How the Moto Z turned the modular phone from pipe dream to a reality

In short time, Motorola has turned the modular smartphone from pipe dream into reality. And not just any reality, but a successful one at that.

This fulfillment comes after some public trials of modularity that, properly, didn’t pan out so well… or in any respect. lg straight away involves thoughts with its lg g5’ friends line of difficult to discover, awkwardly engineered add-ons that require users to power down the smartphone to change one out. and who can overlook google’s , but promising challenge ara idea that by no means came to fruition?

There was no shortage of buzz round modularity within the international of smartphones earlier than the moto z, however almost nothing to show for it. however with its moto mods software, motorola has grown from modularity student thanks to its early work on ara to essentially coaching the workshop in how such an ambitious concept can prevail in the cellular space.

Moto obviously wasn’t the primary to leap onto the buzz around modular smartphones. however in comparison to the others, its first strive was remarkably strong in that it didn’t require the excessive tiers of sacrifice that the others did.

There’s no hazard of accidentally shutting off your cellphone, truly no studying curve and no if’s or but’s approximately compatibility. moto mods are plug-and-play at its best. they simply paintings.

The MotoMod difference

Many, which include myself, have been satisfied that every component of a cellphone needed to be swappable to absolutely be considered modular. however moto met expectancies halfway with the moto z, making the middle guts of the smartphone internal whilst bearing in mind greater features thru an magnetic port. instead of placing its cognizance at the gimmick, so to speak, motorola permit the growing style of moto mods speak to the strength that stems from choosing to seal up the device.

Those mods aren’t simply handy and clever, human beings absolutely seem to have taken to them. on the release of the brand new moto z2 pressure, motorola vp of north the us rudi kalil, he shared that person pleasure is between eighty-ninety% for moto mods, while widespread delight with add-ons is commonly tons decrease. outstanding that the consumer pleasure is so excessive, especially given the excessive fee of a few moto mods.

Not just that, customers are truly the use of the mods they buy to fill particular needs on a ordinary foundation. looking at utilization information, jim thiede, a product manager at motorola, informed us that folks that buy the jbl soundboost mod are the use of it for 8-10 hours according to week on average. the insta proportion percent projector mod and hasselblad real zoom mods get approximately 5-6 hours of use weekly.

The actual kicker moto has discovered: individuals who tend to shop for one moto mod typically follow thru with buying another.

Honor thy customer

The ease with which one can connect a Moto Mod to a Moto Z phone is a big part of the appeal. So is the added feature that comes from using one. But perhaps the most persuasive aspect to buying into Moto’s modular lineup is that it comes with the comfort of knowing that each and every one of these investments works with its Z phones from the past, present and future.

The worst part of buying a new phone is loading it up with pricey accessories, but Moto Mods eliminates that process entirely. This is good, as Moto’s new Moto Z2 Force and Moto Z2 Play each offer a few noteworthy improvements that might make upgrading something that you’ll want to consider. Things like a hearty boost in power and a slim, streamlined design are small, but noticeable changes that might make all the difference for some.

It’s not just Moto in the ring

While I’m not saying that Motorola has found the future of smartphones with its Moto Mods program, there’s definitely something exciting about offering consumers customization that other brands are taking note of.

You’ve likely heard about Android co-creator Andy Rubin’s Essential Phone, the latest flagship to join the ranks. It, too, can expand its abilities with optional accessories.

It’s obvious that the potential of modularity planted its seed in many minds some time ago and it’s awesome to see how companies, even big ones, have tried to crack the egg. Some have failed and honestly, it’s difficult to tell how “successful” Moto’s success story really is.

But from my chair, things are looking good. So good that down the line, it wouldn’t surprise me to find even more competitors adding an element of modularity to their products.

And unless one has figured out how to successfully hot-swap components without diminishing the user experience, Moto has likely landed on the de facto method for smartphone modularity for the foreseeable future.