Going hands-on with the Motorola Moto Z3
It's getting 5G with a Moto Mod, but how's the phone itself?
HELLO MOTO
The Moto Z3 is here, and it will support the 5G Moto Mod attachment. But that attachment won’t see the light of day until early 2019. Still, calling a smartphone the very first to be upgradeable to 5G isn’t a half-bad boast, and it’s something that might entice some buyers to take the plunge on a matter of faith. And what about the Moto Z3 itself? Well, it’s pretty similar to the earlier Moto Z models, with a super-slim, Moto Mod-accommodating build, but it’s gone for a slightly-less-than-flagship build this time around – and a price to match. Here’s our first take on the phone that will eventually usher in 5G speeds.
DESIGN AND BUILD
Wrapping my hands around this large phone, it feels quite a bit like the original Moto Z that I reviewed a couple years back. In fact, I remember that same immediate sensation of thinking that the handset feels unnervingly thin without a Mod attached. But that’s the whole point: if you’re buying a Moto Z3, you’re doing it because you have some level of interest in the Moto Mods. The 5G mod is still several months away, but in the meantime you can snap on a battery pack, a projector, a 10x zoom camera, and other odd little bits and pieces. Even just slapping on a backing plate – decorative or otherwise – helps make it feel a lot more complete in the hand.
HOW’S THE SCREEN?
The screen in question is big and bold, measuring 6in and taking up the bulk (79%) of the front. It’s an extra-tall 18:9 display, no notch in tow, and boasts strong contrast and inky blacks thanks to the AMOLED tech. That said, it’s a 1080p panel, so it doesn’t have quite the same level of crispness as the Quad HD-packing Samsung Galaxy S9. But we’re seeing a lot of makers opt for 1080p displays in their flagships, which has seemed a more common move of late. In any case, it looks great here.
WHAT ABOUT THE CAMERA?
The Moto Z3 has a dual-camera setup on the back, with a 12-megapixel (f/2.0) main sensor flanked by a 12MP monochrome sensor. Both have depth-sensing capabilities, and you can use them for portrait shots, black-and-white photos, and special effects shots. My initial snaps look pretty nice: strong colouring, good detail, and speedy autofocus via both phase detection and laser. Even selfies come across well with the 8MP (f/2.0) front-facing camera. I don’t expect that it’ll hold its own against class-leading devices like the Huawei P20 Pro or Apple iPhone X in head-to-head testing – but for the price, the first impression is solid.
PERFORMANCE AND SOFTWARE
Motorola opted not to keep pace with the flagship class, using last year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip instead of the current Snapdragon 845. Granted, the 835 is the same chip used in the still-current Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, so it’s not exactly outdated. Meanwhile, the 3,000mAh battery pack seems about average given the components in play, and Motorola calls it an all-day battery. It doesn’t have wireless charging (there’s a Moto Mod for that), but the 15W TurboPower charger can purportedly give you half a day’s charge in about 30 minutes.
THE 5G MOD
The demo version of the 5G Mod felt relatively lightweight, although it does add a bit of bulk to the Moto Z3 – and the little fin at the top (as seen above), which Motorola says is a functional move. It allows one of the antennas to peek out unobscured, with three others located elsewhere on the Mod. If Motorola and U.S. carrier Verizon’s 5G claims hold up, it could be a monumental leap in mobile connectivity, letting you stream 4K-quality and live VR content with ease. We’ll have to see how much the 5G Moto Mod costs, however – the US$480 price of the phone seems reasonable, but if the Mod is hugely expensive, then it’ll dilute the value proposition a bit.
MOTO Z3 INITIAL VERDICT
If you like the idea of modular accessories, then the Moto Z3 is pretty compelling. If you don’t see the point of Moto Mods, then there’s no reason to even consider the Moto Z3. There are other great phones in this price range, including the excellent OnePlus 6 with its newer processor and better specs. But the 5G Moto Mod might tip the scales significantly if the Moto Z3 ends up being one of the only phones to feature 5G speeds in early 2019. But that’s a tricky decision to make: do you buy this phone now with the hopes of an added feature being great in six months? That’s your call to make, of course. But we’ll have more insight and a final verdict on the Moto Z3 in the near future.
