Motorola - Moto Z3 Play with 64GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) with battery Moto Mod - Deep Indigo

I bought this handset today, so this review might be a bit premature, but if anything significant changes, I'll return to update. Full disclosure: I love Motorola. The Moto X Pure is my favorite phone I've ever owned. For the last two years, I've been using a ZTE Axon 7, which was a fine phone in a lot of ways, but had some problems and lacked the polish of the Moto X. Some of my positive impressions of this phone might be from the familiar Motorola ecosystem, so take my review with a grain of salt. I like this phone very much. There were a few hardware choices that gave me some reservations about buying this, so I'll address those first. The display has been updated to a 18:9 aspect ratio, which makes the front of the phone look very sleek; however, that decision meant that the fingerprint sensor was moved to the right side of the phone (since Moto mods would block a sensor on the back). I've only ever seen this on Sony phones before, and Sony has abandoned that practice, so I was worried about the sensor, but it actually isn't that bad. The sensor is located where a power button would be on most phones, so it is easily accessible with the thumb of the right hand, and the sensor is accurate and reasonably fast. If you hold the phone with your left hand, the sensor might be very inconvenient. The sensor does not function as a power button, so the power button is located on the left side of the phone. For me, the power button placement is a bigger problem than the fingerprint sensor, as it is the only way to power off the screen, but hopefully I'll adjust. One thing that I'm quite annoyed by though is that the phone is thick enough to accommodate a 3.5mm headphone jack, but it is not included. If there are any ambitious Moto mod developers reading, I'd definitely buy a mod with a back fingerprint sensor and headphone jack. Another issue is the camera: the Z3 Play has dual rear cameras. The main camera is a 12 MP shooter, which is fine, but the secondary camera is a 5 MP lens that functions only to gather depth of field information for bokeh effect. This is okay but portrait mode implementation (particularly edge detection) is really difficult, so I'd rather see something like a monochrome or ultra-wide angle lens as the secondary shooter, as I would get more utility out of either those options than the depth of field lens. I have not taken too many photos yet, but the camera is fine so far, especially if they will be processed and filtered through a social media app. Now on to the stuff that I love. Motorola does my favorite version of Android! Software experience here is great. The software is pretty much stock Android, which means the OS is really clean. Motorola integrates Google apps as their default apps, so there is no bloatware, which is great. Motorola adds some really nice features: there always-on display is the best passive display I've seen, and the kinesthetic shortcuts for the camera and flashlight are super convenient. The display looks great. It is an AMOLED panel, so the colors are vibrant, the blacks are really black, and the contrast is great. It is a 1080p panel rather than a 1440p, so I was a little worried I'd notice the difference, but I can only tell the lower resolution if I'm looking at the phone from about six inches away, so no worries there. The brightness is impressive as well. One thing I've noticed in comparison to the Axon is a more accurate white point (you can also adjust the color temperature in the settings app). The phone comes in the box with a 2220 mh battery moto mod. When combined with the 3000 mh internal battery, the phone gives you over 5200 mh of power, so I anticipate this handset being a battery champ, and that is really important to me. The camera app is solid. It has full manual controls, along with some fun modes, like an option to make your own gifs, 1080p 60fps video, panoramic mode, and others. The specs are decidedly midrange, which may be off putting to some consumers, as this phone priced very closely to the OnePlus 6, which offers flagship specs for just thirty dollars more. The Samsung Galaxy S8 is also on sale for the same price at Best Buy (on sale, I believe), so if pure performance is what you are in the market for, then there are likely better value propositions on the market for you. The phone feels quite fast when navigating the OS though, as the software is not heavily skinned and seems to be well optimized to the hardware. You'll notice the difference in photography, with the imaging processing and in graphic intensive games. The phone should have no problem with most normal usage. Also, the speaker is fine. The X Pure and Axon 7 both had stereo front facing speakers which were very good. The speaker on the Z3 is not as good as either of those, but it is front facing, which means it will provide a better experience than any phone with bottom firing speakers. Motorola could have supplemented the front facing speaker with a bottom firing speaker to improve the audio quality, since the narrow chin no longer accommodates a second front facing speaker, but most people use headphones anyway, so the single speaker might be a measure to keep the price under $500. Despite the issues I have with it, I'm rating the phone five stars. That certainly doesn't mean its a perfect phone, but it does all the things that important to me well. The phone has adequate storage, a great looking AMOLED panel, the best software experience on an Android phone, and long battery life. If these things are important to you as well, then I think this would be a wise purchase. If you are interested in more performance intensive tasks, like gaming, VR, of having an elite smartphone camera, you might be better served with something else.

If there is a phone out there, I've had it. It's taken me a while to nail down what I need in a phone vs what I want in a phone. If what you need is: Great price, though a little cheaper would have been nice ($399-$429) - Still, it's only half of $1000!! Latest android version 8.1 Oreo 4gb RAM w/ 64gb internal storage AND Micro SD (up to 512gb) Super AMOLED display that is beautiful Fingerprint sensor (FAST and side placement is AWESOME and natural) Facial recognition (works like a charm, though not as fast as the OP6, it's accurate and close) Different color phone (not gray, gold, black, UGH!!!) Great upper mid-range processor and modem Superb battery life (I'm a moderate user, 2 days for me) Fast Battery Charge, I'm getting about 45-48% in 30 mins Excellent camera (f1.7, 1.4um, dual pixel auto-focus + 5mp depth sensing camera and some other fun tools) Dual Band Wi-Fi, with Bluetooth 5.0 And, while Moto Mods are great, they're not really for me ...Then this is your phone. The Indigo Blue / Glass is gorgeous and I've received numerous compliments already. If what you want is: Better, top of the range processor (intense gaming and multi-tasking) OIS, or other more purposeful 2nd cameras (wide-angle, telephoto, B&W, etc) More timely, monthly security updates 2k/4k higher resolution display Headphone jack ...Then you should look elsewhere. For most people, this phone kills it. It's not perfect, no phone is ... but you won't be sorry.

When this phone was announced and initially reviewed, there was consensus that the worst thing about this phone was its price. Having used a Moto X4 for about a year, I was skeptical whether the Z3 Play would be a sufficient upgrade. Necessity forced me to buy this phone, and it didn't hurt that it has finally gone on sale. Overall, I would have been happy even if I'd paid full price. Moto Z3 Play has a Snapdragon 636, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage, so on paper, it doesn't sound like much more than the Moto X4, and it costs a lot more. I think the main justification for the higher price is the AMOLED screen. This is a huge improvement over LCD. The camera is also considerably better and faster than the X4, and overall the phone feels snappier. The fingerprinter scanner on the side works very well, but the position takes some getting used to. I don't mind the power button on the left, but I will often accidently wake the phone up when putting it in my pocket because my index finger brushes the fingerprint scanner. There is only one speaker, but it's much, much louder than the Moto X4. I want to try the JBL Soundboost 2 Moto Mod, but it's perfectly fine for calls on speakerphone as is. Speaking of Moto Mods, the included battery mod seems to work fine. It adds too much heft for me to leave it on all the time, but I think it will be a great accessory for travelling or other periods where Wi-Fi is not available. If you're on the fence about this phone because of the price vs specs, try it out! It maintains everything good about Motorola's implementation of Android and has no downsides compared to previous models.

I really liked the concept of a modular phone. I really wanted to like this phone, I went from a Sony Xperia XZ Premium to this phone (nothing wrong with my Sony phone, I just wanted to try a modular phone). I tried it out for a few days before I returned it & there were some minor things that I just didn't like. All those little things do matter on something you use every day. First of all, there's no native music player or photo viewer. I had to use Google Play Music/Photos & I really don't like the interface for those. Second, the battery life with the mod attached actually depleted sooner than my Sony phone without an extra battery. Maybe the Sony software better optimizes it, who knows. Third, I'm ambidextrous & I hold my phone on my left hand more than my right, having the power/lock button on the left side feels really awkward for me. Fourth, it takes a while to load after powering it up. Once I turn it on, it takes about a min for the home screen icons to pop up. Lastly, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium has a native 4K HDR display with the capability of playing hi-res audio. It looks amazingly sharp compared to the 1080 HD this phone has. Now for the positive (compared to the same Sony phone lol). The modular concept is pretty awesome. There are tons of cool mods and the phone has a pre-installed app that let's you browse through them & purchase them. Another positive is the Wi-Fi Calling. Not a lot of phones support it, which by now you'd think it'd be more common. Also, the display is bigger on this phone even though they phones are the same size. Finally, the fingerprint sensor. It feels a lot like my Sony's home button. I know it's not a big deal for most since most phones have it, but I'm comparing it to my Sony that does have it on the home button, but for legal reasons, it is deactivated on the phone in the U.S. The only reasons I wanted this phone were the mods & Wi-Fi Calling. I lived without a fingerprint scanner for a year now & I honestly don't care about it. Anyway, the Moto is a good upgrade from less premium phones. However, you can get a Sony Xperia XZ Premium for about the same price. Sure, the phone's a year old, but can you say Samsung or Apple have a native 4K HDR display with Hi-Res audio? In conclusion, the Moto is a good starter phone if you're a fan of the mods, but for the price, there are better phones out there.

I really enjoyed my MOTO XPE, but it had some problems with the screen after a security patch and the battery was on its last legs. And, MOTO was horrible in handling updates to the Moto X PURE - I expected more being "PURE". That said, I reluctantly chose the Z3 Play when I didn't seem to be able to find the right mix of features/quality/price. I haven't had time to really play with the Z3 PLAY yet, so this review will be light as I am learning the new phone and the change of OS to Oreo. The phone is nice looking, but I don't understand the focus on glassy, fancy appearance when most folks end up putting on a case to protect the glass, but it is a pretty phone (and a fingerprint magnet). I would like a good bumper guard that would be compatible with and without a mod. I would like to go "bare" without a case, but the phone is a bit slick. lAthough I had no screen protector and only a simple silicon case on my XPE it looked almost brand new, but seeing so many of my friends with fruit phones with screen protectors and still cracked screens, I feel I need at least a case similar to the one I had for the XPE. Basically, I found it to be a better replacement for the XPE than the X4 and needed a phone before the X5 would be out. I am pleased with the phone except that I miss the Moto Gallery. I have more complaints about "Google" than Moto so far (can we say "swipe"??). And, I like the nearly pure Android with the well thought out Moto customs. I doubt I will get a lot of mods, but the battery mod is nice to have. I got this for the same price that Bezo's was selling the bloated version.

I wasn’t expecting much from a phone out of this price point. I’m used to using the flagship phones from Samsung (Galaxy S8/Note8) and Apple (iPhone 8/X). Surprisingly, the Moro Z3 Play has fast enough speed to really not notice any lag for most functionality. It has basic Motorola apps, but otherwise pretty stripped down. With the capability of using mods to enhance its core features, such as speakers and the camera, it will allowing you to have a phone with some of the best battery life, and POTENTIALLY better camera and speaker features than your flagship phones, if you’re willing to pay for the mods. It has some functionality such as the gestures that I couldn’t careless for, like placing three fingers down to take a screenshot or selfie or whatever they have it set for. But for the price, it’s a great purchase for somebody who wants to upgrade from the entry level phone like the Samsung Galaxy J3 or Moto G6. Yes, for the size, you would think they’d be able to fit in a headphone jack, but most of my headphones or earbuds are Bluetooth anyway.

The Moto Z3 Play is an all around excellent device (as the title states). I don't personally use the Moto Mods (except for the included Battery Pack Mod occasionally) so I can't speak on that subject much. The battery life on this higher end device (even without the Battery Pack Moto Mod) is incredible. The device uses Google's new(ish) A/B seamless updates which makes installing updates much safer and easier because there is no downtime except for a reboot when finished. The device comes with Android 8.1.0 and is fully Treble enabled which also makes future updates promising. The device is expected to get Android 9.0 any time now which brings a lot more cool features and should make the experience even better! I've personally only owned the Moto "G" Series devices (G4+, G5S+, G6) until now and I must say I'm impressed and think I will stick with the Moto "Z" Series from now on :)

I actually got the new Z3 Play due to my Z2 Play having problems staying on when calls and texts came in. I liked some of the improvements on the Z2 Play from the original Z Play (better antenna, USB-C and thinner) but it also had a shorter battery life that could not compare to that of the original. The new Z3 helps alleviate some of the battery issues by coming stock with a battery pack that makes the phone last a full 2 days again without needing a charge. The antenna again, is great, but to make this model thinner, they removed the headphone jack and supplied a USB-C to jack adapter. It is not a deal-breaker but definitely my ideal choice. Overall, this is a great phone with awesome features and is fully unlocked (no Verizon-based model like Z-2) so I really enjoy the product for the price (only $100 increase to change to newer model) and lack of bloatware.