Lenovo-owned Motorola has introduced the Moto Z3 Play, as the successor to the Moto Z2 Play that was launched last year. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Z3 Play carries support to all existing Moto Mods, something the Z series revolves around. The device is bundled with the battery Mods and will cost $499 (approx. Rs 33,500) for a non-carrier version.
Built on the same form factor as the Moto Z1 and Z2, the Z3 Play still manages to equip a taller and larger 6-inch Super AMOLED Display with a Resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. The device carries an aircraft-grade 6000 series aluminium frame that supports the two Gorilla Glass 3 panels on the front and back. There are visible bezels on the top and bottom but provided the Z3 Play offers a slimmer footprint, it offers style in conventional ways and no, it doesn’t include a notch.
Since Motorola has still integrated the traditional 16-pin connectors for its accessories, the Moto Z3 does so by being compatible with any Moto Mods that’s ever been released. For a change, the Z3 Play has placed its fingerprint scanner on the right EDGE which is fancy of Motorola to do and thus relocates the power button to the left edge of the device. All of this coated with a water-repellant nanocoating which makes the device splash resistant.
On the inside, the Z3 Play is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Chipset with Adreno 509 graphics, 4GB RAM and up to 64GB of onboard storage. In terms of imaging, the Motorola device gets an upgrade considering the main camera is now a 12MP (f/1.7 aperture, 1.4um Pixel size) sensor coupled with a 5MP f/2.2 lens at the back, both of which combined will offer an AI-enabled depth of field experience with support for Google Lens. Even the camera on the front is now an 8MP f/2.0 lens but this time around Motorola has opted out of a front LED flash. So be content with the on-screen light for selfies instead.
While Moto adopts the USB Type-C port in the Z3 Play, it has decided to make do with an adapter for a 3.5mm Headphone jack which is bundled with the device. The relocation of a fingerprint scanner doesn’t mean the Moto Z3 Play lacks the One Button Navigation and so is support for other Moto-specific services like Moto Actions and Moto Display. The device runs on a near-to-stock version of Android 8.1 Oreo. All of this backed by a 3,000mAh battery that carries support for Turbocharging.
The Moto Z3 Play is available in a single Deep Indigo variant and is initially rolling out in Brazil for R$ 2,299 (approx. Rs 40,157). However, the device will be bundled with Moto battery mod for $499 (approx. Rs 33,500) when it comes to the US and maybe later to India.