14 DAY TRIAL // Motorola held a press event at Mobile World Congress 2017, during which it announced two new smartphones, the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus. But that’s not all that Motorola revealed, as the company also announced its intention to bring Alexa virtual assistant to its phones.
Moto Z smartphones will get Amazon’s virtual assistant in the form of a Moto Mod that straps on the devices. Alexa will allow users to interact and ask questions, place orders or even trigger smart home connected devices. The Mod will come with a blue ombre glow around the edges, to notify users when Alexa is activated.
The company didn’t reveal the price of this new Moto Mod, but it did say that upcoming Motorola flagships would feature Amazon’s virtual AI built-in. The new Moto Mod is expected to arrive later this year.
New gaming Mod for Moto Z owners
Motorola also announced a new gaming Mod for Moto Z users, one that has a built-in speaker, gaming controls, and some pre-loaded games. The Gamepad Moto Mod will have a D-pad and A/B/X/Y cluster for controls, as well as shoulder buttons and integrated battery, so that it wouldn’t draw juice from the phone. The Moto Mod also comes with its own storage.
The company didn’t announce pricing, while the Mod is expected to arrive this summer and be compatible with the Moto Z, Moto Z Force, and perhaps Moto Z Play.
In addition, Motorola teased a number of concept Mods, including a photo printer, a multi-SIM adapter and Mod tower to charge multiple Mods at the same time. The company seems to be on track with its pledge to release 12 Moto Mods per year or at least four each quarter. Motorola has already sold 3 million Moto Z units globally, and about half of them were bundled with a Moto Mod.