We all know Motorola as the first brand ever to produce handheld mobile phones commercially. Over the years while many OG brands have gone off market, Moto has still managed to be a relevant competitor in the smartphone race, a race which has evolved very well in the last two decades.
But, after the launch of the first ever iPhone, innovation in smartphone technology went into another dimension. Many might not even know but Moto has always been a great contributor to the innovative world. Apart from the first ever tag, they had some genuinely crazy, futuristic ideas that could have changed the smartphone landscape.
Some of them even sounded too ahead of their time, but they ended up failing terribly. Following are the three biggest Motorola innovations that were pure genius on paper but total flops in real life.
The Digital Tattoo
The younger generation may not even believe it, but there was a time when fingerprint sensors inside a smartphone were not a norm. People only owning flagships from Samsung or an iPhone had the luxury to experience the not-so-mainstream feature.
Back in 2014, when most of us were still typing in a PIN or doing the awkward finger-swipe-pattern, Motorola's Moto X came with an innovative solution. They collaborated with ‘VivaLnk’ to launch a Digital Tattoo.
Well, this wasn't a proper tattoo, but a thin, nickel-sized sticker containing an NFC(Near Field Communication) chip. The idea was brilliant: just tap your phone against the sticker on your arm and poof, it unlocks. It was designed to save you the 2.3 seconds we apparently spend unlocking our phones 39 times a day! The Desi Janta would have loved the convenience.
But, the flaw was hilariously simple: it was temporary. This NFC sticker would last only about five days, and a pack of 10 cost about $10! That's roughly $80 a year just to save a few seconds. Imagine paying for a subscription to your phone's unlock feature. No wonder the temporary convenience led to a permanent failure.
Moto Mods - Lego for Grown-Ups
If you remember ‘Project Ara’ from Google, you probably might be familiar with the modular phone concept. In 2016, with the launch of the Moto Z series, Motorola unveiled a very similar prototype that had tech enthusiasts drooling: Moto Mods.
A phone concept that promised to turn your device into anything, a powerful camera, a portable projector, or a killer stereo speaker.
The Mods connected magnetically to the back of the phone via an 80-pin connector. Although the product was an actual engineering marvel, it failed to impress the consumer base.
The Mods were expensive as it seemed. Buying the good Moto Z phone and then shelling out some thousands of extra for a handful of Mods made the entire package costlier than many high end flagships.
Additionally, carrying around detachable accessories for a phone was hardly convenient for people.
ShatterShield Display
Almost everyone would relate to this: the phone slips, and time stops. But, Motorola tried to solve this universal fear in 2015 with their ‘ShatterShield’ technology on the Moto X Force (and later the Moto Z series). They promised an unbreakable, shatterproof display.
Unlike regular glass that is used in the current Gorilla Glass protection, ShatterShield was using a five-layered system, with the top protective layer made of plastic polymer, making it incredibly resistant to cracking. They even proved it through Drop tests, the screen even survived the impossible.
But, the real problem, as mentioned, was the material. While the plastic layer wouldn't shatter, it was extremely prone to scratches. Within days of use, people's screens looked like they'd been in a fight with a handful of sharp keys.
For the Gen Z crowd, where aesthetics and a flawless screen are non-negotiable, this came out to be a disaster. They traded a potential, one-time crack for constant, day-to-day scratches.
Epic Fail
Motorola's journey with these three innovations is a good reminder: In the world of tech, sometimes the most futuristic ideas are sunk by the most basic user-experience problems. You've got to nail the basics before you go full sci-fi!
