Moto Z2 Play preview Sharp and ready

Introduction

The Moto Z2 Play is the successor to last years Moto Z Play, the phone that won praises from critics and was quite possibly the highlight of Motorolas lineup last year. Like the last phone, the new one focuses on providing good performance and great battery life without blowing a hole in your wallet.

Those were mainly the reasons why last years phone got so much attention. Reviewers loved the long lasting battery life, which seemed to go on for days but more importantly, it did not come at the cost of performance. All in all, the Z Play felt like a complete package and for not a lot of money.

Despite the success of this formula, Motorola wasnt afraid to take some risks with the new model. The Moto Z2 Play sheds some of the bulk of the previous model for a leaner design. This has come at the cost of battery capacity, which at 3000mAh is a good 15% smaller than the previous models.

Moto Z2 Play key features

• Body: Aluminum unibody design, Corning Gorilla Glass 4
• Display: 5.5-inch, 1920x1080 px, Super AMOLED, 401 ppi
• OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat with a single key navigation (Home key with swipe gestures)
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 626, 2.2GHz octa-core CPU, Adreno 506 GPU, 4GB RAM
• Storage: 64GB internal, microSD expansion
• Rear Camera: 13 megapixels, f1.7, dual pixel PDAF, two-tone LED, 4K video
• Front Camera: 5 megapixels, f2.2, selfie flash, 1080p video
• Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Dual SIM model available, Bluetooth 4.2, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11n, A-GPS/GLONASS, NFC, USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Battery: 3,000mAh non-removable, Motorola Turbopower fast charging support
• Misc: Fingerpr int sensor, FM radio, Moto Mod support, water-repellant nano coating

Main shortcomings

• Poor display sunlight visibility
• Huge bezels around the display
• Weak graphics performance
• No OIS for the main camera
• No stereo speakers
• Moto Mods are expensive

The design also looks quite familiar but this has been done to maintain compatibility with last years Moto Mods. Yes, the Moto Mods are back with some new variants and because they are backwards compatible, you can use last years models with the new phone and vice-versa.

Moto Z2 Play official images

Some of the other changes include an updated processor, better cameras, and last but not the least, a higher price. We will just have to wait and see how all of it adds up and if the new Z2 Play is still the value for money proposition as last years model.

Design

At first glance, it is easy to mistake the Z2 Play for the Z Play, but there are a lot of minor differences between the two.

On the front is the 5.5-inch display surrounded by sizable bezels. The bezels here are quite substantial, especially at a time when other brands are actively trimming down. The white model, in particular, has distractingly large bezels dominating the front.

Motorola Z2 Play

Above the display are a bunch of things, starting with a dual two-tone LED flash on the left, the earpiece in the middle, proximity and ambient light sensors next to it and the camera lens on the extreme right. Motorola also felt the need to squeeze its logo in here, which makes the top look even more cluttered on the white model.

Motorola Z2 Play

Below the display is the fingerprint sensor and a microphone. The sensor has been redesigned to an oval from the square shape of last year and looks much better now. The area surrounding the sensor is just vast amounts of empty space.

Right side

On the right are the power and volume buttons. The power button is ridged and falls within easy reach. The volume buttons are a bit of a stretch but within manageable distance. The buttons are small but operate with a distinct click and there is no undue movement or play within them.

On top of the phone is a tray that can hold two nano SIM as well as a microSD card - we obviously have the Dual SIM model here but other markets will be getting a single SIM one as well.

The second microphone is also located up top. On the bottom is a USB-C connector and the headphone jack. Motorola also puts the FCC and model information at the bottom so they dont clutter the back of the phone.

Back side

The back of the phone is where you will notice one of the biggest changes over last years model. While the Z Play had a metal frame and glass back, the Z2 Play has a full aluminum body that extends to the back. Whats also interesting here is the way the antenna lines have been integrated into the design. They proudly run along the edges of the back in a strip that thickens at the top and bottom, instead of being minimized somewhere in the corner.

Camera bump • Moto Mods contact patch

Other design changes you will notice is the camera bump, which sticks out considerably from the back, and a golden contact patch at the bottom. Both of these are designed to work with the Moto Mods; the camera bump helps hold the Mods in place and the contact patch connects them to the phone. Neither are admittedly attractiv e and look like bit of an eyesore, especially the large contact patch at the bottom. Only way to hide them is to, well, use a Moto Mod.

The overall build quality of the phone is phenomenal. It feels like a solid slab of metal in hand and the switch from glass to metal on the back also gives further peace of mind. The phone also has a water-repellant nano coating that provides further protection from splashes.

As for handling, the Z2 Play does feel awkwardly wide, not to mention unnecessarily tall due to the massive chin, but the reduced thickness and weight over last years model is definitely appreciated, especially when you slap on some Mods.

Display

The Moto Z2 Play has a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display that seems to be carried over from the previous model. Out of the box, the display looks great, with excellent contrast, color temperature, viewing angles and vibrant colors.

If you want more natural colors you can switch the display to Standard mode f rom the settings. Even in Standard mode, the colors look great and because they were closer to the sRGB color standard, we decided to leave it there for the entirety of the test duration.

Display settings

The only problem we had with the display was with sunlight visibility. Although AMOLED displays have come a long way, the one on the Z2 Play washes out considerably under the sun and it can get really hard to see whats going on the screen, especially if you are taking pictures or videos out under the sun.

Battery Life

The Moto Z2 Play has a 3000mAh battery, which is quite a step down from last years 3500mAh. Considering not much has changed on the hardware front we didnt expect the battery life to be miraculousl y on par with the Z Play despite the smaller size.

Average battery life results

Which is fine, because it isnt. The Z2 Play gets about 5-6 hours of screen-on time, which is about what we expected. But the phone has excellent standby time, which allows it to stretch that usage over two days with a fair amount of ease. We found ourselves charging the phone every two days instead of one. Admittedly, the last years model did better here but the new Z2 Play is no slouch and acquits itself quite well.

The phone ships with a 15W Motorola TurboPower charger that charges the phone from flat in about 1 h our 40 minutes.

Loudspeaker and fingerprint sensor

The Moto Z2 Play has just a single loudspeaker on the front. We feel Motorola could do better here and provide stereo speakers like they did on the Nexus 6. The single speaker up front sounds fine when holding the phone in portrait but sounds unbalanced and one-sided when holding the phone in landscape. The audio quality itself isnt great and the speaker sounds very thin and metallic. It does get fairly loud though so ringtones and GPS navigation sounds will be heard clearly.

The fingerprint sensor below the display is one of the best in the business. It is incredibly fast to unlock and not once did we have any issue with the sensor not recognizing the fingerprint properly. This really should be standard now but we are still not quite happy with the level of accuracy we see with other manufacturers, even though speed has improved across the board. Having the sensor on the front also helps with the accuracy as it is really difficult to put your finger on it incorrectly when its right in front of you instead of somewhere on the back where you cant see.

Moto Mods

Its impossible to talk about this phone without mentioning the Moto Mods, which are a big part of the Moto Z proposition.

Last year, Motorola announced Moto Mods for the Moto Z and Z Play, which used magnets and physical contacts to connect to the back of the phones. Models launched last year included the Hasselblad True Zoom, Moto Insta-Share Projector, and JBL SoundBoost, among others.

This year, the Moto Mod story remains the same, but now there are many more models. More importantly, because Motorola took this bit more seriously than, say, LG, the Mods are actually all compatible with last year and this years Moto Z models.

We didnt actually get to review any of them but we did get to spend som e time with all of the new and old Moto Mods available this year.

Moto Style Shell with Wireless Charging

The first of the lot is the Moto Style Shell with Wireless Charging, which is one of the most basic Moto Mod you can get. Compared to last years Style Shell, it adds wireless charging support to the phone. The Style Shell is thin enough that when you snap it on the phone it barely adds any thickness and also hides the camera bump and contact patch. It also adds an extra layer of protection to the back so you dont have to think twice before placing down your phone.

Moto TurboPower Pack

The Moto TurboPower Pack is Motorolas own external battery mod, after the third party ones from Incipio and Mophie announced last year. It includes a massive 3490mAh battery that can potentially double your phones battery. It also uses fast charging to quickly charge your phone. The Mods battery itself can be fast charged independently with the USB-C port placed on the side or charged along with the phone. Along with the battery, it also doubles the thickness of the phone although its still a nicer experience than having a separate power bank.

JBL SoundBoost 2

The JBL SoundBoost 2 is a successor to last years SoundBoost. The design is a lot more refined this year and its also splashproof. You still get the kickstand so you dont have to keep the phone face down or block the speakers. The Mod also has its own battery that doesnt drain your phone. Although f airly loud, the SoundBoost 2 still doesnt sound as good as having a Bluetooth speaker. Also, even though it feels good to hold in hand, the added thickness makes it difficult to carry around in the pocket.

Moto GamePad

The last of the new Mods is the Moto GamePad. It lets you slot the phone in between and turn it into a portable console. In our testing, it didnt quite work with any of the games we tried. Also, the build quality was extremely plasticky and didnt look or feel great at all.

Last years Mods are still available, including the Hasselblad and projector Mod, along with the Incipio vehicle dock.

Unfortunately, the problem with the new Mods is the same as the one last year. Most of them are too expensive and add a lot to the cost of the phone. Also, many of them can easily be replaced by cheaper accesso ries. You can get a power bank to replace the TurboPower pack, which wont be as neat but will definitely be a lot cheaper. A Bluetooth speaker will sound much better than the JBL SoundBoost 2 and again, be cheaper. And while we appreciate the optical zoom and xenon flash on the Hasselblad mod, the image quality, lack of 4K video, massive size and absurd pricing make us want to stay away from it. Its mostly the Insta-Share Projector mod that we felt offered something unique and useful that cannot be easily and cheaply replaced.

So while we really like the design and engineering of most of these Mods, their high price and easy replaceability with cheaper alternatives make them dispensable, especially for a mid-range phone like the Moto Z2 Play.

Software

The Moto Z2 Play ships with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, which is about as good as it can get right now. As is usual for Motorola phones, the level of customizat ion done here is minimal and is mostly for the good.

The Moto UI

Visually the UI looks very close to stock Android. Take the launcher for example, which looks similar to the Pixel Launcher. It even has support for circular app icons and you can press and hold on them to see additional options - if supported by the app - like on the Google Pixel. The only thing that would give it away is Motorolas rather unpleasant looking stock app icons.

The Notifications area

Similar minor changes exist throughout the software but the biggest additions are Moto Actions, Moto Display, and Moto Voice.

Moto Actions lets you use gestures to control your phone. Things such as twisting the phone to turn on the camera or shaking it to turn on the flashlight. You can even turn the fingerprint sensor into a makeshift trackpad and use gestures to navigate through the phone (this disables the on-screen buttons).

Moto Actions

Moto Display is where you will find the option to enable or disable Moto Display, which shows a clock and your notifications on a lockscreen when you move the phone or wave your hand over the screen while the p hone is in sleep. While Moto Display is fine it doesnt stay on all the time and we wish Motorola would just go all-in and include an always-on display mode, especially since they have AMOLED displays on these phones.

Moto Display

Also, the Moto Display has a tendency to wake up even when there is slight movement happening in its vicinity and no one is really trying to wake it up. Motorola also got rid of the Ambient Display mode in Android so if you disable Moto Display you basically dont see notifications on your screen at all unless you wake it up manually. And lets not forget, there is no notification LED on these phones.

The Moto Display also includes Night Display option, which is essentially a blue light filter mode that can be set to turn on or off at a particular time or with sunrise and sunset. For some rea son it also saturates display colors, which is not what we see on other phones, and could just be a bug.

Lastly, there is Moto Voice, which is a basic voice assistant that can be used to see your calendar, messages, etc. Unfortunately, it only works with select languages and with Google Assistant is now mostly superfluous.

Moto Voice

The Z2 Play is also free of bloatware. The only bloatware as such comes from Google, with the entire suite of Google apps, including all the document apps, pre-installed. None of these can be removed either, which is a bit annoying, especially if you have no need for, say, Sheets or Google Translate or perhaps you like some other wallpaper app other than Google Wallpapers.

Apart from that the soft ware experience is clean and really simple. Android now is at a point where practically anyone can pick it up and start using it without any difficulty and stock Android, in particular, is user-friendly. We are glad that Motorola continues to keep things simple when it comes to software and the few additions it makes are mostly useful. Then theres also the fact that the phone ships with the latest version of Android and Motorola has been quite decent when it comes to updating its phones on time.

Performance

With only a small upgrade that the Snapdragon 626 brings over the last years Snapdragon 625, we werent expecting much performance improvements on the Z2 Play compared to the Z play. And we didnt get any. But thats fine since the last years model had no issues with performance.

Like the Z Play, the Z2 Play performs reliably and in a satisfactory manner. It wont exactly enthrall you with its speed or fluidity but what we saw left us plenty satisfied. The Z2 Play just gets things done and does them well and we were rarely left wanting for more performance. Apps opened and closed quickly enough, multitasking worked well and scrolling through apps was also fine. In terms of day to day use, the Z2 Play is a pleasure to use.

Gaming, however, isnt all that impressive. The Adreno 506 isnt really very good and not much better than what you get in the Snapdragon 400 series. This means basic 3D and 2D games will work fine but heavy 3D games are still an issue. It also affects Augmented Reality performance, as apps like Snapchat and Instagram with face filters usually struggle to maintain a decent frame rate while having the filters on during video. Fortunately, the phone does not heat up at all and even after prolonged gaming or other heavy usage it remains cool to touch.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  165097
• < span class="label">Moto Z
  151619
• Moto Z2 Play
  68680
• Moto G5 Plus
  63390
• Moto Z Play
  62217
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  61616
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  44062

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Moto Z
  49
• OnePlus 3T
  49
• Moto Z2 Play
  9.9
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  9.9
• Moto Z Play
  9.8
• Moto G5 Plus
  9.7
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  7.2

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  48
• Moto Z
  31
• Moto Z Play
  10
• Moto Z2 Play
  9.9
• Moto G5 Plus
  9.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  9.7
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  7

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  33
• Moto Z
  32
• Moto Z2 Play
  6.5
• Moto G5 Plus
  6.4
• Moto Z Play
  6.2
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  6.2
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  4.6

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  33
• Moto Z
  18
• Moto Z Play
  6.7
• Moto Z2 Play
  6.5
• Moto G5 Plus
  6.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  6.2
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  4.6

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  20
• Moto Z
  19
• Moto Z2 Play
  3.6
• Moto G5 Plus
  3.5
• Moto Z Play
  3.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  3.4
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  2.5

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  20
• Moto Z
  12
• Moto Z Play
  3.7
• Moto Z2 Play
  3.6
• Moto G5 Plus
  3.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  3.4
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  2.5

Basemark X

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  36958
• Moto Z
  36322
• Moto Z2 Play
  10536
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  10446
• Moto G5 Plus
  10406
• Moto Z Play
  10401
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  7522

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Moto Z
  2690
• OnePlus 3T
  2678
• Moto Z2 Play
  1259
• Moto G5 Plus
  1089
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  1050
• Moto Z Play
  1031

Camera

The Moto Z2 Play has a new 12 megapixel camera on the back with f1.7 aperture, 1.4um pixels and dual pixel phase detection autofocus. The camera also has two-tone dual LED flash and can do 4K video. This is the same camera as the one on the new G5 Plus.

On the front is a 5 megapixel sensor with f2.2 aperture, 1.4um pixels, and also two-tone dual LED flash. This camera is also identical to the one on the G5 Plus, except for the flash.

Camera interface

The camera software is similar to recent Motorola phones but with one small change. The app has an easy-to-use UI with basic controls spread around the viewfinder. The small change in this app is that there is now a dedicated button to switch to video view whereas previously it used to be under the mode switch button on the bottom/top right. The mode switch still has the video option but now there is another option there for live video streaming over YouTube. Additional options are available in a drawer on the left.

Being the same camera from the G5 Plus, the image quality is similar, which is to say good but not spectacular. We noticed a good deal of detail in the images and the colors were great. What we werent thrilled w ith was the dynamic range, which combined with the tendency to over expose, lead to many blown highlights. In low light, the colors lose their vibrance and go very pale and the darker areas of the image take a distinct bluish appearance. In good balanced lighting scenarios the camera can take some great looking images but throw some challenging light at it, whether it is high contrast scenario or low light environment, and the Z2 Play starts to struggle.

Camera samples

The camera does include an HDR mode but its efficacy ranged from useful to made no difference to sometimes actually made the image worse. In some situations, it does bring up a fair bit of detail from the dark regions while recovering the highlights. Mostly, however, it only opens up the shadows without touching the highlights. Sometimes it will just overexpose, which improves the shadows but further contributes to highlight clipping. Its quite unreliable and its best to experiment with it than leaving it on auto.

HDR samples

The camera also includes a bunch of video settings. You can choose from 480p30, 720p30, 1080p30, 1080p60 or 4K30 modes. There is also 720p120 slow motion option.

Electronic image stabilization is available in 720p and 1080p30 modes but not in 1080p60 and 4K modes. As you will see with our video samples, it performs really well, but we really wish there was a way to have the 4K videos stabilized as well.

There is also HDR option available for video, which is available in all m odes except 1080p60. This is unfortunate, as we consider the 1080p60 option to be quite a versatile mode for day-to-day shooting.

In terms of video quality, the Z2 Play does reasonably well. The issues with photo quality are also present in video, with the dynamic range being a sore point. The HDR mode once again is a hit or miss here, especially since this is video.

One of the problems with the Z2 Play camera is the same one as on the G5 cameras and that is the somewhat low resolution viewfinder. In the main camera app this isnt a big deal as the viewfinder is only used to compose the shot but in apps like Snapchat, which use viewfinder frames to capture an image or video, the quality of the viewfinder feed greatly affects the output.

Verdict

After all the praises the Z Play got last year, coming up with a worthy follow-up is a challenge. However, the company has done a stellar job of improving the phone across many fronts while keeping the things that were already good mostly the same.

The design has seen a marked improvement and the thinner and lighter construction is definitely appreciated. We wish Motorola would cut down on the bezels in future but when it comes to build quality and just the general feel in hand, the Z2 Play is hands-down impressive. We also really liked the display, even though it could be brighter (or less reflective) in the sun.

When it comes to software, Motorola once again shows that less is more and we love the fact that we are getting the latest version of Android with minimal embellishments. The few additi ons that are present are mostly welcome and in good taste.

The phone also packs in a reasonably good camera for the price. And lastly, we also love the battery life, which might not be good as on last years model, but was still quite impressive in its own right. The trade off with the thinner and lighter design was well worth it.

Unfortunately, all these improvements come at a price and the Z2 Play is priced higher than the launch price of the last years model. While the Moto Z Play came out at $399, the Z2 Play will set you back by $499.

To be fair, we still think this is a good price for the kind of phone you are getting. However, the comparison to the competition is inevitable - the OnePlus 3T, for instance, (for as long as its still available), is the better smartphone and it doesnt cost more.

If you intend to get any of the Moto Mods, which Motorola promotes heavily alongside the phone, this would further add to the cost of the device pushing it straight into flagship smartphone territory, a place where the Z2 Play just cant compete no matter how good it is.

This makes it hard for us to immediately recommend the Z2 Play over the competition. Its still a great option if, for some reason, you have any doubts about the smaller brands which are focused on undercutting the major ones with better specs for your money. Of course, you can always wait out on your purchase until the Z2 Play goes through a price revision or two. With the right price, it certainly has the potential to become a no-brainer purchase like its predecessor.

! ( hope useful)