Motorola Z2 Force review: Only for modular smartphone fans

Wasn't the Motorola Z2 Force launched last year?

The Moto Z2 Force is Motorola's flagship phone announced in mid-2017, but only the upper mid-tier Z2 Play was made available locally back then. The Motorola Z2 Force did eventually make it to Singapore, but it was much later at a timeline closer to March 2018. It's definitely late in the game, but can it still offer a viable option amongst the many phone choices in the market? That's what we intend to find out in this review.

How does it feel and look?

Despite being a phone from 2017, the front face of the phone looks more like one from the good old days of the Samsung Galaxy S4 with really thick bezels and a fingerprint sensor at the bottom. The weight and thinness of the phone is its saving grace at just 143g and only 6.1mm thin.

Both volume and power buttons are located on the right side of the phone, while the dual nano-SIM card slot is located at the top-right. The second SIM slot also doubles up as a microSD card slot that can take in cards up to 400GB in capacity. Like many modern phones, Motorola has opted to do away with the headphone jack and the only other connectivity you'll find on the phone is a USB Type-C port.

On the back, you’ll find that the Z2 Force retains the company's highlight feature first seen on the Moto Z - hot-swappable Moto Mods! As such, you'll note that the Z2 Force maintains see sixteen magnetic contact points to connect any Motorola Moto Mod released to-date. We'll talk more about the Moto Mods later in the article.

How are its display and audio capabilities?

The phone has a 5.5-inch display with a QHD 2,560 x 1,440 pixels resolution (~534ppi) screen. While many phones now sport wide 18:9 aspect ratios, the Z2 Force is stuck in the past with a 16:9 display. It's not a bad trait and it's more of a point to note if you were thinking it would hold up to modern screen design trends. That also means you don't get a notch on your screen.

Nevertheless, the display looks crisp. The display is P-OLED, which is the same type of display used on the Google Pixel 2 XL and LG V30+. Fortunately, it doesn’t have the same problems as those two phones and the colors look great with good viewing angles, although it might be a tad over-saturated on the red side. It is noteworthy that the five-layered ShatterShield overlay does not compromise the quality of the display, but there are other concerns which we'll discuss in greater detail in the following section.

For audio, there is only a single front-firing speaker on the Z2 Force. Despite that, the sound quality is clear and audible, without distortion even when at maximum volume. However, this means no stereo effect, although from this author’s viewpoint, there is not a significant difference between stereo and single-speaker output on mobile phones anyway with their limited size.

So, what is the Moto ShatterShield about?

Apart from the already established Moto Mods system, the other notable differentiator that the Z2 Force brings to the table is its shatterproof screen. On top of the display is a shatterproof layer that Motorola calls the Moto ShatterShield. This layer helps to prevent the screen from breaking even when dropped on the floor.

 

Does that mean the Z2 Force is designed to be used in rough conditions?

Sadly, no. The tough capability of the Z2 Force stops at its shatterproof screen. Unlike consumer rugged phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active or LG G7+ ThinQ, it is not MIL-STD-810G compliant (a measure of the device’s durability under harsh environmental conditions as defined by the US Military).

Even without MIL-STD-810G compliance, surprisingly, the Z2 Force is not even IP rated against dust or water, something that’s basically a standard feature now on all flagship class smartphones. Instead, Motorola is content with the Z2 Force offering only splash resistance.

 

How effective is the Moto ShatterShield?

While initially hesitant, I decided to do ten drop tests, each time flinging it hard on a floor. So far, the screen held up well without shattering, so at least you know the ShatterShield protection does seem to work.



Having said that, while the ShatterShield layer protects against shattering, it is not scratch resistant. I put the phone in my pocket with some keys, and two hours later, the whole screen was covered in minor scratches. None of my other phones suffered the same fate even when subjected to similar conditions. So to protect the screen from scratches, you'll need another screen protector layer or a durable phone case with cover (also documented on Motorola's own page), both of which probably negate the ShatterShield's proposition on the Z2 Force.

What about Moto Mods?

To recap, Moto Mods are modular add-ons that extend the capabilities of a Moto phone with a compatible connector. First introduced with the original Moto Z, the range of mods has now expanded to more than ten different types. They range from JBL speakers, to projectors and even an optical camera extension which we've shared our experience in previous articles. 

The functions of these mods may not be really unique, in the sense that one can get similar accessories outside of the Moto ecosystem, but having these mods snap seamlessly on to the phone is an appealing design where the user operates both the mod and the phone as one entity in a single body, instead of handling them separately. No other brand has managed to pull off a functional and seamless modular concept and the Moto Mods continue to remain a key differentiating feature from all other devices in the market.

To-date, Motorola has designed every Moto Mod to be fully backwards and forwards compatible with all past and future Moto Z phones should one choose to upgrade. Of course, the downside of investing in Moto Mods is that if you decide to move on to other brands, you can’t do anything with your leftover Moto Mods as they can't function standalone and mandatorily need a compatible Moto Z phone.

How about the OS and user experience?

The Z2 Force runs on stock Android 8.0 (after a software update), which is laudable especially in a world where many OEMs prefer to shoehorn their own custom UI on top of Android. In fact, it is virtually indistinguishable from the Google Pixel 2 phone's reference stock Android experience, other than the additional presence of the Moto App and Motorola's own icon template for system apps. Together with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor (didn't we say it's last year's flagship?), the Z2 Force provides a snappy user experience. It is however marred by the strange functionality of the dedicated fingerprint sensor button below the screen, which we detail in the next section below.

Does the fingerprint sensor act as a Home button?

In the Z2 Force’s default configuration, the fingerprint sensor below the display is only for locking and unlocking the phone. Navigation is done primarily through a standard on-screen android navigation bar. This makes for a confusing user experience as it's natural to assume the fingerprint sensor doubles up as a home button, no matter what their previous phone is.

Motorola does include the option to use the fingerprint sensor for UI navigation, however unintuitively, this setting is enabled under a separate Moto app instead of within system settings. In the app, choose Moto Actions, then select One Button Nav, which makes the the navigation bar disappear, with the fingerprint sensor replacing its function: press the sensor to go home, swipe left to go back, and right to view your recent list of apps (also known as "recents"). This is rather counterintuitive, and takes a little time to get adjusted to these gestures. The user experience may improve slightly if the action bar could be preserved even after turning on One Button Nav, however, there is no such option available.

How's the performance?

The Moto Z2 Force is powered by a 2.35GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, which was Qualcomm’s flagship processor when the Z2 Force was first announced. It must be noted that the Z2 Force was first released elsewhere in the world in August 2017, but was only released in Singapore earlier this year (closer to March).

Much time has passed, and since then, Qualcomm released the Snapdragon 845 which is what powers most 2018 flagship smartphones, such as the Sony Xperia XZ2. Can it still be competitive enough apart from raw benchmark performance figures? Let's find out by conducting some of our usual benchmarks first before commenting on real world usage. Here are the phones we'll be comparing against:-

Despite being a 2017 flagship, the Motorola Z2 Force can still beat some 2018 flagships, most notably the Samsung Galaxy S9. Coupled with near-stock Android 8.0, the user experience is fluid and sleek. Performance and gaming is about what you can expect from other flagship devices. I tried one round of PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) on the Z2 Force and generally found it to be a smooth gaming experience - notwithstanding the issue of phone's big bezels interfering my thumb reaching the screen. (Obviously, I'm too used to minimum bezel phone designs now).

Okay. How is the camera?

The Z2 Force comes with a dual rear camera system. Each camera incorporates a 12MP Sony IMX 386 sensor. However, both camera have identical focal lengths, and hence you don't get ‘optical zoom’, a feature that is present in other dual-camera systems.

So what can you do with the dual camera setup on the Z2 Forice? Similar to the setup favored by Huawei, one camera captures normal RGB information, while the other only captures  monochrome information. The RGB sensor focuses on color details, while the monochrome one focuses on lighting conditions. Under the hood, during image capture, the Z2 Force will capture both monochrome and color images simultaneously, and combine the two to yield a better single image. Side note: one can switch to "True B&W" mode on the Z2 Force and use only the monochrome camera to capture true black & white images.

Image quality is great under good lighting conditions, but falters in dim or night conditions. It’s also worth noting that there is no optical image stabilization (OIS) on either camera, hence you must really hold the phone steady while taking photos in less-than-bright lighting conditions. 

The Z2 Force is also able to take 'Portrait' style shots, but any bokeh added is entirely software driven. Using the Portrait mode for bokeh shots is quite a quirky experience, as it seems to not always focus right, and even when it does, the depth rendering seems a bit off. Here are some photos taken with the Z2 Force:-

Battery life

Unfortunately, the Z2 Force’s relatively small 2730mAh battery limits its capacity to handle continuous heavy usage. Having said that, in real world usage, battery life is a little more decent. In standby, it managed to last for six days before depleting to about 30%. However, it must be noted that the phone does not have other bloatware, and I didn’t install any other well-known battery hungry apps (e.g. Facebook).

The Moto Z2 Force comes with Motorola TurboPower, which is Motorola’s brand of quick charging. The 15W TurboPower charger that comes in the box can be used for quick charging, or you can also use most Quick Charge 3.0 compatible chargers, or even USB-PD chargers (such as a Macbook Pro 87W charger, or the Nintendo Switch 27W charger) and TurboPower will still kick in. TurboPower can bring the phone from 0 to 50% in slightly under 30 minutes, which somewhat helps to mitigate its relatively short battery life under heavy usage.

Due to its aluminum rear, the phone does not support wireless charging, however there is a Moto Mod that adds wireless charging support, but it will set you back S$69.90.

Conclusion

The Motorola Moto Z2 Force is awkwardly positioned - be it if this was 2017 or even now. Motorola has spared no efforts on their ShatterShield to protect the Z2 Force against screen cracks, but the phone isn't officially waterproof rated - a feature that other flagship phones have been incorporating since 2017. If the overall intention is toughness and durability, they should have made the Z2 Force MIL-STD-810G compliant. Either go tough all the way, or go home.

Also, while ShatterShield does offer good protection against screen cracks, it easily picks up nicks and scratches, which makes the display look bad . Given this situation and the fact that shatterproof screen protectors are readily available (from as little as S$20), one wonders whether ShatterShield is an overkill for this device. Granted that they may or may not provide as much protection as ShatterShield, they’re sufficient enough for most accidental drops, and they are typically scratch resistant as well.

Overall, even though the Z2 Force is technically a flagship phone from Motorola, its specs and design are now dated. Its two unique selling points also don’t provide enough benefit to make it worth everyone's time as discussed in this review - ShatterShield and Moto Mods. While the phone is (thankfully) decently priced for a flagship level device, at S$799, it’s still hard to justify what it offers for most people.

We don't deny the Moto Mods functionality is cool, but they are only work with the Moto Z series and they aren't cheap either. Ultimately, the Moto Z2 Force will only fancy those who peg seamless form and function as a high priority when choosing a device and are willing to fork our more for its accessories to help transform the phone by attaching a secondary battery, a JBL sound system, a Polaroid instaprinter, a Hasselblad camera with x10 zoom, a Pico mini projector, and much more. For those curious, we'll leave you with this parting video that shows a demo of a few of these mods in action:-

Play

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