Motorola has announced its first flagship smartphone for the year 2018, and it's none other than the Moto Z3, successor to the Moto Z2 Force. The Moto Z3 shows how much Motorola is off the radar this year as the device comes with last year's Snapdragon 835 SoC. Possibly, this is the cancelled Moto Z2 smartphone with some design tweaks to match 2018 trends. The smartphone has been unveiled in the United States and it will be exclusive to telecom operator Verizon in the country. Alongside the Moto Z3, the company has unveiled a 5G-compatible Moto Mod, which is slated to launch early next year. In early 2019, Verizon is expected to roll out 5G services across four cities in the US. So the Moto Z3 owners with the 5G mod will be able to experience gigabit speeds.
Moto Z3 Specifications and Features
Besides the 5G Moto Mod, the Moto Z3 is a smartphone that should be released in 2018. The Moto Z3 sports a 6.1-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display, carrying a resolution of 2160x1080 pixels. The screen has 2.5D curved glass, and it's protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 technology. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
Motorola has added a microSD card slot as well for storage expansion up to 2TB. Coming to the cameras, the Z3 sports two 12MP cameras on the rear side with the primary sensor featuring Dual Pixel autofocus, phase-detect laser autofocus, f/2.0 aperture and dual LED flash. The secondary 12MP sensor is a monochrome one which also helps in adding bokeh effect to the images. On the front side, there's an 8MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture.
Thanks to the 18:9 display, Motorola has moved the fingerprint scanner to the right side. Additionally, the phone offers Face Unlock functionality too. The Moto Z3 lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack and it's armed with a 3000mAh battery. The smartphone measures 76.5 x 156.5 x 6.75 mm and weighs 156 grams. Connectivity options in the smartphone include 4G LTE, VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and USB Type-C port.
Features Similar Specifications as the Moto Z2 Force
Motorola last year launched the Moto Z2 Force in July. There are not many differences between the Moto Z3 and Z2 Force. Motorola has added an 18:9 display on the Moto Z3 which allowed the brand to cram bigger battery inside the device. The cameras have been upgraded as well. And more importantly, the Moto Z3 retails for a much lower price.
Moto Z3 Pricing and Availability
Motorola confirmed that the Moto Z3 would be available in the US for purchase from August 16 for $480 (approx. Rs 33,000). The Lenovo-owned company is yet to reveal the price tag and availability of the 5G Moto Mod.
Moto Z3 Primary Competitors are the OnePlus 6 and Asus Zenfone 5Z
The Moto Z3 is still priced on the steeper side at $480 in the US and when it comes to India, it might retail for around the same Rs 33,000 price tag. Pricing wise and specs-wise, the competitors for the Moto Z3 are the OnePlus 6 and the Asus Zenfone 5Z which pack 2018's Snapdragon 845 SoC, similar price tags and premium design than the Moto Z3. However, the fact that Moto Z3 can be used as a 5G device in the future is exciting, which the other devices can't deal with.
