Lenovo trademark filing confirms Moto Z name

Moto X phones
Are these the last phones to be labelled Moto X?

Last week we got wind of a rumor that the Moto X name was dead and would be replaced by Moto Z for Lenovo's next batch of flagship phones. Well, consider that rumor now much more likely to be true, as Lenovo just filed a trademark for the new name.

As spotted by DroidLife, the filing applies to "mobile phones, smartphones and accessories therefore, namely battery chargers and adapters". Sounds like an imminent smartphone launch to us.

Famed tipster Evan Blass linked to the 'goodbye Moto X, hello Moto Z' rumor last week as well, so it's just about as confirmed as it's going to get without any official word from Lenovo itself. We're thinking the new batch of phones could be launched at Lenovo's Tech World event on 9 June.

The name game

The Moto X Style and Moto X Play were launched last year to mostly favorable reviews and based on the leaks we're hearing it sounds as though those two names are going to be added to the Moto Z moniker this year, so get ready to meet the Moto Z Style and Moto Z Play.

VentureBeat reports that modular backplates (adding speakers, camera lenses and more) are going to be sold to help differentiate these phones in a crowded market - all sounds very LG G5, doesn't it?

We've already seen the Moto G devices break cover and once the Moto Z makes an appearance we'll only be waiting for Apple and possibly Google to launch new handsets to complete the 2016 collection.

Get the lowdown on the top 10 smartphones of 2016:

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.