Lenovo-owned Motorola has decided to rebrand its flagship smartphone, dropping the X and adopt the Moto Z label instead. But on release date, it will remain a two-model approach that will see the simultaneous unboxing of the Moto Z Style and Moto Z Play, a new report said.
And like in 2015, the Z Style is for worldwide release while the Z Play, which will serve as the budget edition, is likely geared for U.S. and international buyers. It is unclear if Lenovo intends to sell a Pure Edition of the Z Style or the sequel to the Moto X Pure Edition of last year that was made available exclusive to North America.
According to Venture Beat, the high-end Moto Z Style will be fired up by the combination of Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM with some markets possibly getting the 3GB version. The Z Style display is stretched 5.5-inch and boasts of Quad HD technology.
As the cheaper option, the Moto Z Play will make do with an SD 625 chip, rumored as the same processor for the Nexus 7 2016 tablet, with likely RAM provision of no more than 2GB.
The same Venture Beat report seemed to indicate of customization options for all the Moto Z lines with a new service named as MotoMods. In a related report, 9to5Google said that MotoMods has something to do with "modular backplates" with plans to also offer optional "battery pack, camera grip with optical zoom and flash, stereo speakers, and pico projector."
However, there was no mention on both reports if the rumored metal casing and slimmer build for the Moto X 2015 sequel will push through in light of continued support for personalization. In late 2015, The Wall Street Journal said in a report that the next Moto X will ditch the curvy build for a flatter and metallic finish. And one casualty of the switch is the ability to personalize the device.
A third Moto Z is likely to come out too later carrying the same brand but labeled as the DROID Edition. And like in previous years, it will be a Verizon exclusive release.
Lenovo has earlier announced of a June 9 event, which likely the Chinese company will use to make both the Moto Z Style and Play public. The actual release date of the Moto X 2015 refresh should follow in the immediate weeks or days ahead. Pricing remains unknown but likely will reflect last year's models, which start at around $300.