Update: According to a Motorola spokesperson, any mention of its original cost being $799 was a typo. This is strange considering that a Google search for the phone still shows its original $799 asking price. Either way, a cheaper phone is good news for everyone.
You may not have noticed, but the cost of the Moto Z2 Force recently fell from $799 to $720 on Motorola’s own site.
When the phone was announced last week, Motorola said that carriers would sell the phone at $30 per month, which worked out to cost about $720 (around £540, AU$900). Oddly enough, if you wanted the phone through Motorola itself, it was going to surge the cost by about $80.
While this price adjustment is a good thing, as it proves that Moto isn’t out to steal your dollar if you can’t do some basic math, the move raises a big question: what happened to the unlocked version?
Unlocked is now locked away
Motorola launched the Z2 Force with one of the available options being an unlocked version of the phone. However, it seems the company has rescinded that particular model. Instead of offering a true unlocked version that’s free of any pre-installed carrier bloatware, you’ll be forced to pick a carrier.
However, both the Sprint and Verizon models possess the necessary radio hardware to act as unlocked phones.
Why customers are being funneled through a carrier without being given the choice to go the unlocked route is something that we’re investigating now.
- Via 9To5Google
