Extra-tall displays are an increasingly common sight on budget devices nowadays. Even though the new aspect ratios typically leave you with less horizontal real estate, it is still hard to complain or argue against the practical benefits of more vertical room for most everyday tasks. Especially, when the deal does not include a notch.
Just like many of its competitors, Motorola decided to hunker down and bring 18:9 to the masses, including as part of the affordable Moto G6 Play package.
Users looking to same a few bucks from the regular Moto G6 won't have to sacrifice on screen diagonal at all.
The Play does come with a slight bump down in resolution. But, 720 x 1440 pixels and a density rating of 282ppi is still pretty decent for an entry-level phone.
Display test | 100% brightness | ||
Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
0.564 | 776 | 1376 | |
0.418 | 610 | 1459 | |
0.415 | 582 | 1402 | |
0.548 | 555 | 1013 | |
0.419 | 554 | 1321 | |
0.351 | 551 | 1570 | |
0.356 | 531 | 1492 | |
0 | 518 | ∞ | |
0.288 | 510 | 1771 | |
0.378 | 503 | 1331 | |
0.364 | 484 | 1330 | |
0 | 482 | ∞ | |
0.339 | 476 | 1404 | |
0.236 | 458 | 1941 | |
0.266 | 415 | 1560 | |
0 | 408 | ∞ | |
0.45 | 362 | 802 | |
0 | 348 | ∞ |
The IPS LCD panel Moto managed to acquire and fit inside the G6 Play budget is decent, if not particularly impressive. Under normal conditions, its brightness tops off at 476 nits, with respectable enough contrast. Max Auto allows it to shine at up to 554 nits, at the cost of some contrast.
The Moto G6 Play offers a less than stellar experience under strong sunlight, but it's still usable in most cases.
On a more positive note, color accuracy is surprisingly good, if a few conditions are met. In it's default mode, the whites on the G6 Play screen have a distinct blue hue. Switching between the Standard and Vivid color modes does little to correct that. The maximum deltaE sits at 6.4, with a maximum of 13.3 in the blue.
However, setting the color temperature from the default setting to Warm does yield tangible results. This way, you can get the color deviation down to a respectable average deltaE of 3.8 and a maximum of 6.5. Almost what we would consider color-accurate.
At 9mm thick, the Motorola Moto G6 Play is quite a chunky phone, no question about it. Still, it does compensate for it's girth, at least to some extent, with a large 4,000 mAh battery. Sure, you could justifiably argue that a lot of the juice end up kind of wasted on the inefficient 28nm Snapdragon chipset. Undoubtedly, something newer, like the Snapdragon 450 would do a better job, with its 14nm node. Failing that, the older and now likely more affordable Snapdragon 625 is tried and true and still a solid choice.
But, we might be getting a bit too picky. The Snapdragon 430 (non-US) review unit, we tested at the office still did a solid job, stretching the 4,000 Mah battery pack to its full extent.
It scored an overall endurance rating of 92 hours - more than respectable.
Looking at the particular numbers in detail, Motorola appears to have done a bang-up optimization job all-around. The near-vanilla Android OS definitely helps a fair bit and as a result, the Moto G6 Play easily breaks the 200-hour barrier in standby.
Even with its older 28nm development process, the Snapdragon 430 and its X6 LTE modem, in particular, manage to clock in over 30 hours of call time. Google's Chrome browser and File app/video player don't disappoint either. Both manage to keep pushing content on the HD+ display for over 14hours on a single charge. Overall, while the Moto G6 Play is a bit on the chunky side, it feels quite comfortable away from a power outlet for prolonged periods of time.
Motorola was also considerate enough to include support for its own Turbo power fast charging standard in the Moto G6 Play. It is actually one of the cheapest phones out there, with quick top-off support.
The Moto G6 Play is, theoretically capable of sucking in power at up to 15W. However, we can't really confirm is a compatible Turbo Power charger will be provided in the box. Package contents frequently differ from market to market and Lenovo has a pretty bumpy track record in this area. So, the best way to go about it is to check with your local retailer of choice.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Motorola Moto G6 Play for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Motorola was definitely generous in the battery department, but the loudspeaker setup is a whole other story. The Moto G6 Play only has a single speaker - the earpiece, above the display. It is powered to pump out some volume and that's about it.
Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
64.1 | 65.3 | 68.5 | Below Average | |
62.6 | 68.0 | 71.0 | Average | |
64.5 | 72.9 | 72.0 | Good | |
66.1 | 70.0 | 76.2 | Good | |
66.7 | 70.6 | 75.0 | Good | |
67.0 | 69.3 | 76.1 | Good | |
66.1 | 68.4 | 82.1 | Good | |
65.9 | 70.8 | 85.8 | Very Good | |
66.4 | 71.1 | 85.1 | Very Good | |
76.1 | 72.7 | 81.0 | Excellent | |
67.4 | 72.2 | 91.6 | Excellent | |
91.5 | 74.9 | 86.9 | Excellent |
The G6 Play is a bit quiet, especially in its default mode, with the audio equalizer turned off. Speaking of which, it's a bit odd that Motorola decided to provide a really in-depth audio equalizer, for the single, underwhelming speaker. It even bears the Dolby audio branding.
Still, we can't complain too much, unlike most smartphone audio tuning suit, this one did not reduce the overall output volume. On the contrary, it increased it slightly, while also managing to open up the soundstage noticeably. If configured correctly, that is.
If you spend enough time tweaking the sliders and toggles, for your content of choice, you can actually achieve tangible results, like a clearer voice in movies or richer simulated bass, if that's your thing.
Motorola Moto G6 Play matched the splendid clarity of its Plus sibling in the active external amplifier part of the test. Its loudness fell seriously short though, giving away its lower standing.
Loudness remained below average when we hooked up our headphones too, but the clarity was downright impressive. The Moto G6 Play delivered a performance that would be worthy of a device with a much higher price tag. Unless you have high impedance headphones and the volume is actually a deal-breaker, you really can't wish for much more than that.
Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
+0.06, -0.03 | -89.0 | 86.6 | 0.0052 | 0.019 | -87.3 | |
+0.06, -0.03 | -90.5 | 87.1 | 0.0054 | 0.028 | -77.3 | |
+0.00, -0.03 | -93.6 | 93.5 | 0.0050 | 0.011 | -94.6 | |
+0.02, -0.02 | -93.5 | 93.4 | 0.0067 | 0.033 | -81.0 | |
+0.01, -0.10 | -92.5 | 92.7 | 0.0019 | 0.0077 | -91.2 | |
+0.50, -0.20 | -91.4 | 91.8 | 0.0079 | 0.402 | -51.5 | |
+0.10, -0.20 | -37.5 | 80.4 | 0.0018 | 4.735 | -93.3 | |
+0.05, -0.03 | -94.3 | 90.2 | 0.0027 | 0.019 | -58.6 | |
+0.02, -0.31 | -38.8 | 81.7 | 0.0013 | 4.690 | -95.9 | |
+0.25, -0.23 | -93.3 | 90.4 | 0.0045 | 0.227 | -53.9 | |
+0.02, -0.01 | -92.6 | 92.6 | 0.0021 | 0.012 | -94.4 | |
+0.17, -0.03 | -92.0 | 92.1 | 0.0023 | 0.092 | -52.8 |
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Tip us
1.7m 126k
RSS
EV
Merch
Log in I forgot my password Sign up