Motorola Moto Z Play smartphone review - advantages and disadvantages

Motorola Moto Z Play is a modern analogue of the MotoMaker program, an excellent solution previously inaccessible to consumers on the domestic market. The revived Motorola company shows significant results in the development of modular phones and the popularity of the models of this brand is increasing every year. In this article, you will learn about the characteristics of the Motorola Moto Z Play and the capabilities of its modules.

Motorola

Motorola is a company with a significant history that began its work in 1928 with only 5 employees. The founders are the Galvin brothers. In 1930 Motorola was documented as a brand. In 1956, the company announced the first pager, and in the 1980s it sold the first cellular mobile phone. In 2018, Motorola was acquired by Lenovo.

The first company to make a great version of a modular gadget is Motorola again.

Good development, such a large company as Google failed, it froze its Project Ara, but it was quite promising. The main argument was the fact that most people do not need this modularity at all and the phone is purchased for other basic purposes. Also, LG did not provide a decent modular gadget, Lenovo Moto users are not very praised either. As a result, the best manufacturers did not cope with the introduction of modularity into the device. Next, it's worth figuring out how high-quality the product was released by Motorola in the new alliance.

Main characteristics

Operating system and processor

Runs Android 6.0 with Google applications, thanks to which the device has a nice design and user-friendly interface. From outsiders - the application for the operation of modules and the Moto program, it is responsible for additional functions, for example, for starting the camera by turning the wrist or turning on the flashlight with a sharp movement. If you put the device face down, it will turn on do not disturb mode.

Hardware - a reliable Qualcomm Snapdregon 625. Despite the low serial number of the model, the processor has certain advantages. A powerful octa-core chipset with Cortex-A53 cores, clocked at 2 GHz, ensures fast operation with minimal battery drain. The process technology of the Snapdregon 625 is 14 nanometers, like the popular Snapdregon 820/821, however, it is not so nimble, but the excellent autonomy covers this shortcoming. A good advantage - thanks to the Snapdregon 625 base, the case practically does not heat up during long games and using heavy programs. Video accelerator Adreno 506, works well at medium graphics settings, is optimal for games.

Memory

The Motorola Moto Z Play has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of permanent memory. Not the coolest device for these characteristics. The processor uses the LPDDR3 standard supporting 933 MHz in single channel mode. The speed of the eMMC 5.1 drive is enough for quality work.There is a slot for a memory card up to 2048 GB.

Camera

As part of the Qualcomm platform, there are two ISP-cores for working with images, this suggests good opportunities, the quality of photos of Motorola Moto Z Play is not inferior to flagship devices.

The new Moto has a camera button for shooting and manual settings. Rear camera with 16 megapixel optics, f / 2.0 aperture, autofocus, dual LED flash. She takes beautiful pictures both outdoors and indoors. Sample photo:

The camera provides a minimum level of noise and image clarity, the sharpness of the image is not very noticeable. With night shooting, things are average, and if there are several objects of different brightness in the frame, the focusing will not cope and the picture will turn out to be blurry. How to photograph at night:

Therefore, for viewing it is better to take several pictures at once. The front camera has a 5MP resolution, f / 2.2 aperture, flash and increased pixel size. She will take pretty average selfies. The flash and image quality are optimal, but not the best possible.

Screen

Display: A good color AMOLED matrix with a diagonal of 5.5 inches and FullHD resolution is included in the rating of high-quality displays. It is covered with a protective glass Garilla Glass 3 with a good oleophobic coating and a rounding at the edges, almost invisible. Thanks to the processor, the display refresh rate can reach 60 fps.

There are no problems with brightness and readability in the sun, you can choose one of two color rendering modes. One useful feature is Active display, which allows you to display important parameters such as time or notifications on the off screen of the gadget without pressing the activation key. This function is triggered by swiping with the palm of your hand or picking up the device.

Communication and charging

Supports 2G, 3G and LTE (800/1800/2600). Navigation - GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS. Dual band Wi-fi, NFC, FM radio, support for fast charging and dual sim tray. SIM cards work alternately. The built-in battery of Moto Z Play 3510 mAh, thanks to the new 14 nm hardware platform, the phone lasts longer than Moto X Play.

Charging connector type - modern USB Type-C. With a light load, you can count on 2 days of work and 8 hours of a burning screen. Charges in approximately 1.5 hours from the included 15W hardware device. The processor includes Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology, which theoretically allows you to charge the phone by 68 percent in 0.5 hours, a very convenient feature for active games.

Moto has only one speaker, but this does not affect the quality, it copes well with call sound and multimedia functions. 3.5mm headphone jack. The device combines external and earpiece speakers.

additional characteristics

Sensors

An accelerometer performs similar functions to a gyroscope, but they are not the same thing. It provides the function of auto-rotate, control of some types of games, recognizes gestures (knocking on the body, shaking, position of the device on the surface with the screen down), identifies the user in space and displays him in programs such as Google maps, and also tracks the physical parameters of the user, is used for example in a pedometer.

It also has standard light, proximity, gyroscope, magnetometer and fingerprint sensors. Unlocking with a scanner works great without using additional buttons.

Equipment

The package includes the Moto Z Play itself, a charger, a back panel, a paper clip and headphones. Standard cord length.

Design

Traditionally for Motorola, the mobile has large dimensions 156.4x76.4x6.99, weighs 165 grams, the body is made of aluminum alloy and glass, comfortable and pleasant to the touch. The aspect ratio of 16: 9 is optimal. In the process of use, the smartphone has proved itself well, despite the variety of elements on the front panel, protruding edges of the body and the camera. The sides are smoothed out, the optics do not stand out so much if you insert the complete cover into the back part. The volume buttons are spaced apart and the same size.

Replaceable Moto Mods

The emergence of modularity is an attempt to differentiate Motorola from its competitors.Previously, the company focused on changing the look, and now it has added a simple and convenient way to expand the hardware capabilities. All modules are attached with magnets on the back of the gadget.

Next, let's look at what new items the manufacturer has developed in the Motorola Moto Z Play model. After familiarizing yourself with each additional device, you will no longer have a question of how to choose one or another mod.

Camera module

In the body of the Altek Hasselblad True Zoo camera module, there is a mod with a resolution of 12 megapixels, a xenon flash and a lens with 10x optical zoom and 4x digital, allows you to take macro photography from 5 to 1.5 cm.Aperture f / 3.5-6.5, two microphones, optical stabilization and electronic for video, there is the possibility of recording in RAW. There is no built-in battery, there is a separate activation button, it weighs 145 grams, dimensions are 152.3x72.9x9.0 - 15.1 mm. Due to its compactness, it is practically not noticeable how the gadget takes pictures and is perceived in the hands of a person as an ordinary phone.

Video filming is carried out in FullHD (1920 × 1080) with 30 frames per second. There is a button for shooting and starting, a zoom control, an autofocus light. The optical characteristics are comparable to those of an ordinary digital apparatus. The advantage is Zoom and xenon flash, which provides even illumination of the subject. However, the Altek Hasselblad module will not turn the device into a full-fledged and high-quality camera.

Acoustic system

The next device is the Moto JBL Soundboost speaker system. It turns the device into a mini boom box thanks to its powerful and compact speaker. It is attached as a thin panel on the back. It has two speakers, 27 millimeters in size and with a power of 3 W each from 200 Hz to 20 kHz, with a volume of up to 80 dB.

Also, the mod is equipped with a 1000 mAh battery, which will allow the system to work for 10 hours in autonomous mode. A special stand allows you to comfortably place your smartphone for better sound quality. In the room, the sound is perceived quite loudly. On the street, it will only work for the background. Weight - 147.3 grams, thickness - 13 mm. This is the largest module of all presented.

Portable projector

There is also a module - a portable projector Moto InstaShare, for which a brightness of 500 lumens and a resolution of 854 × 480 pixels is declared, the projection diagonal can reach 70 inches, it works using DLP technology. With its help, it becomes possible to display any image or video on the surface. The brightness and tilt parameters of the displayed image can be changed to the desired ones.

It also has its own 1100mAh battery and Type-C for charging. The projector is able to work in standalone mode for about an hour, it comes with a special stand. When the battery runs out, the module will be powered by the device. If you use Moto InstaShare in a dark room, the image is quite clear, comparable to the Lenovo Yoga tablet. The service life of the lamps in the projector is 10,000 hours, if you use the gadget every day for about 2-3 hours, then the service life will be about 9-12 years. The only drawback - with the purchase of a projector, only a large picture is realized, the module does not affect the sound quality in any way.

Battery cover

In the Moto Z Play model, an optional Incipio offGRID Power Pack is available. Battery capacity 2 220 mAh, thickness from 6.2 mm, weight from 83.3 grams. Allows to increase the operating time by 22 hours. Convenience is obvious - you do not need to carry a charger with you and depend on the presence of an outlet nearby. At any time, the case thickens for a while and automatically continues to work in the usual mode, does not require a connection to a USB module. In general, the operating period from the use of such a charger is approximately 2 times longer.

Decorative modules

There are 5 interchangeable Moto Mods covers: three plastic with a wood grain pattern, nylon and leather. Their dimensions are 154x72x2, depending on the material used, the weight of the covers ranges from 25 to 32 grams. It is very convenient to change them, the lid, thanks to the magnets, snaps into place by itself. We can say that the modules replace the need for a previously unavailable MotoMaker service - the appearance and functionality can be selected depending on the preferences of the consumer. It is quite possible that Motorola releases new models according to this service.

Price

The average price of Moto Z Play in stores is about 28,000 rubles. We will also orientate the price of replaceable modules. The covers are inexpensive, they will cost about 1,000-2,000 rubles apiece, an additional battery will come out 4,000 rubles, a column - 7,000 rubles, a camera module costs 20,000 rubles, and a mini-projector about 23,000 rubles. It is not difficult to calculate how much the entire set of modules costs, the pleasure will cost about 85,000 rubles.

By modern standards, not budgetary costs, but the manufacturer assumed that smartphone users would purchase exactly the mod that they need most, for their personal needs. Therefore, the modules are of sufficient quality, but not cheap, even in 2018 prices. Online stores such as M Video or DNS are the best places to buy a gadget at the moment.

Comparison with Motorola Moto X Play

The new improved version of Motorola has qualitatively changed its parameters in comparison with its predecessor. Next, we will consider the popular models Moto Z Play and Moto X Play according to their main characteristics.

The main selection criteria for the Motorola Moto Z Play are better performance, hardware and faster data transfer rates. The Moto Z Play has a slightly larger screen and is thinner, the materials are aluminum alloy and glass versus polycarbonate in the Moto X Play. The screen type is higher in quality (AMOLED instead of LCD IPS). The resolution and image density options are the same, but only the Z Play has physical buttons.

The operating system has been slightly improved, in the updated smartphone Android 6.0.1 instead of Android 6.0. The processor in the Moto Z Play is more powerful and has a higher clock speed: 2 GHz versus 1.7 GHz. Higher class and video accelerator Adreno. Added a fingerprint scanner, gyroscope, Hall and magnetometer.

The data transmission range has expanded from 2G to LTE. There are two SIM cards. Bluetooth and satellite parameters remain unchanged. The battery capacity has slightly decreased (3510 versus 3630 mAh in the Moto X Play).

All in all, we can say that the new Moto Z Play has improved in all important ways as a modular phone. And after reading the article, there will be no question of which company is better to buy the optimal modular gadget.

• Modularity;
• Active display;
• Optimization and high level hardware;
• LTE support.

• Front and rear camera of average quality;
• Battery capacity is too small for additional functions;
• The price of a smartphone and additional modules is quite high.

The new Moto Z Play does not look like the usual Motorola, but inside everything remains the same: high-quality Android, good optimization, excellent hardware and Active display function. With each new version, Lenovo alliance devices show a qualitative improvement in almost all parameters. Customer reviews in online stores equally praise the smartphone for good hardware, performance and the ability to simulate the phone to fit your needs. Now users will not worry about which model is better to buy, because they choose the design and specialization of the device themselves.