Bill Gates is building his own city, and he’s loading it with smart tech

Bill Gates used his smarts to become one of the most successful people on the planet, so it only makes sense that he would make a smart city. Earlier this month, a group headed by Gates’ investment group Cascade Investment LLC purchased a large plot of land just outside of Phoenix, Arizona to build this vision of a smart future.

The vision for Gates’ smart city is one with “high-speed digital networks, data centers, new manufacturing technologies and distribution models, autonomous vehicles, and autonomous logistics hubs,” according to a statement from Belmont Partners, the real estate developer on the project. Few people live in the area now, but Belmont said in a statement the projected population of the smart city will be comparable to Tempe, Arizona, which is home to more than 182,000 Arizonans.

The smart city’s cutting-edge manufacturing technologies and modes of distribution could involve large-scale 3D printing, a technology Gates has supported in the past. With plans for autonomous vehicles, the city could be one of the cities Gates says will experiment with the technology before it is offered to the broader public. In a 2016 CNBC interview, Gates said autonomous vehicles are 15 years from being “a meaningful percentage of cars driven,” and it will take “leading-edge cities around the world during the next decade” to work the kinks out.

Gates’ Belmont development is near White Tank Mountain and is a massive 24,800 acres, according to property records. Belmont Partners plan to divide the acres up into 80,000 homes, 3,800 acres for retail, office, and industrial space, and 470 acres for public schools. Gates and his foundation, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have been instrumental in changing public schools, and recently invested $1.7 billion in public education in order to pursue new instructional methods.

If the homes in this city incorporate today’s smart technology in the same way that Gates’ home did when it was built in 1997, the residents should be well connected. Gates’ 66,000-square-foot compound was the original tech paradise with touch pads in each room that control lighting, temperature, and music. Companies such as Wink have made this technology commonplace in the home, so it’s entirely plausible they’ll be in Gates’ vision of the smart home.

No announcement has been made as to when construction of Gates’ smart city will commence.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Driverless cars are now tootling around their own ‘city’ in South Korea
• Self-driving taxi service proves popular with California seniors
• The Virtual Singapore project aims to digitize an entire city
• Bill Gates and Richard Branson make a beefy investment in lab-grown meat
• Here’s how Bosch teaches cars to see using artificial intelligence

RAW Power app means seamless iCloud integration for editing RAW on the go

iPhones have been editing RAW photos since iOS 10, but a new app is bringing that same power to the iCloud and Photo Library. On Tuesday, November 14, Gentlemen Coders launched RAW Power for iOS, the first iOS app that allows for both nondestructive RAW photo editing and seamless iCloud photo integration. The mobile app builds on the success of a program by the same name for desktop and brings those tools to a mobile platform.

While several apps allow the iPhone to handle RAW files, RAW Power integrates directly with the camera roll or the iCloud library, the developer says. Once images are edited using the app, those changes are synced to the cloud platform or to the device, while users can also turn cloud features off to keep images offline.

Along with syncing files, the integration allows users to manage their photos in the app, including creating and adjusting albums. RAW Power also allows photographers to mark favorite photos and view metadata, while tools like a “recents” album and sorting options help users find the right photo.

With that access to images on the device and on the iCloud, RAW Power offers eight different sliders to adjust each image, with the option to copy and paste to apply those same adjustments to another shot. A histogram feature will automatically highlight over or underexposed areas, then help to correct those spots.

Gentlemen Coders says that by using Apple’s RAW Engine, the app can show those changes in real time. That expanded power also allows users to zoom in on shots up to 800 percent. The app can handle larger, DSLR files from several brands as well as DNG files shot on an iPhone.

The app’s key integration with native iOS apps comes from the founder Nik Bhatt, who is a former lead member of the Aperture and iPhoto staff. “We constantly hear from photographers how much they want to edit the RAW images in their iOS or iCloud photo libraries using the same kind of advanced tools they are accustomed to using on the desktop,” he said.

“Using our deep experience with Apple’s RAW Engine, we have created a powerful, easy-to-use editing app that seamlessly integrates with the built-in photo apps on iOS and Mac, allowing iOS users to keep their images in iCloud and maximizing integration with the Apple ecosystem.”

While RAW Power is a free iOS app, users can also purchase the one-time Advanced Adjustment Pack, which adds tools like curves and white balance. The advanced pack also includes Depth Effect, which can read the depth map from the dual-lens iPhones and adjust the highlights and shadows in the background and foreground separately.

RAW Power for iOS is now available from the App Store.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Surprise! DxO keeps Nik Collection alive and launches updated RAW editor
• Pixelmator Pro brings simple, single-window interface to advanced photo edits
• Enlight Quickshot edits your photos in one tap — or even before you shoot
• Album+ with offline A.I. is Google Photos for the cloud naysayers
• Snapseed gets a new look, new filters, and faster performance

With hydraulic stilts and solar power, this ‘hurricane-proof’ home defies nature

After a decade of relatively tranquil seas, the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was literally one for the books. Nearly two months after Irma ravaged Puerto Rico, more than half of the country is still without electricity — a true testament to the power of this storm system. Unfortunately, as surface ocean temperatures continue to rise, we can only expect more powerful storms in the future. With this in mind, perhaps this ingenious floating “hurricane-proof” home will allow humanity to better weather the challenges of a more tempestuous planet.

Architect Koen Olthuis and housing startup Arkup recently unveiled a series of “livable yachts” at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Olthuis’ architectural firm, Waterstudio, has produced floating structures for the past decade. We’ve covered flood-proof homes in the past, but these floating structures have been designed to handle not only rising waters but also the powerful winds (up to 156 miles per hour) associated with Category 4 hurricanes.

A hydraulic system allows the unit to rise more than 40 feet during a surge, and a series of rooftop solar panels will enable each of these floating homes to operate completely off the power grid. These glorified houseboats will also incorporate a rainwater collection and filtration system, allowing them to fulfill basic plumping needs in situ. Currently, Olthuis and the team anticipate these hurricane-proof homes will cost somewhere between $2 million or $3 million, with the first prototype set hit the Miami River in 2018.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Here are the best apps and websites for tracking hurricanes and staying safe
• Hurricane Harvey could leave half a million destroyed cars in its wake
• Re-create “Top Gun” in your backyard with the FPV Rockee drone
• YouTube is getting a new logo and “vertical mode” as part of major redesign
• Get a quote for your home improvement project using AR thanks to Streem

Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10 hands-on review

Research Center:
Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10

There is an art to making a special edition smartphone, and not every manufacturer can pull it off. In Porsche Design, Huawei has found a solid partner, which has resulted in two existing collaborations — the Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design, and the Huawei Watch 2 Porsche Design — and now a third, based on the brand new Huawei Mate 10 Pro.

The Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10 is technically almost identical to the regular Mate 10 Pro, but it costs 1,400 euros, or about $1,630 (it’s not available in the U.S.). That’s more than twice what a Mate 10 Pro will cost without the Porsche Design name attached. Is it worth it? We had the chance to take a closer look for our Porsche Huawei Design Mate 10 hands-on review.

Not all that different

Before we answer that question, let’s talk about the differences between a Mate 10 Pro and the Porsche Design Mate 10. The most noticeable is the color. The Porsche Design Mate 10 comes in diamond black; an exclusive glossy, highly reflective finish unavailable on the standard version. It’s undeniably attractive, and heavily influenced by Porsche Design’s other products; but the body is still glass and not some special, more expensive material. The reflective stripe is vertical, rather than horizontal like on the regular Mate 10, mimicking a racing stripe.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

There is more internal memory in the Porsche Design model. It has 256GB over the 128GB inside the Mate 10 Pro. It also comes in a flashier box with a selection of custom Porsche Design accessories, including a good looking folio case. Switch on the phone and Porsche Design’s custom theme greets you, with different icons and a cool wallpaper. It’s pretty and comfortable to hold, because it’s the same as the Mate 10 Pro.

Save some cash and buy the Mate 10 Pro.

Expecting more? Don’t, because that’s it. The Porsche Design version of the Mate 9 was a special edition phone done right, because it didn’t look the same as the regular model. There was some benefit (outside of the brand name) to paying more. This time the phone looks the same, has the same Kirin 970 processor, 6GB of RAM, dual-lens Leica camera, 6-inch 2,160 x 1,080 pixel screen, 4,000mAh battery, Android 8.0 software, and everything else. You pay more for the color, a little more memory, special wallpaper, and a folio case.

We like Porsche Design, and we like the Mate 9 Porsche Design. Sadly, because the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10 offers so little extra over the regular version, it embodies everything we don’t like about special edition smartphones, and is a real disappointment. The Mate 10 itself is shaping up to be one of our favorite smartphones, but even with our Porsche Design obsession, we cannot find anything about the special version to get excited about. Slapping on a logo and installing a new theme, then changing the orientation of the stripe on the device’s rear panel — the only visual alteration — to make it “special” is lazy and dull.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

If you want to know about the Mate 10 Pro, our comprehensive review is coming soon, but in the meantime we have an in-depth hands-on review. You can also check out our guide detailing the differences between the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro. There are no operational differences between the Mate 10 Pro and the Porsche Design version at all.

Do better

Huawei and Porsche Design can do better, having proved it with the Mate 9 Porsche Design. Porsche Design makes expensive products, and the Mate 10 is no different. People who regularly buy Porsche Design clothing or accessories will want it, and likely have no problem paying the inflated price to own it.

Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10 Compared To

HTC U11 Life

Google Pixel 2

Google Pixel 2 XL

LG V30

Maze Alpha 4G

ZTE Blade Z Max

Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom

Moto Z2 Play

Motorola Moto E4

ZTE Max XL

Meizu M3 Max

ZTE ZMax Pro

Huawei Mate 8

ZTE Grand X Max+

LG G Flex

Everyone else should save some cash and buy the Mate 10 Pro. It looks the same, feels the same, and performs the same as the Porsche Design model. The Porsche Design version will leave you feeling underwhelmed and disappointed.

The phone is going to be sold through select Porsche Design dealers, including its own online store, and likely only in Europe. It’s available to pre-order now, with deliveries expected to start in December.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro hands-on review
• Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro are here — with some strange differences
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro vs. Apple iPhone X: Battle of the dual cameras
• Huawei Mate 10 vs. Mate 10 Pro: Battle to be your new best mate
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8 vs. Huawei Mate 10 Pro: Which phablet reigns supreme?

Apple reclaims wearables crown with strong third-quarter Apple Watch sales

Apple, which is the world’s largest technology company, has now regained its spot as the world’s largest wearable manufacturer according to a new report by the research firm Canalys. The company reclaimed its spot from Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi in the most recent quarter, with Fitbit, Huawei, and Samsung rounding out the top five wearable manufacturers.

During its last quarterly conference call, Apple announced that sales of its wearable products, including Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats, were up 75 percent year-over-year for the quarter. The sheer size of Apple’s wearable business alone would make it a Fortune 400 company.

In terms of the Apple Watch, the company did not release precise sales numbers but did note that its sales were up over 50 percent year-over year for the quarter. However, a new report from the research firm Canalys sheds some light on the number of Apple Watch sales.

Canalys estimates that Apple sold 3.9 million Apple Watches last quarter, with a sizable portion of those sales coming from the Apple Watch Series 3 GPS + Cellular model.

While Apple Watch sales increased overall in the third quarter, sales of the S3 GPS + Cellular model were especially remarkable. Sales of the S3 GPS + Cellular accounted for nearly a quarter of overall Apple Watch sales. Even with only a few weeks of availability in the quarter, Apple sold 800,000 S3 GPS + Cellular watches.

The demand for the Apple Watch Series 3 GPS + Cellular surprised many carriers and retailers. While some providers doubted the appeal of a cellular watch to consumers, sales of the S3 GPS + Cellular far exceeded expectations. In fact Canalys believes sales of this model did not reach their full potential in the quarter because limited availability due to retailers and carriers underestimating demand for the product.

Fourth quarter sales of the Apple Watch are expected to be even stronger compared to last year. Improvements to design and functionality are driving demand for Apple’s wearables. Canalys believes that better health tracking options, longer battery life, and, of course, the apparently very popular feature of cellular service will continue to increase the value and desirability of the Apple Watch to consumers moving forward.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Apple has the world’s two top-selling phones, but how well is iPhone 8 selling?
• Apple Watch 3: News, new features, and release
• DT Daily: Apple iPhone X, Apple Watch Series 3, Apple TV 4K event recap
• Details emerge from the Apple-Aetna meeting about the Apple Watch
• Apple Watch Series 3 review

Best Cases for the BlackBerry Motion

It’s early, but we’re starting to see some promising cases for the BlackBerry Motion emerge.

The BlackBerry Motion is starting to roll out to lucky owners in (Oh Canada!), which means that it’s time to take a look at cases to keep that brand new phone safe.

At launch, the pickings for Motion cases are fairly slim — there are a couple cheap options available on Amazon but we can’t recommend them just yet, so buyers beware.

However, there are a handful that we can recommend for all you early adopters, and we’ll be updating this article as new options emerge. Here are the best cases for the BlackBerry Motion so far!

• Incipio Dual Pro Case
• CoverOn FlexGuard Case
• BlackBerry Cases

Incipio DualPro Case

The DualPro case by Incipio is essentially Incipio’s flagship case which they make for nearly all major phones released, including the BlackBerry Motion.

This is a classic case style with no frills or unnecessary accents — just a two-layer case designed to protect your phone protected from drops. The interior is made of shock absorbing TPU while the outer shell is made of rigid polycarbonate with a soft touch finish. Available in all-black for $29.99, this is a reliable case with a classic look.

If you’re looking for something with a bit more flash and style, Incipio will also has a Carnaby Esquire Series case available soon, so you may want to keep your eye on that one.

See at Amazon

CoverOn FlexGuard Series Case

For those looking for a cheaper, one-piece case you might want to consider the CoverOn FlexGuard series case. Available for just $6 CAD, this case is made of flexible TPU which means that it’s easy to put on and will absorb the shock of any drops or impacts so your phone doesn’t.

Featuring a simple minimalist look and feel including a raised bevel around the front to protect the screen, this is a slim and lightweight case that’s available in your choice of black or as a clear case.

See at Amazon Canada

BlackBerry Cases

Longtime BlackBerry fans know that typically some of the best cases for BlackBerry phones are offered by BlackBerry itself, and that appears to be the case with the BlackBerry Motion.

There are two case styles available for the Motion on the BlackBerry Mobile website — the Privacy FlipCase and a classic Hard Shell case.

We’ve featured the Privacy FlipCase because it’s the most intriguing option because it’s packed with awesome features like a transparent flip cover that leaves the touchscreen fully functional with the cover closed while also doubling as a privacy shield that limits your screen’s viewing angle so you don’t have any looky-loos on your daily commute trying to sneak a peak at your screen. There’s also a built-in card slot on the back to help free up some space in your wallet.

So far we’ve only found these cases available for sale from a UK-based online store, but you can also also register for availability updates from the BlackBerry Mobile website.

See at BlackBerry

Anything we missed?

Are there any cases for the Motion that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments!

Ecobee thermostats pick up Google Assistant

Make your home warmer or cooler with just your voice.

Of all that smart home gadgets that exist, thermostats continue to be some of the most popular. Having to get up and walk over to a certain part of the house to warm or cool it is so outdated, and devices like Ecobee’s thermostats allow you to easily adjust the temperature right from your phone.

However, sometimes even pulling out your phone to do this can be a chore. Thankfully, Ecobee is now adding Google Assistant support to its latest thermostats so you can use your Google Home or other Assistant-equipped devices to control them with just your voice.

You can now use Google Assistant with the Ecobee3 Lite, Ecobee3, and Ecobee4, and saying commands such as “Ok, Google, make my home warmer” will allow you to get your house or apartment at just the right temperature without having to lift a finger.

Ecobee isn’t the first smart thermostat to add Google Assistant support, but the way we see it, the more the merrier.

Ecobee’s new smart thermostat has Alexa built-in

Tons of Anker cables, chargers, cases and more are heavily discounted right now

Chargers, cables, and cases, oh my!

Is this deal for me?

Around here, we are not strangers to Anker discounts. The company loves to put its products on sale, and you guys love to buy them. Leading up to Black Friday, Anker has released another round of discounts, but we wanted to take it one step further. We’ve partnered with them to bring another list of exclusive discounts to the best deals community on the internet (you guys!).

Below is a combined list of Anker’s pre-Black Friday deals, as well as our Thrifter exclusive ones. Be sure to check them all out and grab as many of the items as you want! These make for great stocking stuffers, so don’t miss out.

• Chargers
• Cables
• Speakers
• Cases & Screen Protectors
• Home

Chargers

• Anker PowerCore 13000 C – $27.19 with coupon THRIFT79
• Anker PowerCore+ 10050 w/ Quick Charge 3.0 – $26.99 with coupon THRIFT89
• Anker PowerCore 20100 Power Bank – $31.69 (no coupon needed)
• Anker PowerCore 26800 3-Port Power Bank – $47.49 (no coupon needed)
• Anker PowerPort II w/ 2 PowerIQ Ports – $12.59 (no coupon needed)
• Anker 48W 4-Port USB Car Charger – $14.39 with coupon THRIFT23
• Anker 24W 2-Port Car Charger w/ Lightning Connector – $11.89 (no coupon needed)
• Anker 2-Port 24W USB Wall Charger PowerPort – $9.99 with coupon THRIFT24
• Anker Quick Charge 3.0 51.5W 5-Port USB Wall Charger – $25.59 with coupon THRIFT55
• Anker 40W 4-Port USB Wall Charger – $20.59 (no coupon needed)

Cables

• Anker PowerLine+ USB-C to USB A 2.0 Cable (2-pack) – $9.49 (no coupon needed)
• Anker Powerline+ USB C to USB 3.0 Cable (6ft) – $10.49 with coupon THRIFT88
• Anker Powerline+ lightning Cable (3ft) – $8.99 with coupon THRIFT66
• Anker PowerLine II Lightning Cable (10ft) – $11.89 (no coupon needed)
• Anker Powerline Micro Cable (2-pack) – $7.49 with coupon THRIFT77

Speakers

• Anker Ultra Portable Bluetooth Speaker – $14.99 with coupon THRIFT67
• Anker SoundCore Bluetooth Speaker – $23.99 with coupon THRIFT58
• Anker SoundCore Sport Bluetooth Speaker – $31.90 with coupon RX6QE5C6
• Anker SoundSync Drive Bluetooth Car Receiver – $15.99 with code RX6QE5C6

Cases & Screen Protectors

• Anker KARAPAX Shield+ Case for iPhone X – $7.99 with coupon KRPX22DM
• Anker KARAPAX Silk Case for iPhone X – $9.99 with coupon KRPX28DM
• Anker iPad Pro 10.5″ Tempered Glass Screen Protector – $6.99 (no coupon needed)
• Anker KARAPAX iPhone X Screen Protector (2 Pack) – $5.99 with coupon RL9UZZFY

Home

• Eufy Lumi Stick-On Night Light (3-pack) – $10.99 (no coupon needed)

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – There are a TON of items available at great discounts here. From charging cables to portable power banks, lights for your house and cases for your phone, you won’t want to miss out on these.
• Things to know before you buy! – Some of these items require coupon codes, and others will reflect the discounted pricing on the listing. Be sure to grab the correct code for the item you are interested in, as they are all different.

Bose announces noise-masking earbuds to help you sleep better

Bose’s Sleepbuds will be available for all at some point in 2018.

Even if you’re not an audiophile, you still likely know that Bose has created some of the best headphones and speakers we’ve ever seen (such as the phenomenal QC35s). Bose has proven itself over the years to know a thing or two about creating products for entertainment purposes, but the company is now taking a drastically different approach with its latest gadget – Bose Noise-Masking Sleepbuds.

Rather than allowing you to listen to your favorite tunes or movies, the Sleepbuds serve the sole purpose of helping you sleep better by blocking out background noise around you, such as traffic, people talking, or your partner’s snoring, and playing soothing sounds to help you relax and focus on your rest.

The Sleepbuds are truly wireless earbuds that come equipped with a charging case so they have a safe place to be stored and refueled throughout the day, and Bose has three different sizes (S, M, L) to ensure that you can get the best fit possible.

You’ll be able to control the Sleepbuds through the Bose Sleep app, and here you can choose what sound you’d like to hear while going to sleep, how loud you want it to be, the length at which it’ll play throughout the night, and even enable alarms so you can easily wake up in the morning without disturbing anyone else around you.

Bose recently launched the Sleepbuds on Indiegogo so that it can get prototypes in people’s hands ahead of their official release, but at the time of publication, all of the Indiegogo stock has already been sold out.

Sleepbuds will be shipping out to early backers in February, and they’re expected to be widely available at some point later in 2018 for a retail price of $249.

Bose QC35: Wireless, noise-canceling, and near-perfect

Best Modular Phone

A modular phone lets you connect accessories to add new features make it even better. Here are the best choices right now.

Best Overall

Moto Z2 Force

See at Verizon Wireless

There can be no doubt that Motorola has built the most successful modular platform to date with its Moto Mods, and the phone these snap-on enhancements shine the brightest is on the new Moto Z2 Force. Motorola took the “shatterproof” design it has been perfecting for the last couple of years and continued its evolution into this phone. It’s thinner, yet somehow also more durable than its predecessor. This makes it so you don’t need a case for the phone, which means mods can be swapped at will.

It’s also a pretty great phone on its own, with specs that easily rival phones in the same price range, but combining the $750 Moto Z2 Force with Moto Mods creates an experience you can’t get anywhere else.

Bottom line: Moto does modular support right, with some really interesting and useful mods, and an easy mechanism for swapping them in and out.

One more thing: There’s no headphone jack, so you’ll need to use a USB-C dongle to connect most headphones to the Moto Z2 Force. #donglelife

Why the Moto Z + Z Force are the best

Modularity done right.

Without the mods, the Moto Z2 Force might have been yet another decent high-end smartphone. But the mods change all that, allowing Moto to build out meaningful functionality in a series of surprisingly great accessories. If you just want to add some visual flair to the phone, Moto’s Style Shells are for you. There are a couple of great battery mods available, including wireless charging options. Even the seemingly ludicrous pico projector mod could be useful for road warriors, or the Alexa Mod for when you want an Amazon Echo that follows you around the house.

This is hardware personalization the likes of which have never been possible with a phone before. Who says smartphones are becoming boring?

Best mid-range

Moto Z2 Play

See at Amazon
See at Verizon Wireless

The Moto Z2 Play is what you get if you take the central idea of the Moto Z2 and re-engineer it as a really solid mid-range Android phone. It uses Qualcomm’s slightly more capable Snapdragon 626 chip, paired with 4GB of RAM and admittedly disappointing 3,000mAh battery, delivering just enough for a full day without a mod. The 5.5-inch AMOLED display gets bumped down to 1080p, but still looks great. And the glass back from the previous generation has been replaced with the more premium metal feel from the more expensive Moto Z2 Force.

Fortunately, the Z Play uses the same ecosystem of mods as the regular Moto Z, so you can expand its functionality just as much as other phones in the series. For $499, you’re getting access to an incredible hardware ecosystem.

Bottom line: The Moto Z2 Play is a decent mid-range smartphone even without the mods, but those accessories really elevate the experience.

One More thing: Where the original Moto Z Play was all about the battery, the shining star on the Moto Z2 Play is its camera.

Best non-Moto

Essential PH-1

See at Essential

Essential is a new company and its Freshman effort had a lot of kinks to work out in the first couple of weeks after it launched, but now that time has passed there’s no denying what a capable and powerful phone this is. The Essential PH-1 packs a gorgeous edge-to-edge display with a sturdy titanium body and solid battery life. Its camera is just alright most of the time, and you can easily say the same about the speakers. Its a decent phone that will blow your friends away when they see the screen, but using it will quickly reveal it’s well worth the reduced $499 price tag.

Along the top corner of this phone there are a pair of attachment pins for modular accessories. Essential claims to have big plans for this accessory slot, but for now the biggest thing you can do is add on a 360-degree camera or drop the phone into a charging dock. This is a healthy start, especially when you see how small and capable the 360-degree camera is, so there’s hope more will be available soon.

Bottom-line: Essential has a lot or work to do to be anywhere near as capable a modular setup as Moto’s, but it does boast a nice camera and a more hand-friendly form factor.

One more thing: The Essential PH-1 comes in two beautiful colors now, with two more expected to be available soon.

Conclusion

Motorola has taken modular smartphones beyond a mere concept, and shown how you can build out modularity in a way that’s easy to use, and adds value. The Moto Z2 Force will both give you the best modular experience available, thanks to snap-on accessories that are simple to attach, and do a bunch of cool stuff. Beyond that, they’re just good, enjoyable phones to use in their own right.

Best Overall

Moto Z2 Force

See at Verizon Wireless

There can be no doubt that Motorola has built the most successful modular platform to date with its Moto Mods, and the phone these snap-on enhancements shine the brightest is on the new Moto Z2 Force. Motorola took the “shatterproof” design it has been perfecting for the last couple of years and continued its evolution into this phone. It’s thinner, yet somehow also more durable than its predecessor. This makes it so you don’t need a case for the phone, which means mods can be swapped at will.

It’s also a pretty great phone on its own, with specs that easily rival phones in the same price range, but combining the $750 Moto Z2 Force with Moto Mods creates an experience you can’t get anywhere else.

Bottom line: Moto does modular support right, with some really interesting and useful mods, and an easy mechanism for swapping them in and out.

One more thing: There’s no headphone jack, so you’ll need to use a USB-C dongle to connect most headphones to the Moto Z2 Force. #donglelife