The new Moto Z Stereo Speaker gives you more smartphone sound for less

You'll now be able to pump up the volume in a new way on your Moto Z and Moto Z2 smartphones thanks to a more affordable speaker Moto Mod attachment.

The new Moto Stereo Speaker is now available in the US for $59 (about £42, AU$76), giving you a cheaper way to outfit your Moto Z with loud stereo sound out the back.

Like other Moto Mods, this one simply snaps onto the back of the phone, and will handle all the audio from there. There’s no need to set up a Bluetooth connection.

A built-in kickstand will make it easy to set up a small-screen movie or TV show viewing experience. And, since this Moto Mod draws its power from the phone battery, there's no need to worry about charging it.

Four different stereo speaker choices now

This isn't the first stereo speaker Moto Mod to launch. An Amazon Alexa-enabled Smart Speaker mod adds stereo sound along with the full range of Alexa voice controls, but it comes at a high price. Before this, JBL also released two iterations of the SoundBoost speaker, both of which similarly offered stereo audio, a kickstand, and speakerphone support. The difference? Those two come with built-in batteries, so they don't drain the phone's battery, but that also means they won’t work if they don't get charged.

Curiously, both versions of the JBL SoundBoost mod are currently on sale for the same $59 price point as the new Stereo Speaker in the US, making the the choice for shoppers a matter of priorities, at least for now. The SoundBoost mods usually retail for $79. 

The JBL SoundBoost offers speakers from a reputable audio brand with a 10-hour battery for long listening. The new Stereo Speaker mod offers similar sound at slightly lighter weight with no worries of needing to charge a second device.

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Mark Knapp

Over the last several years, Mark has been tasked as a writer, an editor, and a manager, interacting with published content from all angles. He is intimately familiar with the editorial process from the inception of an article idea, through the iterative process, past publishing, and down the road into performance analysis.