1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,230
[MUSIC PLAYING]

2
00:00:04,230 --> 00:00:06,910


3
00:00:06,910 --> 00:00:08,910
CHRIS VELAZCO: If you've been
waiting for Motorola to return

4
00:00:08,910 --> 00:00:12,870
to flagship glory with a new
Moto Z series device, nope,

5
00:00:12,870 --> 00:00:14,100
sorry.

6
00:00:14,100 --> 00:00:18,300
This is the Moto Z4, and
it's a perfectly nice phone.

7
00:00:18,300 --> 00:00:20,300
That's maybe the best
thing I can say about.

8
00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:22,020
Well, actually, that's not true.

9
00:00:22,020 --> 00:00:26,460
It is relatively inexpensive,
and you can slap a Moto 5G mod

10
00:00:26,460 --> 00:00:30,120
onto it to get super high
speed data in like two cities

11
00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:31,260
around America right now.

12
00:00:31,260 --> 00:00:32,880
That's clearly not
enough to bring Motorola

13
00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,360
back to its days of glory, but
with a phone like this that

14
00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:38,700
seems to hit all the right
buttons for not a ton of money,

15
00:00:38,700 --> 00:00:39,577
maybe it doesn't matter.

16
00:00:39,577 --> 00:00:40,410
Let's take a closer look.

17
00:00:40,410 --> 00:00:43,344
[MUSIC PLAYING]

18
00:00:43,344 --> 00:00:45,790


19
00:00:45,790 --> 00:00:47,610
Just to help you keep your
expectations in check,

20
00:00:47,610 --> 00:00:49,740
this is, without
promotions included,

21
00:00:49,740 --> 00:00:52,590
because there are a few
of those, a $500 phone.

22
00:00:52,590 --> 00:00:54,500
That's actually not
too bad considering you

23
00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:56,250
do you get it Snapdragon 675.

24
00:00:56,250 --> 00:00:58,470
That's a distinctly
upper mid-range chipset

25
00:00:58,470 --> 00:00:59,850
with four gigabytes of RAM.

26
00:00:59,850 --> 00:01:03,060
There's a 3,600 milliamp battery
which Motorola quite correctly

27
00:01:03,060 --> 00:01:05,850
says is the largest battery
they've ever stuck in Moto Z

28
00:01:05,850 --> 00:01:08,670
phone, but that's literally
only because they've always been

29
00:01:08,670 --> 00:01:10,620
able to count on
people buying batteries

30
00:01:10,620 --> 00:01:12,390
to magnetically attach
to the back of the phone.

31
00:01:12,390 --> 00:01:14,640
But that's kind of
neither here nor there.

32
00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,350
There's 25 megapixel camera in
front and a 48 megapixel camera

33
00:01:17,350 --> 00:01:18,150
around back.

34
00:01:18,150 --> 00:01:20,640
And if that sounds familiar
it's because it should.

35
00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,880
It sounds quite a bit like
the Moto One Vision, which we

36
00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:25,500
just discussed a few weeks ago.

37
00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:27,360
That's a device that's
meant, basically,

38
00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,400
for the rest of the world
outside of the United States.

39
00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:31,110
It will be available
as a Verizon unit,

40
00:01:31,110 --> 00:01:33,150
compatible with that
5G mod, but also

41
00:01:33,150 --> 00:01:34,830
unlocked for every carrier.

42
00:01:34,830 --> 00:01:36,780
Unfortunately, Motorola
hasn't said whether or not

43
00:01:36,780 --> 00:01:39,750
it plans to create separate
versions of the 5G mod

44
00:01:39,750 --> 00:01:43,620
for all of the carriers in
the US who want to get 5G up

45
00:01:43,620 --> 00:01:45,360
and running this year,
but I guess we'll

46
00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:46,330
just have to live with that.

47
00:01:46,330 --> 00:01:49,718
[MUSIC PLAYING]

48
00:01:49,718 --> 00:01:53,110


49
00:01:53,110 --> 00:01:54,850
Really, though, my
issue with the Moto Z4

50
00:01:54,850 --> 00:01:56,680
is there isn't
anything at all here,

51
00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:00,550
aside from that intriguing, even
to this day, mod architecture

52
00:02:00,550 --> 00:02:03,040
that you wouldn't find in
other devices for probably

53
00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:04,000
a little bit less money.

54
00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,470
Of course, this does have an
in-display fingerprint sensor.

55
00:02:06,470 --> 00:02:08,979
It's actually an optical
sensor, not one of Qualcomm's

56
00:02:08,979 --> 00:02:09,870
ultrasonic sensors.

57
00:02:09,870 --> 00:02:13,330
So it can theoretically
be fooled by images

58
00:02:13,330 --> 00:02:15,910
of fingerprints, but we'll
have to try that for sure

59
00:02:15,910 --> 00:02:18,010
to see if that's
really a concern.

60
00:02:18,010 --> 00:02:19,510
I'm actually
pleasantly surprised

61
00:02:19,510 --> 00:02:22,750
by this 48 megapixel camera,
mostly because just like, well,

62
00:02:22,750 --> 00:02:25,330
just about every other 48
megapixel camera we've tested

63
00:02:25,330 --> 00:02:27,400
so far this year,
it uses a process

64
00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,480
called pixel bending to treat
4 pixels on the sensor as 1.

65
00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,360
So effectively improves
the light performance,

66
00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:36,520
and with the addition of a night
vision mode, which we've tested

67
00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,850
in this post-apocalyptic
New York warehouse,

68
00:02:39,850 --> 00:02:41,080
actually seems to
work quite well.

69
00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,110
I wouldn't compare it to
the Google Pixel 3 or the 3a

70
00:02:44,110 --> 00:02:45,180
in any meaningful way.

71
00:02:45,180 --> 00:02:49,120
I think that device, even now,
using fairly old hardware,

72
00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,850
is a clear winner when it
comes to overall image quality.

73
00:02:51,850 --> 00:02:55,000
But the stuff that I've seen
out of the Moto Z4's camera

74
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:56,080
really isn't so bad.

75
00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,780
That pixel bending also happens
on the 25 megapixel front

76
00:02:58,780 --> 00:03:01,000
facing camera, and if you're
not really in the mood

77
00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,680
to do the math, it works out
to just about 1 point something

78
00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:07,540
megapixels for your
selfies, which is,

79
00:03:07,540 --> 00:03:10,060
trust me, much better
than looking at 25

80
00:03:10,060 --> 00:03:12,430
megapixels of raw face data.

81
00:03:12,430 --> 00:03:16,090
The phone does run Android 9.0
Pi, with Motorola's usual slew

82
00:03:16,090 --> 00:03:17,590
of Moto experiences,
and, frankly,

83
00:03:17,590 --> 00:03:21,130
it feels very much just like
every other Motorola phone

84
00:03:21,130 --> 00:03:23,320
that I've played with
in the last few years.

85
00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,270
The difference between
this and the Moto Z3,

86
00:03:25,270 --> 00:03:27,640
which we have used
quite extensively, we

87
00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:30,100
took it to Chicago
and tried it with 5G,

88
00:03:30,100 --> 00:03:32,480
doesn't feel
particularly palpable.

89
00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,620
It's there if you really,
really, want to look for it.

90
00:03:35,620 --> 00:03:37,660
It doesn't excite.

91
00:03:37,660 --> 00:03:39,670
It doesn't throw you in
the way that those early Z

92
00:03:39,670 --> 00:03:42,130
series phones did, and
I think that's honestly

93
00:03:42,130 --> 00:03:42,930
kind of a shame.

94
00:03:42,930 --> 00:03:46,690
The Z series originally made
me rethink what a smartphone

95
00:03:46,690 --> 00:03:49,120
should be able to do, in a
way that foldables are now

96
00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:50,570
sort of forcing me to do again.

97
00:03:50,570 --> 00:03:51,670
I've been playing
with this phone

98
00:03:51,670 --> 00:03:54,580
for the better part of an
hour, and it's perfectly nice.

99
00:03:54,580 --> 00:03:56,960
I don't know that I'd
necessarily spend $500 on this,

100
00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:58,730
but let's look at it this way.

101
00:03:58,730 --> 00:04:02,230
If you're a Verizon customer
you are itching to try 5G,

102
00:04:02,230 --> 00:04:04,840
this is probably
a more thoroughly

103
00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,440
capable choice than the Moto
Z3 that we got last year.

104
00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,430
Yes, it had an 835.

105
00:04:10,430 --> 00:04:12,460
Yes it was pretty
quick for what it was.

106
00:04:12,460 --> 00:04:14,950
But I feel like this is the
better all around package,

107
00:04:14,950 --> 00:04:19,600
and I should point out, is
available for $439 with the 5G

108
00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,620
mod if you buy it on Verizon.

109
00:04:21,620 --> 00:04:23,260
If you're not a Verizon
customer or if you just

110
00:04:23,260 --> 00:04:25,360
don't care about 5G
at all right now,

111
00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,210
should you buy this as
a standard range device?

112
00:04:29,210 --> 00:04:31,050
It's a bit early to
say, if I'm honest.

113
00:04:31,050 --> 00:04:33,790
What I have seen so far
is perfectly adequate.

114
00:04:33,790 --> 00:04:36,610
It's quite nice, but
not much more than that.

115
00:04:36,610 --> 00:04:40,410
My gut says, not really, not
when devices like Pixel 3a

116
00:04:40,410 --> 00:04:43,040
exists and bring really
solid performance

117
00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:44,680
and an exceptional
camera experience

118
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:46,817
for a very reasonable price.

119
00:04:46,817 --> 00:04:47,950
That's not to say
you should write

120
00:04:47,950 --> 00:04:48,910
this thing off completely.

121
00:04:48,910 --> 00:04:51,520
We have not really put this
thing through its paces

122
00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:52,450
in any significant way.

123
00:04:52,450 --> 00:04:53,700
So we're going to go do that.

124
00:04:53,700 --> 00:04:55,150
Come back with a
full review and let

125
00:04:55,150 --> 00:04:57,830
you know soon enough whether
the Moto Z4 is really worth

126
00:04:57,830 --> 00:04:58,630
your time.

127
00:04:58,630 --> 00:05:04,680
[MUSIC PLAYING]

128
00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:18,293