New Moto Z is 'the world’s thinnest premium smartphone' - here's the lowdown

Razr thin (see what we did there) and it beat Apple by ditching the headphone jack

Motorola reckons its new Moto Z stands out from the crowd. It's a premium smartphone that looks really rather impressive and is a new take on modular design with so-called 'Moto Mods' that snap to the back with magnets.

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Here's the full lowdown on the handset (plus it's brother, the super strong Moto Z Force below!)

It's razr thin

After releasing a promo video reminiscing about the Razr, Motorola seemed stunned to learn that its old flips were actually quite popular and people thought it might be bringing out another one. Instead, what we've got is the world's thinnest phone at 5.2mm thick (is that too thin? This iPhone 6 is 6.9mm for comparison)

To achieve this level of thinness, Motorola dropped the headphone jack - a move we expect Apple to make in the iPhone 7.

Metal all round

The body is made from military aircraft-grade aluminium and stainless steel, so despite its lack of heft, should be super strong.

The specs are now-standard premium fare

There's a 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon820 processor, 4GB of RAM and 32 GB or 64 GB of storage. Plus you can add a microSD card up to 2 TB.

Moto Z has a fingerprint reader plus 13MP camera with optical image stabilisation and laser autofocus plus a 5MP front snapper.

The phone has a cited standby time of 30 hours, while you can get up to 8 hours of power in just 15 minutes with Moto's TurboPower tech.

But wait! There are very much not-standard Moto Mods

Moto Mods are designed to add functionality to the handset. Add-ons include JBL SoundBoost, a 70-inch projector called the Moto Insta-Share Projector and power packs from the likes of TUMI, Kate Spade and Incipio.

Becuase of that Moto says it's very different

“We're taking a stand against incremental innovation in the premium smartphone category” said Moto in a statement. “From the mid 1990's to the mid 2000's there was meaningful and frequent innovation in wireless. We saw the creation of the first flip phone, the Moto RAZR, the first QWERTY smartphone, the first app ecosystem, and of course, the first touchscreen phone.”

“But, since then, innovation has stagnated and is often incremental at best. Small changes in display size or megapixels make headlines, yet marginally impact overall experience to the point that new smartphones have become predictable.”

“The result? Limited choice, similar products and bored consumers. And that's not fair.”

“We envision a world where people are not limited by what their smartphone manufacturer provides at one point in time. Instead, we believe people should be empowered to choose the capabilities of their smartphone.”

Nobody mention the LG G5, we guess, even if Moto's take on modular seems a lot easier.

There's also a Moto Z Force!

The sleek, all-metal design Moto Z Force features the second generation of Moto ShatterShieldtechnology, guaranteeing the display won't crack or shatter in case of a drop.

Packed with the same great features as Moto Z, it ups the game with up to 40 hours of battery lifeand the fastest TurboPowerchargingever. You can get up to 15 hours of battery life in just a 15-minute charge.

Moto Z release date

Moto Z will be available worldwide beginning in September along with Moto Mods.

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Dan Grabham

Dan is a previous Editor for T3.com and covered the latest in computing, home entertainment and mobile tech. He's also the former Deputy Editor of TechRadar and former Editor of Lifehacker UK. Dan has written for numerous computing and lifestyle magazines and has also written a book, too. You'll see him pop up in numerous places, having been quoted in or on The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, ITN News, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4 and Sky News Radio.