’s smartphones and 2016 is the first year that Lenovo has truly made their presence known. With a new design, new name, and plenty of potential, is the Moto Z a flagship worth your attention? We’ll answer that in our full review soon, but for now, let’s talk about initial thoughts after the first day.

Crazy Stupid Thin

Looking at the spec list for the Moto Z, things are pretty standard. A fast processor, tons of RAM, high resolution cameras, and also of the extra perks that come with buying a flagship. However one number that really jumps off the page is the thickness, or rather, the lack thereof. At just 5.2mm thin, the Moto Z is past the point of no return when it comes to smartphone thickness, and it’s actually kinda awesome.

I’ve always been one of the first to say that thin phones are stupid, but with the Moto Z it just makes sense, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

What’s great about the Moto Z is that it doesn’t sacrifice much to be thin. It still has a respectable battery, it still feels pretty decent in the hand, and really there are no valid complaints from me. Sure, the thicker Moto Z Force has a much larger battery, but when you consider mods, the Z feels better suited to them.

The Design Is Much Better In Person

As for the design, I wasn’t all that impressed, from the press shots. In person however the Moto Z is an entirely different animal. Without any style attachments it looks good, but slap on a Style Mod and this is one of the better looking phones on the market today. Even without those however, the phone still looks great, pictures just don’t do it justice.

Modularity That Makes Sense

Last but not least let’s talk about the modular design really quick. We’ve seen modularity done wrong, and the promise of it done right, however the Moto Z takes a different approach. Rather than forcing users to take apart their devices or even making things a bit more complicated with multiple attachments, Motorola has made things easy with pins and magnets. Want more battery life? Add a power mod. Want a wood back? Style mod. Better audio? Sound mod. It’s just that simple.

We’ve got our hands on the 4 main MotoMods, the Style Mod, JBL SoundBoost speaker, TUMI power pack, and of course the Insta-Share projector. So far they’re all great, but we’ll have more to say in the full review in a few weeks.

Stay tuned!