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. The Z Play is a fully functioning handset, but on its back are two rows of magnetic bumps that let you attach and swap out accessories called Moto Mods. These Mods have a variety of uses and can be as simple as a decorative back cover (those covers come in a variety of patterns and textures) or as complex as an extra battery case, a snap-on speaker with kickstand or a projector. Motorola's newest Mod, a point-and-shoot camera accessory with a 10x optical zoom, is called the Hasselblad True Zoom.
The Mods are incredibly easy to use, With the audio speaker, music automatically starts playing when attached,and the projector requires hardly any setup, Even the True Zoom takes only a few seconds to ramp up and start capturing pictures, Connecting the point-and-shoot camera accessory with the Moto Z Play, The Z Play looks like the Z and Z Force (they share that annoying iphone 5 screen protectors fingerprint sensor on the front that can be mistaken too easily for the home button), but as the more affordable midrange option, its specs vary, For one, instead of ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack like the other two, the Z Play still has its jack, That means its USB Type-C port and headphone jack exist side by side, together and happy, and you don't need a dongle adapter to listen to your music, You can also charge your phone while listening to beats, With even the Apple iPhone 7 losing its jack, maybe there's hope for your wired headphones in this cruel post-headphone-jack world, after all..
Though Z Play's 5.5-inch display is the same size as the other two, but it has a 1,080-pixel resolution compared with the others' 1,440p, and it isn't as durable as the Z Force's ShatterShield display. The Z Play also has a less powerful processor and a bit less RAM and its 16-megapixel rear camera sits between the Z and the Z Force's in terms of megapixels (compare all specs below). The camera lacks optical image stabilization too, so your photos might look blurrier if you have an unsteady hand.
From left to right: Motorola's Moto Z Play, Z and Z Force, Lastly, the Z Play is a tad thicker and heavier than the already weighty Z Force, This is because the former packs a slightly larger battery, Motorola says this is the "longest-lasting phone battery" on a Moto phone, which I'll get to later, For a quick comparison, check out our chart below, The phone's 16-megapixel camera took clear, decent photos and its shutter operated quickly, Though I didn't have as a noticeably rough time with the camera's white balance as I did with the Z and Z Force, some images I captured still had white hues that were slightly tinted blue, Dimmer environments understandably featured more graininess, but the camera was altogether satisfactory for quick, casual iphone 5 screen protectors shots, For more about photo quality, check out the images below and click on them to view them at their full resolution..
The first great smartphone of 2015. Beautiful and bold..with complications. The new no-compromise MacBook. A stellar on-ear headphone. Crave-worthy curves for a premium price. 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.
