Review: Moto Z2 Force, Motorola's flagship

Table of Contents

1. Positives
2. Negative points
3. Design
   1. The edges of the Moto Z2 Force
4. Inventory
5. Battery
6. Cameras
   1. Frontal camera
   2. Main Cameras
7. Motorcycle Snaps
   1. Read more
8. Conclusion
9. Technical specifications

O Moto Z2 Force is Motorola's bet for 2017. The smartphone was presented in Spain at the end of August, along with the new Moto G5S e G5SPlus. This is also the first time that the Z Force line arrives in the country.

Last year, we had the launch of the Moto Z, which Motorola, until then identified as its owner, Lenovo, made a strong campaign to skip the 7 – the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7.

Now, the company bets on a less aggressive approach, more colorful and with a retro air of “Hello Moto”. While the great novelty of the device is its drop proof screen, is that enough for the consumer to skip the 8 – iPhone 8 and Galaxy S8 – or even upgrade from Moto Z to Z2 Force? Check out the full review below.

Positives

• Fast and fluid smartphone;
• Unbreakable screen;
• dual rear camera

Negative points

• No standard headphone jack;
• Photos leave something to be desired;
• Same design as last year

Design

Motorola's biggest asset may also be its weakest point in relation to its top of the line this year. On the bright side, if you have a Moto Z Play or Z, you can use the Motorcycle Snaps, modular accessories, from your old device in the new Z2 Force. Nice, huh?

At the same time, the company sacrificed the new design on the device, visually presenting the same smartphone as last year, with a small change: the dual camera game on the back. This move, as explained in the paragraph above, is part of the company's marketing strategy that said existing Snaps would be compatible with the new Z-line smartphones for more this year.

Another negative point of Moto Z2 Force is that it looked like all Motorola releases of 2017. Although the material is different, it is possible to see the similarity between a Moto E4 Plus, Moto G5 and Moto Z2 Play. According to Motorola, this choice is part of the company's reinforce the brand to the consumer.

The problem is that whoever spends R$ 3.000 in a new device, he also hopes that its design will be something unique. For example, before announcing the Galaxy S8, Samsung left the line A similar to the Galaxy S7. When he presented the new top of the line, he brought a totally different design.

The edges of the Moto Z2 Force

2017 is also marked by the year that the top of the line got a design virtually borderless: Galaxy S8, iPhone X, LG G6, Google Pixel 2 XL and even the mid-range LG Q6. Sony and Motorola ended up being left out.

Don't get me wrong, the Moto Z2 Force brings a comforting familiarity. With a 5,5-inch screen, the smartphone has a good grip. The edges are not absurdly large. It has the dual flash on the front, the selfie camera, and at the bottom there is a fingerprint reader and a written “moto”.

The right edge is marked by the volume and power buttons, at the top there is the dual-chip input and at the bottom, just the USB-C input for charging. At the back we have the game of dual cameras, the metal back and the connectors, in gold, of the Moto Snaps.

For the rest, all that thinner and more revolutionary smartphone was left behind in Motorola's speech. In “Design” I also want to mention the tecnologia Shattershield present on the screen that even if you are a clumsy, the phone will be intact – at least on the display. After all, isn't that all we want? Don't spend on broken screens? And yes!

Inventory

 

Here we see best part of Moto Z2 Force: its processing. And speaking of an Android smartphone, it is difficult to find a cell phone available in Spain that can match it. How Snapdragon 835 processor and 6 GB of RAM, I know you've seen these specs on other top of the line, but here comes the magic of Motorola's “pure” Android operating system.

Since August, I've been using a Galaxy S8+ as my main smartphone and it was in two apps that made me notice how the Moto Z2 Force hardware and software set is better: Pokémon GO doesn't crash, neither in Raid Battles with legendaries (yeah, I know) nor in apps like Uber and Cabify, that the S8 can't show me the car arriving at the address I'm at.

 

With that in mind, you can expect a mobile phone that is fluid and responds to your actions on the spot. Whether using social networks, music apps or games, they are always a very good experience.

Speaking of software, the Moto Z2 Force roda or Android 7.1.1. Unlike other manufacturers, there aren't many pre-installed apps, which is good. Motorola chooses to use only Google solutions for its smartphones, despite the 64 GB available on Z2 Force, almost 18 GB (!!!) is occupied by “system”.

Otherwise, mobile browsing is pleasant. It is worth mentioning that the Fingerprint reader of the device is very fast: just touch it and the smartphone vibrates and shows the unlocked screen. Remember that the sensor is not a button, but can be used with the “Moto Actions”, which allow gestures to facilitate the use of the smartphone.

Battery

A Moto Z2 Force battery is simpler than the previous model: 2.730 mAh. In everyday use, this translates to a normal-to-heavy day of device use. With the extra battery Moto Snap, you can transform this use in up to two days, thinking that the smartphone will spend practically all the time on.

This shows that even reducing the size of the battery, the autonomy of the device remains very good. THE Moto Z2 Force also has Qualcomm fast charging and in 15 minutes you get another 6 hours of autonomy. In just over an hour, with the device off, you can get from 0 to 100%.

Cameras

Frontal camera

An always very controversial point of Motorola is its cameras. In fact, the company has not opted for many megapixels in its top-of-the-line, with only 5 MP on the front camera. The positive point, however, is its wide-angle lens that allows you to capture more image information.

While it doesn't take a huge leap from the Moto Z's selfie camera, it's a pleasant experience to take a picture in good lighting.

Main Cameras

O Moto Z2 Force has a set of two 12 MP lenses on the rear camera. This is not the company's first smartphone with the technology, as we have also seen the Moto G5S Plus and the Moto X4. The use of the “Depth Mode” is one of the highlights of the device and the most interesting thing is that the focus is fully adjustable after taking the photo.

Review: Moto G5S Plus, the mid-range dual camera

In fact, despite using the “Depth Mode” for photos, it's only when editing it that you can see the bokeh effect. During the tests I had no problems focusing on objects, the photos came out very natural and vivid. The only point worth mentioning is that when using both cameras to blur the background, a well-lit environment is necessary, otherwise the photo comes out much darker than normal.

This is not just a Motorola limitation, as the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X also need good light for a good portrait.

Motorcycle Snaps

What would the analysis of the Moto Z2 Force if we didn't talk about Motorcycle Snaps? Modular accessories were introduced last year and since then the family has grown. What was once just the Power Pack snaps, Hasselblad camera, JBL speaker, and Insta-share Projector has grown to a new 360 camera, Gamepad, XNUMXnd generation Power Pack and also the JBL speaker.

Os accessories cost over R$ 399, which is a bit salty to make the collection complete. On the bright side, Motorola sells combos that include the device plus one or two Snaps. The hard part is choosing the favourites.

During the tests, we were able to use the Power Pack Snap, already mentioned in the “Battery” section, and the Insta-share Projector, which projects the smartphone screen on the wall, which is pretty cool.

Read more

At an event, Motorola explains the advantages of the Snap Gamepad

The ideal use of the accessory is in the dark and the tip is to use bluetooth headphones, because the projector does not amplify the sound and the audio of the Moto Z2 Force is lower than expected, making it difficult even in some phone calls to hear the person on the other end.

Even so, take the TV off the wall and watch the new episodes of Black Mirror by Moto Snap, it's a unique experience. It is a pity, however, that the accessory heats up a lot and its autonomy does not exceed a few hours. Even so, it remains a ridiculously small and powerful projector, despite the 480p resolution.

Conclusion

O Moto Z2 Force has impressive processing power, but does not captivate the user by design. For fans of the brand, you will find in the Z2 Force a device clumsy proof, an interesting dual camera and a sea ​​of ​​possibilities with Moto Snaps.

On the other hand, the consumer will have a smartphone without a standard headphone jack, reasonable audio output and a cell phone that is very similar to the previous version and also to all the other launches of 2017.

The device can already be found for an incredible R$ 2.000,00 at Carrefour, which for a top of the line is quite a price – another competitor in the same range is the LG G6, which does not have the latest processor, the Snapdragon 835.

O Moto Z2 Force It is a good choice for those who want to have the experience of a “pure Android”, have a lot of battery (when choosing a combo with the Power Pack) and don't want to have to spend more money to fix the device's screen.

Technical specifications