Motorola had an event scheduled for the already busy Sunday, one day before Mobile World Congress technically started, and showed off two new smartphones in its longstanding G series. For mid-range handsets they're certainly worth taking a second look. But the part of the announcement that caught my attention had to do with two phones launched last year.
Specifically, accessories for those devices.
Last year, riding right along with the modular bandwagon, Motorola announced the Moto Z and Moto Z Force (with Droid-branded variants for Verizon Wireless in the United States), both of which were certainly flagship handsets in their own right, with plenty of noteworthy features to help them stand out.
Both smartphones are worth consideration for anyone that's looking for a new smartphone, and wants a high-end experience. But obviously Motorola doesn't want customers to just look at the phone. No, the Moto brand would love it if you also considered a few accessories that are designed to attach directly onto the back of those phones.
Like a super expensive projector. A battery case. Or maybe just different back plates to spruce up the aesthetics of that super thin smartphone.
By now it's not a secret that LG has given up on the modular dream, after it launched the other modular-focused smartphone, the G5, last year. LG and Motorola seemed to be betting big on this idea, but the G5 just didn't have the legs to carry that dream into 2017 for LG. As a result, the G6 was just announced and it's dropped any type of modular design in favor of something far more traditional.
The reason why the Moto Mods that Motorola announced this year stood out to me, is because, if anything, it seems to confirm that Motorola won't be following in LG's footsteps this time around. If these new accessories are any indicator (albeit a strange one -- why a walkie-talkie, exactly?), then Motorola doesn't plan on dropping the modular design from the Moto Z and Moto Z Force successors that are inevitably going to see the light of day later this year.
Motorola is trying to get Moto Mods to take off. From crowd-funding efforts and crowd-sourced ideas, the company wants these accessories to work. The question I have for all of you, though, is whether or not this is a strategy that Motorola should stick with. Should Motorola keep on the modular bandwagon, hoping these accessories will take off? Or should the company fall back on a more traditional design decision with its upcoming flagships? If you own a Moto Z, how many Moto Mods do you use? Let me know!
