I've had the same experience as well. Some of my customers are well off the beaten path and mobile reception is an issue for some of them. Another reason I've got to install quite a few cell repeater systems. In most of those cases, they would have no signal (or not enough to make a call) and I would with my Droid. Ask what carrier they use: "Verizon", ah me too.

cma, I would mention one problem I've seen with the new one. I've only had my new Moto Z Play for a little over a week. But I was driving down a remote stretch of highway (where my Droid Mini always worked fine) and the Z Play dropped a call. And it took several miles before I had enough signal to make a call again. Never had that happen before with my other Droid or my GF's Droid MAXX.
Hopefully it is not a sign of them cheapening the phone. Thinking with such coverage these days, they didn't need to use their best transceivers anymore.