The good The affordable Moto Z Play works with swappable modular accessories, retains its headphone jack ( unlike the more upmarket Moto Z and Z Force) and has a battery that goes on and on.
The bad The Z Play is the thickest and heaviest phone in the Moto Z series and its fingerprint sensor, annoyingly, can be mistaken for a home button.
The bottom line Even if you don’t give two licks about its cool modular capabilities, get the Motorola Moto Z for an affordable phone with an impressively enduring battery life
Motorola’s Moto Z is a premium phone that made waves with its magnetic snap-on accessories. Unlike the LG G5, which also had swappable components, Motorola’s take on modularity made a lot more sense and was easier to use.
With its Moto Z Play, the company trimmed down the hardware but beefed up the battery, retained the quirky Moto Mod feature and slapped on a cheaper price. And what can I say? I’m all for it. Affordable, reliable and boasting super-long battery life, the Z Play is an excellent midrange phone even without the Mods.
The device is available in the US on Verizon for $408, but an unlocked version that’s compatible with GSM networks will be available globally in October for $450 ( or £347 and AU$590, converted) . Compare that with the original Z and its other counterpart the Z Force, which costs an additional $200 or more, the Z Play offers you all the goodies from Motorola’s Z series, without breaking your wallet.