Motorola Moto Z2 Force is a combination of reliability, elegance and top performance. In addition to the gadget's extensive features, you can add new features to it using plug-ins.

Screen that can't be broken

A bright and contrasting 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 × 1440 is assembled using proprietary ShatterShield technology. The screen module consists of 5 layers:

• plastic;
• flexible glass;
• sensor;
• the screen itself;
• durable aluminum backing.

Due to this, the display turned out to be incredibly durable. You can throw your smartphone on the floor from a height of up to 2 meters, drop heavy objects on it - not a scratch will remain on the screen!

Control your voice

The smartphone received a proprietary Moto shell, in which special emphasis is placed on advanced controls. For example, going to the previous page, opening the settings menu, activating the screen - all this can be programmed for gestures.

BUT system utility Moto Voice allows you to control your gadget using voice commands. Just speak a few phrases into the speaker and the smart smartphone will remember your voice. After that, it is enough to ask to see a calendar or a weather widget, and Moto Z2 Force will instantly execute the command.

ahead of time

In its class, the Moto Z2 Force, equipped with a Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor with 4 GB random access memory, demonstrates, perhaps, the best performance indicators. The gadget responds to commands with lightning speed, works excellently in multitasking mode and maintains a high frame rate in graphically pumped games.

In addition, Moto Z2 Force demonstrates impressive capabilities when working with mobile networks. With the 4G LTE module running, the bandwidth of the smartphone reaches 1 GB per second, so the gadget is quite ready for the emergence of ultra-fast fifth-generation networks.

Get your smartphone

The Motorola Moto Z2 Force is a modular smartphone so you can customize the feature you need.

Lacking the capabilities of a 22 megapixel dual main camera with optical stabilization? Install the Moto 360 Camera wide-angle camera module, which also allows you to broadcast online.

Are you an avid gamer and ready to stick for hours in your favorite game? For you, a module is provided in the form of a gamepad with familiar controls. Connoisseurs of high-quality and strong sound can install JBL speaker, and a projector module is connected to a smartphone to watch movies.

With overlays, you can even change appearance smartphone, for example, use a panel made of wood or corrugated metal. And to extend battery life, simply install the plug-in TurboPower Pack.

Please note that in our online store you can only buy the smartphone itself. For purchase additional modules refer to the manufacturer's website.

Modular smartphones are an intriguing concept to say the least. Since different smartphones are not similar to each other and have different sizes, it makes sense to let users choose which components are more important to them. By selling these components separately, the developers give customers the opportunity to save on the purchase of a new smartphone every time they want a change.

An attractive idea is one thing, but the implementation in life is another. Even giants like Google have failed to bring the idea of ​​modular smartphones to life.

Last year, Motorola, owned by the Chinese company Lenovo, did the impossible and released not just a modular smartphone, but a whole line of modular devices and modules for them called Moto Mods. It was promised that this would not be a one-time action, and this year the promise was kept, as a new smartphone and new modules appeared.

Will these devices be able to convince skeptics? Or is the quality of the devices not high enough for this? Let's try to understand this in the review of the Moto Z2 Play smartphone and three modules for it.

Contents of delivery

• Smartphone Moto Z2 Play;
• Motorola Turbo Charge Adapter;
• Cable > USB-A;
• SIM eject tool;
• Safety booklet;
• User's manual.

Design

Support for Moto Mods can be both a plus and a minus. On the one hand, users can expand the functionality of the smartphone through an improved camera, an additional battery or a digital projector. On the other hand, the smartphone must be of a certain size and shape in order for the modules to fit it. Developers can experiment with body thickness, but other design aspects, such as the completely flat back surface and the camera bump in the center, should remain unchanged.

As a result, the Moto Z2 Play looks and feels like its predecessor, although there are differences from the original Moto Z Play. The smartphone has become thinner, without modules the thickness is 5.99 mm against 6.99 mm in the first generation. As a result, the battery has also decreased.

At the front is a 5.5-inch screen, below it is a fingerprint scanner, above it is the front camera and a rare dual flash. Hybrid SIM bay also supports cards microSD memory and is on top. On the right is the power button and volume rocker. At the bottom is a USB type C connector and an analog headphone jack, which many Moto Z smartphones lack.

At the back is a camera that is similar in appearance to the cameras of previous models, but there are changes inside. Down the back is the Moto Mods interface.

The smartphone is thin and light, weighing 145 g. One has only to attach the modules and this lightness goes away.

Screen

From the first boot, the Moto Z2 Play makes a good impression thanks to the contrasting Motorola logo. The smartphone attracts attention and emphasizes the dignity of the AMOLED screen.

A resolution of 1080 x 1920 at this size will be sufficient, however, with the default settings, the device does not show all available pixels, text and other elements are displayed larger than necessary. Fortunately, this is easy to fix.

Although at first the screen impresses with richness and brightness of colors, the joy does not last long. By default, the Vibrant color mode is set, but even in the standard mode, the colors did not seem realistic. Magenta is particularly inaccurate, resulting in a bluish tint to the smartphone.

The frustration continues when it comes to screen brightness, which can reach just over 400 nits. This is significantly less than most modern smartphones and much less than the more affordable Moto G5 Plus at 600 nits.

Overall, the screen offers great detail and rich colors, but is lacking in key areas. At this price, you expect more from smartphone screens.

Interface and functionality

Motorola's software shell is one of the lighter versions of Android and always offers a variety of customization options. There are no big and attention-grabbing features here, instead the changes are not so noticeable. For example, the auto-rotate screen switch allows you to lock the device in portrait mode, but Motorola has also added the ability to lock in landscape mode. Although this is a small thing, the extra choice never hurts.

Much attention is again paid to support for gestures, you can quickly launch the camera or flashlight. The smartphone is able to detect when you reach for it, it turns on and shows Moto Display notifications even without having to touch the screen.

Bring back the fingerprint gestures for navigation found in the Moto G5 Plus. Nobody is forcing you to use them, but someone will find this option to work with the interface more convenient if you get used to it.

As always when using Moto Mods, the smartphone offers helpful guides the first time you connect them to the machine.

Processor and Memory

For some time, the Snapdragon 625 processor has been the the best choice to provide sufficient performance with low power consumption, which allows smartphones to work for a long time. This processor was used in the first Moto Z Play, but now Motorola has switched to the more modern Snapdragon 626.

In almost all respects, this is the same processor, only about 10% faster. As a result, the new smartphone doesn't look noticeably faster than the previous one. There are other reasons for buying a new model, but it's frustrating that speed isn't one of those reasons. The device is no faster compared to the Moto G5 Plus, while it costs significantly more.

This puts it in a difficult position in the market: it uses average components, but at the same time the price is high. Buying additional modules makes it even higher, as a result, you may have questions about whether to buy a full-fledged flagship without any modules?

In this review, a version of the smartphone with 3 GB of RAM was considered, there are still options with 4 GB. There were no problems when working with multiple applications at the same time.

Connection

Wired connection uses USB-C interface. Many smartphones use the slower USB 2.0 protocol with it, but in this case, full-fledged USB 3.1 is used. The main connector on the back is for installing additional modules.

cameras

The smartphone has a main camera with a resolution of 12 MP and f / 1.7 aperture, as well as Dual Pixel laser autofocus. Apart from the laser guidance, this is the same camera as in the Moto G5 Plus. In general, the camera is not bad, but there are several problems with it.

Photo quality

The shooting results are reminiscent of photos from the Moto G5 Plus. The quality is usually good, but about one in ten photos may have exposure problems or other problems that require them to be deleted. Quality in low light leaves a lot to be desired, and despite the advanced autofocus, it also has occasional problems.

The main advantages of this camera are not the lenses or the sensor itself, but software Motorola. The Auto mode works very well, it optimizes the exposure for each scene, and the presence of special gestures allows you to quickly launch the camera even without a hardware button for this.

On the front is a 5MP camera with dual LED flash. Some apps like Snapchat are having trouble using this flash, but it still doesn't hurt.

Video recording

Video quality is mixed. There are many options for settings, 4K, HDR, stabilization, although you can’t use all of them at the same time. They provide enough variety and you can find something to your liking. HDR video is especially good.

As with the Moto G5 Plus, there are artifacts with high compression, which reduces image quality. These artifacts are especially noticeable at 1080p at 60 frames per second.

Multimedia

The disadvantages of the screen have already been named above. Its advantages in the form of bright saturated colors make it comfortable to watch videos. However, video still needs high-quality sound, and there are problems here. The smartphone has a front speaker, which is also an auricle, it does not help the speaker at the bottom, like on many other smartphones.

The sound is loud enough, but it lacks bass, it comes out with a tinny tint, which can be corrected by connecting a JBL SoundBoost speaker. You can also improve the sound when you connect headphones.

Call quality

Since the auricle is used as the only speaker, the developers had to pay more attention to it. Indeed, the sound quality during a telephone conversation is at a high level. You hear your interlocutors well and the interlocutors hear you well.

Offline work

The original Moto Z Play smartphone had an amazing battery life and the developers had only to not spoil anything. However, the smartphone has become thinner and the battery has been reduced to 3000 mAh. With almost the same processor, this means that the operating time has decreased.

If earlier it was 14 hours, now it has fallen to 9 and a half. This is still a good result, although some users would have preferred the smartphone to remain thicker while using a 3510 mAh battery.

Another disadvantage of the smartphone is the charging time is above average. It takes more than two hours, while recently you can find smartphones with a recharge time of an hour and a half.

Moto Mods

Together with the smartphone, three new accessories are presented. The first of these is the Wireless Charging Style Shell. Last year there were already similar cases, only without wireless recharging. It would be better if recharging was built into the smartphone itself, but the developers decided that it deserves an additional payment.

The case looks and works well, although a 10W Qi compatible adapter will be required. The cover has an attractive embossed surface, but it wears out quickly at the edges. The case will go on sale at the end of July for about $40.

The battery capacity of the smartphone is doubled by the Moto Turbo PowerPack module, where there is a 3490 mAh battery. This module has a rubberized coating that collects dust and dirt. The module can be charged directly via the USB type C connector on the side, and a button on the back allows you to quickly check the charge level using four LEDs.

The software of this module provides high level customization. You can choose turbo mode, when energy is given to the smartphone as quickly as possible, or a more energy-efficient mode, when the smartphone's charge level is kept at 80%.

This module is thicker than the wireless charging module and significantly increases the weight of the smartphone, but the shape makes it more convenient than additional third-party batteries. Sales will begin at the end of July at a price of $80.

Finally, there are the JBL SoundBoost 2 speakers, which replace the first generation from last summer. The arrangement of the elements remains the same: a pair of stereo speakers are separated by a stand. This stand enhances the video viewing experience and makes the module attractive compared to external Bluetooth speakers.

The sound quality is at a good level, the appearance is also attractive, the module has been protected from water. Attaching to a smartphone makes the device thick, so you hardly want to carry it with you in this form. The speaker contains its own battery, which is charged separately from the smartphone and provides approximately 10 hours of playback.

Conclusion

The Moto Z2 Play is an important smartphone as it continues to push the concept of modular devices to the masses. The project has already lasted longer than many thought, many major manufacturers like and Google did not stand so much.

This smartphone has many advantages. It has good performance for this price category, high duration battery life, acceptable price. However, some steps have been taken back. Among them are not enough bright screen and a weak speaker. It does not look like a full-fledged successor to the original Moto Z Play. It has not become noticeably better and seems not to be a continuation, but an offshoot.

If you look at other Motorola smartphones, the comparison should be made with the Moto G5 Plus. It has similar performance and costs almost half the price. Buyers will have to decide whether they need the ability to install modules, because of which the smartphone costs $ 150 more, plus the price of the modules themselves.

If you like the idea of ​​modular devices, thin smartphones, rich screen colors instead of high brightness, Moto Z2 Play will not disappoint. This is a high-quality device and its modules help eliminate some of its shortcomings. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement, so I would like to hope for the appearance next smartphone Moto Z, which will be even better.

pros

• Attractive slim design;
• Good run time;
• High-quality Android shell;
• Satisfactory camera;
• Modules extend functionality.

Minuses

• Insufficiently bright screen with inaccurate color reproduction;
• The sound quality leaves much to be desired;
• Long recharging;
• Performance compared to the first model has not grown much;
• Modules increase the cost of the device.

Motorola Moto Z2 Play is a large 5.5-inch phablet with an original design. And with removable covers and modules, it can look different every day.

From the front, the phone does not look so unusual - rather wide frames, rounded corners, slightly convex ends and a fingerprint scanner under the screen. This year it has become a little larger and changed its shape from square to oval. At first, it confuses: it seems that this is a control button, but in fact the control buttons are touch-sensitive and are located on the screen. Although in the settings you can remove these on-screen keys and control using the scanner with clicks and swipes. In practice, this turned out to be not always convenient, but you will not be confused by the proximity of different buttons.

No replacement caps back panel phone looks ugly: a large, strongly protruding lens on top and strips of magnetic contacts on the bottom. But there is a Motorola logo and a decorative strip around the perimeter of the back. Together with a replaceable cover, a smartphone can be transformed into anything, just put it on a magnetic mount. Interestingly, there are no speakers at the ends of the Moto Z2 Play; for music and other multimedia sounds, a conversational speaker above the display is used. Separately, we note not the most convenient control buttons on the right - the volume and power keys. They go together, in one row, and do not differ in size. In this situation, it is easy to confuse them and press the wrong one.

The dimensions of the smartphone are 156.2 × 76.2 × 8.8 mm, and the weight is 145 grams. The thickness is indicated taking into account the protruding lens, without it it is only 6 mm. Moto Z2 Play has become much lighter and thinner than its predecessor, but it looks a bit large against the background of some. Operating such a phone with one hand is not so convenient.

Despite the removable cover, Moto Z2 Play received a non-separable case with a non-removable battery. The build quality is top notch, and unlike its predecessor, there is no glassy, ​​scratchy back. Interestingly, the smartphone received protection from splashes and drops, thanks to some kind of water-repellent coating. But do not confuse this with water protection - the phone cannot be bathed, although it should calmly survive spilled coffee or talking in the rain.

Motorola Moto Z2 Play can be purchased in three colors - gray, gold and blue.

Screen - 4.6

The 5.5-inch AMOLED display of the Moto Z2 Play pleasantly surprised us with a wide color gamut, although it sometimes lacks finer settings.

The screen has a Full HD resolution (1920 × 1080 pixels), which is typical for such a diagonal. It's sharp enough, with a pixel density of 403 per inch (similar to ). Interestingly, the display uses an AMOLED matrix, which guarantees wide viewing angles and the highest contrast. We also note a good oleophobic coating and protective glass Gorilla Glass 3 is not the newest, but not everyone has it either.

The measured brightness range turned out to be quite good, wider than its predecessor - from 3 to 438 nits. The screen will be comfortable both in the dark and under the sun on a bright fine day. Nominally, the brightness is not so high, but it doesn’t need much - it’s an AMOLED screen with infinite contrast. It's nice that the display has a wide color gamut - 100% of Adobe RGB, which is a rarity not only for smartphones, but even. As we have already said, the viewing angles are very wide, but at a very large angle the screen gives off a greenish tint, as it was with samsung galaxy S7 and some other OLED screens. Color accuracy is pretty good, but the display likes to over-saturate colors. If this annoys you, then welcome to the settings - there you can curb the colors by choosing the "normal" color mode instead of the "vivid" one, which can be called oversaturated.

Cameras - 4.4

Moto Z2 Play shoots quite decently on its 12 and 5 MP cameras. They are inferior to the flagship ones, but they can easily replace an inexpensive one for you.

The parameters of the main camera can be called advanced: a wide aperture with f / 1.7, large pixels of 1.4 microns, laser and phase autofocus. The only thing missing is optical stabilization.

The camera interface is typical for Motorola smartphones. By swiping from left to right, settings pop up, and from right to left, previously captured photos. An interesting feature - along with the choice of focus point, you can quickly twist the exposure. This, perhaps, is all, only a small selection of shooting modes can be noted: “Photo”, “Video”, “Panorama”, “Slow Motion” and “Professional Mode”.

If we talk about the quality of shooting, then Z2 Play adequately copes with this task. The level of detail is high, without the typical fall-off at the edges of the frame, and the color reproduction is quite accurate. But if you choose the "bright" screen color mode, then when viewed from your phone, many colors will look oversaturated. Double focusing sometimes misses, for example, if shooting indoors, in such cases it is better to duplicate frames. HDR-mode works quickly and efficiently, the photos look quite natural. In the dark, the smartphone lacks optical stabilization for clearer shots. At the same time, the level of noise remains relatively small, at least it does not catch the eye, if the image is not enlarged. You can also complain about shooting panoramas: they are shot in low resolution, and processed to indecently long. The main camera can shoot video in 4K resolution or slow motion, 120 frames per second, but already in HD (1280 × 720 pixels)

The 5MP front camera does a good job of taking selfies, plus there's a flash and a personal HDR mode. Despite the moderate (for today) resolution, the frames are quite clear, even in rather difficult lighting conditions.

Photos from the camera Motorola Moto Z2 Play - 4.4

Motorola Moto Z2 Play HDR photo comparison

Photos from the front camera Motorola Moto Z2 Play - 4.4

Working with text - 5.0

To work with text, the standard Gboard keyboard is offered. It supports features such as continuous typing, fast typing of numbers and symbols through additional markup. But they will have to be enabled separately in the settings. There you can also find a mode for use with one hand. We also add that the keyboard has ceased to be so boring, the set of themes and colors has become much richer. There was even an opportunity to download and put beautiful landscapes or even your own photo in the background.

Internet - 3.0

Initially, Moto Z Play only has Google browser Chrome is one of the most popular in the world. The smartphone easily pulls browsing with several open tabs. The main feature of the browser is the synchronization of history and bookmarks with desktop version. Otherwise, nothing unusual, except perhaps the "Incognito" mode and double-clicking on the page, which will adjust the scale of the text to a pre-selected (or default) size.

Communications - 5.0

Moto Z2 Play has quite a top set of communications:

• dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 4.2 with A2DP profile
• LTE support
• A-GPS
• NFC chip
• FM radio.

It is curious that the predecessor did not have an FM radio, besides, here it works without headphones. For them, by the way, a separate mini-jack connector is provided. And USB type C is not simple, but with OTG support. That is, you can connect to the phone peripherals mice or . Moto Z2 Play alternately works with two nanoSIM cards. It is interesting that separate slots are provided for them in the tray so as not to conflict with the memory card for space.

Multimedia - 3.5

Moto Z2 Play supports only the most common audio and video formats, it does not have the loudest speaker, but it has a fairly high-quality sound in headphones.

Of the music files, the phone did not want to play AC-3 and DTS. From video - TS, RMVB, FLV and some others, depending on the combination of codecs and formats. There are no separate music or video players, only native Google ones.

The volume of the only speaker is not so high - 75 dB, but the phone is quite loud, even with a small margin. We can evaluate the sound quality as high, with a wide dynamic range and overall the music sounds quite clean.

Battery - 4.4

Motorola Moto Z2 Play lasts for one to one and a half days of active use. It would seem not bad, but after the two-day battery of the first Moto Z Play, this is disappointing.

The battery capacity of the smartphone "fell" from 3510 to 3000 mAh. At the same time, it cannot be said that the Moto Z2 Play has poor autonomy, it is helped by an economical type of screen and an energy-efficient chipset. Directly in the tests, the phone showed the following results:

• 11 hours 20 minutes of video marathon at maximum brightness and up to 13.5 hours if you drop it to 200 nits (greatly inferior to OnePlus 5)
• 102 hours on mode music player, which is comparable to
• up to 25 hours of calls
• up to 5-5.5 hours in games, which is already impressive
• half an hour of shooting Full HD video takes 13-14% of the battery.

The Moto Z2 Play comes with a proprietary 15W TurboPower charger (5V, 3A). In half an hour, she charged the phone to the promised 50%, and in 45 minutes - up to 75%. True, then something went wrong and the last 25% took almost an hour and a half.

Performance - 3.8

The Motorola Moto Z2 Play is equipped with a mid-range processor, which looks odd given the hefty price tag. Nevertheless, it is enough for smooth work and games - sometimes with limitations.

The amount of RAM is 3 or 4 GB, the chipset is Qualcomm MSM8953-Pro Snapdragon 626 (eight cores at 2.2 GHz). It differs from the 625th in the first Moto Z Play with an operating frequency increased by as much as 200 MHz. Even the graphics accelerator for both is the same - Adreno 506. In this regard, the novelty is a little depressing, since almost the same hardware is used here. Be that as it may, this is quite enough for the smooth operation of the interface and even for modern toys. Although there are some limitations: in the heaviest toys, you will have to reduce the graphics from high to medium. Separately, we note that the phone practically does not heat up in operation, only up to 38-39 degrees, which is almost not felt. In various benchmarks, the smartphone showed not the top, but competitive results:

Memory card up to 256 GB. It's nice that the smartphone's memory is not initially clogged with all sorts of rubbish. It comes pre-installed with the minimum set of software provided by "pure" Android, plus a little more application that talks about Motorola branded chips.

Peculiarities

The smartphone runs on a “clean” one, with minimal branded add-ons.

The main feature of the smartphone is removable covers and Moto Mods, which cost $80-$200 each. With their help, Moto Z2 Play turns into a projector, pumps cameras or simply adds an extra battery or a mobile speaker. All of these devices attach easily and securely using magnetic contacts. We had a chance to use JBL SoundBoost and TurboPower Pack modules. The first one will allow you to arrange a rather loud (up to 90 dB) mobile disco. It is able to last up to 10 hours on its 1000 mAh battery. Unlike mobile speakers, it is easily synchronized (hooked and that's it, no Bluetooth) and you can attach it to your phone and not carry it separately. TurboPower Pack carries 3490 mAh, it charges the smartphone half in an hour and a half, and fully charges it in about three hours. True, he was able to disappoint with something: he does not work like a battery, but like a charger. If the Moto Z2 Play is completely discharged, then there is no point in connecting this PowerPack - it simply does not work with the smartphone turned off.

The phone has a lot of features even without the notorious modules. We note a double-sided tray with three card slots at once, branded chips with controls (gestures, active screen), a flash for front camera and an AMOLED screen with a wide color gamut. The fingerprint scanner not only unlocks the smartphone, but also allows you to fully manage it.

The brand has been confirming its competitiveness for several years now thanks to technical features devices and unique design finds. Interest in the company's products did not subside even during a forced break of several years, when its activities practically came to naught.

After they made the decision to purchase, many experts feared for the future fate of the brand.

Contrary to their guesses about the closure of the company, Motorola models not only continued the previously launched series of smartphones, but also borrowed from their buyer some technical solutions that made it possible to introduce new, previously unused improvements into the development process.

We got our hands on Motorola Moto Z2 Play, a modular smartphone in the mid-high price segment, which provides the user with the ability to customize and selectively improve device functions, which is currently a rare occurrence in the field of smart technology. There are really a lot of modules and each of them, comparable in cost to independent smartphones, has special functions.

Specifications Motorola Moto Z2 Plus

Device type	Smartphone
Model	Motorola Moto Z2 Plus
Housing materials	Glass + metal
Screen	5.5" Super Amoled 1920x1080
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 (8 cores 2.2GHz Cortex-A53)
video processor	Adreno 506
Operating system	Android 7.1.1 Nougat
RAM, GB	4
Built-in storage, GB	64
Memory card slot	Yes
Cameras, Mpix	12.0 + 5.0
Battery, mAh	3 000
Dimensions, mm	156.2 x 76.2 x 5.9
Weight, g	145
price, rub.	~30 500

The main feature of the smartphone is modular retrofitting. The company's arsenal includes a projector, speaker, camera, joystick, extra battery and more budget cosmetic overlays with wireless charging function.

In addition to this feature, the device boasts far from the weakest Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 processor, support for memory cards up to 2 terabytes and a built-in 3,000 mAh battery. The positioning of the model allows us to judge it as a confident middle peasant, almost a flagship with attractive features and a good list of characteristics, which can be found below:

Packaging and equipment Motorola Moto Z2 Play

Acquaintance with the device, as you know, begins with its packaging, which in our case immediately evokes pleasant impressions thanks to thick cardboard and bright design. On the front of the box there is a company designation and an indication of the model, supplemented by an image of some crystals inscribed in a contour circle with the Moto brand logo. In the style of the latter, the inside of the box is also made, which protrudes outward by a couple of centimeters. On the removable part is the Lenovo logo, which is reminiscent of the owner of the brand.

All information related to a specific device, that is, serial numbers, is located in the form of a sticker on the bottom. On the opposite side is the company logo. On the back of the package again the logo in the form of the letter "M".

After the moving part is taken out, the gaze involuntarily focuses on the device in a special cardboard niche.

Below it is a cardboard envelope with the slogan "HelloMoto", familiar to users since the company's production of push-button phones.

Inside the envelope is documentation and a paperclip to open the sim tray. Also in the box are:

• Charger;
• USB cable.

As for the quality of all accessories, there is not even the slightest claim to it. Everything is made very carefully and pleases the eye.

Note that together with the smartphone, an additional cover with a 360-degree lens fell into our hands. The materials of the box are similar to those of the hero of the review.

On the front and back sides, the manufacturer conveys to the buyer basic information about the benefits of an additional device.

One can immediately note only the high quality of the accessory, as well as the presence of an additional rubber cover for the lens.

In the meantime, let's move on to studying the smartphone itself.

The package includes a smartphone, a fast charging hub, a USB Type-C cable, a decorative panel, a set of instructions and a clip to remove the SIM card cradle.

On the Internet, we found photos of different packages of Moto Z2 Play, as well as sets with headphones. Apparently, the manufacturer has provided for the variability of the configuration.

Design and ergonomics

On the front of the Moto Z2 Play, everything is pretty standard. The name of the manufacturer flaunts under the speaker, all other elements have a functional purpose.

The smartphone is catastrophically thin: its thickness is only 6 mm. If we consider Moto Z2 Play as a standalone device, this decision does not benefit him: the sharp edges of the device are unpleasantly felt in the palm of your hand, and the camera cheekily protrudes by an additional 2-3 mm.

This nuance is forgivable, because we have a constructor in our hands, and the smartphone case is just a basic stuffing. We are trying to try on the decorative socket that comes with the kit - and here we are in for a mistake by the developers. She fidgets and fidgets.

Above the screen is a flashlight, speaker, camera and motion sensor. As conceived by the creators, the sensor should identify the approach of the user to the gadget and turn on the backlight on the locked screen. In fact, it works randomly and without obvious patterns. On the top edge is a cradle for two SIM cards and microSD. You don’t have to choose between a memory card and a SIM card, everything is connected at once.

We go down below: on the right side there are three mechanical keys. The power button is ribbed and easy to touch.

Under the screen is a black dot of the microphone and the One Button Nav touch key - a multifunctional and customizable analogue of Home.

On the back of the smartphone, there is a contact pad for modules, the Motorola logo and a seemingly gigantic camera eyepiece. But the solution with the antenna looks quite stylish: it beautifully and unobtrusively frames the case. On the bottom there is a Type-C jack and a mini-jack.

Moto Z2 Play is available in two colors: Lunar Gray and Fine Gold. Both options look decent and will suit both men and women.

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Display

The smartphone has a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. There were no complaints about the display: it does not give off much green tints (which many AMOLED screens sin) and is bright enough for use in the sun.

The smartphone is protected from scratches and grease stains by third-generation Gorilla Glass with an oleophobic coating.

Camera

The main camera with a resolution of a matrix of 12 megapixels is equipped with a dual CCT flash, which adapts to the color temperature of the environment. In the previous version of the constructor from Motorola, the rear camera had a resolution of 16 megapixels, but had worse aperture ratios. The aperture number of the Moto Z2 Play lens is f / 1.7 versus f / 2.0 for the predecessor camera.

Working with the camera is quite simple even in manual mode. Sometimes it comes in handy: the automatic white balance periodically misses. There were no other complaints in the work of automation. Sometimes there is a software glitch found in Android devices.

The front camera with a resolution of 5 megapixels and f / 2.2 aperture allows you to take good pictures, and in low light, a powerful flashlight will help. A nice bonus: the selfie camera can shoot slo-mo videos and photos in manual mode.

The video capabilities of the Moto Z2 Play are not far behind the flagship ones: the smartphone can shoot Full HD video at 60 FPS and 4K at 30 FPS. There is a stabilization function.

Performance and Memory

The Moto Z2 Play is powered by a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 626 octa-core processor and a 650MHz Adreno 506 graphics module. The Geekbench 4 benchmark showed a weak single-core score of 914 and an average multi-core score of 4,628, beating those of the Meizu Pro 6 Plus and Google Pixel XL.

We tried to play heavy games on Moto Z2 Play: several versions of Asphalt and Modern Combat. No lags or FPS drops were noticed.

Moto Z2 Play smartphones are available with two storage and RAM options: 32/64 GB and 3/4 GB, respectively. The microSD slot supports cards up to 2 TB, so the amount of internal memory is not so important here.

Battery

Battery capacity vs. previous version device has decreased and now is 3,000 mAh, which is equivalent to two days of work with moderate use of a smartphone.

The Moto Z2 Play comes with a TurboPower high-power charger that charges the gadget from zero to 50% in half an hour. In addition, among the "mods" there are several options for portable batteries that are easily attached to the body of the smartphone. All of this makes the Moto Z2 Play the perfect phone in terms of battery life.

Moto and One Button Nav

The smartphone runs on bare Android 7.1.1. Nougat. Pleased with the absence of unnecessary add-ons and a minimal set of applications, most of which are really needed. All the individual features of the gadget are hidden in one of them - the Moto application.

Moto features are divided into three segments: Actions, Display, and Voice. "Display" lets you customize lock screen notifications and screen colors in the evening, while "Voice" is an advanced version of Google's OK.

The most interesting thing lies on the "Actions" tab: gesture commands are included here, some of which are really convenient. For example, you can program the camera to turn on with a double twist of the smartphone, or set the flashlight to light up with two intense swings.

The One Button Nav button deserves special attention. Firstly, a correctly working fingerprint scanner is built into it. It works instantly and always - you don't have to resort to a classic passcode. Secondly, the button can be programmed to command "Back", "Home" and "Multitasking", which means that the classic navigation bar at the bottom of the screen can be abandoned.

Modules

By itself, a smartphone may seem inconvenient, ugly and unreasonably expensive. But if you know about the full potential of the Moto Z2 Play, then it becomes clear why it is too thin, why the developers allowed themselves to make such a bulging camera and, in the end, why it costs $ 500.

Verdict

It is difficult to make an unambiguous opinion about the Moto Z2 Play. It is quite expensive, not the most convenient, and in terms of characteristics it is clearly not a flagship. But there is a reason why Moto Z family smartphones find their users. This is the fun of exploitation.

Gadgets are a purely utilitarian product that helps us solve problems. We do not seek to explore them, reducing the process of use to a set of simple learned actions. The modular Moto Z system offers an alternative and many scenarios: today you are a semi-professional photographer, tomorrow you are the center of a music party, and the day after tomorrow you are the owner of your own cinema.

Smartphones from the Moto Z series are able to awaken the excitement of the collector in the user and make him feel the joy of buying a device not at once, but over and over again with the purchase of each new module.

Finally, the Moto Z2 Play is a decent smartphone that offers everything key features modern devices. If you don't like phones with the letter i and their countless clones, take a look at the Moto Z2 Play - a smartphone from people who know how to take risks, for people who know how to have fun.