Moto Z2 Force

There's a certain charm to throwing a phone around without fearing that it will break. Over the past week or so, I've spent many moments freaking people out by casually chucking the Moto Z2 Force on the floor, the road and everywhere else. 

After showing them the phone had no battle scars, the inevitable question would then be, how much is this phone for?

That's pretty much what did the Moto X Force in a year or so ago. It was too expensive. But the Moto Z2 Force is not new anymore, and given that it's coming to India months after its inception, the company can cut margins now. 

At Rs. 34,999, it undoubtedly gives competition to the OnePlus 5T and the fact that it has a virtually indestructible display is just an important add-on.

The indestructible-ness... 

The technology hasn't changed much from the original X Force. The screen has five layers, with lenses for the top two layers. It's designed to not shatter, but can still be dented if put under too much stress. 

While I was able to dent the Moto X Force some years ago, I've been unable to do that with the Moto Z2 Force so far. Motorola recommends screen protectors and cases to avoid cosmetic damage, but this is probably the only phone you can use without those add-ons.

There's a slight hitch here though. The Z2 Force is modular too, so I'm not particularly sure whether the pogo pin connectors on the back can take much stress. The good news is, they still work as of now, even though I've put this phone through the wringer. 

The trade-off... 

The major trade-off here is that your display feels different. There's an AMOLED panel underneath the lenses, so things still look decent, but you will be touching the lens at most times. That makes the display feel somewhat sticky as compared to the smooth flowing touch of Gorilla Glass 4 or 5.

To its credit, the Moto Z2 Force feels much better than the X Force from 2016. It doesn't feel cheap, but it's different. And you may struggle with that for a few days.

The touch response is good though and there's no noticeable latency either. Colours don't pop the way AMOLEDs usually do, but saturation levels are reasonable.

I find it easier to get on board with the Moto Z2 Force's display, than I did with the X Force.

Specs and performance 

Motorola's phones are fast, there's little doubt about that. And the Moto Z2 Force is the fastest amongst them right now, at least in India. I've used it for a week now, without any stutters or lags to speak of.

That said, I happen to have the OnePlus 5T as my secondary, and that phone remains faster than this one, if only by a sliver. As is often true, I know this only because I was in a position to compare the two phones side-by-side. When comparing the two phones, I had exactly the same apps and items on both, so the difference seen is likely because of whatever the companies do in the background.

Either way, what you can be sure of is that the Moto Z2 Force easily fits the "mid-range flagship" monicker. It's a flagship-class device, at least as far as performance is concerned. There's gobs of RAM inside and 64GB of storage, that's enough for almost everyone.

 What I don't like... 

Really the only thing I don't like about this phone is actually holding and using it. I'm too accustomed to 18:9 displays now, and that form factor is much better. The Moto Z2 Force is wide, looks dated and feels unwieldy. Sure, I don't have to worry about dropping it, but the ergonomics are off here.

My finger doesn't reach the other end of the screen, so I'm almost always using this with both hands. You tend to get used to a phone's form factor over time, but after a week with this phone, I'm certainly not used to it.

Even so, the phone is impressively light. So much so that I don't mind carrying it in my pocket even when the mod is strapped to its back.

 Free mod! 

Cutting margins wasn't enough for Motorola. The company even threw in a TurboPower battery charging mod with this phone. The promotion has been running in the US for a while and will run in India as well. That means the Moto Z2 Force effectively has a near 6000 mAh battery. And it easily lasts a full 24 hours. 

In fact, over the weekend, when my phone is comparatively underused, it lasted for two days without any charging at all. All you need to do is ensure that the battery mod is always charged.

To that end, it's worth noting that the mod can't actually charge the battery from zero to 100%. But it's still enough to have the phone last the whole day. Both, the phone and the battery, charge using Motorola's Turbo charger, taking under an hour to charge completely.

Camera

The two 12MP cameras on the Moto Z2 Force use the monochrome and RGB combination. In well-lit conditions, the camera takes some excellent photos. Where as it stutters is low light shots, producing quite a bit of noise and losing details.

When shooting in outdoor conditions, daylight and natural light, the Moto Z2 Force is quite dependable. It produces vibrant colours, though sharpness levels are somewhat low. You will see undersaturated colours often and lots of noise.

The major problem with this camera is how slow it is. There's a noticeable shutter lag, which increases in low light situations. It also leads to a lot of blurry photos, which is a problem.

This is the one dark mark on a camera that would otherwise have been great. The Moto Z2 force has a great camera, but it could have been so much more.

Verdict

The Moto Z2 Force is a legitimate contender against the OnePlus 5T, but the company still has work to do. It is indeed a good phone to buy, especially given that it's almost impossible to destroy. 

If you don't want the OnePlus 5T, this is certainly an alternative you should be looking at.

• Do you care about the quality of music on your phone? See our list of the best smartphones for audiophiles in India.
• Or you could always browse through, the best smartphones of 2018 so far.

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