Motorola Moto Z Play review: Plans | Pricing | Specs

The Moto Z Play gives you access to Motorola's Moto Mods at a lower price, although its general performance isn't spectacular.

It’s pretty common for mobile manufacturers to follow up a hero device with a slightly lower-cost option. It’s why there are so many Samsung "Galaxy" phones in a given year, but only one Galaxy S9.

Sometimes, the lower-cost option comes along at the same time as the hero phone, and that’s precisely what Motorola has done with the Moto Z Play. It’s a slightly lower-specced version of the Motorola Moto Z in a thicker frame with a lower price point.

Design

• Moto Mods support at a cheaper price point than the Moto Z.
• Chunky design may not appeal to those with smaller hands.

• Read more on the Motorola Moto Z Play's design

  

  Like the Moto Z, the Moto Z Play is compatible with Motorola’s "Moto Mod" accessories. These are a range of magnetically attached add-on devices such as cameras, speakers and projectors that substantially increase the capabilities of the core phone. Impressively, there’s no penalty in terms of Moto Mod operation for choosing the Moto Z Play over the Moto Z. What that means in practical terms is that while the Moto Z Play is undoubtedly mid-range, with the right Moto Mod you can effectively make it quite a premium phone.

  That said, Moto Mods have unfortunately proven a non-starter since their unveiling. The Moto Mod line-up hasn't grown since its debut in 2016, and this ultimately prevents the concept from reaching its full potential.

  The Moto Z Play's core hardware has a few issues as well. We’re still befuddled as to who in Motorola thought it would be a good idea to put the fingerprint sensor in the home button space, but not have it act as an actual home button as well. That’s a software button above the fingerprint sensor, and we absolutely guarantee that you will hit one when you mean to hit the other, over and over again.

  Where the Motorola Moto Z is beautifully sleek, it does have to be said that the Moto Z Play is quite a lot of phone to hold in your hand, even if you’ve only got the basic back case in place. Adding a mod turns it into a really solid brick of a thing to have in your hand, let alone your pocket.

  The Moto Z Play fares better on the software front. Motorola typically plays it very light in terms of its custom Android interface, and the Moto Z Play is no exception. If you’re a fan of the basic material design look, the Moto Z Play will appeal alot.

Camera

• Solid mid-range camera hardware should be sufficient for general photography.
• Camera pundits can upgrade further with the Hasselblad camera mod.

• Read more on the Motorola Moto Z Play's camera

  

  Interestingly, Motorola has equipped the Moto Z Play with a slightly more powerful rear camera than its pricier sibling the Moto Z, opting for a 16MP sensor instead of a 13MP one. There is a trade-off here, though, with the Moto Z's camera sporting a larger f/1.8 aperture compared to the f/2.0 aperture on the Moto Z Play. This means the Moto Z Play is marginally less capable in low-light conditions, but can produce sharper images when the lighting is right.

  Around the front, the Moto Z Play sports the same 5MP, f/2.2 sensor as the Moto Z. It also features a wide-angle lens supporting an 85-degree field of view, allowing you to cram more people into your impromptu selfies.

  Beyond the hardware, Motorola has outfitted the Moto Z Play with all the camera features we've come to expect from modern smartphones. This includes phase-detection autofocus, HDR support, a panorama mode, a burst-shot mode, slow-motion video recording and a slew of professional settings for folks who know their way around a DSLR.

Performance

• Decent mid-range power delivers solid performance in general use.
• Performance in 3D games is a little on the low side.

• Read more on the Motorola Moto Z Play's performance

  The Moto Z Play is most definitely the lower performance of the pair of Moto Z phones, and it shows in day to day use and in benchmark terms. Here’s how the Moto Z Play compared using Geekbench 4’s CPU test:

  Handset	Geekbench 4 CPU Single Core (higher is better)	Geekbench 4 CPU Multi Core (higher is better)
  Apple iPhone 7 Plus	3,374	5,649
  Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	1,359	5,333
  Samsung Galaxy S7	1,378	4,718
  Apple iPhone SE	2,449	4,171
  Apple iPhone 6s	2,465	4,052
  Google Pixel XL	1,629	4,051
  Motorola Moto Z	1,477	3,853
  Sony Xperia XZ	1,636	3,604
  Google Nexus 6P	1,293	3,594
  Motorola Moto X Force	1,352	3,581
  Motorola Moto Z Play	799	2,648
  Sony Xperia X	1,122	2,626
  Motorola Moto G Play	522	1,334

  It’s not quite as rosy a story for 3D performance. Here’s how the Moto Z Play compared against a range of mid-range phones, as well as its more expensive sibling:

  Handset	3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Result
  Motorola Moto Z	25,629
  Google Nexus 6P	24,703
  Sony Xperia Z5	19,197
  Alcatel IDOL 4S	18,186
  Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus	17,981
  Huawei Mate 8	17,947
  HTC One X9	16,877
  Sony Xperia X	16,648
  Motorola Moto Z Play	13,958
  Sony Xperia XA	11,173
  Oppo R9	11,053

Battery life

• Plenty of battery capacity and a low-power processor allow for easy all-day battery life.
• Light phone users can even get multiple days of use out of a single charge.

• Read more on the Motorola Moto Z Play's battery life

  The Moto Z Play has a much thicker frame and heavier carrying weight than the Moto Z, and while that’s less fun in a style sense, it allows Motorola to throw in a sizeable 3,510mAh battery. Combine that with the lower power Snapdragon 625 processor in the Moto Z Play and it should have quite exceptional battery life.

  We’d love to be able to present you with a comparative table here as we usually do in our phone reviews, but despite repeated attempts running Geekbench 3’s older battery life test, something in the Motorola Moto Z Play’s software crashed the test every time. Based on observations it should head to a 10-12 hour battery life under that test at least, and possibly a bit more, putting it in the upper echelon of phone batteries. In more anecdotal testing, single day life is a doddle and we’d have no hesitation in saying that two days is entirely feasible even with a moderate workload.

Verdict

• A more accessible take on the modular smartphone that doesn't quite live up to its potential.

• Read our full Motorola Moto Z Play verdict

  We still love the idea of a modular smartphone, and with the Moto Z Play Motorola has made the best stab at it that we’ve seen so far. Sure, the Moto Z is a more powerful phone, but it works in the same way with the mods as the cheaper Moto Z Play, so there’s a strong argument if you like the modular approach to opt for this particular phone.

  That being said, you have a lot of choices in the mid-range space, and at $699, it’s not even all that far from some of the discount prices we’ve seen for some of this year’s flagship phones. The most obvious competitor device would be the LG G5, which has similar modular accessories, but a much more annoying battery removal system for implementing them. You could also consider other mid-range devices such as Sony’s Xperia X, Telstra’s Signature Premium or Huawei’s P9 smartphones.

Pricing and availability

Motorola Moto Z Play

Motorola goes modular

With its modular attachments, the Motorola Moto Z Play gives you the freedom to customise its capabilities to your liking.

• The Motorola Moto Z Play retails for $699 but can be found cheaper at online retailers like Buy Mobile.