Motorola's Moto Z has become the primary benchmark for modular phones this year, following the lackluster performance and imminent cancellation of LG's G5 modular handset. And it looks like the Lenovo-owned company plans on expanding its modules next year.
Motorola would be investing a lot in Moto Mods, those magnetic accessories that can be snapped on the Moto Z, Moto Z Force, and Moto Z Play to enhance their capabilities like an external speaker or a new battery pack.
The company would be stepping up the pace on its Motorola Moto Z phones with the production of new mods next year. The plan includes ideas such as a baby monitor, a 5G modem, and e-ink displays.
"Our goal is to get more Mods out this year than we did last year, no question," said John Touvannas, Motorola's senior director for product management.
Will 'Mods' Be A Thing Of The Future?
In the meantime, Motorola plans to roll out two new mods soon. The mods announced were an Incipio car dock with a 3.5mm audio jack and charging port, which would be coming soon, and a 3,000 mAh Mophie battery case, which is now being sold at Verizon.
In the span of a year, the public witnessed different companies' various attempts at creating modular phones, but the Motorola Moto Z was the only line that actually took off.
Google's Project Ara got cancelled, LG's G5 never got developed further and only had a few "Friends" when the phone was released to the public, and ZTE's modular phone concept - announced in 2014 - is still very much just a concept at this time.
But Motorola's Moto Z line has so far rolled out five different Moto Mods including a projector, a power pack, and a camera. With the addition of two new mods coming up, this would total to seven mods available for the Moto Z, Moto Z Play, and Moto Z Force handsets.
Motorola's Moto Z Mods
Given the public's wide acceptance of the Moto Z modular phones, Motorola is now looking to really push third-party ecosystems and make the mods available for more of their phones. Although the current mod platform works only with the Moto Z lineup, the idea could possibly run through the company's more affordable devices in the future.
Motorola has been running campaigns to gather ideas and generate new mods. It wants to release at least 12 mods per year starting in 2017. Users can expect at least four mods available every quarter beginning next spring.
