Motorola has leaked photos of the Moto Z, and has even declared June 9th in San Francisco to be the day it unveils the new Z series (having eliminated the Moto X series entirely). The new Moto Z series will showcase Motorola’s desire to create a modular phone, seeing as the LG G5 has gained some respect for crafting something new on the market (or, as I’ve said before, following in Google’s footsteps with its own Project Ara endeavor). We’ve also heard about the six different modules designed for the Moto Z, but we now get to see the Moto Z range up close as well as one of the MotoMods (a compound word combining “Moto” from “Motorola” and “mods” for “modules”).
Famous leakster (now retired but still working) @Evleaks (Evan Blass of VentureBeat) has leaked the Moto Z series up close, which the circular camera ring we’ve seen in recent photos. The bottom “rings” that look as if they’re different speakers are places to connect modules (so, modular connections). The MotoMods have only been leaked in name, but one of them is a camera module that Blass provides here via social media. Evleaks’s leak here seems to showcase the new camera module that is something akin to the point-and-shoot mindset of old digital cameras (with a little something more for diehard photographers, that is). It also appears that the MotoMods will have a camera module that comes with a kickstand, rather than just one model without it. For those who use this module, they’ll be able to view photos on a flat surface in an easier manner (with the kickstand keeping the camera module from lying flat and requiring close proximity for viewing). We’re not surprised to see Motorola bring a camera module, since LG did the same in the G5 (Cam Plus with a small battery pack and manual controls like a zoom wheel), and Samsung has introduced a camera attachment with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.
Motorola is scrapping the X series in its entirety to do something that it believes will garner attention. @Evleaks has said that Motorola’s style in the Moto Z will definitely one-up LG, and that seems like a valid logical conclusion to me. Having owned the LG G5 for nearly a month now, LG just didn’t get the basic things right that I think a smartphone should have, and Motorola’s additions such as a physical button instead of a sensor on the back will be the nail in the coffin for the LG G5.
The modularity component is something different entirely, and I think that persuading consumers to spend additional money on top of insurance, screen protectors, and cases is only something that top giants Apple and Samsung could mandate. What Motorola and LG aren’t comprehending is that consumers don’t want to spend extra for things that companies could implement straight into their smartphones (sans modules). There’s nothing wrong with adding a little variety to the phone-buying experience, but with the high-profit margins already garnered from them, getting consumers to invest even more into “attachments” that disconnect from the Moto Z itself just seems to be something out of the 1990s. Nowadays, consumers want a more sophisticated experience. I don’t see modules catching on with too many consumers, but we’ll see the reception to the Moto Z when it launches, I guess.
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