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New DROID (Moto Z) press renders appear, showcasing new color options

A trio of new DROID (Moto Z) color variants have appeared, courtesy of Evan Blass. Could there be two DROID devices planned for 2016?
By
May 26, 2016

Motorola’s upcoming 2016 flagships, believed to be branded with the name “Moto Z”, continue to make news as leaks stream out of the proverbial faucet. Just a short while ago the big revelation was a pair of devices and the potential presence of a modular make. Earlier today that was followed-up by a purported picture of the actual modules themselves. And now the scene shifts to dole out DROIDs as Even Blass has thus Tweeted:

And here is the picture, enlarged for detail:

Droid Trio

The image presents what may be the best look yet at the new Moto X Moto Z, or at least the permutation that will arguably be produced under the DROID brand name. Note the presence of said moniker below the rear camera module. Of equal note however, may be the textured back panel: small lines can be detected which could indicate the presence of a grippy rubber rear, but it’s hard to tell from the picture. In addition the picture on the left seems to be either a very dark golden color, or else a shade of pink, while the phone on the right is more of a typical champaign gold.

While it’s currently unknown just what specs the Moto DROID will have, the following has been leaked and suggested of the two “traditional” variants, the more premium Moto Z Vector Thin, and the slightly lower speced Moto Z Vertex:

Moto X 2016 leaked images
Report: This is the Moto Z Vertex (left) and Moto Z Vector Thin (right).

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.

Report: Moto X "Vertex" and Moto X "Vector Thin" will have modular back panels
News

It is likely that the DROID will be a hybrid of the Moto Z Vector Thin, but it’s difficult to say as last year’s DROID Turbo 2 ended up being a variant of the Moto X Force, a third device that was different from either the X Style or X Play.

Moto Metal
The picture that started it all back in December 2015.

Two DROIDS in 2016?

Adding to this exceedingly intriguing situation is the possibility that there may in fact, be two DROID models released this year. Consider the following picture, which was leaked several weeks ago – also by Blass:

2016-motorola-droid
This image clearly shows a product with the DROID logo on the bottom of the phone, but not on the camera module, which still says “moto”. Also of particular interest: the small holes located at the bottom of the rear are in a decidedly different design than those seen on today’s leak. Here are the two pictures side-by-side to compare:

In fact, the DROID image from several days ago is also missing the metal “bars” that go along the top and bottom of the phone’s back side further suggesting that two different products are being shown here. Given the striking similarity of today’s leak (above, left) with the core Moto Z, it is likely that the product will be the more premium of the two DROIDS, with the older image (above, right) being possibly a cheaper alternative.

Of course it’s also possible that the older image simply has a larger back cover that is hiding the bars entirely, and that the camera module has since been changed since the original renders. Because nothing has been officially announced as of yet, only speculative conjecture is possible. Still, Motorola did release two different DROID devices last year and therefore it’s perfectly logical for history to repeat.

What do you think? Are two different products being shown here? Does today’s leak look better than ever? Does the evolving situation confirm Lenovo’s trouble with integrating Motorola? Leave a comment below!