MWC 2018 | Motorola shows Moto Mods for measuring vital signs and a full-sized physical keyboard

Motorola presents the Health Mod and the Livermorium Slider Keyboard Mod. (Source: Motorola/Lenovo)

Motorola has presented two Moto Mods at the MWC for its smartphones. The Health Mod can measure vital signs such as blood pressure, temperature, and oxygen saturation. A Moto Mod with a full-sized QWERTY keyboard was also shown.

Jonathan Maes, Published 02/26/2018

Lenovo, the parent company of Motorola, has shown two new Moto Mods at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The Lenovo Vital Mod or Motorola Health Mod focuses on reading vital signs such as blood pressure, core body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation. The Moto Mod was first announced at CES 2018 and the company has shown the accessory in action at this year’s Mobile World Congress.

The Vital Mod magnetically attaches to the back of a compatible Motorola device. Both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure can be measured by placing your finger in a loop where pressure is built up. According to the company, the heart rate sensor can then accurately measure the blood pressure as well as the heart rate itself. It’s still unclear how the Health Mod measures oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and body temperature and how accurate these readings are.

The Livermorium Slider Keyboard Moto Mod houses a full-sized physical QWERTY keyboard and allows the display of the smartphone to tilt up to 60 degrees. This Moto Mod was the grand prize winner of Motorola’s ‘Transform the Smartphone Challenge’ on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.

Lenovo states that the Vital Mod will release this April with a recommended price tag of US$395. The Livermorium Slider Keyboard will release later this winter and costs $US99.