EDITOR'S NOTE:
Since its debut in 2019, the Motorola Moto z4 has been surpassed by new Moto models. The information below reflects the data and pricing at the time of the Moto z4's release, and availability will differ from when we first reviewed this device.
You can upgrade to a newer Motorola phone, or you may still be able to find refurbished models of this device through retailers such as Amazon or eBay.
Verdict: Is the Motorola Moto Z4 worth buying?
The new moto z4 builds on Motorola's promise to support moto mods accessories for at least three years. With smart camera software and big, brilliant screen, the moto z4 offers truly unique features normally only found in smartphones that cost three times more. When pushed, the mid-range CPU and 4GB of RAM slows down performance, but it's otherwise a flagship phone priced for a mid-range market. It's also just about the cheapest way to get new 5G mobile downloads in your pocket.
What we love
- Excellent price with or without 5G
- Big battery and power efficient
- Moto mods offer unique features
- Smart camera software
What could be improved
- Mid-range CPU, okay RAM
- Moto mods aren't a seamless fit
- Large frame doesn't fit many hands
- No roadmap for moto mods in 2020 and beyond
What is the Moto Z4?
The latest in Motorola's Z-series of flagship phones. Normally priced less than flagships from other major brands like Samsung and LG, but performance and build quality is comparable. What really makes them stand out are Moto Mods, which slap on the back of the phone and transform it into a smartphone unlike any other on the market.
Motorola Moto Z4 Hardware Specs
- Main Camera
- 48MP sensor with 12MP Quad-Pixel Output, f/1.7 apeture, OIS, Laser Autofocus, 4K Ultra HD @30fps video
- Selfie Camera
- 25MP, 6MP with Quad-Pixel Output, f/2.0 aperture
- Battery
- Non-removable 3600 mAh, 15W TurboPower charging
- System
- Android 9.0 (Pie)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 675
- 4GB RAM
- 128GB storage expandable up to 512GB microSD
- In-display fingerprint sensor, face unlock
- Display
- 6.4" OLED capactive touchscreen
- 2340 x 1080 pixels (19:9 aspect ratio)
- 85% screen to body ratio
- "Micro-notch" in top middle of screen
- Connectivity
- GSM, CDMA, UMTS, LTE (5G with Verizon 5G moto mod)
- 802.11ac WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0
- USB 3.1 (Type C), 3.5mm headset jack
- moto mod connector
We've previously compared the Moto Z4 to last year's Moto Z3 and found that nearly everything is better. The battery is 20% larger, the screen size pushes the limit of what is possible without making the phone larger, and 128GB of storage is standard. However, Motorola chose a lesser processor in order to boost battery life.
There's also only 4GB of RAM while most flagships are packing more—6 to 8GB (and can quickly drive up costs). Our tests showed slower performance when compared against flagship phones from Google and Samsung, but few premium phones can boast two days of battery or a price point below $500.
Another big difference was the inclusion of a headphone audio jack. Most Z-series models have never had a headphone jack (and the last was seen in 2017), but Motorola insisted they are listening to customer demand. Analog earbuds are included in the box with your new Moto Z4 with a mic and single-action button built into the cable, but the audio is tinny with poor bass response. They won't replace your favorite set of headphones, but it's nice that you can continue using them with the Moto Z4.
Moto Mods Make Smartphones Personal
The one feature that has remained distinctive for the Moto Z-series is support for Moto Mods; Motorola's unique system of adding suped-up hardware accessories to your smartphone. Although the Moto Mods launched in 2015 alongside the first Moto Z, every accessory released in the last four years still works seamlessly with the Moto Z4...well, almost seamlessly—there's a bit of a gap between the mod and the phone body.
Motorola's taken great care with the Moto Z4 so that it feels like a premium device in your hands. The aluminum frame is surrounded by curved glass on the front and a matte-finished glass back. The result is a smartphone whose dimensions are larger than many flagship phones but the curves still fit comfortably in most hands.
That curve on the back means that Moto Mods suffer a bit of a gap. It's useful when removing a Moto Mod to have something to grip, but while in your hands, that sharp edge can feel like there's something wrong. It never feels loose since the strong magnets keep it securely in place. It still seems like Motorola had to choose between making the Moto Z4 feel comfortable in your hands without mods, or it feeling comfortable with the mods.
Image: Stephen Clark | WhistleOut
The snap-on accessories allow Moto Z4 owners to personalize their smartphone far more than wallpaper or a bedazzled case. While there are about a dozen categories of Moto Mods, they're not infinite. So, who is the Moto Z4 with Moto Mods built for?
Who's the Moto Z4 a good fit for?
The Moto Z4 isn't the fastest smartphone on the market, and while the screen is huge, it won't fit in many front pockets. While highly customizable to your needs, it's not the phone for everyone. However, if you're not finding the perfect phone elsewhere then you might be able to build the smartphone of your dreams using Motorola's modular accessories. We've identified four classes of smartphone users who should give the Moto Z4 a serious look:
- Photographers
- Gamers
- Audiophiles
- Gadget lovers
Why mobile photographers will love the Moto Z4
The upgrades to the Moto Z4 make it a much better camera phone than its predecessors. Gone is the previous two-lens system from the Moto Z3 and in its place is a single 48MP sensor. Using intelligent Quad-Pixel output and a large sensor chip, the camera uses light from four pixels to create one photo pixel. The result is better detail, sharper images and excellent low-light photos.
Image: Stephen Clark | WhistleOut
No current-gen flagship phone would be complete without a powerful Night mode. The Motorola Night Vision system takes eight quick photos at different exposures. Using intelligent software it generates a single photograph with greater detail than can be seen with the human eye. I tested this against the Google Pixel 3; the industry leader in night-mode photos. The detail was comparable, there was impressive color gradients and detail. However, it takes longer to get the shot.
In testing the Night Vision feature I had to tap the screen to pick the subject, then wait for it to focus. While taking the quick succession of photos to combine, if I moved my hands then the photo would come out blurry. Compare that to the AI software in the Google Pixel 3 which uses slight movements to build a sharper image by combining fractions of a pixel.
Moto mods give the Moto Z-series phones a new life not found anywhere else. You get more professional-looking pics using the Hasselblad True Zoom or the unique 360 photos and videos using the 360 camera available on unlocked models at retail locations for $499 combined. Once you've created your portfolio, there are mods for sharing Polaroid instant prints or projecting a 70" picture right from the back of your smartphone.
Image: Stephen Clark | WhistleOut
Why mobile gamers might want the Moto Z4
The Moto Z4 is a good pick for a gaming phone. With a 6.4" OLED screen, gaming on this screen is a treat. Any screen over 6" should have at least a QuadHD resolution for premium gaming, but the Moto Z4 only has a 1080p HD+ screen. While not a premium resolution, that's still a sharp image when playing 2D and 2.5D mobile games like Alto's Odyssey. A higher resolution would probably run slowly on this processor anyway so this feels like a good balance of sharp image and high frames-per-second.
Image: Stephen Clark | WhistleOut
The Moto Z4 fell far short of other flagships on the market (including last year's Pixel 3) when pushed to the limit in 3DMark benchmarking. However, 3D games like Fortnite Battle Royale that are optimized for mobile devices will run well on the Adreno 608 GPU.
Mobile game streaming has really taken off. Between the Steam Link Beta app and the upcoming Google Stadia, almost any device with a screen can do high-end 3D gaming. The Moto Z4 has a bigger and higher resolution screen than a Nintendo Switch, and all the 3D processing is done elsewhere.
Image: Stephen Clark | WhistleOut
The unique Moto Mods come in handy here, too. Motorola has a gamepad mod that turns your screen into a full gaming system. Support for Fortnite is coming soon, and I've been told that it is planned to work with Google Stadia when support for 3rd party smartphones opens in 2020 but that's yet to be seen. We hope it is supported with Stadia's native Android app, because it's one of the smartphones on our wishlist for smartphones that run Google Stadia.
Why music lovers should check out the Moto Z4
The analog audio jack has been around in one form or another for more than 140 years. Just in the last few years we've seen several attempts to unseat it as the most popular way to listen to your music. Wired tech like USB-C and Lightning have competed against wireless tech like Bluetooth, Apple Airplay and Google's Chromecast. Despite all that new tech, customers continue to ask for the ubiquitous headphone jack.
The Moto Z4 added a headphone jack so you can listen to music with your favorite headset. There's a set of wired earbuds included in the box. Audio fidelity is not very good (tinny highs, non-existent bass), but there's a mic and single-action button built into the cable so it's of use when talking on the phone.
One of the widest varieties of moto mods for the Z-series smartphones is portable speakers. Motorola has their own stereo speaker you can slap on the back, has a kickstand and comes in your choice of red, blue or black. JBL has two SoundBoost models for superior sound. The SoundBoost 2 even has a splashproof coating for poolside tunes. Don't drop it in, though; neither the Moto Mods nor the Moto Z4 are waterproof.
Image: Stephen Clark | WhistleOut
The new Moto smart speaker with Amazon Alexa includes four far-field voice control microphones and gives your smartphones all the power of an Amazon Echo. There's limited support for on-screen updates including your to-do list, appointments, weather, etc. There's a powerful speaker and port for a charging cable built in. The idea is to leave it plugged into a central part of your home and you get a smart voice assistant at the same time it charges your phoneM
Why the moto z4 is a fun pick for gadget lovers
A lot of articles were written when the first $999 iPhone was announced. That was just over a year and a half ago and today smartphone manufacturers don't even blink when telling us the newest flagship phone will cost over a thousand dollars. Cutting edge tech just costs more, right?
Motorola challenges that notion by providing a flagship phone that costs as little as $240 when bought on contract with Verizon. Add a $199 5G Moto Mod and you get the fastest mobile connection available for almost one-third the price of a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.
Little details can be missed when building a smartphone for this cheap. The Moto Mods don't fit as seamlessly with the Moto Z4 as they did with previous models. The fingerprint sensor is built right into the screen, but is often slow and not always accurate. The CPU is slower and it shows when scrolling through pages quickly.
Even when packaged with a Moto 360 camera mod, a $499 price tag for an unlocked smartphone is easy to swallow. Gadget nerds (like myself) can customize the Moto Z4 in many ways. It's not an infinite number of choices, but I can choose to make my smartphone a professional camera one day, a movie theatre the next, and finish off the weekend with some gaming. Flagship smartphones that try to do this all at once usually cost twice as much.
By allowing you to pick and choose what you want your device to excel at, the Moto Z4 is a solid balance of performance, features, and price.
Camera Samples
Click for full-resolution photos.
What Else Can I Buy?
As the Moto Z4 is now several generations old, there are newer Motorola models that offer significant upgrades for the modern user. Explore some of the most currently popular Motorola devices below.
Moto G 5G (2025) 128GB
- 6.7 inch display
- Rear Cameras: 50MP, 2MP
- Front Camera: 16MP
Moto G 5G (2026) 128GB
- 6.7 inch display
- Rear Cameras: 50MP, 2MP
- Front Camera: 32MP
Moto G Power (2025) 128GB
- 6.8 inch display
- Rear Cameras: 50MP, 8MP
- Front Camera: 16MP
Edge (2025) 256GB
- 6.7 inch display
- Rear Cameras: 50MP, 50MP, 10MP
- Front Camera: 50MP
Stephen Clark
Staff Writer
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