It’s really difficult to make money selling expensive phones when your name isn’t Apple or Samsung.
This, more than anything else, is what I was reminded of while testing the Moto Z2 Force Edition.
The latest high-end smartphone from Motorola has all the usual attributes you’d expect from such a device: It’s very fast, its screen looks good, its cameras are capable of taking nice photos, and it has a razor-thin frame. Better yet, unlike many of its premium rivals, the Z2 Force's display is particularly resistant to cracks.
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Motorola has unveiled its 2017 flagship smartphone, the Moto Z2. Unsurprisingly the design is quite similar to the original Moto Z and comes with electronic contacts on the back, allowing for the attachment of Motorola's Moto Mod accessory modules, such as the Hasselblad TrueZoom camera module.
At 6.1mm the device is very thin and comes with a full-metal shell that features a water-repellent nano-coating. In addition, the 2560x1440 Super AMOLED display is shatterproof, making the Z2 more rugged than most of its competitors in the premium segment of the market.
Android 7.1.1 is powered by Qualcomm's current top-end chipset Snapdragon 835 but at 2730mAh is smaller than on many other high-end phones, which is probably owed to the thinness of the device.
The Moto Z2 is Motorola's first smartphone to feature a dual-camera setup. Similar to the concept used in Huawei's recent top-end phones the Moto combines a Sony IMX 1/2.9" RGB sensor with a monochrome imager and uses image-fusion technology to optimize detail, noise levels, dynamic range and other aspects of image quality.
A depth-mode for simulating a shallow depth-of-field is on board as well and, compared to previous high-end Moto models, Motorola has significantly improved the panorama mode which can now produce much larger image output and fewer ghosting artifacts on moving subjects.
In video mode the Moto Z2 camera is capable of recording 4K footage and 720p slow-motion video at 240 fps or 1080p clips at 120 fps. The front camera offers a 5MP resolution and comes with a wide-selfie mode. A Pro mode provides manual control over shutter speed and other camera parameters and the DNG Raw format is supported with third-party camera apps.
With the dual-cam, improved panorama and slow-motion modes and new features, the Moto Z2 looks like a very promising update to the original Z2, especially in the camera department. You will be able to pre-order the Moto Z2 Force Edition from tomorrow. The device will be available from August 10 launch at a base price of $720.
Key specifications:
- 12MP dual-cam with Sony IMX 386 1/2.9" RGB and Monochrome sensors, 1.25µm pixel size
- F2.0 apertures
- Dual-LED flash
- Laser and phase detection AF
- Depth mode
- Manual camera controls
- Raw-support with third-party apps
- 4K video
- 240fps/720p and 120fps/1080p slow-motion video
- 5MP front camera
- 2560x1440 Super AMOLED ShatterShield display
- Snapdragon 835 chipset
- 4/6GB RAM [depending on region]
- 64/128GB of storage [depending on region]
- microSD slot up to 2TB
- 2730mAh battery
- Water-repellent nano-coating
- Fingerprint reader
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