Unlocked Moto Z Only Compatible With AT&T And T-Mobile, Not Sprint And Verizon

Anu Passary, Tech Times 14 June 2016, 07:06 am

Lenovo, which owns Motorola Mobility, announced the Moto Z and Moto Z Force smartphones a few days ago, revealing that the handsets will retail in the U.S. exclusively from Verizon as the Moto Z Droid Edition and Moto Z Force Droid Edition, respectively.

Fans, however, need not disappoint as come September, the Moto Z smartphone is set to become available for non-Verizon users as well - the unlocked version we should add. The news comes courtesy of publication Droid-Life, which cites Motorola as its source.

"According to Motorola, when asked if the Moto Z would be unlocked and work on all carriers, like last year's Pure Edition, they responded to us by saying that the unlocked Moto Z will be 'available on GSM networks starting September," revealed the publication.

So if you are keen on buying the Moto Z, you could wait a few months as the unlocked variant of the smartphone will hit the shelves. However, if you are on either Sprint, U.S. Cellular or Verizon Wireless, then you will not be able to peruse the unlocked model of the Moto Z. This is because the unlocked variant of the smartphone, according to Motorola, will only be compatible with GSM networks and not CDMA, which is used by Sprint and Verizon.

This means subscribers of AT&T or T-Mobile will be able to use the unlocked Moto Z as they use GSM. Why the Moto Z's unlocked model is only being given GSM compatibility is not yet known. We can wager a guess that the fact that Verizon likes to exercise complete control over new CDMA models of Moto handsets could be the propelling factor.

To refresh your memory, the Moto Z sports a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass protection in tow. Under the hood, it boasts a Snapdragon 820 processor that clocks at 2.2 GHz and 4 GB of RAM. It offers 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 2 TB through a microSD card.

The smartphone boasts a 13-megapixel primary camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing snapper for selfie lovers. It packs in a fingerprint scanner, a 2,600 mAh battery and will come pre-loaded with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

The price of the unlocked Moto Z smartphone is not known as the company has not divulged the same. However, the unlocked smartphone is anticipated to be priced cheaper than flagship handsets from Samsung or Apple. This suggests that the Moto Z's unlocked model could be a little under $600.