Motorola’s 5G Moto Mod for Moto z3 Now Available on Verizon
by Anton Shilov on March 13, 2019 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Verizon
- Smartphones
- Motorola
- 5G
- Moto Mods
- X50
- Moto z3
- Snapdragon 855
Motorola and Verizon have begun taking pre-orders for the 5G Moto Mod, the addon-accessory for the Moto z3 smartphone introduced last year. The device supports 5G mmWave radio, sub-6 GHz connectivity. The 5G Moto Mod only works with the Moto z3, and will available exclusively to Verizon customers in the U.S.
The Motorola 5G Moto Mod packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 SoC that is used to boot the company’s X50 modem, the key enabler of the developer’s 5G platform. Besides the chips, the 5G Moto Mod also integrates 10 antennas: four Qualcomm’s QTM052 for mmWave radio, two antennas for sub-6 GHz connectivity, and four for 4G/LTE. To power itself, the unit has a 2000-mAh battery.
Verizon will sell Motorola’s 5G Moto Mod for $349.99 in retail when bought together with a Moto z3, or to existing customers with an active Moto z3 on their account. Meanwhile, customers with a Moto z3 and any Verizon unlimited plan can get the product for $50 if they sign up for the 5G service at $10 per month (with the first three months free) on top of their current plans, that now cost from $85 to $105 for 24 months. Besides, customers can also activate a new line of service on a Verizon device payment plan to get the phone and the mod.
Verizon will launch its 5G Ultra Wideband service in select areas in Chicago and Minneapolis on April 11. Later this year the company will expand its 5G Ultra Wideband network to over 30 markets. Besides the 5G smartphone+mod combination from Motorola, Verizon will also offer Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G and LG's V50 ThinQ handsets later this summer.
Related Reading:
- Motorola Enables 5G: A Moto Mod for the z3
- Moto 5G Mod at Snapdragon Summit: Lots of Antennas, and S855 Inside?
- Motorola Announces Moto g7 Family Line-up
Source: Motorola & Verizon
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16 Comments
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lmcd - Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - link
Wait so it's basically a new smartphone????baka_toroi - Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - link
Just like the old times, when the C64 Disk Drive had it's own 6502 processor.Yo, dawg, I heard you like processors...
jordanclock - Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - link
Sure, if you don't mind that it's missing LTE/3G, sound, a display, all sensors, a camera or, ya know, all of the other features of a modern smartphone.But you're right that it does contain a full fledged Snapdragon SoC. Qualcomm was so interested in getting a 5G modem out as fast as possible, they put out the X50 that requires a SD855 to work, but have since announced the X55, which can work with other SoCs and non-5G frquencies.
Zok - Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - link
It has LTE. FTA:"Besides the chips, the 5G Moto Mod also integrates 10 antennas: four Qualcomm’s QTM052 for mmWave radio, two antennas for sub-6 GHz connectivity, and four for 4G/LTE."
NICOXIS - Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - link
So your modem's CPU is faster than your main CPU...Penti - Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - link
This is why I'm not overly enthusiastic about Qualcomm's early 5G NR-modem's/radio's.To use the X50 they need the 855 SoC which already has a fully featured modem built in, and when they want to add the X50 modem to the Z3 they therefore also needs to pack in the 855. A proper discrete modem that could be paired with the existing SoC (over USB or whatever) would make much more sense, but Qualcomm has none yet. The Moto Mod is probably just a USB-connected peripheral after all.
skavi - Thursday, March 14, 2019 - link
X55Penti - Thursday, March 14, 2019 - link
Doesn't matter if it's the X50 or X55 it still needs to be paired with the 855.Enkur - Thursday, March 14, 2019 - link
X55 does not require 855 to be paired with it.darjen - Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - link
I have a z3 and I like it. But, this is ridiculously expensive. I am on a grandfathered Verizon plan. I get 8gb for $50. Even if 5g comes to the Cleveland area, I won't be paying what they want for it.