Motorola’s Moto Z Droid display still isn’t quite as good as the panels you’ll find on phones like the Galaxy S7, but it’s far better than anything you’ve ever seen on an older Moto phone. The screens on phones like the Moto X were good, but never great - and never anywhere close to being on par with flagship phones from other vendors like Samsung. That works out to a pixel density of 535 ppi, and it addresses one of the two biggest problems many users have had with recent Moto flagship phones. The display on the Z Droid and Z Force Droid is a 5.5-inch AMOLED panel with 2K resolution (2560 x 1440). Motorola guarantees its ShatterShield screens for four years. In fact, the phone even cracked the grout in my kitchen and stuff wasn’t damaged in any way. I repeatedly dropped the phone face down onto concrete, tile and wood from heights of well over six feet, and so far I haven’t seen so much as a chip, let alone a crack. It features an exterior glass layer with a “proprietary hardcoat designed to guard against dents and abrasion,” as well as a second crack-resistant layer for added strength. The Z Force Droid ditches Corning’s Gorilla Glass in favor of Moto ShatterShield, a five-layer system that Motorola guarantees won’t shatter when dropped. Notably, the fingerprint scanner is lightning-fast and extremely reliable. The front is a single sheet of 2.5D Gorilla Glass that has five interruptions - one for the speaker near the top of the phone, a second for the LED selfie flash next to it, a third for the static home button (it’s a raised button with an embedded fingerprint scanner, but it’s stationary and you can’t press it), and a fourth and fifth for two small openings near the bottom where dual microphones reside. The Moto Z Droid is built entirely of metal and glass, and you’ll struggle to find a smartphone that feels more solid and premium in your hand. Of note, that bold new design is decidedly masculine, which isn’t uncommon for smartphones in Verizon’s Droid line. The resulting phones were sleek and unique, but Motorola moved away from that model with the Z and focused instead on premium metal and a bold new design. Users were invited to choose from a wide range of different colors and materials online, including real woods and leathers. Motorola’s recent flagship phones have been all about design and customization. But the 6s Plus is 7.2mm thick - nearly 40% thicker than the Moto Z. Motorola’s Moto Z Droid measures 153.3mm tall by 75.3mm wide, which is only marginally smaller than Apple’s monstrous iPhone 6s Plus. It feels incredible in the hand, since the slim housing does a great job of shrinking down an otherwise large phablet. At just 5.2mm thick, it’s the thinnest flagship smartphone on the planet by a sizable margin. The thinner Moto Z Droid in particular is an incredible feat. The new design of the Moto Z series is nothing short of gorgeous. Imagine the original iPhone had launched as the “iPhone Z U-verse” or something equally ridiculous because AT&T needed to have its mark on the phone.įortunately, the names are really the only ugly things about Moto’s new flagships. It seems like it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but branding is important. My guess is that a branding battle between Lenovo/Motorola and Verizon reached an impasse when Motorola refused to let the phones launch without “Moto Z” branding and Verizon obviously couldn’t let go of “Droid.” Motorola’s deal with Verizon makes it the carrier’s exclusive Droid partner, and so Moto Z Droid and Moto Z Force Droid were born. But before we dive into the Z and Z Force’s modular features, let’s take a look at the phones themselves.įirst, and just to get this out of the way, “Moto Z Droid” and “Moto Z Force Droid” are terrible names for smartphones. Motorola’s approach with the brand new Moto Z Droid and Moto Z Force Droid is completely different - and it’s so much better. Even now, there aren’t very many add-ons to choose from. Second, LG’s module selection was almost nonexistent at launch. There are two big problems with the LG G5: first, the phone’s modular design requires users to remove the phone’s battery and reboot anytime they want to switch modules. The idea was smart but the execution is sorely lacking. There’s only so much companies can stuff into such slim packages, so LG had an idea: Why not create a system that keeps the main phone slim and sleek but allows users to extend the device’s functionality using special attachments that integrate perfectly? People want smartphones that are sleek and slim, but they also want more power and exciting new features. The LG G5 is a perfect example of a terrific idea executed poorly.
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