Moto Z3 Play hands-on review

Introduction

Today Motorola announced the next-generation Moto Z series with the Moto Z3 Play serving as the headliner. Being a placeholder for both flagship (Force) and mid-range (Play) devices, all Moto Z phones have one thing in common - they all support the iconic Moto mods.

Motorola promised that the first wave of Mods - a.k.a. the current one - will serve three generations of Moto Z phones and just as expected the Moto Z3 Play supports all existing Moto Mods. And you bet Motorola will probably introduce some new ones to the already rich Mods lineup.

Back to the Moto Z3 Play - it's a glass phone with metal frame, just like the Moto Z2 Play. The Z3 brings similar Super AMOLED screen, but adds some extra rows of pixels to achieve the trendy 18:9 ratio. The Snapdragon chip got an update, too, it's now the 636 model with more powerful processor and graphics.

The camera department had a boost as well - there is a second snapper on the back for depth information, while the selfie shooter has a new 8MP sensor.

Moto Z3 Play specs

• Body: Gorilla Glass 3 front and back, aluminum frame; p2i water repellent nano coating Display: 6.01-inch, 18:9, FHD+ 2160x1080, Super AMOLED, MAX Vision
• OS: Android 8.1
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636, 1.8GHz octa-core Kryo 260 CPU, Adreno 509 GPU, 4GB RAM
• Storage: 32/64GB internal, microSD expansion
• Rear Camera: 12 megapixels, f1.7, dual pixel PDAF, two-tone LED, 4K video
• Front Camera: 8 megapixels, f2.0, 1080p video
• Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Dual SIM (optional), Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, A-GPS/GLONASS, NFC, USB-C port
• Battery: 3,000mAh non-removable, Motorola TurboPower fast charging support
• Misc: Fingerprint sensor, Moto Display, Moto Mod support

The fingerprint scanner has moved to the side, just like plenty of Xperia phones used to have it. We guess this was the only place for it, as the back should be clean for the Moto Mods, while the growth in the display didn't leave any room to spare at the front. Anyway, it looks promising.

The Moto Z3 Play is available in Brazil as of today, while the global rollout should begin in a few weeks. And if you are eager to know more, our hands-on impressions start right after the break.

Hands-on photos come courtesy of geekspin.co.