First glimpse of Moto Z Play
Now the company has taken another step forward and introduced a more affordable variant of Moto Z, Moto Z Play. This phone also has a modular design like the Z but its specifications are like a mid-range smartphone. The Moto Z Play was unveiled at IFA 2016 and we got a chance to spend some time with it.
modular design
The biggest feature of Moto Z Play is that it comes with Moto Mod. Moto Mod is an optional accessory which can be added separately to the smartphone to make it more functional. The new Moto Z Play also supports Moto Mods. The Moto Mods introduced by the company work on both these devices. Lenovo has promised that these Moto Mods will work with the upcoming three generations of Moto Z.
As of now, there are four Moto Mods available for purchase in the market. These also include the Hasselblad True Zoom Mod launched with the Moto Z Play. Attaching the Moto Mod to the Moto Z Play is very easy and we liked this very much. You do not need to open the phone or change anything. Simply touch the mod on the rear of the phone and it will attach magnetically.
It is equally easy to detach the mod from the phone. For this you just have to pull the accessory. The connectivity of the mod is also very good. We attached the JBL SoundBoost while music was already playing on the phone and the Z Play detected it immediately and within minutes the phone switched to it without us doing anything. The same applies to other mods and they can also be attached and detached from the rear in the same manner.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor
Moto Z and Moto Z Force available in America have Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 820 processor. Whereas Moto Z Play has Snapdragon 625 processor. The same processor is also in Asus’ Zenfone 3 series phones. Moto Z Play has 3 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage (with microSD card support) and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. However, we cannot say whether this phone will give performance like Moto Z or not but it is definitely very affordable.
This phone has a lower resolution screen than the Moto Z. The phone has a 5.5 inch full HD Super AMOLED screen. At this density, the pixels are not visible separately, but there is a noticeable difference between the screens of both the phones. However, comparisons aside, the Moto Z Play has a decent screen.
16 megapixel camera
Moto Z Play has 16 megapixel rear and 5 megapixel front camera. Flash is provided in both the cameras. The rear camera supports hybrid autofocus and up to 4K resolution video recording. Camera performance is largely similar to the camera of Moto G4 Plus. G4 Plus also has a 16 megapixel rear camera.
The device has a 3510 mAh battery which is slightly bigger than the Moto Z. Motorola claims that the phone can be used for 45 hours of mixed use but we will reserve our decision on this until the complete review process is done. A turbo charger comes with the phone, with which the company claims that the battery can be charged in 15 minutes for 8 hours of use.
The Moto Z Play supports Nano SIM cards and Motorola has not yet revealed the arrival of its dual SIM variant in India. We expect the dual SIM variant Moto Z Play to be launched in India. The phone has a fingerprint sensor, a USB Type-C port, 3.5mm audio jack and a liquid-repellent nano-coating. However, the specifications of this phone have not been revealed yet for the Indian market. But this phone can be launched for less than Rs 30,000. Lenovo can launch Moto Z Play, Moto Mod and Style Shell along with Moto Z in India.
