Moto Z2 Play is a mid-range
Android smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
developed by
Motorola Mobility
Motorola Mobility LLC, marketed as Motorola, is an American consumer electronics manufacturer primarily producing smartphones and other mobile devices running Android OS, Android. It is a subsidiary of the Chinese multinational technology company ...
, as the successor to 2016's
Moto Z Play
Moto Z Play is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Unveiled in August 2016 at IFA Berlin, it is a mid-range version of the Moto Z, distinguished primarily by its larger battery (thus making it a ''de facto'' successor to the M ...
. As with other smartphones in the
Moto Z
Moto Z is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Unveiled on June 9, 2016, as its flagship model for the year, the Moto Z is distinguished by the "Moto Mods" technosystem which allows case accessories to be magnetically attached t ...
series, it supports Motorola's magnetically attachable "
MotoMods" modules.
Specifications
Hardware
The Z2 Play features a
Qualcomm
Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...
Snapdragon 626 system-on-chip, backed by 3 or 4GB of RAM. It comes with either 32 or 64GB storage, with
microSD
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
expansion. The phone does not have much design changes from its predecessor, to be able to have successful compatibility with previous Moto Mods, as Motorola promised. Some notable changes include a metal backplate, instead of the glass back used previously, a slight reduction in thickness (−1mm), and change of the shape of the home button from square to oval to enhance your experience with the device, with the built-in “Moto” app, which can enable “one button navigation”. The handset comes with a
1080p
1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...
AMOLED
AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode, ) is a type of OLED display device technology. OLED describes a specific type of thin-film-display technology in which organic compounds form the electroluminescence, electroluminescent materia ...
display. It does not have an
IP (International Protection) dust and water resistance rating, but does have a 3.5mm headphone jack and an internal FM radio. The camera department has been improved as well, sporting a 12MP sensor with 1.7 aperture, but lacks
OIS.
Software
It comes with Android 7.1.1
“Nougat”, with a few software tweaks. It is possible to upgrade the phone to Android 8.0.0
“Oreo” or Android 9.0
“Pie” with an update.
Reception
''CNET'' noted its strong battery life, clever software and magnetic Moto Mod add-ons as the Motorola Z2 Play's main strengths, while also saying that it felt uncomfortable without a cover and complained about poorer battery life as compared to its
predecessor.
''Pocket-lint'' praised its battery life, fingerprint sensor's gesture controls and the processor's smoothness, but they also felt that the
OnePlus 5
The OnePlus 5 (also abbreviated as OP5) is a smartphone made by OnePlus. It is the successor to the OnePlus 3T, which was released in 2016. The OnePlus 5 was officially unveiled during a keynote on 20 June 2017 and first released on June 20, 20 ...
gives a better run for money and that not all MotoMods fit perfectly.
Further reading
Android Authority Review
References
Android (operating system) devices
Motorola mobile phones
Mobile phones introduced in 2017
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