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Moto Z3 Play specs: A leap in power, but what about everything else?
The Moto Z3 Play has just been announced, marking the latest entry in the “budget-but-not-really” family of devices.
Read Next: Moto Z3 Play review: The value is still in the Moto Mods
Is it a huge upgrade over the original Moto Z Play? What about the Moto Z2 Play? Does it have any flagship-level features? Well, we’ve got all the Moto Z3 Play specs you need to know in the table below.
| Motorola Moto Z3 Play | |
|---|---|
Display | 6-inch AMOLED 2,160 x 1,080 resolution 18:9 screen ratio |
SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Octa-core Kryo 260 at 1.8GHz |
GPU | Adreno 509 |
RAM | 4/6GB |
Storage | 64/128GB MicroSD up to 2TB |
Cameras | Rear cameras Main: 12MP with 1.4 micron pixels, f/1.7 aperture Secondary: 5MP Front camera 8MP sensor with 1.12-micron pixels, f/2.0 aperture |
Audio | Front-facing speaker USB Type-C No 3.5mm jack 24-bit audio at 94kHz |
Battery | 3,000mAh battery Non-removable TurboCharging |
IP rating | Water-repellent coating No IP rating |
Network | LTE Cat. 12 |
Software | Android 8.1 Oreo |
Dimensions and weight | 156.5 x 70.5 x 6.75mm 156g |
Colors | deep indigo |
Moto Z3 Play specs walkthrough
Starting with performance, the Moto Z3 Play is looking like the biggest generational leap for the series yet. The original Moto Z Play made do with an unspectacular Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of expandable storage. Meanwhile, the Z2 Play delivered a slightly faster Snapdragon 626 chip, 3GB/4GB of RAM, and 32GB/64GB of expandable storage.
The Moto Z3 Play, on the other hand, cranks things up with a Snapdragon 636 chipset, 4GB/6GB of RAM, and 64GB/128GB of expandable storage. (The U.S. version will get the 4GB/64GB model.)
The RAM bump is sure to be welcomed, but the new chipset makes for a claimed performance boost of 30 percent over the Z2 Play. In fact, Qualcomm says the Kryo 260 CPUs in the new processor offer up to 40 percent better performance than the Snapdragon 630. So if your mid-range phone must have solid performance, the Moto Z3 Play spec sheet looks great, at least in this regard.
This is all powered by a 3,000mAh battery, which is the same size as the Z2 Play. It’s a little disappointing that Lenovo hasn’t returned to the Z Play’s 3,510mAh battery — those Power Bank Moto Mods won’t sell themselves, right? Nevertheless, we still get Turbo Charging here, giving us 50 percent capacity in 30 minutes.
The latest Moto phone gets dual-camera technology this year too, in the form of a 12MP f/1.7 main camera and 5MP secondary camera. Of course, this enables depth-of-field tricks and a portrait mode.
Switch to the front-facing camera and we see an 8MP f/2.0 snapper, which makes for a solid resolution boost over the older phones. The company has slapped portrait mode on the front too, using software processing instead of depth information from two cameras.
All in all, the Moto Z3 Play ticks the boxes for a mid-range smartphone camera experience in 2018. But if all you care about is a no-frills photography experience, you’re looking at what seems to be the same main camera as the Z2 Play (down to aperture, pixel size and lack of OIS). Here’s hoping Lenovo has tuned the image processing, then.
Moving on with our Moto Z3 Play specs overview, Lenovo beat Apple to dropping the port with the original Moto Z, so we can’t be surprised when they do it again. But it still stings when a company does this to its cheaper devices.
Finally, Lenovo has made a song and dance about the phone coming in at 6.75mm thin. What is this, 2013? Anyway, I’m sure there are plenty of people who’d prefer a slightly thicker phone with a bigger battery.
Read next: Our Moto Z3 Play hands-on
What do you think of the Moto Z3 Play specs? Do Moto Mods make for a great selling point? Let us know in the comments below!