Motorola opens its Moto Z modular system to hardware developers

Motorola – or, perhaps more accurately, Verizon – has started selling the modular Moto Z and Moto Z Force Droid Editions today (starting at $624 and $720, respectively), along with the JBL SoundBoost Speaker, Insta-Share Projector and Incipio offGRID battery pack backings.

That’s a decent start for accessories (better than LG’s G5, without question), but in order for Motorola to truly cement its modular future, the company is going to have to have some serious third-party developer participation. Along with the new hardware, the Lenovo-owned handset maker has started selling the Moto Mod developer kit.

The $125 kit includes a reference Mod, a cover and a Perforated Board, which features an 80-pin connector, designed to develop third-party accessories that snap onto and work with the handset. The phone maker has also launched an online developer portal for reference and announced plans to invest $1 million to help bring some of the accessories to market.