Moto Z2 Force Review: A Tough Fight For OnePlus 5T And Honor View 10
Finally, finally, we have the Moto Z2 Force in India and despite it being the flagship from 2017, it still feels like the best smartphone that Lenovo-owned Motorola has ever made. That said, the fact it was launched last year and comes with the leading specifications of the same time, does feel a little bit disappointing.
But hell, we still haven’t seen the first smartphone with a Snapdragon 845 SoCand what if Moto Z2 Force doesn’t feature an edge-to-edge display design, it’s the first flagship from the company in India, this year and we should cherish it.
Alright, Alright. Enough of a build up. Now, let’s get serious. Yes, we hate the fact that Moto Z2 Force came so late to India and yes, it will be hard for the handset to justify its price tag due to the year-old internals.
But can a modular built for Moto Mods and the Shatterproof rating help Moto Z2 Force to dismantle OnePlus 5T’s dominance in the segment and compete with Honor View 10’s AI capabilities? Let’s see.
Moto Z2 Force Specifications
5.5-inch Quad HD (1440 x 2560) AMOLED POLED shatterproof display with 16:9 aspect ratio, ShatterShield, 534 ppi, and 70.4% screen-to-body ratio.
6.1 mm slim body made of 7,000 series aluminum.
Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC clocked at 2.45GHz paired with Adreno 540 GPU.
6GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 2TB.
Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD) and Fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button.
12MP dual rear cameras (RGB + monochrome) with Sony IMX386 sensors, Zero Shutter Lag, dual-tone LED flash, PDAF, Laser Auto Focus, ƒ/2.0 aperture, 1.25um pixel size and 4k video recording
5MP front sensor with dual-tone LED flash, f/2.2 aperture and 85-degree wide-angle lens.
2730mAh non-removable battery coupled with 15W TurboPower charge.
Water repellent nano-coating, 3 Mics, and Front-ported loudspeaker.
Dimensions: 76 x 155.8 x 6.1 mm and Weight: 143g
4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4 and 5 GHz) MIMO, USB Type-C port, GPS with GLONASS and NFC support.
Moto Z2 Force Price And Availability
Priced at Rs. 34,999, the Moto Z2 Force comes in only one color option, namely, Super Black, and will be available exclusively via Flipkart starting from 16th February and at Moto Hub stores across India.
Motorola is bundling the Moto TurboPower Battery Pack Moto Mod worth Rs 5,999 for free and is also giving a 4-year warranty for screen shattering, cracking with drops and falls.
Moto Z2 Force Review
What we like about Moto Z2 Force
With its sharp edges, curved display and great viewing angles, Moto Z2 Force is one of the most practical smartphones for multimedia consumption. While the display is bright enough for outdoor multimedia consumption, the device itself is easy to use with one hand.
Moto is known to offer the best Stock Android experience and with the Z2 Force, users will get the cherish the purest form of Stock Android 8.0 (Oreo).
While fingerprint sensor gestures are way more practical than using the captivity buttons, Moto Actions like twist for camera and chop for flashlight gestures adds to the great user experience.
With the Snapdragon 835 SoC and 6GB of RAM, heavy gaming and multitasking with multiple apps feel like a breeze.
Despite the battery life being below average for a handset with such internals, using the TurboPower Battery Pack will give you around 180% juice overall.
When it comes to shatterproof display, Moto Z2 Force puts the money where its mouth is as it can handle a good amount of abuse.
The device comes with a magnetic connector for Moto Mods and its compatibility with all the Moto Mods makes it the most exciting offering in this segment.
The rear dual camera is capable of taking detailed pictures and focuses quickly on the subject with almost zero shutter lag. By focusing on the subject and blurring out the background, you can also create depth-effects.
What we didn’t like about Moto Z2 Force
No 18:9 display which is a trend these days.
Snapdragon 835 SoC will make Moto Z2 Force an old smartphone the day an SD 845-powered handset is launched.
No dedicated microSD card slot and 3.5 mm Audio jack.
A bit overpriced despite being launched in 2017.
The front 5MP camera seems average as compared to the competition.
Verdict
If you have a smartphone priced over the Rs 35,000-mark, it is hard to sell it if you are not Apple, Samsung or Xiaomi. In case of the Moto Z2 Force, however, it seemed to be a great device despite being unveiled last year and can give OnePlus 5T a run for its money, if not the Galaxy S8.