Motorola is adding a new phone to its Moto Z lineup. The $400/€499 Moto Z Play is basically a cheaper alternative to the Moto Z and Moto Z Force, thanks to its 5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage.
But the phone is said to offer up to two days of battery life and unlike its peers, it has a 3.5mm headphone jack, even though it also has a USB Type-C port.
Like other Moto Z phones, the Moto Z Play can also support Moto Mods… including a brand new camera module from Hasselblad.
The new Hasselblad True Zoom camera module is priced at $299/€299 and it features Xeon flash, optical image stabilization for still photos and electronic stabilization for videos, and a 10x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 4.5 to 45mm.
The module is a lot cheaper than most Hasselblad cameras, and I suspect it won’t be quite as good at snapping photos as one of the company’s pricier hardware (which typically sells for $9000 and up). But it’s a nifty option for adding a high-quality image sensor and optical zoom lens to your smartphone.
You should be able to use the camera module with any Moto Z phone.
The Hasselblad Moto Mod and the Moto Z Play smartphone should both be available in September.
Update: Android Police has an early review of the Hassleblad True Zoom and… found that it takes nice photos in bright light, but can have issues focusing in dim light or when you’re zooming in on objects that are close up.