Moto Z4 may be the last of the Moto Z line, no Force coming

Motorola has been pretty silent this year. Even the Moto Z4, which should have been its nominal 2019 flagship, came out quietly, thanks to a premature revelation by Amazon. It's almost as if it didn't want to call attention to the latest Moto Z model, which admittedly doesn't have enough inside to compete with high-end phones. If, however, you were expecting that Motorola was just preparing to make a bigger splash, you might be disappointed to hear that, no, it doesn't have any other Moto Z phone planned this year.

Motorola has traditionally launched phones in twos or threes, each one varying slightly in some spec or feature. There would, for example, be a more affordable "Play" model or a "Power" version with a bigger battery. For the Moto Z, however, Motorola often launched a "Force" model with beefed up specs. That, however, isn't happening this time.

Responding to an interested would-be buyer on Twitter, Motorola USA confirms that there are no other moto z phones planned this year. That practically means there will be no Moto z4 Force because 2020 would be far too late to launch one.

Hi Raffi. We will not be announcing additional moto z devices this year.

— motorolaus (@MotorolaUS) May 30, 2019

That might be a big blow to Motorola fans who were hoping to see signs that Motorola isn't winding down its smartphone business. None of its phones this year so far can be considered "flagship material" as far as specs go. In other words, the company seems to be stuck at making mid-range and lower phones.

That also doesn't bode well for the Moto Z family. Closing the doors this early in the year gives the impression that those will remain shut for good. Then again, the Moto Z's future has always been in question lately so it might not really come as a surprise that this year might be its last.