It is not very far since the first standards for 5G in the US were announced. Smartphone companies were waiting for the modem support from the chipset manufacturers when Motorola came up with an alternate to take over the market to sell the first 5G enabled the device in the market, though not a smartphone, though you can’t use it until 2019.
‘Mod’ is what Motorola calls it. It snaps to a back of the Moto Z smartphone and the devices get the 5G capability added with 2000 mAH battery which also resides within the Mod.
Motorola was a successful smartphone company but not long and it had to be sold to Google, makers of Android themselves. That is when they got a new treatment in terms of looks and software.
It was an entire overhaul and device line-up was strong and promising. But it was not for much time and Lenovo bought it from Google and followed the same trend and it was a good time for Moto that it even outdid its parent company itself in the sales. Huawei, Samsung, and OnePlus have already promised a 5G smartphone but not before 2019. How did Motorola make it possible ahead of everyone? If you are wondering about all these we have got the answers for you.
Moto Mod
After all the brands that attempt modularity with the smartphone failed is when Motorola came up with the Moto Mods in 2016 with the introduction of the Moto Z series smartphones. Moto Z had a magnetic attachment mechanism to align and hold the Mods to the smartphone and a proprietary connector pin. Initially, they had a variety of Mods with varied functionality. Additional camera, battery pack, photo printer, speaker were the most commonly known Moto Mods of all time.
5G Mod for Moto Z3 Force
This year one of the new releases alongside the Moto Z3 Force is the 5G Mod. The mod contains antennae, receiver, and a transmitter for 5G bandwidth and a 2000 mAh battery which we guess was filled in the empty space created by the thickness of the 5G components. But it’s a useful addition.
Motorola promises 10 times faster connection speeds than existing 4G networks. Verizon wireless is the only option where you can buy the Mod as they are the ones Moto was working with for the 5G capability. Verizon promises 5G service to kick in at the start of 2019 in select areas.
How’s and Why’s
The reason behind the 5G capability built into an accessory rather into a smartphone is due to its limitations as of now. The first limitation being the size of the modem and the second is its reachability. If you are aware of bandwidth and their travel distance, 5G has the least possible reachability of all because of the high bandwidths it is supposed to use.
And to get better signal strength antennae has been installed in all four sides of the mod and the battery inbuilt will save the smartphone from drowning faster. As of now only, Moto Z3 devices will support this particular Mod though it can fit any other Z series device. Moto might add support to older models in the coming days simply with an OTA update.