I've got the Moto Z — you've got questions. Fire away!

[Phil Nickinson]

Question:

My apologies if this is similar to a question someone else asked. Considering that the Moto Z and Z Force are mostly the same, including screen size, what do you think was the point of having two of them? Or asking in a better way, aside from money savings, what is the point of the Moto Z?

Great review by the way, appreciated how you mentioned the bloatware, because it seems like no one else is and I think that's in poor taste personally.

More about battery, I think. (And Verizon wanting something exclusive.)

 

[Phil Nickinson]

This may just be the way my brain works, but I'm just struggling to find the merit with these. For the same $60 as a battery back, I can buy an external battery with ports for every device I'd need it for.

Likewise, for the $80 for the speaker back, I could buy a Bluetooth speaker that works with every device I'd connect it too. I could probably find one with NFC so pairing isn't a pain.

Those may be clunkier than using the mods, but they're infinitely more useful.

I think you have that right.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Ars also claims that a Moto rep told them Lenovo would not be bothering with providing security updates for the Moto Z/Z Force. Have you heard this? The fact that the Z is only running May's security patch (when there's no reason it shouldn't be running at least July's) is troubling for those of us who are concerned about security updates.

I'm eager to know too.

If this is true, consider me done with anything Moto.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

I live in an area with spotty Verizon coverage. My wife's iPhone can make pretty reliable calls from our house, but my HTC One M8 cannot. Can you say how well the Z's signal strength compares to that of other Android flagships? Does it live up to Motorola's reputation for good reception?

Been great for me in NYC and Pensacola.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Are the TurboPower chargers using Qualcomm Quick Charge or USB Power Delivery?

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

I think it's branded quick charge. A QC3.0 charger I have here triggered the "TurboPower" thing on the screen.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Thanks for the review, Phil. It's certainly more positive than the reviews I've seen on other sites. But that comparison brings up some questions...

1. Ars Technica claims that the Moto Z does not have Android's multi-user support, that Lenovo stripped it out. Is this true?

2. Ars also claims that a Moto rep told them Lenovo would not be bothering with providing security updates for the Moto Z/Z Force. Have you heard this? The fact that the Z is only running May's security patch (when there's no reason it shouldn't be running at least July's) is troubling for those of us who are concerned about security updates.

Thanks!

I'm checking on this more. But Moto wouldn't be the only one to not hit the updates EVERY month, right?

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Thank you for your great review! I agree Moto Z's implementation of modular design is better than LG's G5. However does the very big chin with the off-centred fingerprint button and Moto log bother you?

They're not centered?

 

[Tom Westrick]

Third this question. Obviously there's a third/fourth option, which is it doesn't support either or it could support both. But some details on whether or not it's going to be compatible with everyone's QC this and that they have hanging around and/or whether or not it's safe to use non stock chargers would be helpful.

I may be wrong on this, but doesn't every phone with USB-C already have quick charging through USB Power Delivery? If so, it should work just fine with all USB-C ports.

Also, even though it's branded as Turbo Power, if it IS Qualcomm quick charge, it will also quick charge other Qualcomm quick charge phones.

(side note, talking about different standards makes my brain hurt)

 

[Ry]

I'm checking on this more. But Moto wouldn't be the only one to not hit the updates EVERY month, right?

Exactly. No Motorola phone gets the security updates on a monthly basis.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

 

[Aquila]

I think it's branded quick charge. A QC3.0 charger I have here triggered the "TurboPower" thing on the screen.

That's sad news. Granted, for 99% of consumers it'll be totally fine because they already have QC 2.0/3.0 accessories and those will all give them the same charging speeds safely - so no problem for most people. But for those of us with Nexus and Pixel chargers or other Benson approved peripherals, makes this thing potentially dangerous to use without being conscientious about which things it's being plugged into.

 

[Ry]

I may be wrong on this, but doesn't every phone with USB-C already have quick charging through USB Power Delivery? If so, it should work just fine with all USB-C ports.

Also, even though it's branded as Turbo Power, if it IS Qualcomm quick charge, it will also quick charge other Qualcomm quick charge phones.

(side note, talking about different standards makes my brain hurt)

The LG G5 and HTC use Qualcomm Quick Charge with USB-C.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

 

[Aquila]

I may be wrong on this, but doesn't every phone with USB-C already have quick charging through USB Power Delivery? If so, it should work just fine with all USB-C ports.

Also, even though it's branded as Turbo Power, if it IS Qualcomm quick charge, it will also quick charge other Qualcomm quick charge phones.

(side note, talking about different standards makes my brain hurt)

USB C and USB Power Delivery aren't automatically interchangeable, so far the phones I know of with USB C are, OnePlus 2, OnePlus 3, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, HTC 10, LG G5, Moto Z (and variants), Axon 7. The ones with USB PD are Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, LG G5. Oddly enough, the G5 has PD AND QC 3.0, which is weird.

 

[Aquila]

Exactly. No Motorola phone gets the security updates on a monthly basis.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

LG and HTC are also not hitting every month, not to mention all the other non headliner OEMs. Right now Samsung is hitting them on most recent flagships and the Priv is hitting monthly and that's it. It's not clear if Moto is saying they're not going to guarantee updates or if they're not going to do them at all. Obviously a range of responses depending on what they actually said and mean.

 

[Aquila]

Ok, Phil - here's the million dollar question. Will my wife like it more than her G4 Plus that she really, really likes? Here's her quote moving to the G4 + with 64GB & 4GB RAM from the Nexus 6 and LG G4 before that:

Me: you're using the backup cheapy phone right now

Her: I like this phone. It doesn't feel cheap to me. But I'm not a tech nerd. So I can't tell the difference.

 

[Hammertong]

Is the MOTO-Z made by Lenovo?

 

[Aquila]

Is the MOTO-Z made by Lenovo?

Yes.

 

[Clocks]

On the front finger print scanner, I'm using a moto g4 plus right now and I LOVE the front finger print scanner. I also used the 5x and 6p as daily drivers for months. I can't possibly type how much more I LOVE front finger print scanners. Makes me sad the new nexii will be on the back again.

 

[flyingfiddle]

They are not centered vertically. Maybe I am just picky but they may lose me on that.

Does the Doze feature work, or work well? I know some manufacturers' implementation of MM tend to not reflect the best potential of doze.

Also expandable memory feature?

 

[DeerSteak]

Apparently (according to Ars Technica) Motorola flatly says they won't be doing security updates for the Moto Z phones. Did they say anything to you guys about that? Are we really just going to be stuck with insecure phones a year from now? The recent support has already been terrible, with the unlocked Moto X Pure getting May's update just this week. It's quite a fall from the heyday of fast updates when Motorola was a Google brand.

edit: missed that Phil already answered this. There's a big difference to skipping something every now and then and saying "we're not going to do this at all", which Moto seems to be saying the latter.

 

[Aquila]

On the front finger print scanner, I'm using a moto g4 plus right now and I LOVE the front finger print scanner. I also used the 5x and 6p as daily drivers for months. I can't possibly type how much more I LOVE front finger print scanners. Makes me sad the new nexii will be on the back again.

I prefer the back but having tried the Moto G4 Plus, it's a really good sensor and not that difficult to reach... just use my thumb more where I use my index finger on the Nexus.