Smartphones have evolved a lot over the last few years — in both form and function — and I am excited about the new era with foldables, particularly flip phones. I have a lot of good things to say about this new wave of phones, but I can’t say I am a fan of all the bland flagship phone colors. Seriously, when was the last time you looked at a phone and said, “Wow, that looks beautiful?” And no, limited-edition phones don’t count here.
We need to move on from the existing and rather boring combination of colors for phones. Google’s Pixel phones which used to be available in fun colors like “Really Blue” and “Purple-ish” are now seen in some unsaturated pastel options that leave me wanting more. Manufacturers like Samsung and OnePlus have ditched a lot of great colors, stripping us of shades like Stunning Red and Cloud Blue that we had for the OnePlus 6 and the Galaxy S20 series, respectively. Plenty of other manufacturers have followed suit, and it’s times like these that make me wish we had Moto Maker around.
Moto Maker in 2023 would’ve been perfect
Moto Maker was truly one of the best things Motorola had going for it. It was a service that allowed you to make your phone truly yours by picking from many different materials and colors for the back panels for several models of Moto X and Moto G series phones back in the day. You could pick from materials like wood, plastic, leather, etc., to truly customize it to your specifications. You could even get an engraving or add a custom greeting to the boot screen to ensure your phone was the only one of its kind.
I remember spending hours on the Moto Maker website, customizing the Moto X with quirky combinations in hopes of buying a custom Motorola phone after I finished college. It truly was the peak of customization in the technology space, with nothing else like it. It’s safe to say that it was ahead of its time because modern-day customizers like the Nike ID and the Xbox Design Lab weren’t a thing back in the day, and they only showed up years after Motorola abandoned its service. I am still a little disappointed that I couldn’t get a custom Motorola phone before the company shut down its service following a series of unfortunate events and closures of facilities to cut the operation cost in 2014.
I wish Moto Maker was still around for the modern Motorola phones, or at least Motorola had considered bringing it back for some of its new devices. Motorola didn’t exactly have its best foot in the smartphone game to bring back the Moto Maker all this while, but it could’ve done it with the Moto Razr+. What better phone to revive the spirit of Moto Maker than a fun and popular foldable like the Razr+, right? Well, Motorola didn’t think so, which is why we got the phone in only two colors instead. Being able to personalize the Razr+ with different back panels and colors would’ve added to Motorola’s impressive comeback storyline, so I definitely think it’s a missed opportunity.
How Samsung can right the wrong with its Bespoke Edition phones
As someone who loves personalized products, you’ll often find me customizing a gadget or some accessories that I would never buy. What I really want is a full-fledged customizer like Motor Maker in 2023. The closest we have these days is Samsung’s Bespoke customizer, but it’s a shame the company only lets you throw its Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 smartwatches into the mix right now.
Samsung’s Bespoke customizer, in case you’re wondering, allows you to choose between three or more color combinations for the back panels and the frame. That’s a good start, but it could be so much better with more personalization options. Asking for a phone with a wood or leather panel is perhaps not the best idea considering how it would affect things like IP rating and wireless charging in modern phones, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
Being able to customize the devices in more fun colors would be a great start. The existing colors offered for the company’s Bespoke Edition phones look great, but they’re extremely limited. I would happily pay a premium and pick the Bespoke Edition over the regular color if I could get a Galaxy Z Flip 4 in, say, Red or Purple colors. I would also love it if Samsung allowed us to customize things like the buttons, the camera housing, and the S Pen and make them stand out with contrasting finishes.
Engravings aren’t a part of Samsung’s Bespoke customizer either, and I hope that changes soon. It’s not something that’s entirely unheard of because we’ve had those as a part of Moto Maker back in the day. In fact, even Apple lets you add engravings to some of its devices now in 2023. C’mon, Samsung, it’s your turn now. Lastly, I’d like to see support for more devices in Samsung’s Bespoke customizer, at least in some capacity. The company only lets you customize the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the Galaxy Watch at the moment, which is a shame given its huge portfolio of devices and accessories that could use a touch of personalization.
Samsung’s Bespoke Edition phones have been out for quite some time now, and it already has a customizer in place to handle the basics. It’s only a matter of improving it by adding some options. The lack of a competing customizer on the market means now is as good a time as any to deliver something truly unique and gain an edge over the competition. I recently highlighted how Bespoke Edition phones are a part of the reason why I am more excited about the Galaxy Flip 5 than the Moto Razr+, and I really hope we get better customization options.
An improved Bespoke customizer would not only allow us to get better phones, but it would also help Samsung to create more hype around the upcoming foldable, which only appears to be a marginal improvement over their predecessors. Seriously, all the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 rumors point towards familiar phones that could use a touch of personalization to stand out. The last thing Samsung would want right now is to lose its lead in the foldable space to newer options, and I truly believe a fun new way to customize the phones would allow them to deliver something new and at least buy them some much-needed time to improve its foldable for next year.
The limitations of a customized phone
It’s easy to put on the creative hat and come up with ways to personalize your phone, but it’s also important to consider the limitations of a service like this, especially when you’re looking at the scale at which Samsung operates. The first and the most obvious thing to consider — besides the increased cost and low resale value, of course — is the time it would take to get a customized unit delivered. Walking out of a retail or carrier store with a customized phone is not going to be possible for obvious reasons, meaning you’d be looking at lead times of at least a couple of weeks to a month (or more), depending on the demand.
Quality control is also going to be a big part of the process, as many things could go wrong with custom finishes. Motorola had a dedicated facility in place to produce and ship out the Moto Maker phones, and it’d be interesting to see how Samsung would tackle it with its volumes. Lastly, it’s also worth measuring the actual demand for custom Bespoke Edition phones. The fact that these personalized phones cost more than the regular variant means they’ll never have the same kind of demand as the cheaper ones.
Not to mention, the growing custom accessories market is also a huge barrier to entry that’s probably stopping Samsung and others from breaking out and having a full-fledged customization program. It is relatively cheaper and also easier to install a custom skin from Dbrand than spending hundreds more on a custom finish, after all. I, for one, would still prefer a custom factory finish to avoid covering up the premium and reflective glass back with “expensive tape,” but I doubt if I’ll have enough backers here. Perhaps Samsung could come up with its own customization program for its cases and accessories?
I am sure there will be plenty of other challenges to overcome with a huge undertaking like this, but I wouldn’t count on anyone but Samsung to tackle those. I am hoping to see some substantial changes for the Bespoke Edition phones, starting with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The least I expect from them is the existing customizer with some new finishes for the newer model. We’ll find out what Samsung is cooking for us soon, as the company is gearing up to launch some new devices during the Unpacked event that is scheduled to take place in Seoul, South Korea. You can reserve your unit for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 by hitting the link below to be one of the first ones to receive buy it with a $50 discount. I’ll have more to talk about the design of the phone and its color variants once it goes official, so stay tuned.
Reserve at Samsung
Now’s your chance to secure a $50 discount on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, Watch 6, or Tab S9. There’s no commitment, and it only requires your name and email address. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll be notified on the day of release and receive the $50 discount on top of any other offers being applied.