Last night, Lenovo took the wraps off the flagship Moto smartphones, called the Moto Z and Moto Z Force. While the company didn’t reveal pricing details, it did mention that the Moto Z will be going on sale globally from September. Being a high-end flagship smartphone, the Moto Z will take on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5 and the HTC 10 among others. We pit these smartphones in a battle of flagships, and compare them on the basis of their specifications and features.
Specifications: All the smartphones in this comparison flaunt displays with QHD (2560×1440 pixels) resolution and protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4. As for size the Moto Z has the biggest screen at 5.5-inches, while the Samsung Galaxy S7 has the smallest with a 5.1-inch
Under the hood, all smartphones here boast Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 820 quad-core chipset paired with 4GB of RAM. Samsung is however the only one which is offering another option, and has in fact launched the Exynos 8890-powered Galaxy S7 in India. On the storage front, all of them come with 32GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot.
In the photography department, the smartphones share features like optical image stabilization (OIS), phase detection auto-focus (PDAF) and 4K video recording capabilities among others. But there are quite a few differences here. The Moto Z boasts a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/1.8 aperture, and the Galaxy S7 features a 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.7 aperture and larger 1.4µm pixels. The LG G5, on the other hand comes with a dual-camera setup, which includes a 16-megapixel f/1.8 camera and 8-megapixel f/2.4 camera. Lastly, the HTC 10 comes with a 12-UltraPixel 2 rear camera with f/1.8 aperture.
For selfie lovers, the smartphones come with front-facing cameras boasting wide-angle lens. Barring the LG G5, the three smartphones come with a 5-megapixel snapper. LG’s smartphone though comes with an 8-megapixel snapper.
Making sure everything is ticking the smartphones come with batteries that also support fast charging capabilities. The Galaxy S7 and the HTC 10 have the biggest batteries in the comparison — 3,000mAh. The Moto Z and the LG G5 come with a 2,600mAh and 2,800mAh batteries respectively. The Galaxy S7 also comes with an added support for wireless fast charging.
The smartphones also come with the usual set of connectivity options like 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. The Galaxy S7 and the LG G5 have the added advantage of featuring dual-SIM card slots thanks to the hybrid setup. In essence, users can either choose to use two SIM cards on the device or one SIM card and one microSD card. The LG G5, HTC 10 and the Moto Z also boast USB Type-C ports, but Lenovo’s smartphone is the only one that has ditched the 3.5mm audio jack. Instead it has bundled an USB Type-C to 3.5mm port to let people use standard headsets.All flagship smartphones in this comparison boast a fingerprint scanner whether placed at the back or embedded into the home button up front.
But every smartphone here has its own set of add-ons that make them different.
The Galaxy S7 is the only one in this comparison to be complete resistant to water and dust thanks to the IP68 certification. The Moto Z too has similar capabilities, but only to an extent. A nano coating ensures that the Moto Z can repel water and be safe from an accidental splash of water. The HTC 10, on the other hand, is the only smartphone we know that has OIS for both front and rear cameras.
The LG G5 and now the Moto Z differentiate themselves from the rest by boasting modular capabilities. The LG G5 has its LG Friends, while the Moto Z has Moto Mods.
In LG G5′s case, the LG Friends are swappable modules that bring in or improve existing features on the smartphone. These modules include the CAM Plus, which adds an additional battery and dedicated camera buttons, LG 360 CAM which adds two 13-megapixel cameras with 200 degrees wide-angle lens, Hi-Fi Plus for playing high-definition audio files, and a 360 VR goggle that simulates the experience of watching a 130-inch TV. Lastly, the LG Rolling Bot is a companion device that can roll like a ball and capture videos and photos with its embedded 8-megapixel camera. In order to add any of these mods, you need to remove the battery, which powers off the phone. We also wonder what sort of wear and tear will happen in case you keep removing and inserting the battery.
The Moto Mods, on the other hand, are basically modular plates that can be snapped onto the back of the Moto Z. These modules include JBL’s SoundBoost, InstaShare mod, and Power Pack. You don’t have to power off the phone to get them on and Motorola promises they will work with future generations of Moto Z as well, at least for the next two years. You can check out the Moto Mods in detail
All smartphones then are quite closely matched in terms of the specifications and features that they offer. In other words, they boast the latest and best hardware onboard. There are however some differences like water resistance or modular capabilities that could sway a person’s buying decision.
Most importantly though it is the price tag that will be a deal breaker, and at the moment, in India Samsung is leading the race. Where the LG G5 and HTC 10 are priced on the wrong side of Rs 50,000, the Galaxy S7 is priced aggressively at Rs 48,900. With the Moto Z set to arrive sometime in September, it will be interesting to see if Lenovo will be able to disrupt the segment by pricing the flagship smartphone aggressively.
A detailed comparison table follows.
Features
| ||||
Dimensions
| 153.3×75.3×5.2mm | 142.4×69.6×7.9mm | 149.4×73.9×7.7mm | 145.9×71.9x9mm |
Weight
| 136 grams | 152 grams | 159 grams | 161 grams |
Display
| 5.5-inch QHD | 5.1-inch QHD | 5.3-inch QHD | 5.2-inch QHD |
Protection
| Gorilla Glass 4 | Gorilla Glass 4 | Gorilla Glass 4 | Gorilla Glass 4 |
Processor
| Snapdragon 820 | Snapdragon 820/Exynos 8890 | Snapdragon 820 | Snapdragon 820 |
RAM
| 4GB | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB |
Storage
| 32GB/64GB (expandable) | 32GB/64GB (expandable) | 32GB (expandable) | 32GB/64GB (expandable) |
Rear camera
| 13-megapixel | 12-megapixel | 16-megapixel + 8-megapixel | 12-Ultrapixel 2 |
Front camera
| 5-megapixel | 5-megapixel | 8-megapixel | 5-megapixel |
Battery
| 2,600mAh (Turbo Charging) | 3,000mAh (Quick Charge 2.0, Wireless Fast Charging) | 2,800mAh (Fast Charging) | 3,000mAh (Quick Charge 3.0) |
Connectivity
| 4G LTE, NFC, USB Type-C | Dual-SIM, 4G LTE, NFC | Dual-SIM, 4G LTE, NFC, USB Type-C | 4G LTE, NFC, USB Type-C |
Android OS
| Marshmallow 6.0.1 | Marshmallow 6.0 | Marshmallow 6.0.1 | Marshmallow 6.0.1 |
Misc
| Fingerprint scanner, Moto Mods, nano-coating | Fingerprint scanner, IP68 certification |
