Moto Z2 Play and new Moto Mods officially announced

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The rumours have been swirling for the past couple weeks — as is the norm these days — around the release of the updated Moto Z Play. Motorola took the wraps off the Moto Z2 Play and four new and updated Moto Mods for the Moto Z family of smartphones. What would a Moto launch be without a fun, foot-tapping video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sQ6M7LFZmY

When we reviewed the Moto Z and Moto Z Play last year with the Moto Mods system, there’s no doubt we were excited about an easy to use modular phone system with a number of useful add-ons for users. While the Moto Z Play was the more affordable and thicker of the two, it offered fantastic battery life which has been hard to beat.

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Moto Z2 Play

The Moto Z2 Play features a similar design as its predecessor, albeit thinner and with the new style fingerprint scanner and one button nav functionality we saw on the Moto G5 we recently reviewed. Still sporting a 5.5″ Full HD Super AMOLED display, the Moto Z2 Play has been updated to a 2.2 GHz Octa-Core CPU (a bump from the 2 GHz CPU used before), and should get up to 30 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Moto-Z2-Play-Lunar-Gray
The Moto Z2 Play in Lunar Gray.

One of the big rumours that was going around was that the updated phone would have a smaller battery and that indeed seems to be the case as 30 hours puts it in line with the 2600 mAh battery in the Moto Z as opposed to the 3510 mAh battery in last year’s Moto Z Play. Of course, Moto Experiences will be present once again and include a Night Display feature which automatically reduces blue light in the evening and new instant queries in the Moto Voice feature which will allow you to get instant weather and calendar updates or launch applications without having to touch or unlock your phone.

Specifications of the Moto Z2 Play include:

  • Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 626 processor with up to 2.2 GHz Octa-Core CPU and Adreno 506 GPU
  • RAM: 3GB LPDDR3/4GB LPDDR3
  • Storage: 32GB/64GB, microSD Card slot with UHS-I support (up to 2 TB)
  • Display: 5.5 Full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080) Super AMOLED, 401 PPI
  • Battery: 3000 mAh, up to 30 hours; TurboPower charging for up to 8 hours of use in 15 minutes (50% charge in 30 minutes)
  • Rear Camera: 12MP 1.4um Dual Autofocus Pixel, ƒ/1.7, LED Flash
  • Front Camera: 5MP 1.4um, ƒ/2.2, LED Flash
  • Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 LE + EDR,  NFC, Moto Mods connector, USB Type-C, 3.5mm headset jack
  • Sensors: Fingerprint Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Proximity, Ultrasonic
  • Location Services: A-GPS, GLONASS
  • Dimensions: 76.2 x 156.2 x 5.99 mm
  • Weight: 145g

Moto Mods

Our first crack at the Moto Mods that were initially released with the Moto Z smartphones last year, and a couple subsequently released mods, was a pretty positive experience. While we saw the potential, there’s always room for improvement. Lenovo and Motorola held a Transform the Smartphone Challenge and it looks like a few of those ideas have made it to the production stage. As mentioned when the Moto Mods were first announced, existing Moto Mods will work with the Moto Z2 Play and the new mods will work with the previous Moto Z smartphone lineup.

New-Moto-Mods
A look at some of the new Moto Mods announced today.

Moto GamePad

This was one Moto Mod concept we were watching and simply put it allows you to place your Moto Z device into a gamepad-like cradle, giving you a full dual control stick, D-pad, and four action button gaming experience. The Moto GamePad also comes with a built-in 1035mAh battery so you won’t be drawing juice from your phone while using this mod.

JBL SoundBoost 2

Another handy Moto Mod was the JBL SoundBoost speaker. JBL has updated it with the JBL SoundBoost 2 Moto Mod which features up to 10 hours of music playback with its built-in battery. Available in red, blue, or black, JBL has replaced the all-plastic design with a premium fabric design and a water-repellant coating. In addition, a My JBL SoundBoost 2 app will be available allowing you to tweak the sound from the Moto Mod so you can enjoy your music the way you want.

Moto TurboPower Pack

Incipio released a few different battery packs for the Moto Z series during its initial release, and it looks like Motorola has gone in-house for this one. The Moto TurboPower Pack Moto Mod adds an extra day of battery power to your Moto Z2 Play and allows you to recharge your phone on the go. When drained, the Moto TurboPower Pack can be charged up to 50% in just 20 minutes to get you back on the go quickly.

Moto Style Shell with Wireless Charging

Another Moto Mod concept from the Transform the Smartphone Challenge brings wireless charging for the Moto Z smartphones. Based on Moto’s Style Shells, the Moto Style Shell with Wireless Charging adds up to 10W of wireless charging in a variety of style finishes to suit your tastes.

Availability

The Moto Z2 Play is available in Brazil starting today at an MSRP of R$ 1,999 with global rollout coming this month. In North America, the Moto Z2 Play will be available this summer and will be a Verizon exclusive in the U.S. with an MSRP of $499USD. Canadian pricing has not been announced yet. The phone will be available in a number of colours from Lunar Gray to Fine Gold and Nimbus Blue, but as is usually the case selection will most likely vary based on region.

The new Moto Mods will be available this summer, with Moto TurboPower Pack starting at $79.99 USD, Moto Style Shell with Wireless Charging at $39.99 USD, JBL SoundBoost 2 at $79.99 USD and Moto GamePad at $79.99 USD.

What do you think about the Moto Z2 Play and the newly announced Moto Mods? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.

[button link=”http://blog.motorola.com/2017/06/01/say-hello-new-possibilities-moto-z%C2%B2-play-moto-mods/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Motorola[/button]
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