Moto Z3 review

tháng 5 29, 2022

introduction

Motorola has launched a new member of the Moto Z series – the Moto Z3. However, the actual announcement raised a lot of eyebrows and made us wonder if the Moto Z3 is more of a refresh of the Z2 than a true successor.

The most notable change to the Moto Z3 is the addition of a larger 6-inch Super AMOLED display, a frame-mounted fingerprint scanner, and a fresh new glossy finish around the frame and on the pretty rear window. None of these features were a mystery, however, as the Moto Z3 Play shares exactly the same design cues.

Review Moto Z3

Interestingly, Motorola didn’t bother to mention its “Force” branding, which was synonymous with the Moto Z2 when it was launched and was marketed as a shatterproof smartphone. Fragment protection has gone out of the window on Motorola, likely due to the soft plastic display, which was super easy to scratch on the Z2.

Moto Z3 Specifications

Body: 6000 series aluminum and all-glass rear; splash-proof P2i6 (repellent nano-coating)
Advertisement: 6.01-inch Super AMOLED with FHD+ resolution (2160 x 1080 pixels).
Backup camera: Dual 12MP (f/2.0, 1.25 microns) RGB + (f/2.0, 1.25 microns) monochrome; Phase Detection AF + Laser AF; CCT (color correlated temperature); dual color LED flash; “Zero Shutter Lag”
Front camera: 8 megapixels; aperture 2.0; 1.12 microns; 84 degree FOV; Full Screen Flash
Video recording: 4K (2160p)@30fps on the main camera; 1080p@30fps on front camera
Operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo with Moto Experiences
chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835: Octa-Core Kryo (4 x 2.35 GHz & 4 x 1.9 GHz); 850MHz Adreno 540 GPU
Memory: 4 GB RAM + 64 GB internal memory: up to 2 TB expansion via microSD
Battery: 3,000 mAh non-removable Li-Ion
Connectivity: Nano SIM; LTE; Bluetooth 5.0; WLAN a/b/g/n 2.4 GHz + ac 5 GHz; GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS; BEIDOU; NFC; Verizon 5G upgradable via future MotoMod;
Various: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner; face unlock; Moto Mod Compatibility; Moto Actions; 3.5mm headphone jack via USB-C

Before you ask – yes, the datasheet is correct. Motorola hasn’t updated any internals on the Moto Z3, kept last year’s Snapdragon 835, and didn’t increase the RAM from 4GB. To be fair, this configuration is still great by today’s standards. However, nobody in this industry wants to hear that technology that is a year old is still good a whole year later.

Most of the announcement concerned Verizon and Qualcomm’s collaboration to launch Verizon’s 5G network next year. Motorola follows up on the announcement with a 5G Moto Mod modem that would push the Moto Z3 (and presumably older Moto Z devices) to use Verizon’s 5G network once it goes live next year.

Review Moto Z3

The Moto Z3 shows us a different strategy than we’ve seen for a while. Unlike when HTC released the overpriced Bolt with an old Snapdragon 810 (which keeps overheating), Motorola is pricing the Moto Z3 very aggressively in hopes that it will boost sales and capitalize on the 5G hype.

Verizon hopes it will boost sales as the device will be a Verizon exclusive in the US. We also expect Verizon to offer some lucrative promotions to entice people to switch to Verizon with the Z3’s upgradeable 5G as an incentive.

No matter how different (or similar) the Moto Z3 is from its predecessor, we’ll still review it like any other flagship. We’ll see how the larger new display affects battery life, if the camera sees improvements, and if the Moto Z3 is a worthy upgrade over the Moto Z2.

First, let’s take a look at this retail packaging.

Unpack Verizon Moto Z3

We have a Verizon variant of the phone with bold red packaging and some cool black stripes on the sides. The sleeve of the box detaches and opens to the right.

The Moto Z3 comes with a document pack, a USB-C to USB-A adapter, a TurboPower wall adapter and a 3.5mm headphone jack to USB-C adapter.

Review Moto Z3