Moto Z2 Force: The first 5 things you need to do to get started [Video]

Following up on the Moto Z family from last year, Motorola is back with the Moto Z2 Force. Despite the similar look and features, there’s quite a bit new with this year’s phone. We’ll decide if it’s worth your hard-earned dollar later this week in our full review, but for now, let’s look at how to get started with your Moto Z2 Force.

Customize Your Moto Actions

Every Motorola phone for the past several years has included a handful of useful features all powered by the Moto app. These include useful gestures and more, but what’s great is that you have full control over what is active and what isn’t.

On the Moto Z2 Force, some of the options include “chopping” twice to activate/deactivate the flashlight, twisting the phone to access the camera, and waving to turn on the Moto Display.

Those are the features turned on by default. You can also activate options like a swipe to shrink the display’s content, picking the phone up to stop it ringing, and flipping it over to silence incoming notifications. All of these are easily toggled through the Moto application.

One Button Navigation

One of my favorite additions to recent Moto devices is the new fingerprint sensor. Not only does it feel a bit faster and look more native to the phone’s design compared to last year, but it also enables an awesome new gesture.

Z2 Force users can turn off the phone’s on-screen navigation through the Moto app and trade it for a couple of gestures performed on the fingerprint sensor. A quick tap goes home, a swipe to the left goes back, and a swipe right goes to the recents menu. Long-pressing turns off the display, and a tap and hold action triggers Google Assistant. It certainly takes some getting used to, but it’s a cool option to have.

Get a Style Mod

One of the first things you’ll find out about the Moto Z2 Force is that 6mm thin might be a little too thin. Luckily, there’s an easy solution: a Style Mod!

While Motorola strangely isn’t including one in the box this year, Style Mods are inexpensive and can be found through a variety of retailers. I picked up a Herringbone Nylon option for around $17 on Amazon, and it makes a huge difference in the way the phone feels. Some are even available for as little as $15.

Pair your Bluetooth Headphones

Another thing to take care of right away with the Moto Z2 Force is to pair your Bluetooth headphones. Since this phone doesn’t offer a headphone jack, you’ll need to rely on USB-C or Bluetooth to listen to your tunes. Personally, I prefer a set of Bluetooth headphones.

As usual with Android, simply head to the settings menu, go to the Bluetooth section, find the device you want to pair, and tap it. From there, you can enjoy your music even without that headphone jack.

Turn on the Automatic Battery Saver

It’s no secret that the Z2 Force’s battery is underwhelming at 2,750 mAh, so one of the first things you’ll want to do is turn on the automatic battery saver. There’s nothing worse than running out of juice, so this feature will help you to squeeze more time out of the last 5-15% of your battery.

The easiest way to access this setting on the Moto Z2 Force is to swipe down your notifications and long-press on the battery icon. This takes you directly to the battery menu where you can access the option to turn on battery saver or have the phone automatically activate it when reaching 15% or 5% remaining battery.