Moto Z2 Force leak reveals smaller battery, dual cameras and Snapdragon 835

Moto Z2 Force leak reveals smaller battery, dual cameras and Snapdragon 835

Motorola continues all of its trends — for better or worse.

We're less than a week away from the July 25 launch event where Motorola will unveil what we expect to be the Moto Z2 Force, the successor to not only the Moto Z Force Droid but at the same time also the standard Moto Z. As usual, Venturebeat has some leaked promotional materials that point to what we can expect from the launch.

The renders show off a phone that looks like a higher-end version of the Moto Z2 Play's design, with that back plate that will of course be compatible with Moto Mods. On front it will once again have a 2560x1440 ShatterShield display. The rear shows off dual 12MP cameras, which is the thing to do in 2017.

Exactly as we saw with the Moto Z2 Play, Motorola is expected to cut the battery capacity on the Moto Z2 Force — down to just 2730mAh from the previously large 3500mAh. That's more than a 20% haircut, and only some of that will be made up for by the more power-efficient Snapdragon 835 processor. In exchange for that drop in battery size, Motorola is obviously going with a thinner chassis here, which will make it easier to add a Moto Mod without making the combined package as large.

A 20% haircut in battery capacity is tough to swallow.

The drop in battery size makes a little more sense when you consider that the Moto Z2 Force seems to be taking over for both the Moto Z Force Droid and Moto Z, having to fit a more mainstream size and weight expectation. And for as small as the 2730mAh capacity is (and yes, it's quite small), it's larger than last year's Moto Z, which had just 2600mAh. But if this is the capacity, it'll be a tough hurdle to overcome for some buyers who just can't trust a flagship with a sub-3000mAh battery.

One potentially frustrating part about this leak is that it points to a continuation of Motorola's tactic of using a variety of different memory and storage combinations in different areas. (A tactic used by just about every other manufacturer, it should be said.) VB's report says that the U.S. Moto Z2 Force will have "just" 4GB of RAM, while international versions will have 6GB — it's not uncommon, but still frustrating for what is expected to be a top-tier high-price phone.

We'll get the full breakdown of the Moto Z2 Force on July 25, when its event kicks off at 11:00 a.m. ET.