Motorola's 'shatterproof' Droid Turbo 2 Hands On

This Tuesday, Motorola officially took the wraps off two new smartphones - the Motorola Droid Turbo 2 and the Motorola Droid Maxx 2. Motorola and Verizon have teamed up once again for the iconic Droid-line of Android devices. The newest member of the family is the Droid Turbo 2, a followup to last year's original Turbo smartphone.

The new device is packed with the latest and greatest specs, but what really has us excited is the so-called" shatterproof" display.  The screen is made up of five different layers that are designed to absorb shock. There's an exterior protective lens, an interior lens, dual touch layer, a flexible AMOLED display and a rigid aluminum chassis.
Motorola claims this technology, which it calls "ShatterShield," will not crack or break. In fact, the company guarantees it. Motorola is so confident in the technology that they are offering a four-year warranty from the date of purchase to protect against shattering or cracking. After testing it out myself we find the technology to be quite impressive.

We dropped the phone repeatedly from different heights and angles. It showed no sign of damage. The frame wasn't dented, nor was the screen cracked.

 

Display and Processor:

The phone features a 5.4-inch Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440 resolution) display, which works out to about 544 pixels per inch. On the inside, you have a 2.0GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor with 3GB of RAM. A new addition this year is the inclusion of a microSD card slot, which supports up to 2TB of added storage.

The Turbo 2 will be available in both 32GB and 64GB variations, although the 64GB model will only be available through Motorola's Moto Maker website. The larger capacity model, however, includes access to a free program, known as "Design Refresh," that gives owners the ability to change the design of the phone once in a two-year period.

This is the first Droid that can be customized through Moto Maker, which gives you the option to choose the color and backplate.

Camera:

The camera looks to be the same as the one on the Moto X Pure. It's a 21-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash with rapid focus and zero shutter lag. On the front you will find a 5-megapixel shooter with a flash and wide-angle lens.

The phone is running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. It's not the latest version of Android, but Motorola and Verizon claim an update to Marshmallow will arrive in the coming months. As for battery life, Motorola is claiming the 3,760 mAh battery will last up to 48 hours.

Motorola claims the Turbo 2 is the world's fastest charging smartphone. With the included 25W charger, users can get up to 13 hours of battery life after only a 15-minute charge, which should help when you are in a rush and every minute counts. You also have the convenience of wireless charging.

The Turbo 2 supports both the PMA and Qi wireless charging standards. While there's no fingerprint scanner, the phone does include NFC for making mobile payments through apps like Android Pay. The new Droid is smaller than the Moto X Pure, which features a 5.7-inch display, and easier to hold.

The screen looks great and performance is snappy. On the software side, you can expect the normal Verizon bloatware -- VZ Navigator, My Account, etc... -- although it appears at least some of these can be uninstalled. I'm also not a fan of the Verizon logo on the front of the device. It takes away from the beauty of the phone, but that's just me.

The Droid Turbo 2 will be exclusive to Verizon in the US and will be available on October 29. The 32 GB model will cost $26 a month for 24 months for the 32GB, while the 64GB model can be had for $30 a month over the same period. That works out to $624 and $720, respectively.