World's first 5G smartphone 'Moto Z3' launched

Chicago, Aug 03: In a good news for smartphone lovers, Lenovo-owned Motorola has launched the world's first 5G smartphone 'Moto Z3' on Thursday at an event in Chicago, the company's headquarters.

The new smartphone, which sits above the Moto Z3 Play that debuted in June, comes with a splash-resistant build and delivers a pure Android experience.

It also continues the Moto Z-Series legacy of supporting Moto Mods through a dedicated pogo-pin connector at the back. Lenovo-owned Motorola has additionally partnered with Qualcomm to launch a 5G Moto Mod that will enable the next-generation network access on the Moto Z3.

The 5G Moto Mod uses a Snapdragon X50 modem and "millimeter wave components" to offer 5G access on Verizon network. Alongside announcing the launch of the Moto Z3, the company has revealed that it has no plans to bring the anticipated Moto Z3 Force.

@ Moto Z3 price:

The Moto Z3 price in the US has been set at $480 (approximately Rs. 33,000). The smartphone will go on sale exclusively through Verizon in Ceramic Black colour option starting August 16. Customers in the US will also be able to get a carrier-locked version of the Moto Z3 at a monthly charge of $20 for 24 months. Motorola hasn't revealed the price of the 5G Moto Mod, though it has confirmed that the new offering will be exclusive to the US in early 2019.

@ Moto Z3 specifications, features:

The Moto Z3 runs Android 8.1 Oreo, upgradable to Android P, and features a 6-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) AMOLED display along with a Max Vision 18:9 aspect ratio and a 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Under the hood, there is an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, coupled with 4GB of RAM.

The SoC was notably launched at CES 2017 in January last year. The smartphone has a dual rear camera setup that includes a 12-megapixel primary sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and a 12-megapixel monochrome sensor - paired with a dual-LED flash module. On the front, there is an 8-megapixel sensor. The front camera sensor also enables a Face Unlock feature.

Motorola has provided 64GB of onboard storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 2TB). In terms of connectivity, the Moto Z3 has 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, and USB Type-C.

Sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light, gyroscope, fingerprint scanner (on the right panel), magnetometer (compass), and proximity sensor. The handset packs a 3000mAh battery that offers fast charging through the bundled 15W TurboPower charger. Lastly, it measures 156.5x76.5x6.75mm and weighs 156 grams.