Moto Z3 to be first phone upgradable to 5G; launched as verizon exclusive

Motorola has announced their latest smartphone Moto Z3– will be the first phone in the world that will be able to be upgraded onto 5G connectivity. The announcement was made with the launch of the phone Moto Z3, an upgraded version of the Moto Z3 play at an event at their head office in Chicago.

Specifications

Processor and Camera

While most of its features are the same as the Moto Z3 Play, The Moto Z3 has a different processor and camera. The Z3 runs on the Qualcomm’s year-old flagship processor Snapdragon 835 chipset. The handset comes in only one variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage which is expandable up to 2TB via microSD card. The Moto Z3 comes with a dual camera setup on the rear and single on the front. On the back side, the smartphone includes a primary sensor of 12-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture and secondary sensor also of 12-megapixel. There’s also a dual LED flash for better picture capture in low-light situations. On the front, the Moto Z3 comes with an 8-megapixel sensor with an aperture of f/2.0.

Magnetic Mods

The Moto Z3 will come with a feature of the latest Magnetic mods which will help the phone to support 5G. The 5G Mod is a part of the Motorola Mod program. This lets you snap unique components to the back of the phone. Previously we have seen mods like a 360-degree camera, or a tiny snap-on projector. Now it is going to the next level with the mod be providing faster internet speeds. You will be able to download a 4K movie in just a minute and a half.

The 5G Moto mod, like all other magnetic mods, will attach itself to the back of the phone. It will have its own sim card inside it along with two modems- the Qualcomm’s X24 for 4G, and Qualcomm’s X50 for 5G. In a 5G supported area, it will be capable of hitting 5Gbps speeds. In 4G areas, the X24 modem should still be able to hit speeds up to 2Gbps speeds. There’s a 2,000mAh battery inside the 5G Moto Mod, and the battery will deplete alongside the phone — so you’ll never end up with a dead Moto Mod first.

However, the Moto Mod 3 is a Verizon Exclusive device. Motorola told Digital Trends it will decide which previous Moto Z devices will be able to support the 5G Moto Mod at a later date through a software update, but you’ll need to be on the Verizon network no matter what. There are only three cities right now: Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Houston that are 5G supportive and it will take a long time before 5G is found everywhere as 4G LTE.

Display and other features

The Motorola Z3 will have a 6.01-inch Super AMOLED display with 1080x2160p resolution,  18:9 aspect ratio and a 402 ppi touch screen. It is splash resistant and the fingerprint sensor is unorthodoxly placed on the side panel, rather than front or back. Just like most smartphones in 2018, the phone also will feature a face unlock support. It is packed with the turbocharge feature like in One Plus delivering a whole days charge in just 30 minutes and is backed with a 3000mAh battery.

Pricing and Availability

For now, the Moto Z3 will be available only in the US for a price of $480, which roughly translates to Rs 33,000 approx. It is available in Deep Indigo colour and is only for sale in the United States from 16th August. There was no clue whatsoever for when the phone would be releasing in India.