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Two phones, both alike in dignity. On fair Verizon, where we lay our scene ...

The Moto Z lands on Verizon on July 28. And if even if youve made up youre mind that youre going be diving into this modular menagerie, youve got a decision to make. Verizon, as its been prone to do with its Droid line of late, has two Moto Zs from which youll need to choose.

In many ways, theyre exactly alike. Same software. Mostly the same internals. And they both use the new Moto Mods accessories.

Lets take a look at the ways in which theyre different, though, and see if we cant figure out which one is for you.

Better battery capacity

Should you ever turn down the opportunity to have more battery? The Moto Z has a 2,600 mAh battery. The Moto Z Force has a 3,500 mAh battery — thats about a 34 percent increase. Along with that extra battery comes some extra thickness, however. The Moto Z is a svelte 5.19mm thick (or thin, I guess). The Moto Z Force is 6.99mm. Thats without the stock Style Shell back that comes in the box, however, so youll need to add a couple millimeters for those, too.

Ive used both phones. You should never pass up the opportunity for more battery out of the box.

Ive used both phones. And you should never pass up the opportunity for more battery out of the box. Even with external batteries and the 2,200 mAh Moto Mod Power Packs that are available for the Moto Z and Moto Z Force, that extra 34 percent can be the difference between having to top up toward the late afternoon, or not.

The extra thickness on the Moto Z Force means a few things. One is that I dont mind using it without a Style Shell as much. That doesnt mean I wont use it without one, but the option is at least more comfortable. The other is that its going to fit larger hands better than the Moto Z. Thats subjective, but not unimportant.

Higher-resolution camera

The Moto Z and Moto Z Force have similar cameras. Same camera app, same f/1.8 aperture. Theyre both pretty darn good in sunlight, and less so when it gets dark. Theyre both what Id call an above-average camera, though a few steps down from the best available.

The only real difference is that the Moto Z Force has a higher possible resolution — 21 megapixels — than the Moto Z, which is lower at 13MP. (One thing to keep in mind, however, is that both phones shoot at a wider, 16:9 aspect ratio by default, and dont use the full resolution until you change the setting to accommodate their native 4:3 aspect ratios.)

For my money, Id opt for the Moto Z Force because of its larger battery and better chance at surviving a fall.

For the most part this discrepancy hasnt really affected me any. At least not in the way I shoot and share photos. For things like Facebook and Instagram and your basic social sharing, either one has served me just fine. Its another differentiator for Verizon, I suppose. But merely adding more megapixels doesnt necessarily improve the finished product that much.

ShatterShield

If a bigger battery didnt do it for you, this one might. The Moto Z Force is the second phone to sport "ShatterShield." The short version is that means some extra protection for the display. So youll be able to drop it without the screen breaking into a million pieces.

That doesnt mean you might not kill the phone if it takes a bad fall. Heres the important part from Motos fine print:

The display and embedded lens are warranted against shattering and cracking for four (4) years from the original date of purchase; scratches or other damage to the protective lens is not covered by this warranty, but should always be in place to prevent scratches and other damage to the underlying components. This phone is not shockproof or designed to withstand all damage from dropping.

We dropped the Moto Z Force until it quit working. Actually, lets be more specific. The phone still works. The display, while showing signs of abuse, did not crack. It, uh, just doesnt actually show a picture anymore. So the first four times it took a bad spill ShatterShield worked as advertised. Thats a pretty good insurance policy.

The bottom line

So which phone should you get? The Moto Z, or the thicker, longer-lasting, better protected, higher-resolution Moto Z Force? For my money, Id opt for the latter. The upgraded camera sensor isnt that big a deal for me. But more battery and a better chance at surviving a fall?

Thats worth my money just about every time.

Its not the fall that killed my Moto Z Force Droid Edition. It was the sudden stop at the end. And even then, it took five of them. ... And the screen still didnt crack.

I now have a zombie Moto Z Force Droid Edition. No, its not the name that killed it. It was the drop test. And while Im normally not a fan of killing a phone just to watch it die, we had good reason this time. Motos ShatterShield.

This is the multiple-layer system that it put in the Droid Turbo 2 — and now in Verizons Moto Z Force — to keep the phones screen from shattering should it be dropped. That doesnt mean its a rugged phone. That doesnt mean you should repeatedly drop it onto concrete. That means should the phone take a spill — like all phones do at some point — the screen should survive.

Yes, theres fine print. (Theres always fine print.) And it reads thusly:

The display and embedded lens are warranted against shattering and cracking for four (4) years from the original date of purchase; scratches or other damage to the protective lens is not covered by this warranty, but should always be in place to prevent scratches and other damage to the underlying components. This phone is not shockproof or designed to withstand all damage from dropping. All other warranty exclusions, including scratches and other cosmetic damage, intentional damage or abuse, normal wear and tear and other limitations apply.

So I wasnt surprised after one-two-three-four-five drops that the screen quit working. ShatterShield isnt meant for the sort of abuse I subjected it to. (The phone still boots, actually. It still works. Its just as if the display became detached.)

But it did not shatter. It looks beat to hell — because it was. But ShatterShield did its job.

Verizon this week finally revealed its launch date and pricing for the Moto Z Droid and Moto Z Droid Force as well as their Moto Mods. If you don’t mind buying your new phone from a retailer not named Verizon, though, you can get a deal on your new Moto phone.