Motorola Moto Z Play... In 2019

I love Motorola phones. Since leaving the iOS camp two years ago, our house has become full of them and my latest purchase is a Moto Z Play. This is a first gen one released in 2016.


Specs

Spec wise, the Moto Z Play packs in Octa-Core 2.0Ghz Snapdragon 625 processors, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, 5.5” screen, 16mpx camera and 5mpx front camera and a whopping 3510mAh fast charging battery. It shipped with Android Marshmallow and received Nougat and Oreo.

It is the only version of the original Z range that has a headphone socket (essential to me), which is located on the bottom next to the USB-C socket. The right side houses the very tiny volume and power buttons. The top holds the pull out SIM (dual SIM in my case) and MicroSD card tray.

The back features a shiny naked glass back. The Z range takes advantage of the Moto Mods accessories which includes a snap on interchangeable back cover. This would cover the Moto Mod pin connector, protect the back of the phone and ensures the camera doesn’t stick out.

This is my first experience of USB-C, and what an improvement it is. The socket and cable just seem a stronger fit over Micro USB.


Feel

A new phone always feels special, but I was so surprised how gorgeous this Moto Z Play looks and feels. The large screen looks great and the metal frame around the edges of the phone give it a solid feel. The naked glass back seems a bit vulnerable - something I will have to address with a Moto Mod Shell. It is a very slippery phone to handle. Even the metal side make it slide in your hand.

The volume buttons and power/lock button on the side are very small and will take a little getting used to.


Battery and Performance

This phone has a massive 3510mAh internal battery and boy does it perform. I got 2.5 days use out of a single charge. I haven’t had the phone long but it has broken that ‘charge every night’ cycle I have been used to.

The 2.0Ghz Octa Core processor and 3GB RAM give this phone superb general performance. The whole phone is a joy to use and amazingly quick. I certainly noticed a huge performance increase from the Hexa-Core processing in my Moto X Style.


Screen and Audio

The 5.5” screen is very bright and crisp, even when the brightness is turned down.

As a phone it works perfectly and call quality was superb. It has a single speaker on the front which has decent sound - as decent as you get on a phone. The Z Play is the only Z range phone that kept the headphone socket, something I need and listening to music through it was great. I listen to a lot of music and bluetooth audio just doesn’t cut it for me.


Camera

The main camera is a 16mp that takes great photos in the right light but it can let in a little too much white at times. The dual-LED dual-tone flash does a good job of low light areas. Without a shell on, the camera module sticks out and means the phone doesn’t sit flat when laid down.

The front camera is a 5mpx 1080p ’selfie’ camera, which does its job and is great for videos, which I take a lot of for uploading online.

It seems to take more of a cue from newer Motos. It doesn't have double tap power button to open the camera but a twist of the phone does. The Motorola camera app has the same layout as the G4.


Storage

I would never go back to a phone with less than 32GB internal storage. The breathing room this gives you and the amount of apps you can install is fantastic. The addition of a MicroSD slot to house all my music is superb - this is something that put me off looking at a Pixel.

Oreo

This is my first experience of Oreo (my two previous phones stopped at Nougat). It certainly is fast and has a few changes over Nougat that I am still getting used to. It houses more app icons on screen, the swipe up to open the app drawer and the soft press on some app icons will give you shortcuts within these apps before opening it. I love the new incoming call screen too, it is much neater looking.

Moto Additions

Motorola phones are praised for their near stock Android, but it is nice to have a few additional tweaks. The twist to activate camera and chop action to turn on the flash light are great as well as the way the screen will wake with a simple wave of the hand over it.

Fingerprint Sensor

OK, so this might not be a new thing but it is the first time I have had one. I never saw the appeal of one, but within hours of using it, it has made unlocking the phone and signing in to apps so much easier. It is a fantastic addition.


Conclusion

I am loving this new (to me) Moto. Another fantastic phone with near stock Android and insane battery life. The design and look of it is superb, with my only concerns being the slippery feel to it.

Motorola really seem to pack a lot in to their phones for the price. Even though this phone is a few years old, it doesn’t feel like it. It still packs a punch and outperforms anything I have used or seen recently.

Written by Simon Royal. Follow me at twitter.com/simonroyal

Motorola Moto G4... Why I Am Keeping Mine

In February 2017, I switched from an iPhone to Android. I bought a Motorola Moto G4 and compared to my aging iPhone, this thing screamed along. The 5.5” screen, octa-core processor and 2GB of RAM were decent specs and its £159 price tag was half that of a used iPhone.

The Moto G4 was actually released March 2016, so is now coming up for two years old. The Moto G5 was released March 2017 but with a smaller screen than its predecessor, it also benches lower so I decided not to upgrade. The Moto G6 is due to be released shortly, but unless it offers serious improvements I will be holding on to my G4 for some time yet.

Looking around at other handsets from other manufacturers in the sub £200 price bracket and I was thoroughly disappointed with what was offered. Could a two year old mid range handset like the Moto G4 really be better than what is currently being offered?

The Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 and Sony Xperia L1 both have a measly quad core processor, while the Nokia 5 and LG K10 2017 have octa core processors and all feature 2GB RAM.

All of the above feature 16GB internal storage, 13mpx rear camera and 5mpx front facing camera and have Android 7.0 Nougat. While some may have or get the 8.0 Oreo update, some may not and my Moto G4 isn’t going to get it either.

On a side note I was shocked to see low priced sub £50 Android handsets such as the ZTE Blade A110 shipping with Android 5.1.1 ‘Lollipop’ and the Alcatel OneTouch Pixi 3 3.5 even ships with Android 4.4 ‘KitKat’ an OS released in 2013.

Nothing in the same price bracket as my Moto G4 offers much if anything more than I am getting now - and considering my handset is now a two year old model, it really shows how much ‘bang for your buck’ you get from a Moto G handset.

My family all own Moto G handsets. My daughter has a Moto G, my son has a Moto G2, my other son has a Moto G3 and both my wife and I have a Moto G4. They are cracking phones offering far better specs and speed than comparably priced handsets.

Even two years on the Moto G4 is a superb handset. It has never caused me any issues, never let me down, is still super fast, does everything I need and the 3,000 mAh battery lasts forever.

The upgrade from Marshmallow to Nougat didn’t caused any slow down and is a real shame it won’t see Oreo - but having the latest version isn’t that important in the Android world.

It is by far the best handset I have ever owned, a joy to use. On the used market you can pick them up for about £70 which is an absolute bargain.

Written by Simon Royal. Follow me at twitter.com/simonroyal

Motorola Moto G - 1st gen to 4th gen in 2017

Motorola returned to the smartphone world with a storm in 2013 after Google bought their mobile side in 2012. Launching three new lines they were instantly catapulted in to the Android limelight. 

The E range is budget, the G range is mid way and the X, and later joined by the Z, are the high end. The G range stood out as a happy medium with Motorola packing some serious punch into these compared to its competitors.

I have had the opportunity to use all four handsets in the G range. In fact all four have been in our house over the past few weeks, so I am comparing them and how they perform in 2017.

All Moto G handsets follow a similar minimal look. The back has the camera and flash and trademark dimple, the top has the headphone socket, the bottom the MicroUSB socket for charging and data transfer. The right side has the power/lock button as well as the volume rocker.

Moto G (XT1032)

The original Moto G - released in 2013 - is the smallest of all, featuring a 4.5” screen and no MicroSD card slot. A heavy but well built device. The lack of MicroSD card slot is a big turn off for me as the built in 8GB is too limiting without expandability - although also available in 16GB version.

It can handle social media and YouTube videos without issues and even gaming is possible due to its quad core processor and 1GB RAM - but space will be your main concern. It shipped with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and received 5.0 Lollipop which it runs very well. As a four year old handset it still performs very well for its intended tasks - but lacks the new look OS, which had a major visual overhaul in Marshmallow.

Later on, variants were released that included 4G and MicroSD card slots - although I have never seen any of these.

Moto G2 (XT1068)

The second generation Moto G - released in 2014 - upped the stakes, growing to a 5” screen and adding an MicroSD card slot. It has a more plastic feel, which gives it a lighter feel without making it feel cheap. 

The bigger screen, drastically improved cameras and inclusion of a MicroSD card slot put it at a huge advantage over its predecessor - despite both having the same CPU and GPU. This model was well received by the media and offered serious value for money.

It still performs superbly today, running Android 6.0 Marshmallow (shipping with 4.4.4 KitKat) and easily keeps up with other newer handsets on the market. My daughter has this model and she uses it for light gaming, messaging and music with no issues. It really is a joy to use and doesn't feel like a three year old phone. The battery is easily as good as new phones and she can stretch hers for days. An interesting bonus too is that the G2 has stereo front speakers - producing superb sound for a phone (as far as I know, the only version of the G range to feature them). Later on, a variant, the XT1072, with 4G support was released.

Moto G3 (XT1541)

The third generation Moto G - released in 2015 - took the same design and tweaked it slightly. The back is the big give away featuring a textured back casing for easier grip. The cameras were upped once again offering a very capable 13mpx rear camera offering 1080p videos (over the 720p of previous G handsets) and dual LED flash, the front camera is taken to 5mpx. A slightly better CPU and GPU were introduced and it also added 4G/LTE in all models.

However the performance difference between the second generation and third generation is barely noticeable. My son has the third generation and he loves it. He plays a lot of games and never once complains about speed or delays, the only issue he has is the 8GB internal storage which can limit your apps even though Marshmallow introduced combined storage for internal and SD, it doesn’t work just as it should. There is was a 16GB model which had 2GB of RAM but I am not sure if it was released in the UK. (Editors note: the 16GB/2GB variant only seems to have been sold on Amazon UK, and I too have never seen one in the wild).

The battery size was increased by over 20%, which makes an already decent battery life even better and it features IPX7 water resistance which means it can be submerged in water - although I have never wanted to test it. 

One final addition over its older brother is the ability to wake the phone just by picking it up. Motion triggers the screen to wake, which is a handy feature.

Moto G4 (XT1622)

The fourth generation Moto G - released in 2016 - makes further leaps over the previous version, upping the screen even further to 5.5” (1080P instead of 720P in the previous generations) and cramming in impressive Octa Core processors, 2GB RAM but did keep the same camera specs as the G3. The device is splash-proof rather than water resistant like the G3 had been. 

My wife recently picked up a G4. The performance gain in the new specifications are fantastic. This handset flies and for something in the mid-range market and price range gives even top end handsets twice its price a run for their money.

I was a little dubious about the 5.5” display - especially as both my wife and I had phones with 4” screens - but the phone is large but not uncomfortable in the hand, and the huge display makes reading web sites and playing games great. The larger display is now 1080 - upped from the 720 of previous devices.

It packs in a whopping 3000mAh battery which sees my wife through nearly two days of average use. It ships with Android 6.0 Marshmallow - but is due for the 7.0 Nougat update shortly.

It is also the first Moto G handset to be produced under Lenovo, after acquiring the mobile side from Google.

Moto G5
Due for release in March 2017, the specs are not yet known for the Moto G5, however rumours are it will feature a 5.5" screen and Octa-Core 2Ghz and 3GB RAM.

Conclusion

The whole Moto G range has blown me away and my dismissive attitude towards Android handsets have changed considerably. All four released handsets offer so much power for so little money, it is hard to see why most people would need anything more expensive or powerful.

For the budget conscious the Moto G2 is a great bargain - however it lacks 4G. The Moto G3 is a little more expensive but does have better camera, slightly better processor and 4G.

The Moto G4 is still new and commands a much bigger price tag - but worth it. The original Moto is still good but its cameras are poor and lack of MicroSD card slot might cause space issues.

For me the G2 is the sweet spot between features and price.

Find below a comparison summary of the four models.

Moto G: Nov 2013, Quad Core 1.2Ghz, 1GB RAM, 4.5” screen, 8/16GB internal, 

no SD slot, 5mpx cam, 1.3mpx front cam, 2070mAh battery and Lollipop.

Moto G 2: Sept 2014, Quad Core 1.2Ghz, 1GB RAM, 5” screen, 8GB internal, 

SD slot, 8mpx cam, 2mpx front cam, 2070mAh battery and Marshmallow.

Moto G 3: July 2015, Quad Core 1.4Ghz, 1GB RAM, 5” screen, 8/16GB internal, 

SD slot, 13mpx cam, 5mpx front cam, 2470mAh battery and Marshmallow.

Moto G 4: May 2016, Octa Core 1.4/1.2Ghz, 2GB RAM, 5.5” screen, 16/32GB internal, 

SD slot, 13mpx cam, 5mpx front cam, 3000mAh battery and Nougat.

Written by Simon Royal. Follow me at twitter.com/simonroyal