After a seemingly endless spate of rumors, Motorola has now officially announced the Moto Z2 Force. Available on every major U.S. carrier, the phone is the successor to last year's Moto Z Force, a Verizon exclusive.
Moto Z2 Force Now Official
The Moto Z2 Force launches in August, but interested customers can preorder one right now. This is perhaps the most powerful device Lenovo-owned Motorola has released this year so far, and the specs prove it: there's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of onboard storage, and Android Nougat baked in, upgradeable to Android O.
There's also something special about this phone's screen. Equipped with Moto ShatterShield technology, it's designed not to crack or shatter, which is also true for the Moto Z Force. The phone features a 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display. Sure, it's not bezel-less, but it's mighty tough.
The only tradeoff with the screen is that it will scratch more easily because the top layer is made of plastic. That said, Motorola offers front "lens" replacements if it becomes terrible to a degree.
The Moto Z2 Force is a lot thinner than its predecessor, but that means sacrifices had to be made in the battery department. It only has a 2,730 mAh, against the Moto Z Force's 3,500 mAh capacity.
Oh, and this thing doesn't have a headphone jack.
That may be because Motorola has been kind of obsessed with slimming its phones down lately. Prepare dongles if you're going to get this phone.
Motorola Unveils New 360 Camera Moto Mod
Looking at the specs solely, the Moto Z2 Force appears not any more special than other phones in the same price range — it costs around $720 — but it has three unique selling points: its shatter and crack-proof screen, its 12-megapixel dual cameras with phase detection and laser autofocus, and most importantly, Moto Mods.
Moto Mods are Motorola's series of modular accessories that connect via special magnetic pins on the back of phones, and the Moto Z2 Force supports them all, including a 360-degree camera that Motorola just unveiled. It snaps on the back of the phone and lets the users capture 360-degree videos.
Pricing And Availability
The Moto 360 Camera launches worldwide on Aug. 10. For U.S. customers, it's going to cost $299.99.
The Moto Z2 Force also launches on Aug. 10 in all U.S. carriers — for $30 a month. It will roll out in Mexico, Brazil, various European countries, the Middle East, and Africa later this summer.
