 Smartphones are supposed to improve every year. They should be faster, take better pictures, and have a battery that lasts longer. But Motorola's Moto Z2 Force is evidence that this isn't always the case. Sometimes phones can take a step or two forward, but even more backwards. The Z2 Force is coming to every major US carrier this month for around $720. And for that price, it's hard to recommend to just about anybody. Motorola has made it faster and added a dual lens camera, but the battery's been shrunken down just for the sake of the thinness, and probably in hopes of selling more Moto mods. The big selling point of this phone is that it's got a shatterproof display. Motorola promises that the 5.5 inch 2K screen won't crack or break from the everyday drops that would spell doom for other smartphones. The secret to all this is that that display is actually plastic. Several layers of plastic, and it makes plasticky sounds when you press on it in certain spots. And the topmost layer is very prone to scratches. I've only had this review in it for a few days, but it's already starting to pick up marks from living in my pocket. Can't imagine how it's gonna hold up over the course of a few months or a year. With the old Moto Z, Motorola let customers replace that top layer themselves for about 30 bucks, but that's no longer an option. On the upside, the Z2 Force is definitely tough. I dropped it onto the pavement when I was taking off the latest Moto mod, and it came away with just a few nicks. But water is a different story. There's a natto coating applied to the phone that should keep the Z2 Force safe in the rain or from a spill, but you can't submerge it, so it's not protected to the same extent as the Galaxy S8, HTC U11, or the iPhone 7. For over $700 and on a phone that's advertised as being tough, it really should be. Once you're over the invincible screen and get to actually using the Moto Z2 Force, it's blazing fast. Inside is the latest Snapdragon processor, 4 gigs of RAM, 64 gigs of storage, and a microSD card slot in case you need more space. All of Motorola's signature Android improvements are here. Moto Display gives you a helpful view of notifications as they come in without waking up your phone, and Moto Voice now has its own Show Me command for opening apps or showing the weather or the calendar. I didn't really use the Show Me command because Google Assistant can do all this stuff, and it usually does it better, too. The second headline feature of the Z2 Force is its dual-lens camera. Both rear cameras are 12 megapixels. One shoots color, and the other one shoots monochrome black and white. Now, when you pair those with a flash, it looks like a smiling robot face. But overall, Motorola still isn't making much progress at the important part, which is capturing better quality images. This camera works just fine in good lighting, but elsewhere, these photos can't shake that taken-with-a-smartphone look. They're muddy and over-processed. Motorola takes advantage of having two cameras with some cool depth-of-field tricks. You can blur the background of your subject, but the effect feels fake and artificial, kind of like on the iPhone. Or you can remove color from either the foreground or background of your shot, or take quote, true black and white images using just the monochrome sensor. These ideas are clever, but it's the execution where Motorola falls flat. And there are plenty of apps that can do these same functions and get better results. Where Motorola has gotten the most criticism about the Z2 Force, and deservedly so, is in its downsized battery, which has a capacity of just 2730 milliamp hours. That's a big drop from the 3500 milliamp hours that we got last year. But thanks to the efficient Snapdragon 835 processor, that change doesn't really tank the phone's endurance. It'll still get you through a day of typical use, even when you're snapping on Moto mods. I saw between four and a half hours to five hours of screen on time. So the big question then is why did Motorola make this choice in the first place? For a thinner phone? I guess, but the Moto Z2 Play is thinner than this and actually has a headphone jack. Here, we're again left without a headphone jack. And most of all, this whole thing just feels like a badly disguised way of selling more Moto mod battery packs. When you're talking over $700, that's a lousy feeling. Cost cutting doesn't stop there either. There's no wireless charging on this Z2 Force. You've got to add a $40 Moto mod for that. The included charger isn't as powerful as the one in the box last year. There's not even a style shell to cover up that camera bump. These decisions scream of a company putting profits and accessory sales first, and their customers second. And that's ultimately what sinks the Moto Z2 Force. Some people have said a thinner phone makes it easier to use Moto mods and carry them around. But in all seriousness, how often are you going to be carrying around a Bluetooth speaker or a film projector? Those Moto mods are still novel and fun. JBL speaker sounds great, and this new 4K 360-degree video camera would be a ton of fun for vacations. Video quality is excellent outdoors, but it's also $300, which makes it a total non-starter for a lot of people. Plus, why wouldn't you just buy a battery pack or Bluetooth speaker that works with your other gadgets too? This whole Moto mods concept, what once seemed like an innovative idea, is now holding back and restricting Motorola's design. Very few people are going to pick this over a Galaxy S8 sitting beside it on the same shelf. Now, to be fair, Motorola still makes very good phones like the G5 Plus and the Z2 Play, but this just isn't one of them. Not when you can get a OnePlus 5 with the same specs for nearly $250 less or the Galaxy S8 for about the same cash. If you really need a phone and a screen that won't break, just buy a good case.
 Smartphones are supposed to improve every year. They should be faster, take
 better pictures, and have a battery that lasts longer. But Motorola's Moto Z2 Force
 is evidence that this isn't always the case. Sometimes phones can take a step or
 two forward, but even more backwards. The Z2 Force is coming to every major US
 carrier this month for around $720. And for that price, it's hard to recommend to
 just about anybody. Motorola has made it faster and added a dual lens camera, but
 the battery's been shrunken down just for the sake of the thinness, and
 probably in hopes of selling more Moto mods. The big selling point of this phone
 is that it's got a shatterproof display. Motorola promises that the 5.5 inch 2K
 screen won't crack or break from the everyday drops that would spell doom for
 other smartphones. The secret to all this is that that display is actually plastic.
 Several layers of plastic, and it makes plasticky sounds when you press on it in
 certain spots. And the topmost layer is very prone to scratches. I've only had
 this review in it for a few days, but it's already starting to pick up marks
 from living in my pocket. Can't imagine how it's gonna hold up over the course
 of a few months or a year. With the old Moto Z, Motorola let customers replace
 that top layer themselves for about 30 bucks, but that's no longer an option. On
 the upside, the Z2 Force is definitely tough. I dropped it onto the pavement
 when I was taking off the latest Moto mod, and it came away with just a few
 nicks. But water is a different story. There's a natto coating applied to the
 phone that should keep the Z2 Force safe in the rain or from a spill, but you
 can't submerge it, so it's not protected to the same extent as the Galaxy S8, HTC
 U11, or the iPhone 7. For over $700 and on a phone that's advertised as being
 tough, it really should be. Once you're over the invincible screen and get to
 actually using the Moto Z2 Force, it's blazing fast. Inside is the latest
 Snapdragon processor, 4 gigs of RAM, 64 gigs of storage, and a microSD card slot
 in case you need more space. All of Motorola's signature Android improvements
 are here. Moto Display gives you a helpful view of notifications as they
 come in without waking up your phone, and Moto Voice now has its own Show Me
 command for opening apps or showing the weather or the calendar. I didn't really
 use the Show Me command because Google Assistant can do all this stuff, and it
 usually does it better, too. The second headline feature of the Z2 Force is its
 dual-lens camera. Both rear cameras are 12 megapixels. One shoots color, and the
 other one shoots monochrome black and white. Now, when you pair those with a
 flash, it looks like a smiling robot face. But overall, Motorola still isn't making
 much progress at the important part, which is capturing better quality images.
 This camera works just fine in good lighting, but elsewhere, these photos
 can't shake that taken-with-a-smartphone look. They're muddy and over-processed.
 Motorola takes advantage of having two cameras with some cool depth-of-field
 tricks. You can blur the background of your subject, but the effect feels fake
 and artificial, kind of like on the iPhone. Or you can remove color from
 either the foreground or background of your shot, or take quote, true black and
 white images using just the monochrome sensor. These ideas are clever, but it's
 the execution where Motorola falls flat. And there are plenty of apps that can do
 these same functions and get better results. Where Motorola has gotten the
 most criticism about the Z2 Force, and deservedly so, is in its downsized
 battery, which has a capacity of just 2730 milliamp hours. That's a big drop
 from the 3500 milliamp hours that we got last year. But thanks to the efficient
 Snapdragon 835 processor, that change doesn't really tank the phone's
 endurance. It'll still get you through a day of typical use, even when you're
 snapping on Moto mods. I saw between four and a half hours to five hours of screen
 on time. So the big question then is why did
 Motorola make this choice in the first place? For a thinner phone? I guess, but
 the Moto Z2 Play is thinner than this and actually has a headphone jack. Here,
 we're again left without a headphone jack. And most of all, this whole thing
 just feels like a badly disguised way of selling more Moto mod battery packs. When
 you're talking over $700, that's a lousy feeling. Cost cutting doesn't stop there
 either. There's no wireless charging on this Z2 Force. You've got to add a $40
 Moto mod for that. The included charger isn't as powerful as the one in the box
 last year. There's not even a style shell to cover up that camera bump. These
 decisions scream of a company putting profits and accessory sales first, and
 their customers second. And that's ultimately what sinks the Moto Z2 Force.
 Some people have said a thinner phone makes it easier to use Moto mods and
 carry them around. But in all seriousness, how often are you going to be carrying
 around a Bluetooth speaker or a film projector? Those Moto mods are still
 novel and fun. JBL speaker sounds great, and this new 4K 360-degree video camera
 would be a ton of fun for vacations. Video quality is excellent outdoors, but
 it's also $300, which makes it a total non-starter for a lot of people. Plus, why
 wouldn't you just buy a battery pack or Bluetooth speaker that works with your
 other gadgets too? This whole Moto mods concept, what once seemed like an
 innovative idea, is now holding back and restricting Motorola's design. Very few
 people are going to pick this over a Galaxy S8 sitting beside it on the same
 shelf. Now, to be fair, Motorola still makes very good phones like the G5 Plus and
 the Z2 Play, but this just isn't one of them. Not when you can get a OnePlus 5
 with the same specs for nearly $250 less or the Galaxy S8 for about the same cash.
 If you really need a phone and a screen that won't break, just buy a good case.