All right, before you plunge into this review of the Moto Z2 Force, you should know that the phone is a tad dated. To elaborate, it hit international markets around August 2017 and Lenovo-owned Motorola chose to bring it to India only last month. But apart from certain cosmetic hangovers of smartphones from last year, the Z2 Force more than holds its own against competitors in the segment. Which is a good thing given how Lenovo smartphones have fallen behind the likes of Xiaomi by a significant margin in India according to numbers from industry analysts.

Familiar looks

In terms of how this phone looks, there’s little that has changed from the first iterations of the Moto Z and the Z Play, which came out in 2016. But there’s a good reason for the carry-over. The Z2 Force is compatible with Moto Mods, an array of snap-on accessories to enhance phone capabilities, like its predecessors. The older Mods are compatible with the Z2 Force and the new Mods can fit on the older phones.

That being said, the Z2 Force has an all-metal back and not glass and feels slimmer and sharper. The now-familiar camera bulge seen on the latest Moto phones is present and looks somewhat like a wrist watch. The bulging camera and the gold contact points for the Mods can be covered up using a skin and I’d recommend that, given it feels more planted in your hand that way. The volume and power buttons are on the right and quite tiny, so they take getting used to. The 3.5 mm jack is gone, although Motorola gives you an adapter in the box. There’s a dual-tone flash even on the front of the phone, for those dazzling-selfie lovers.

Now, about the cosmetic hangover. The phone sports wide bezels and a 16:9 aspect ratio, with the fingerprint sensor below the screen. This can irk many who want to buy a contemporary-looking phone with minimal bezels and a taller aspect ratio, as seems to be the norm now.

Personally, I love the software on Motorola’s Android phones because there’s very little embellishment over the stock Android. The Z2 Force ships with Android Oreo out-of-the-box and with hardly any customisation, works fast and like a charm.

Useful Moto add-ons

The few add-ons are familiar Moto features like the Moto Display, which is Motorola’s ‘Always On’ equivalent, and the Moto gestures, which I find very useful. Like, a double karate chop to switch your flashlight on — perfect during a sudden powercut so you don’t have to fumble to unlock your phone. Moto Voice lets you interact with your phone using spoken commands, something like a basic virtual assistant of sorts.

The software is backed by high-end hardware too. There’s Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835, a flagship-grade processor and 6 GB of RAM, with 64 GB of internal memory. All this meant that the phone was fast, lag-free, and didn’t heat up too much, except for extended periods of gaming or prolonged camera use. The speaker is quite loud, albeit not deep.

Literally shatter-proof

The Z2 Force sports what Motorola calls ShatterShield Display, comprising multiple layers of protection so the screen doesn’t break. Guess what, it works.

Although it took quite some heart to willfully drop the phone, multiple times that too, I did. And the screen survived each of those falls, working perfectly well. Although it did pick up some scratches, so I’d recommend a scratch-guard. Also, the rest of the phone isn’t as durable as the mighty display and notches and dents are inevitable when you drop it. Still, the panic attacks that one gets on dropping a smartphone can be avoided with the Z2 Force. Also, the 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED screen is very vivid and bright, so not too many complaints about the display quality either. Gaming and watching videos is fun and for those who don’t like their colours too saturated, there’s a handy feature called ‘Standard’ colour, which displays realistic tones that aren’t enhanced.

Keeping in line with the fad, the Z2 Force has a dual-camera on the back. The RGB and Monochrome 12 MP + 12 MP sensors do a good job during the day. Images are sharp with well-defined colours and enough detail. Low light performance cannot be called bad, but it does leave room for improvement, in terms of noise and lack of detail. For example, zooming in on low-light images will not offer a very clear picture.

One feature I really liked about the camera is called True Black and White mode and as the name suggests, lets you shoot in monochrome. The pictures, especially those clicked in well-lit conditions, turn out well and look straight out of the 50s and 60s. In fact, I found the black and white pictures better than the ones clicked in colour under low-light conditions. The depth effect is just about satisfactory and I still feel the OnePlus 5T offers the best portrait mode in this price range.

Shooting videos on the Z2 Force is fun, thanks to the slow-motion feature that does a good job. Even regular videos turned out well, with 4K capability at 30 fps. The front camera shoots clear selfies and has a beauty mode.

The 2,730 mAh battery isn’t the largest or the most capable one going around but lasts you a day with moderate use. Motorola seems to have preempted this apprehension and is including the battery booster Mod as a bundle with the phone (didn’t come with the review unit).

The Z2 Force may have arrived here late but is still a worthy addition to the ‘budget flagship’ segment. Although the OnePlus 5T and other phones such as Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 2 and Nokia 8 offer some good competition, this gadget from Moto is a compelling prospect.

 

Price: ₹34,998 (online)

Pros: Great specs, shatter-proof display withstands falls, no hassles software

Cons: Somewhat dated looks, low light photography not top class

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