We finally got our hands on Motorola’s Moto Z Droid, the company’s take on the modular smartphone. Compared to most phones, this guy is weird—for several reasons. So let’s walk through them one by one.
1. No headphone jack
Because this phone is so thin, Motorola had to do away with the headphone jack and instead includes a USB Type-C to 3.5mm audio jack converter in the box. Bust out those Bluetooth headphones!
2. Totally modular
The phone has modular superpowers with “MotoMods,” which snap onto the back of the device. Attachments include a powerful speaker from JBL and a Moto-designed projector as well as extra battery packs and uniquely designed shells. They all connect to the Z through magnets. Motorola has also announced a MotoMod developer program, so likely more modules will be added through the Z’s lifetime.
3. Thin as hell
I mean super thin. At 5.2mm, it’s one of the thinnest phones ever made (without the modules, of course).
4. There’s an unbreakable version
Motorola is also selling a variant called the Moto Z Force Droid. It’s the successor to last year’s Droid Turbo 2 and Moto X Force, the one where you can drop the phone from ridiculous heights (over and over) and it won’t break or shatter. This will give you an idea about what we’re talking about here:
5. Verizon only—for now
Motorola announced that it will be launching an unlocked version in September for GSM networks. That means it won’t work on Sprint or Verizon.
We’ll have more thoughts on the Moto Z Droid throughout the week, so stay tuned.
