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Verizon may soon debut a successor to its Motorola Droid Maxx smartphone, according to new details reportedly obtained by Android Police. The handset, which appears nearly identical to the recently announced Moto X Play , is said to feature the familiar Verizon and Droid branding on the rear.
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While the Android-running Motorola Moto X Style is expected to launch in the coming weeks, there are no current plans to sell the Moto X Play in the US. However, if Verizon has called exclusive dibs on that particular device, it’s possible that Big Red’s customers will get a chance to play with the Play, by another name.
The concept of a carrier-exclusive phone speaks to Verizon’s ongoing influence as the United States’ largest cell phone network by population, even as a growing number of credible direct-to-consumer options mean that US carriers are increasingly lose their hold on the phones that ride their network. This goes double for Motorola, which has also slowly gravitated to solely offering its devices directly to consumer.
Droid Maxx 2 could-be specs
The rumored specifications for the newly leaked device are nearly identical to the Moto X Play: a 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1,920×1,080 pixels, as well as a 21-megapixel rear camera. Powered by an octa-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, the handset is also believed to pack 2GB RAM and the same enormous 3,630mAh battery. That would be fitting; the Droid Maxx is known for staggering battery life in the 19-hour range.
Android Police
The supposed spec for internal storage is surprisingly low. The so-called Droid Maxx 2 is said to have only 8GB of space, which is half that of the entry-level Moto X Play. It isn’t clear whether this new phone would have a microSD expansion card slot for storing music, photos, and other media.
It’s worth noting that Droid Maxx 2 could mark the first Droid-branded smartphone to come from the now Lenovo-owned Motorola. Time will tell whether the relationship with Verizon will continue with the Droid line, or if this Maxx 2 would wind down Motorola’s previous agreement to make Verizon its exclusive US carrier.
Motorola did not respond to a request for comment.
