Lenovo has announced the Moto Z Play, a more affordable variant of the Moto Z) modular smartphone that was announced in June this year. The Moto Z play comes with a price tag of $499 (approximately Rs. 33,500) and it will start shipping in September. The company also announced that the Moto Z will be priced at $624 (approximately Rs. 41,750).
The Moto Z and the Moto Z Play come with Moto Mods, a modular system that lets users extend the functionality of the smartphone. Lenovo has also unveiled a new Moto Mod developed with Hasselblad, called the True Zoom, which extends camera capabilities of the Moto Z family. The new products were unveiled at the sidelines of IFA 2016 in Berlin on Wednesday, and they will be on display at the company’s booth at the exhibition.
(Also see: Moto Z Play vs. Moto Z)
The Moto Z Play features a 5.5-inch full-HD Super Amoled screen, and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It also has a 3510mAh battery, a 16-megapixel primary camera and a 5-megapixel secondary camera. Lenovo has also stated that the Mods are designed to work with all variants of the Moto Z, including the Moto Z Play and the currently Verizon-exclusive Moto Z Force smartphones. They will also be compatible with up to three future generations of Moto Z smartphones.
(Also see: Moto Z Play full specifications)
The Hasselblad True Zoom Mod is a big boost to the Moto Mods system, allowing users to enhance the camera capabilities of the smartphone with an easy-to-attach accessory. It features a 13-megapixel sensor, 10X optical zoom, xenon flash, auto back-up of pictures and the ability to shoot in RAW format. It has a dedicated shutter button and a control for zoom as well, allowing you to shoot without physically interacting with the phone’s screen. Additionally, the Mod uses the phone’s standard camera app, which can detect the presence of the Hasselblad mod and provide the additional controls and features directly on-screen.
The Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mod is the latest addition to Lenovo's approach to modular smartphones, adding to the existing Mods that were announced earlier this year. This includes the JBL SoundBoost which adds improved sound to the phone, Insta-Share projector, Incipio OffGrid Power Pack that adds a 2200mAh battery to the device, and Style Shells which change the look and texture of the phone.
All of the products in the Moto Z and Moto Mods are expected to go on sale in September, but no specific pricing or availability details have been shared for India as yet.
Disclosure: Lenovo sponsored the correspondent's flights and hotel for the trip to Berlin.
For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.