Now Any Moto Z Phone Can Be an Echo Speaker
Moto Mods are accessories that snap on the back of Motorola model Moto Z phones allowing users to turn their smart phone into a super-zoom camera, boombox, projector and more. Moto Z customers now have a new option with the launch of the Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa. The $150 modular attachment turns any Moto Z phone into a portable clone of the Echo speaker family – it even has the same light display.
Is It Worth It?
While I understand the value of the other Moto Mod accessories, I’m not quite sure what Motorola is up to with its latest offering as any Moto Z model phone already has the Google Assistant built right in. The new accessory is also twice as expensive as the non-smart speaker modular attachment from JBL. Additionally, as Chaim Gartenberg from The Verge points out, consumers could buy one new $99 Echo Plus and an Echo Dot for the same price:
“The only real market I can imagine for this is someone who is so deeply committed to the Alexa ecosystem that they want to have an Echo assistant with cellular data that they can take anywhere, who also has a Moto Z smartphone that they wouldn’t mind some better speakers on.”
Also, if a customer was really that committed to the Alexa ecosystem, they would be waiting to preorder the Moto X4, which has Alexa directly integrated into the device, and will be available to ship at the end of this month.
Motorola Adds Amazon Alexa to Phones. What About Google Assistant?
