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Hands-on with Moto's new Moto Z Mods: Incipio car dock, Mophie battery

We take a look at two new snap-on accessories for the Moto Z, Z Force and Z Play phones.

Headshot of Jessica Dolcourt
Headshot of Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica Dolcourt VP, Content Operations and Commerce, CNET Group and CNET Labs
Jessica is a passionate content strategist and team leader across the CNET family of brands. She leads a number of teams, including commerce, performance optimization and the copy desk. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on the iPhone and Samsung devices. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began her leadership role managing CNET's How To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones to home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick in the UK.
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Moto Z, Z Force and Z Play owners will have two new snap-on Moto Mods to choose from: a car dock from Incipio that automatically triggers Google's car mode when you attach it, and a Mophie-made battery pack.

I got a chance to look at both Mods here at Motorola's headquarters in Chicago. The car dock is the more interesting of the two, with hinged grips that clamp onto your car's dashboard air vent. You simply squeeze two plastic wings on the back to release the unit. Since it's a Moto Mod, attaching the phone to the car dock is as simple as connecting the two through the phone's magnetic backplate.

The dock will turn on car mode and surfaces a list of common activities represented by big, easy-to-tap buttons, like playing your Pandora station.

Mophie's Juice Pack for the Moto Z family (which you can currently buy with Verizon), is much more straightforward. The top-up battery just clicks into place and forms a deeper rounded back than any of the have on their own. Its built-in 3,000mAh battery promises up to 60 percent more power. It has USB-C charging and Mophie's signature LED indicator to show your charge status. It competes directly with Incipio's own battery packs.

The Incipio Car Dock sells for $65 starting next week, while Mophie's Juice Pack goes for $80.