In July, Motorola launched the Moto Z and Moto Z Force Android handsets with an innovative smartphone expansion feature called Moto Mods. Beyond their premium build quality, great performance and punchy OLED displays, these phones offer something different that cuts above the noise floor in a crowded market of handsets with all too common features. Moto Mods executed the concept of attachable smartphone add-on features exceptionally well, with impressive new capabilities, from simple wireless charging battery packs, to amplified speakers and even a pico projector mod that turns the Moto Z series into a mini movie theater-on-the-go. It all was made possible by Motorola and Lenovo's patented, magnetized interface on the back of the devices that allows them to connect and function so seemlessly and easily.
Today, Motorola unveiled a new, more cost-sensitive Moto Z phone called the Moto Z Play and along with it they unveiled a new Moto Mod in conjunction with Hasselblad. The combination just might give some weekend warrior shutterbugs, looking to capture family and friends moments with a bit more fidelity, something to get excited over. The new Moto Z Play employs a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 1080p and a Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM. This low power Qualcomm SoC coupled with a large 3,500 mAh battery should deliver serious battery life and Motorola claims up to 50 hours. In initial testing at HotHardware.com, we've in fact seen the device last longer than literally any smartphone we've tested to date. The Moto Z Play also comes Moto TurboPower charging enabled, for fast recharges of up to 9 hour of battery life in just 15 minutes. Build quality-wise, the phone is just as premium looking and feeling as its other Moto Z siblings. It also sports a 16MP camera with OIS as well as all the most current connectivity bells and whistles, like 802.11ac WiFi and USB-C.
However, again, this is Lenovo's new class of Moto Z devices with full Moto Mod capabilities for attachments like the JBL SoundBoost Speaker and Moto Insta-Share Projector. So, along side the Moto Z Play, Motorola unveiled the 12MP Hasselblad True Zoom mod. Hasselblad is widely known for excellence in optics and pro photography. This Moto Mod sports a 12MP sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS), a xenon flash and a 10X optical zoom that would make some high-end point and shoots blush. The camera also shoots RAW format and early testing in HotHardware's labs is being met with impressive results.
The combination offers a use case that many consumers can identify with. Sure, on-board smartphone cameras, in premium devices like the Moto Z series, offer excellent image quality for quick, close proximity shots. In fact, for quick, spur of the moment shooting in close quarters, top-notch smartphone camera setups, like those that can be found in Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S7 line, can actually deliver better results in some cases for the novice shooter. However, at the Little League Baseball or Softball field, when Johnny or Jane is at the plate, zooming in on your smartphone might not cut it. That's just one example and of course there are plenty of reasons to appreciate a true optical (rather than digital) 10X zoom and quality optics.
The Moto Z Play is available for preorder starting September 15th at an MSRP of $449 unlocked. Verizon will also carry the Moto Z Play Droid starting September 8th for $17/month on a payment plan ($408 full price). The Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mod will retail for $299 at Motorola.com, or from Verizon for $249, with availability starting on 9/15.
