Motorola already sent out a "save the date" for its #hellomotoworld event on July 25, but now proper invites are coming out and they give us a great indication of what we can expect to see announced. The tagline "get ready to shatter your expectations" is breaking through all sorts of glass and the silhouette of two shattered phone screens.
That's about as good an indication as you'll get that the Moto Z2 Force will be announced on July 25 as a follow-up to the shatterproof Moto Z Force Droid Edition launched in mid-summer 2016.
Motorola's Shatterproof screens are no longer filled with compromises.
Expectations are that the Moto Z Force will once again be the top-of-the-line flagship for Motorola, but unlike last year it won't have a "standard" Moto Z2 anchored underneath it. Because of this, we can expect the Moto Z2 Force (if that is its name) to have more generalized appeal rather than simply being the bigger, more expensive phone with a shatterproof display.
To its credit Motorola has greatly improved its "ShatterShield" screen technology in recent iterations, dramatically cutting down on the compromises typically associated with the screen tech. It no longer requires a funky plastic layer on the screen that makes it feel horrible, nor does it include an inordinate amount of glare or separation between the screen and glass covering. Presumably the 2017 version will be even better, and that's one of the reasons why Motorola sees it appropriate to simply have the Moto Z2 Force and no standard flagship below it.
There's also a rumor that Motorola may take this opportunity to introduce the mid-range Moto X4, though the invite doesn't give us any additional clues there.
Whatever the combination of announcements ends up being, we'll all find out on July 25 — the event is at 11:00 a.m. ET in New York City, and we'll be there to cover it live.
