Moto Z3 5G Test | TechRadar

In the market of mid-range telephony increasingly populated, the Motorola Moto Z3 is more and more eager to stand out. And this is the case, thanks to its respectable specifications (although slightly dated) and Motorola add-ons Mods, all for a price below 500 USD.

Admittedly, this review is late – the Moto Z3 officially launched in August 2018 – but the phone has a strange advantage that makes it relevant in 2019. The 5G Moto Mod, already on sale, will allow the phone to connect up to 5G networks – including Verizon, which is the only asset in the United States to date.

This is the year when the 5G is expected to come in force, promising much faster speeds and downloads. When 5G networks will actually be operational, it is not clear, but it already exists 5G Phones coming this year by major companies including the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, LG V50 ThinQand the foldable Huawei Mate X.

If the already released Moto Z3 beats these others brilliantly, it's another feather in his cap. Some of these manufacturers, like Honor, will probably launch a more affordable model that will compete with Motorola's mid-range phone. The Moto Z3 may not be the most affordable 5G answer on the market.

Otherwise, the phone will gradually improve compared to its predecessor, the Moto Z2 – but you'd better think you're taking almost all the best parts of the Moto Z2 Force and you're inserting them into the slightly larger frame of the Moto Z3 Play.

The history of the Moto Z3 5G … until now

While the Moto Z3 is an interesting choice for the budget minded, it is also, at the moment, the only 5G phone in the United States. Not the only one, of course: you need the 5G Moto Mod, which clings to the back of the phone (safely, thanks to powerful magnets) and needs to stay in place to connect to the Verizon 5G network which has just been launched.

It's not as simple as falling into a Verizon store and going out with the mod, as we discovered. Among our first reactionsFrom the day the telecoms turned on its 5G network, the surprise was great: Verizon asks you to prove that you own a Moto Z3 when you buy a Moto Mod 5G or buy a phone on the spot. You must subscribe to one of the unlimited telecom plans and then pay an additional $ 10 monthly fee. (However, you get 3 months of free 5G data.)

The 5G Moto Mod is expensive, its selling price is $ 350, although Verizon sells it in stores for $ 200 at the moment. Add to that the price tag of $ 350 for the Moto Z3 and the entire setup falls squarely in the average spend category, although it's a lot cheaper than the Galaxy S10 5G and the LG V50 ThinQ 5G which should cost non-5G versions have been evaluated to).

As for coverage, well … Verizon has activated its 5G network in early April a week earlier than expected, that's right. But it was only posted in parts of two American cities. In Chicago, this included Magnificent Mile (specifically the Verizon store), Gold Coast, Old Town, River North and parts of South Loop and West Loop. Milwaukee's 5G coverage areas are located in West Central, Central East, Elliot Park and the Verizon Store of the Mall of America.

Verizon relies on a millimeter wave technology requiring a site line with the 5G transmission tower, which covers as large an area as that which broadcasts in 4G LTE. As such, we struggled to capture 5G during the early days of the network and Verizon did not provide a coverage map.

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Once you exit 5G coverage areas (or if your phone can not connect), the 5G Modular Packing Phone should automatically switch to 4G, which we found. When we detected the 5G signal, we found throughput rates of up to 448 Mbps, which is about the level at which Verizon set the expected rates before upgrading its network. Compare that to the 45-60 Mbps we saw on the 4G side.

One last quick note: the Moto Mod 5G clips located on the back of your Moto Z3 (and will be compatible with other Moto phones later), but do not be afraid to miss a battery: the mod 5G includes 2 000 mAh battery extension, too. Worry about the good size of the mod, which almost doubles the thickness of the Moto Z3.

Price and release date of the Moto Z3

The Moto Z3 was launched in August 2018 at a base price of $ 480 (about £ 370, AU $ 650), although it dropped to $ 349 in the official Motorola store. It's below the lower limit Moto Z3 PlayThe price is 399 dollars, although the latter is usually supplied with a pack of 2,200 mAh Moto Mod, retail at 50 dollars.

We will enter the Mods range later, but let's just say that they are an important factor in the value of the Moto Z3. If you're just looking for a basic model with Mod accessibility, you may be happy with Z3 Play.

Unfortunately, the Moto Z3 is only available by Verizon. It's certainly different from previous models such as the Moto Z2 and the Moto Z3 Play that you can buy unlocked or by different carriers, but you will have to go through Verizon if you want the Moto Z3.

Design

Imagine the Moto Z3 Play. I have it? Excellent – this is the design of the Moto Z3 in its own right. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, because the phone is a sleek and elegant smartphone, with a nice front and back glass that will easily fit in your pocket.

Well, as long as the appearance of the camera will not interfere: the signature photo-blister will come back, and although it is not bulky, it is not small. But since it's a key component of Mod's Moto system (each module fits perfectly), it's a special choice with which you'll learn to live if you opt for Motorola's Z-line phones.

The phone weighs 156g, which is rather lightweight compared to flagship products such as the iPhone XS (171g) and the Samsung Note 9 (201g). This is offset by the mods, which can be heavy: the 2.200mAh core power supply, by far the most useful mod of the group, adds about 70 g. At 5 mm thick, it covers the camera hump and then a portion, almost doubling the phone thickness of 6.8 mm.

Otherwise, the Moto Z3 has a classic Motorola look, with thin frames on the sides, a chin thick enough to stick the logo of the company and a fine top without notch. By far, you will have trouble distinguishing it from the cheaper phones of the G-series. The big difference is the glass back (some cell phones have glass, but other aluminum or plastic), the big one camera hump and tape at the back filled with contact pins for connecting mods.

Motorola has retained the side-mount fingerprint reader. It is ideally placed where your thumb rests, so we never had a problem connecting. In fact, it's almost as well Practice: When we grabbed the phone, we accidentally pressed it and unlocked the phone while we just wanted to check the lock screen notifications. This is a strange inconvenience, of course.

The Z3 has a USB-C port at the bottom, but unfortunately there is no 3.5mm headphone jack. This is something the newer and more modest G7 phones have on their dearest cousin – not to mention the Samsung S10 line, which still retains the port as a bragging point.