Moto Z is radically different from anything we've seen before from this manufacturer. The smartphone is very thin, only 5.2 mm (for comparison, the iPhone 7 case is 7.3 mm). On the front there is an abundance of sensors and microphones, on the back there is a round camera module in the form of a Moto 360 watch display. The device looks more like a futuristic concept. This gadget is definitely not to be confused with others.

The abundance of sensors is, of course, technologically advanced, but frankly ugly. And the camera protrudes by as much as 3 mm. In a word, out of habit, the appearance of the smartphone causes irritation and hostility. But, as they say, you get used to everything. So after a week you stop noticing all these roughnesses.

The body of the Moto Z is made of metal, with a glass insert at the back. The device is assembled with high quality. However, Motorola was famous for its solid build. Three colors will be on sale: silver, gold and black. The latter, by the way, is the most advantageous option: all these numerous sensors and holes are not so noticeable on it. But we have, as you can see, golden.

The rear of the Moto Z looks cool, but the bezel will take some getting used to. It is better to buy the black version: it does not show numerous sensors and microphone holes.

We emphasize right away that Moto Z is not suitable for working in a “naked” form. The fact is that the case is thin, the edges are sharp, and the dimensions are rather big - it is inconvenient to hold in your hand, the device strives to slip out. Replaceable covers are quite a solution.

The manufacturer provided panels from different materials, which are attached to the smartphone with magnets. I put on the cover - the feeling of working with Moto Z changes dramatically. It is comfortable to hold, fingers do not slip, the camera does not stick out. At the same time, the smartphone remains beautiful and thin.

On sale you can find panels made of plastic, wood, fabric and leather. The fabric one comes with a smartphone, and the new one will cost 1990 rubles.

The magnets on the back of the Moto Z aren't just for replacement covers. They are attached modules Moto Mods, which will be sold separately. The idea is implemented successfully: modules can be quickly changed without turning off the phone. Engineers from LG did not think of this when developing the G5 model, by the way.

There are already 6 such modules:

• JBL speaker with stereo sound and its own battery. It costs 80 dollars.
• Hasselblad photomodule with 12 megapixel camera, optical stabilization and 10x zoom.
• Two battery covers: 2200 mAh and 3000 mAh.
• Insta Share mini projector for the price of a large projector: $300
• Car mount with fast charging function.

True, the modules are expensive. Battery for 4000 rubles? Thank you, I'd rather buy an external battery 5 times cheaper. Column for 5000? For the same money you can find portable acoustics several times more powerful. Of interest is perhaps the Hasselblad photomodule, but few will buy it for $ 250.

Another victim of the thin case was the headphone jack - there was no place for it (as is the case with Apple iPhone 7). Now the headphones are connected either via Bluetooth or via USB type-C. Luckily, the Moto Z comes with a 3.5mm adapter.

Fortunately, this did not affect the sound quality. Clear, loud, but not as bassy as HTC 10. On par with other flagships: Huawei P9 Plus, LG G5 and Galaxy S7.

It is strange that there is no support for the Bluetooth aptX codec. It is needed for high sound quality when it comes to connecting headphones "over the air". That is, Motorola wants us to give up wires, but forgot to ensure high sound quality.

But the external speaker impressed. There is only one, but it produces a loud and clear sound. What is nice, while playing games and watching movies, the speaker does not overlap.

It is too early to remove the 3.5mm jack from smartphones. Even for the sake of thickness. It's good that an adapter is included with the Moto Z.

When talking to the interlocutor, you can hear perfectly, and the interlocutors themselves also liked the sound. This is the merit of four microphones scattered throughout the body of the Moto Z. They help out great in a noisy subway and in strong winds.

The fingerprint scanner is built into the unsightly square below the screen. This is not a key, as it might seem at first glance, and it cannot be pressed. There is a sensor, but it has only two functions: with a long press, the smartphone is blocked, when touched in full-screen applications, the navigation bar extends.

The scanner reads prints instantly. They quickly touched the square - and the smartphone is immediately ready for work. In terms of response speed, Moto Z is not inferior to the leaders OnePLus 3 and Huawei P9 Plus.

Moto Z has an AMOLED-matrix with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. For a 5.5-inch screen, this is more than enough. The image is clear, contrast. The black color is perfect. The brightness of the backlight is high, but there is almost no margin. That is, on a bright sunny day, the screen may be dim.

At the same time, if you turn the brightness to a minimum in the dark, the screen still remains merciless to the eyes: this is because the minimum level is not as low as we would like.

The screen is made using AMOLED technology, energy saving. The image is clear and contrasting, but with the brightness settings, not everything is as great as we would like.

The weak side of Motorola's flagships has always been the camera. However, here the situation has changed. Moto Z installed a module with a resolution of 13 megapixels and f1.8 aperture. Moreover, an optical stabilizer and laser autofocus were added here.

During the day, the camera shoots perfectly: high detail, a traced sky, the correct reproduction of colors and shades. Automation works flawlessly. I liked the work of automatic HDR. Even against a bright sun, the processor draws out dark areas, removes glare and does not lighten bright objects.

With the onset of darkness, the focus begins to play pranks. Either it hits by, or it frantically tries to grab onto the light source. Exposure sacrifices noise reduction: there is little graininess, but moving objects are blurred. Static images remain sharp thanks to stabilization.

The front 5-megapixel camera has a flash. At night and indoors, it will help out selfie lovers. The image capture angle is large, so if you try, you can put a large company in the frame.

The camera in Moto Z caught up with the current flagships from other manufacturers in terms of quality. But inferior in poor lighting samsung galaxy S7, Google Pixel and iPhone 7 Plus.

Motorola Moto Z is one of the most fast smartphones in the world. The novelty is powered by a proven Snapdragon 820 chip with a frequency of 2.15 GHz. The same processor is in the LG G5, HTC 10, OnePlus 3. According to the results of tests, Moto Z is in the top three.

In Geekbench 4, the smartphone scored suspiciously low points. Moto Z earned 5200 points from foreign colleagues. Let's write off the lags of the test sample.

RAM 4 GB, physical - either 32 or 64 GB. For most users, this will be enough, but just in case, there is a slot for memory cards. Then you can increase the volume by another 256 GB. But keep in mind: the flash drive is installed instead of one of the two SIM cards.

In reality, the smartphone is very fast. He doesn't care what to do - run games, play 4K video or keep several applications in the background. Everything is so smooth that you involuntarily compare Moto Z with Google Pixel.

The analogy with the Pixel suggests itself when looking at the system. Motorola Moto Z is the only flagship that runs on "pure" Android. No heavy shells and heaps of useless applications. Everything is neat and to the point. Yes, Moto Z is not the first in tests, but in terms of optimization it can compete with Google's own devices.

Smartphones are the big news this year. MotoZ andMotoZplay, which are now manufactured by the Chinese giant Lenovo. Many of us remember well how successful Motorola phones were, and some models were the first to implement technologies that later became an integral part of mobile communications. The end of the 90s and the beginning of the 00s was the heyday and the greatest success of the company, but soon Motorola simply could not withstand the competition, phone sales fell sharply, and in 2011 Motorola Mobility was bought out by the companyGoogle, primarily due to the high value intellectual property companies.

In 2014 Motorola Mobility was bought out by the companyLenovo, which really wants to take a leading position in the smartphone market. For Lenovo, the release of gadgets under the Moto brand is an opportunity to gain a foothold in the Asian market due to the former popularity of American phones, as well as a chance to increase sales in the American market, because the Chinese company has a grandiose dream - to become one of the three world leaders among smartphone manufacturers. It is too early to predict what will happen in the end, but the company started very well. The emphasis is on highlight smartphonesMoto against the background of other little different gadgets. They decided to implement this idea with the help of modularity. This is how smartphones were born MotoZ andMotoZplay which are already on sale today. On the eve of the New Year holidays, the most favorable prices are available for them and for removable modules for them as part of the sale of the largest online store of GearBest equipment.

Smartphones turned out to be really powerful and interesting, which immediately attracted the attention of the whole world to them. got an excellent stuffing: 4-core processor Snapdragon 820, which runs at 1.6 GHz, overclocking to 2.15 GHz when running demanding applications. In stock at the gadget 4 GB RAM and 64 GB main - this is enough for any user. There is a slot for a memory card, but you have to choose: either additional memory or a second SIM card.

The pride of a smartphone is its display. At diagonal of 5.5 inches, it received a resolution of 2560 * 1440, made according to the technology AMOLED, covered protective glass Gorilla Glass 3. Under the screen is a fingerprint scanner. In terms of design, Motorola devices have always been among the best, so this time we managed to create a good solution. Smartphone is dressed in thin metal case only 5.2 mm thick, and on the rear panel you can see the glass inserts behind which the antennas are located.

The main camera of the smartphone is 13 megapixels equipped with double flash, laser autofocus and optical stabilization. It works very well, and a number of experts have already been named camera inMotoZ is the best ever used in smartphonesLenovo and. The 5MP front camera boasts excellent color reproduction. At the bottom of the case there are connectors for attaching removable panels and modules for a camera, projector, etc. This is what smart phone feature, But more on that later. Since the Moto Z has just been on sale and has exclusive features and top performance, its cost is high. At the best price, the smartphone is available at http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_461253.html?12, where you can buy it for $529.99.

Simultaneously with Lenovo Moto Z, another smartphone was released - which looks very similar to it, but differs in some technical characteristics. Gadget performance provides Snap 8-core processordragon 625 with a frequency of 2 GHz. RAM on board 3 GB, the main one is 64 GB, it can be expanded with memory cards up to 2 TB. The screen is also made according to the technologyAMOLED, has a large 5.5-inch diagonal, but received Full HD resolution, at which the pixel density is 401 ppi - an excellent indicator that provides the highest image clarity. The display is covered with protective glass, under the screen is a fingerprint scanner.

Main camera on 16 MP Equipped with a dual flash, allows you to take decent pictures. The smartphone supports all modern wireless interfaces, its thickness is 6.99 mm, since it uses a more powerful battery, its capacity 3510 mAh. The model is made in the same design as Moto Z and also supports work with removable modules. This smartphone costs less - $ 429.99, and at this price is available only on the page http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_446768.html?12.

Now, as regards removable modules, which have become the main feature of new smartphones. To interest modern users, which, it seems, can no longer be surprised by anything, Lenovo decided to follow the idea of ​​​​modularity, but to do it much smarter and more convenient than, for example, LG in its G5 smartphone. Additional modules are actually magnetized on back panel and stick to it very tightly. Even the heaviest modules are attached almost tightly. They have different purposes: they can be decorative overlays that instantly change the appearance of gadgets, or they can be quite functional elements that expand the capabilities of smartphones. Let's stop at the latter. Looking ahead, it is worth saying that all these modules are suitable forMotoZ, and forMotoZplay.

Among all the modules, the main one can be called, which is able to turn a smartphone into a powerful camera. The module boasts a 12-megapixel sensor, 10x optical zoom, the possibility of shooting in RAW format and video recording in FullHD format. A xenon flash is provided for shooting in low light conditions. The overlay perfectly attaches itself to the body of the smartphone, immediately after attaching it is ready for use, it is equipped with its own shutter button. The module is very interesting and functional, and now a promotion is being applied to it: on the page http://www.gearbest.com/other-cell-phone-accessories/pp_576785.html it is available for purchase for $329.99.

The new Moto smartphones can easily be turned into compact projector thanks to the module. With it, you can project movies or photos from your smartphone onto any surface, receiving 70 inch image and a brightness of 50 lumens. It is worth noting that the projector even independently aligns the image on the surface. The module is equipped with its own 1100 mAh battery, which is enough for an average of 60 minutes of work. If this is not enough, the energy of the smartphone battery begins to be consumed. Such an interesting and functional solution is available now at a promotional price of $289.99 at http://www.gearbest.com/other-cell-phone-accessories/pp_577807.html.

One more original accessory – acoustic module Motorola Mobile Stereo Speaker. Connecting to such a speaker is instant, and the sound it provides is loud, powerful and clear, quite sufficient even for a large party. Thanks to a special stand, the smartphone can be placed on the end, so that it is more convenient to control playback and not interfere with the normal distribution of sound. The pad is equipped own 1000 mAh battery, which provides battery life for 10 hours without using your smartphone battery. For the best price of $108.99, the module is available at http://www.gearbest.com/other-cell-phone-accessories/pp_578355.html?12. In addition, to expand the capabilities of the smartphone, you can use a lot of other removable modules. Check out promotions and great deals online store!

The approach to implementing the idea of ​​​​a modular smartphone from Motorola and LG is fundamentally different. We will talk about our impressions from the first practical acquaintance with the device.

The mobile phone market is stagnant and technical innovations are rare. Lenovo wants to make a difference with its new Motorola-branded product: the Moto Z and the big Moto Z Force should not only be a smartphone, but also a projector, audio system, and more.

LG is already using a similar concept in its own. However, the implementation of the idea is fundamentally different: while LG offers additional modules that are inserted directly into the device, Motorola decided to use open connectors on the back of the case, to which the modules are connected in the form of pads fixed by a magnet.

Moto Z: a ​​mobile phone that can be a projector

At the Tech World event, Lenovo showed off three production-ready Moto Mods: the JBL SoundBoost Speaker, the Insta-Share Projector pico projector (according to the manufacturer, it can create an image up to 70 inches diagonally), and a battery pack that should last battery life of the smartphone for 22 hours.

As tempting as all of the above may sound, Lenovo's approach to implementing modular technology has one drawback: with additional modules, the phone does not look very elegant.

The Moto Mods platform is open to third-party developers, so the appearance of new modules, such as extensions for working with a camera or a docking station for turning a smartphone into a PC, is quite expected. To promote the project, the manufacturer is ready to provide all kinds of support to developers, including financial support.

Custom Design

As with other Motorola phones such as the Moto X Play, the Moto Z will also be customizable. Customers will have a choice of Moto Style Shells - wood, leather and fabric back covers that are removable and interchangeable.

In addition, there are several "designer" samples. Among others, Lenovo names models from kate spade new york, TUMI and Incipio.

Cost and release date of Moto Z and Moto Z Force

Sales should start in September 2016, but Lenovo has not yet said anything about the cost of new smartphones, as well as Moto Mods modules.

Specifications Moto Z

• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 1.8GHz (quad core, Adreno 530 graphics)
• built-in memory: 32/64 GB, expandable with microSD cards up to 2 TB
• Display: 5.5" OLED screen, QHD (2560x1440), Corning Gorilla Glass
• battery: 2600 mAh, support for Quick Charge
• main camera: 13 megapixels, optical image stabilizer, laser autofocus, support for 4K recording, slow motion, etc.
• front camera: 5 megapixels, flash, wide-angle lens
• interfaces and network: LTE, WLAN-ac, fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth 4.1
• operating system: Android 6.0.1
• weight: 136 grams
• dimensions: 75.3 × 155.3 × 5.19 mm

The Motorola Moto Z is a bold new experiment in many ways, but its boldness lies in its modularity. Just like the LG G5, the Moto Z works with several modules that give the device new possibilities, turning it from just another smartphone into a smartphone plus a great speaker, projector, battery and more.

Lenovo Moto Z and Moto Z Force Reviews

Can Motorola Moto Z live up to its promises? Let's find out.

Note: We put the Motorola Moto Z and Moto Z Force in the same review because the differences between them are minimal. But, we took into account all the differences and our preferences, they are displayed in this review.

Modular Design Motorola Moto Z and Moto Z Force

Modules are so popular right now. Oddly enough, Motorola was the first to start the whole concept with the Ara project, a modular smartphone concept that was taken over by Google. Today, everyone is fascinated by the idea of ​​customizing their smartphones with modules that they can add and remove as they please. So far, everyone has done it wrong.

With the LG G5, you press a button to eject the bottom of the phone, swap the battery, and pop in the new module, rebooting the entire device. This is not a very user friendly approach, and there are only two modules available for purchase right now.

The Ara design at least included ease of adding modules that can be replaced without shutting down the device. However, the idea is similar to Lego, where everything can be replaced except for the processor or RAM.

On the this moment we have Motorola Moto Z and Z Force. Lenovo (which currently owns Motorola) understands how the modules are supposed to work. The modules they offer are mature products such as Kate Spade and Incipio branded battery packs, a JBL SoundBoost speaker, and an Instashare projector. The modules are easy to plug in and out and stay securely attached when needed with very strong magnets.

Modules won't move, turn, fall, or detach accidentally. The magnets make it incredibly easy to replace them without the hassle. The ease of use results in you wanting to use these modules all the time, unlike the LG G5 which almost discourages their use with awkward battery twitches and reboots. Magnets may seem like a completely obvious and uninspired solution, but they work.

Motorola Moto Z and Moto Z Force design and features

Personally, I don't like glass backs on phones. They're fragile, they pick up too many fingerprints, and they're slippery too. The 5.2mm Motorola Moto Z is so thin it's a little scary, and to top it all off, the front and back are made of glass. The metal frame provides a secure grip for the panels, and the body doesn't have the curves of the Galaxy S7. The shiny metal parts are well crafted, but they don't have much style. The domed chamber protrudes slightly unattractively from the glass panels.

There is no headphone jack, which is just stupid. However, this seems to be an annoying trend as Apple is rumored to be ditching the headphone jack on the iPhone 7.

I don't quite like touching the Moto Z when it's not in a case, but it's prettier and feels great when it has a wooden back from the extra mod styles. In addition to this, these mods eliminate the camera bulge, adding a much-needed curve to the back of the smartphone. You can keep the style mod you like on your Moto Z forever - or until you want to replace it with another mod.

Although the Moto Z Force is thicker at 7 millimeters, it also benefits from styling mods. The Z Force is thicker and noticeably heavier than the regular Moto Z, but it's not overly thick for a flagship phone. The Lenovo Moto Z Force has the added benefit of a shock-resistant screen thanks to the Shattershield technology that debuted on the Droid Turbo 2 last year. This time around, the reinforced screen on the Force doesn't look any different than the more flimsy one on the standard Moto Z.

We dropped the Motorola Moto Z Force onto concrete, wood floors, metal plating, and ceramic tiles from about 1.22 meters high, and the screen didn't get a single scratch. You can read on the company's website about how several layers of glass and plastic protect the screen of this phone from breaking.

This is an amazing breakthrough in technology, we wish every smartphone had the same level of protection. If you're prone to dropping your device, you should buy the Moto Z Force. Lenovo is so confident in the new Motorola's shatterproof screen that it gives the Force a four-year warranty. Good luck trying to tear it apart.

Unfortunately, neither the Moto Z nor the Moto Z Force have water protection like the Galaxy S7. Both devices have a nano coating that should protect against minor spills and splashes, but no more. Do not take this phone to the bathroom.

Lenovo Moto Z and Moto Z Force Specifications

AMOLED screens measure 5.5 inches on both models with the same Quad HD resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. Both screens and their resolution are impressive. The phones are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor found in devices like the Samsung Galaxy Edge, S7 and LG G5. A whopping 4GB of RAM packs in enough headroom to keep both phones incredibly fast and able to handle intense games and tasks without a hitch. The test results were very impressive, with a multi-core Geekbench score of 5,328, a Sling Shot 3D Mark of 2615, and a Quadrant score of 44,620. In short, it works about the same as any of the most expensive smartphones you can buy today.

Motorola Moto Z and Z Force come with your choice of 32GB or 64GB storage that can be expanded up to a whopping 2TB via slot microSD cards.

A fingerprint sensor on the front of the phone rounds out the specs, adding security and mobile payments. It's a fast and responsive sensor, although the small square looks awkwardly sticking out of the phone's body.

We have absolutely no reason to complain about the Moto Z's specs, they are on par with any other new 2016 flagship, including the Galaxy S7, LG G5, HTC 10 or OnePlus 3.

Cameras with focus

The camera is one of the few areas where the Moto Z and Moto Z Force data diverge. The standard version of the Motorola Moto Z has a 13MP rear camera, while the Z Force has a 21MP camera with optical image stabilization to keep your pictures and videos in best quality. The Lenovo Moto Z Force takes slightly better photos, though we did experience focus speed issues on both phones.

None new mobile phone did not focus quickly and easily, which is what we expect from flagship smartphones. It took a long time before the devices managed to focus on any subject in any lighting conditions. Even on a bright sunny day, the Moto Z and Force struggled to focus and snap a photo quickly. The camera app even warned me to "keep the camera still".

This is simply unacceptable. When I use iPhone, Galaxy S7, LG G5, HTC 10, or any other flagship smartphone, I can get the picture I want in record time and move on. I don't have to worry about focusing or standing still - I can just take a picture knowing the phone will return a perfect, sharp photo.

With the Motorola Moto Z, I had to wait a few seconds to focus and take a picture. Thus, it was impossible to capture moving objects, animated people, or my adorable cat.

Of course, HDR was enabled by default, and therefore it takes extra time to process images, but even when I turned off HDR, the camera still took a long time to take a picture. Hopefully this is a software bug that can be fixed because it's frustrating.

However, the resulting pictures were very good. The close-ups contained very detailed and picturesque paintings that looked great. Pictures in poor light were grainy, although sometimes blurry because the camera takes a long time to focus to take a picture. A tripod would help, but it's ridiculous because you have to carry it with you.

At the same time, the front camera has 5 megapixels and a wide-angle lens to capture more good plans. The selfies looked great, but the sensor still takes a while to record the image.

Battery Life

In terms of battery life, the Z Force has the edge with a larger 3,500mAh battery. This will give the device almost two days of operation, which is an amazing amount of time. Unfortunately, the slim Motorola Moto Z only has a 2,600mAh battery that lasts about a day before you need to charge it. It's not that bad, but it's still disappointing.

Luckily, both phones offer TurboPower fast charging technology via USB Type-C port, which will supposedly give 8 hours of operation for every 15 minutes of charging. We found the data to be accurate and as advertised.

Motorola Moto Z software and updates

The Moto brand is well known for offering an almost pure version of the Android OS, you will not find any significant changes in the Motorola Moto Z and Moto Z Force. The only addition is an app from Moto that allows you to set quick gestures for cameras and so on.

Smartphones will always receive Android updates in a timely manner to protect users from security threats, and we hope this trend continues.

Moto Z and Moto Z Force warranty

The Lenovo Moto Z comes with a one-year warranty, while the Z Force comes with a four-year warranty thanks to its protective coating.

Outcome

Both phones look different, taking some nuances from previous Moto phones and offering a smart and simple approach to modules. The Lenovo Moto Z Force is our favorite of the two with its large battery and shatterproof screen.

The Motorola Moto Z smartphone is also very good and would definitely benefit from the addition of a battery module.

While the Moto Z and Moto Z Force are powerful devices, the camera issues we've encountered are frustrating. These phones cost the same as other flagships such as the Galaxy S7, HTC 10 and LG G5 - all of which offer the best camera experience. Plus, modules are expensive, so if you want to take full advantage of modular phones, you'll have to pay even more for them.

None of the Motorola Moto Z has a headphone jack, so you need bluetooth headphones.

Just like the LG G5, the Moto Z is a smartphone best suited for tech enthusiasts who are dying to try new modules. This is an innovative, interesting device that makes the use of modules better than any other smartphone that has tried so far to realize this feature but it will cost you extra cost.

Advantages

• Smart modular design.
• Strong processor.
• Fast work.
• Fingerprint sensor.
• Possibility to personalize styles with mods.

Slim device with a spectacular appearance, good autonomy and replaceable modules

Lenovo, which owns the rights to the Motorola brand, introduced this summer an updated version of its "modular" smartphone - Moto Z2 Play, which is able to use a variety of interchangeable panels from the Moto Mods series. Modules add new functions and capabilities to the device. For example, you can turn your smartphone into a digital camera with optical zoom or into a projector. There are a lot of changes compared to the previous model (Moto Z Play), and not all of them are exclusively progressive: the battery, for example, has decreased in volume. Read about all the details in our review of the Moto Z2 Play smartphone.

Moto Z2 Play Key Features

• SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 626, 8 cores Cortex-A53 @ 2.2 GHz
• GPU Adreno 506 @650 MHz
• Operating system Android 7.1.1, Moto Experience
• Super AMOLED 5.5″ touchscreen, 1920×1080, 401 ppi
• RAM(RAM) 3/4 GB, internal memory 32/64 GB
• Support Nano-SIM (2 pcs.)
• microSD support up to 2TB
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• WCDMA/HSPA+ networks (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz)
• LTE networks (B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 41, 66)
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz)
• Bluetooth 4.2LE+EDR
• GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
• USB Type-C, USB OTG
• Main camera 12 MP, autofocus, f/1.7, 4K video
• Front camera 5 MP, f/2.2, fixed focus
• Proximity sensor, light sensor, magnetic field sensor, fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope
• Battery 3000 mAh
• Dimensions 156×76×6 mm
• Weight 145 g

Pluggable modules

The Moto Z2 Play goes on sale, of course, without replaceable modules. They are quite expensive and will have to be purchased separately. By this time, the manufacturer had come up with even more various modules of the Moto Mods line, here are the most notable of them. The $300 Moto insta-share projector lets you turn your smartphone into a 70-inch projector, while the $300 Hasselblad True Zoom turns it into a digital camera with 10x optical zoom. There is a JBL SoundBoost overhead speaker for $70, there is even a module with joysticks that can turn a smartphone into a gamepad. There's also a TurboPower Pack accessory battery pack and Moto Style pads that add wireless charging functionality. Support for old modules is retained, that is, those purchased for Moto Z Play are quite suitable for Moto Z2 Play.

Appearance and usability

The design of the Moto Z2 Play is almost the same as that of its predecessor, however, due to some details, the appearance of the smartphone as a whole has changed so much that now we can really talk about a stylish and decent-looking modern device without any discounts.

The button with a fingerprint scanner on the front panel has become not square, as before, but standardly elongated, this instantly transformed the front panel. The back panel is matte instead of glass. metal surface, which also ennobled the appearance of the hero of the review, gave reliability. By the way, the antenna inserts here are not made in the form of separate strips at the top and bottom, but are put along the perimeter along the entire panel, it looks fresh and stylish.

You can, of course, wear this smartphone without pads, but in this form, few will like the rounded camera module that sticks out strongly outward and the large Moto Mods Connector contact block located at the bottom of the rear panel. On the other hand, without overlays, the device is so thin that you don’t want to thicken it at all.

The smartphone is not small in size, but thanks to a thin profile, very rounded corners and smoothed ends, the smartphone is comfortable in the hand and fits quite comfortably in the pockets of clothes. Matte metal surfaces are not easily soiled, the device does not slip in the hands, it is held securely.

The side buttons are quite small and thin, but they have a nice distinct and elastic move, they are convenient to use. The usual volume rocker is divided in two here.

The entire front panel is covered with 2.5D Gorilla Glass with barely noticeable sloping edges. Sensors and a peephole are habitually installed above the screen front camera with its own flash, and from two LEDs. However, there is no event LED on the front panel.

There are no touch hardware buttons under the screen, it is suggested to use the navigation button bar on the screen itself. However, their functions can be duplicated using the central button, drawing gestures on it that perform the same standard navigation actions: return to the previous screen, to the home screen, open the list running programs. “Swiping” on a small button left and right is not very convenient, but there will definitely be those who want it.

The main speaker here is not brought out to the bottom end or to the rear panel, but is combined with the speaker, that is, the sound in any case comes out of the slot at the top of the front panel above the screen.

At the bottom there is a USB Type-C connector that supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode. A 3.5 mm headphone jack is also installed here – it’s nice that they didn’t sacrifice it even in such a thin case.

The top end is given over to the card slot, and the fact that, again, even in this ultra-thin case, the manufacturer has found a place for three cards (two Nano-SIM and one microSD) without the notorious "hybridity" and the need to sacrifice anything .

It turns out that everything is quite possible to place and combine, it's just that manufacturers such as Huawei, which was one of the first to start practicing a "hybrid" connector, have no particular desire to take care of user comfort. Here, everything is much more convenient: on one side of the sled, both SIM-cards are installed, and on the other, a memory card is quietly placed, and hot-swappable cards are supported.

The Moto Z2 Play comes in just two color options: Lunar Gray, which we tested, and Fine Gold with a white front, which also looks quite attractive.

Screen

The Moto Z2 Play features a Super AMOLED display covered by 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass with sloping edges. The physical dimensions of the screen are 68×121 mm with a diagonal of 5.5 inches. The resolution is 1920×1080, the dot density is about 401 ppi. The frame around the screen, taking into account the rounding of the end parts of the case, is not very narrow: it is almost 4 mm on the sides, 17 mm on the bottom and top.

The display brightness can be adjusted manually or you can use automatic settings based on the operation of the ambient light sensor. The AnTuTu test diagnoses support for 10 simultaneous multitouch touches.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the sections "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (just Nexus 7 below). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Moto Z2 Play, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen on the Moto Z2 Play is a little darker (brightness in photos is 111 versus 112 on the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the screen of the Moto Z2 Play is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of borders (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, noticeably better than Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

At manual control brightness and when displaying a white field in full screen maximum value brightness was approximately 415 cd / m², the minimum - 3.3 cd / m². The maximum brightness is not very high, but you need to take into account the good anti-glare properties of the screen and the fact that with a decrease in the white area, the brightness of the white areas increases slightly. As a result, readability during the day in the sun is at a fairly good level, and a reduced brightness level allows you to use the device without problems even in complete darkness. There is an automatic brightness control according to the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker slot). In automatic mode, when the ambient light conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. This function depends on the position of the brightness slider. If it is at 100%, then in complete darkness, the automatic brightness adjustment function reduces the brightness to 110 cd / m² (a bit too much), in an office lit by artificial light (about 550 lux), it sets it to 280 cd / m² (normal), in a very bright environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to a maximum - up to 415 cd / m² (to the maximum, it is necessary). If the brightness slider is at 50%, the values ​​are as follows: 13, 120, 415 cd/m² (suitable), if at 0% - 3.3, 15, 415 cd/m² (the first two values ​​are low). From our point of view, the automatic brightness adjustment function works adequately.

Only at the low brightness level is there a significant modulation at 239.7 Hz. The figure below shows the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time (horizontal axis) for several brightness values:

It can be seen that at maximum and medium brightness, the modulation amplitude is small, so there is no visible flicker. However, with a strong decrease in brightness, modulation with a large relative amplitude appears. Therefore, at low brightness, the presence of modulation can already be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.

This screen uses an AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are half as many red and blue subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphoto:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

On the fragment above, you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), while repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without gaps and overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer considers the screen resolution based on green subpixels, on the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the sub-pixels in this variant is similar to the variant in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen and some other newer Samsung devices (and not only) with AMOLED screens. Of course, there is some uneven contrasting borders and other artifacts. However, due to very high resolution they have minimal effect on image quality.

The screen has excellent viewing angles. True, the white color, when deviated even at small angles, acquires a slight blue-green tint, and at some angles it turns a little pink, but the black color remains black at any angle. It is so black that the contrast setting in this case just not applicable. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is good. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of the Moto Z2 Play and the second participant in the comparison, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to about 200 cd / m², and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K.

White field perpendicular to the screens:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone white field.

And a test picture:

According to the visual assessment, the colors of the tested screen are oversaturated and unnatural, the color balance of the screens differs markedly. Recall that the photo can not serve as a reliable source of information about color quality and is provided for illustrative purposes only. The photo above was taken for a profile Bright in the screen settings (it is selected by default), there are two of them:

What happens when choosing the second one is shown below.

Color saturation has become closer to normal.

Now at an angle of about 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Moto Z2 Play at an angle is noticeably higher.

And the white box:

The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (in order to avoid severe darkening, the shutter speed is increased compared to the previous two photos), but in the case of the Moto Z2 Play, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Moto Z2 Play screen visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device at least at a slight angle.

Switching the state of the matrix elements is almost instantaneous, but there may be a step about 17 ms wide at the on (and less often off) edge (which corresponds to the screen refresh rate). For example, the dependence of brightness on time looks like this when moving from black to white and vice versa:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects, but in normal use it is difficult to see these artifacts. On the contrary, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “twitchy” movements.

The gamma curve constructed from 32 points with an equal interval according to the numerical value of the shade of gray did not reveal a blockage either in the shadows or in the highlights. Approximation exponent power function is 2.22, which is close to the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve almost does not deviate from the power law:

By default, the color gamut is very wide:

The spectra of the components (that is, the spectra of pure red, green, and blue colors) are very well separated:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut without proper color correction, normal images optimized for sRGB devices look unnaturally saturated.

When choosing a profile Usual coverage shrinks to sRGB borders:

The balance of shades on the gray scale is acceptable. The color temperature is slightly above the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the black body spectrum (ΔE) in most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered normal for a consumer device. At the same time, the color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue (except for the darkest ones) - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of the color balance. However, profile selection Usual the balance worsens, as the spread of ΔE values ​​increases:

(The darkest areas of the gray scale in most cases can be ignored, since there the color balance does not matter much, and the measurement error of color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen has a not very high maximum brightness, but it has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating and an acceptable color balance. At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected on the screen), good white field uniformity, noticeably smaller than that of LCDs, a drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include excessively wide color gamut and screen flicker, which appears at low brightness. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience fatigue as a result. The color gamut can be brought closer to the standard, but at the expense of color balance deterioration. However, overall the screen quality is high.

Camera

The front camera of the Moto Z2 Play remains the same: the matrix has a resolution of 5 megapixels, the size of an individual pixel is 1.4 microns. A wide-angle f/2.2 lens with a fixed focus noticeably distorts proportions, making it difficult to capture an undistorted self-portrait at arm's length. But this is a tribute to fashion, selfie cameras are now being made so that a group fits into the frame, and not just one person. But on the front panel there is its own multi-colored dual LED flash. And the resulting image is quite detailed and sharp.

The main camera uses a module with a 12-megapixel sensor and a lens with a maximum aperture of f / 1.7, equipped with fast laser and phase detection autofocus with Dual Pixel technology for faster focusing. A new type of laser autofocus allows you to focus at a distance of up to 5 meters. The pixel size is still the same 1.4 microns. There is a bright double multi-colored LED flash.

The camera is rich in features: there are gesture controls, and manual mode, and the ability to adjust the exposure while shooting. Professional mode displays arc-shaped sliders with adjustable shutter speed, ISO (up to ISO 3200), manual focus, white balance, exposure compensation scale.

The camera can shoot video in maximum resolution 4K (30 fps), as well as 1080p at 60 fps, just keep in mind that stabilization in these two modes does not work - only in the usual 1080p (30 fps) and below. In general, the camera copes with video shooting with dignity: sharpness, color reproduction and detailing are normal, there are no artifacts in the image, the video sequence is smooth, without noticeable jerks. The sound is also recorded with high quality, the noise reduction system copes with its tasks.

• Video #1 (30 MB, 3840× [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
• Video #2 (23 MB, 3840× [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
• Roll #3 (40 MB, 1920× [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
• Movie #4 (40 MB, 1920× [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
• Video №5 (40 MB, 1280×720, slo-mo)

	The car numbers are clearly visible.
	The camera copes with macro photography.
	Good detailing on the field of the frame and on the plans.
	Good long-range sharpness.
	You can see slight sharpening on the branches.
	The text is well done.
	A small blur is noticeable on the left side of the frame.
	Good sharpness and moderate dynamic range in HDR mode.

The camera came out good, almost flagship. She has moderate software processing, excellent HDR mode, clearly a good module: the matrix works out small details, the optics almost do not spoil the edges of the image, although periodically the pictures come out blurry for some reason. That is why the camera falls slightly short of the flagship, but otherwise there is practically nothing to complain about. It can be argued that the camera will cope well with various scenes.

Telephone part and communications

The Qualcomm X9 LTE ​​modem supports LTE Cat.13 (maximum download speed up to 300 Mbps) and LTE Cat.7 (maximum upload speed up to 150 Mbps). A lot of 4G LTE FDD and TD bands are supported (B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 41, 66), in their including all 3 ranges used in Russia (3, 7 and 20). Within the city limits of the Moscow region, the device behaves confidently, the quality of signal reception does not cause any complaints.

The smartphone also supports both Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), there is Bluetooth 4.2. You can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. There is NFC with support for Mifare Classic, that is, the device works with an application for travel documents. The USB Type-C connector supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode.

The navigation module works with both GPS (with A-GPS) and domestic Glonass, but without the support of Chinese Beidou. The first satellites during a cold start are detected within the first minute. Positioning accuracy is average. Magnetic compass required for work navigation programs, is present.

The platform can support both SIM-cards in 3G/4G simultaneously in active standby mode. That is, the second SIM card can work in 3G for voice communication, even if a card from another slot is assigned for 4G data. The interface allows you to select a specific SIM card for voice calls and SMS in advance. Cards work in Dual mode SIM Dual Standby, there is only one radio modem. Also, for the convenience of users, the manufacturer has added several ready-made modes of two cards.

Software and multimedia

As software platform uses Android OS fresh version 7.1.1 with a proprietary Moto Experiences interface, which is closer to stock android versions, what is it in appearance, and in organization than all variants of Lenovo's own shell. Lenovo Moto smartphones resemble pure Google phones more than most competitors.

Added support for gestures, the ability to reduce the entire working area of ​​the screen for ease of control with fingers of one hand, multi-window operation. When you stretch your hand to the device lying on the table, it immediately displays basic information in monochrome on the locked screen (date, time, remaining charge percentage). The interface as a whole is simple and calm in design, easy and fast in work. Third Party Programs practically not, everything you need here is implemented using Google Apps.

To listen to music, a regular Google Music player with equalizer settings is used. Both in headphones and in the dynamics the device sounds good: the sound volume is enough for any environment, the sound is clear and loud, but not of the highest quality.

There is an FM radio. It is curious that you can try to use it without headphones connected as an external antenna, but you will not be able to catch anything in this way. There was no built-in voice recorder in the device.

Performance

The Moto Z2 Play hardware platform is based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 single-chip system, made using 14-nanometer technology. Recall that the previous Moto Z Play worked on the Snapdragon 625. The Snapdragon 626 includes eight 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of up to 2.2 GHz, the Adreno 506 video accelerator with a core frequency of up to 650 MHz is responsible for graphics processing. The amount of RAM is 4 GB, and the built-in flash memory is 64 GB. Of these, about 50 GB of storage and approximately 2.5 GB of RAM are initially free. There is also a version of the smartphone with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of flash memory.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 is a platform designed for mid-range smartphones. This is a fairly recent chip, introduced in October 2016 and replacing Snapdragon 625. In essence, the difference lies in the increased core frequency (from 2.0 to 2.2 GHz), but there are also less noticeable changes - for example, a radio signal amplifier has appeared. for the TruSignal antenna. Thanks to the 14 nm process technology, this SoC has good performance at low power consumption.

In both complex and graphics tests, the Snapdragon 626 SoC demonstrates not top-end, but quite satisfactory results for any task. The performance is sufficient for recording and playback of videos up to 4K UHD resolution and demanding games. Mortal Kombat X is played by a smartphone without the slightest slowdown.

Testing in comprehensive AnTuTu and GeekBench tests:

For convenience, we have summarized all the results obtained by us when testing a smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks in tables. Several other devices from various segments are usually added to the table, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry numbers). Unfortunately, within a single comparison, it is impossible to present the results from different versions benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in 3DMark gaming tests, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark for the highest performing smartphones, it is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (due to which the speed can rise above 60 fps).

	Moto Z2 Play (Qualcomm Snapdragon 626)	Asus Zenfone 3 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 625)	HTC One X10 (MediaTek Helio P10)	Honor 6X (HiSilicon Kirin 655)	Xiaomi Redmi 4X (Qualcomm Snapdragon 435)
3DMark Ice Storm Sling Shot ES 3.1 (more is better)	470	466	421	378	292
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen, fps)	7	6	5	5	10
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen, fps)	6	6	5	5	4,5
GFXBenchmark T-Rex ES 2.0 (Onscreen, fps)	23	22	17	19	26
GFXBenchmark T-Rex ES 2.0 (1080p Offscreen, fps)	23	23	17	19	16

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them depend significantly on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

AndroBench memory performance test results:

thermal images

Below is a thermal image rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of running a battery test in the GFXBenchmark program:

The heating is higher in the upper right side of the machine, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was only 35 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is relatively little.

Video playback

To test "omnivorous" when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and accessibility, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect everything from a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a table.

According to the test results, the smartphone played all the test files in the MX player without any problems - however, in SW mode. The smartphone does not have its own video player, and the device plays videos through the gallery without AC3 support, that is, without sound. But hardly anyone will watch videos on a smartphone in this way, you still have to download a third-party player.

Further testing of video playback performed Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We could not test the hypothetical support for MHL or SlimPort (Mobility DisplayPort) adapters due to the lack of an adapter option that connects to the USB Type C port. Therefore, we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methodology for testing video signal playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices) Red marks indicate possible problems associated with the playback of the respective files.

According to the criterion for displaying frames, the quality of playing video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since in most cases frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) to be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without frame drops. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in its original resolution. On the test worlds, the features of PenTile screens appear: the vertical world through a pixel is in a grid, and the horizontal one is slightly greenish. At the same time, the described artifacts are absent on real frames. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235: all gradations of shades are displayed in the shadows and in the highlights.

Battery life

Fixed accumulator battery, installed in the Moto Z2 Play, received a smaller capacity than the Moto Z Play, only 3000 mAh. Nevertheless, even with such a battery, the smartphone demonstrates more than worthy, very impressive autonomy results. And this is surprising, because the thin handsome man initially does not at all create the impression of a device capable of long-term operation without recharging. In real conditions, Moto Z2 Play, even with a high level of load, can easily hold out for a whole day without recharging.

Testing was traditionally carried out at the usual level of power consumption without using power saving functions, although these are naturally available in the device.

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m²) lasted more than 18 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and with continuous viewing of video in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level through the home wifi network the device operates for almost 14.5 hours. In the 3D gaming mode, the smartphone was able to exceed the mark of 8 hours, but this result is highly dependent on the specific game.

From incomplete network adapter with a maximum output current of 1.5 A 5.2 V, the smartphone is charged for 2 hours and 10 minutes with a current of 1.5 A at a voltage of 5.2 V. Wireless charging is not initially supported, but there is a corresponding overlay from the Moto Mods series for its implementation.

Outcome

Not the brightest, but large and economical AMOLED display, satisfactory speaker sound, good cameras, wide communication capabilities, quite a decent fresh mid-range Qualcomm hardware platform and a very decent level of autonomy, unexpected for such a thin and light device with an elegant appearance - these are the main advantages of the new product called Moto Z2 Play. A smartphone priced at about $500 belongs more to the top segment, and there is someone to compete with - there are both better screens and more powerful processors. However, what cannot be taken away from the hero of the review is charm: a very thin metal case with pleasant dimensions and a comfortable weight simply does not want to let go. Well, fans of experiments and upgrades are provided with such a wide field of activity in the form of a whole set of replaceable modules that there is simply no alternative to it on the mobile market now.