Moto Z appears in new leak with some Moto Maker back panel options

Motorola’s upcoming metal made marvel, the Moto Z, is quickly becoming one of the most leaked devices in mobile history. Despite the company itself not having formally unveiled the pair of devices believed to be branded with the letter, leaks have been looming large in the weeks leading up to the potential June 9th unveiling of the new hardware. Today some more unofficial photographic evidence has made its way to the internet via helloMotoHK, which itself discovered the leaks from MotClubHK. Let’s look at the loot:

The first picture shows the device front and center, in gold coloring. There is nothing majorly new to mention here, save for the fact that the image once again confirms the presumptive mobile being made of metal. It is unclear as to if the pictured product is the Moto Z Vector Thin or the Moto X Vertex: the former is believed to be the follow-up to the Moto X Style and the latter the follow-up to the Moto X Play.

Of slight interest is the fact that several parts of the image have been edited, presumably to obscure any kinds of identifying markings that would be on such a prototype device.

Also worth mentioning, the panel on the far left side almost looks as if it’s a kind of cork-type cover material, possibly suggesting that there will be more natural woods than in years prior. In addition, the red panel has a stripe striation going on reminiscent of last year’s Moto X Style.

In the remaining images, the phone can be seen with the a rear panel replacement installed. Note that, as has been suggested previously, the camera module is then flush with the back side of the device.

It should be noted that the rear panel is devoid of the circular “dot” pattern that is present on the base device. These holes are believed to be the area whereby the modular expansion parts will affix to the main  product. To this end, there is a possibility that if a modified rear cover is placed on the back side, it will not be possible to modify the product. In fact, it is likely these very holes at what allow the alternative back sides to attach to begin with.

This raises an interesting question however: As pictures have been leaked that show alternative rears with the holes, could it be that Motorola will actually sell back panel replacements separately? This would be a first for the Moto X series, as prior to now users could only officially swap the back sides via Moto Maker. Here is, for example, what is believed to be a DROID Turbo 3 handset with a clearly modified rear but with the holes:

As a quick recap for those seeking to find out as much as possible about the two new Moto Z devices, here is what is currently known, with most of the information originating from veteran leaker, Evan Blass:

Moto Z Vector Thin:

This will presumably be the formal follow-up to last year’s Moto X Style, and the phone is rumored to include a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display, a 2.0GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Quad Core SoC, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board storage, and a 13-megapixel rear camera with laser auto focus and optical image stabilization. It will be the thinner of the two devices at just 5.2mm thick, but that lithe build will restrict its battery size to just 2,600mAh.

Moto Z Vertex:

This will presumably be the follow-up to the Moto X Play, and the phone is said to feature a 5.5-inch FHD AMOLED display, a 2.4Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa Core SoC, a choice of either 2GB RAM and 16GB of on-board storage or 3GB RAM and 32GB of on-board storage combinations, and a 16-megapixel rear camera with laser auto focus and phase detection auto focus. Due to it’s relatively thicker nature (7mm) it will include a 3,500mAh battery.

In addition, here is a leaked image believed to be some of the modular expansions for the devices:

Wrap Up

With the June 9th launch of the device literally just days away, it is likely there may be some more final leaks in the lead-up. Whatever the case may be however, the truth will finally be revealed – officially – later this week.

What do you think? Does the Moto Z look even more promising than ever, or is the whole thing shaping up to be a somewhat sour sequel to last year’s well-received Moto X Style?