Lenovo- Motorola added new addition to its Z2 family, by unveiling the latest flagship model - Z2 Force today. The new model features Snapdragon 835 chipset, 5.5 inch AMOLED display, 12MP dual cameras (enhanced camera functions), shatterproof material, water proof, and fingerprint in front etc. It also comes with updated Moto UI, supporting touch navigation, moto actions (use simple gestures to do things quickly, such as opening the camera), moto display (receive discreet notifactions and auto adjust screen color at night), moto voice (speak a command and get hands-free usage). The company launched Z2 Play last month, which is only available at Verizon and open channel.

Together with the new smartphone, Lenovo-Motorola also launched a new Moto Mod - 360 camera. It can capture 360 photo and video with two 13MP cameras and four microphones supporting 3D sound / 4K video. While the gadget is priced at US$299 and only compatible with Moto Z series, we believe it should be a competitive alternative solution to stand alone 360 cameras. In addition, carriers / retailers / end users would view Moto Mods as the key differentiator from smartphones made by Samsung, Apple, Huawei and other OEMs.

The most eye-catching piece of the launch is that all top four carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint) at US will carry this model. This is a big and significant win for Lenovo-Motorola. Predecessor Moto Z models and Z2 Play launched last year and this June respectively were only available at Verizon and open / unlocked channel in US. Our Smartphone Model Tracker (SMT) services tracked Lenovo-Motorola totally shipped nearly 3 million units of Z1 series during the past three quarters, in which US made up a sizable portion. The wider distribution with all top four carriers in US, as well as solid promotions (Sprint and T-Mobile offer buy one get one free deal for the model, Verizon is also offering big discount for preorders under its unlimited data plan, AT&T is bundling the phone with a free Moto projector Mod at this moment) will significantly boost volume and performance this year. After struggling for a couple of years, Lenovo-Motorola is now heading towards a right track.

Samsung and LG need to carefully watch Motorola's extended distribution channel and enhanced portfolio in US and respond carefully and promptly.