Good things are often said to come in threes, and Motorola smartphones are no exception. Motorola's local arm is bringing three new Android handsets to stores this week: the Moto Z2 Play, the Moto E4, and the Moto C.
The Moto Z2 Play is the "hero" of the group, building on the ideas behind last year's Moto Z. Much like the Moto Z, the Moto Z2 Play supports Motorola's family of "Moto Mods". For those not familiar with the term, Moto Mods are ostensibly hot-swappable accessories that can add features to Z series phones. Initial Mods included battery packs, a zoom camera, and a portable projector.
Given that the Moto Z2 Play works with existing Moto Mods, it isn't dramatically different in design when compared to last year's models. That being said, Motorola has slimmed the device down. The Z2 Play is 15% thinner and 12% lighter than the original Z Play.
Motorola intends to keep Mods backward and forward compatible for three generations of product.
Key specifications for the Moto Z2 Play include a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 626 eight-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, a 12MP rear-facing camera, a front-facing fingerprint reader, and a 3000mAh battery, It ships with Android Nougat (7.1.1), and Motorola has already promised that the Z2 Play will be upgraded to Android O later this year. While the Moto Z2 Play isn't water-resistant, it has a water repellent nano-coating to help with rain and the odd spill.
The Moto Z2 Play will retail for $699 and will be available direct from Motorola, or through Harvey Norman, the Good Guys, and Officeworks.
Coinciding with the launch of the Moto Z2 Play, Motorola is launching a number of new Moto Mods. These include a TurboPower Pack for faster charging, Style Shells with integrated wireless charging, and a gamepad. The TurboPower Pack and Style Shells with wiless charging will retail for $99 and $59 respectively. The gamepad mod has yet to be priced.
The Moto E4 sits beneath Motorola's G-series of smartphones, filling in the gap between "premium affordable" and "cheap".
Key specifications for the E4 include a 5-inch 720p display, a MediaTek 6737 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, an 8MP rear-facing camera, a front-facing fingerprint reader, and a 2800mAh battery. It ships with Android Nougat (7.0).
The Moto E4 will retail for $249 and will be available direct through Motorola, or through JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, the Good Guys, and Officeworks.
The cheapest of the bunch is the $149 Moto C, the first of a new Motorola product family. Pitched as just-the-essentials- type device, the Moto C won't impress in terms of hardware (the display isn't even high definition, for example), but it won't break the bank either.
Key specifications for the Moto C include a 5-inch 480p display, a MediaTek MTK6737m quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable storage, a 5MP rear-facing camera, and a 2350mAh battery. It doesn't have a fingerprint reader and it ships with Android Nougat (7.0).
The Moto C will retail for $149, and will be available direct through Motorola, or through Harvey Norman, the Good Guys, Officeworks, Woolworths, Australia Post, and Coles.
Alex Choros
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