By Samantha Gonzales
惭翱罢翱搁翱尝础鈥橲 Moto听窜2 Play is its 2017 upgrade of its mid-range modular smartphone. With a thinner and lighter body than that of 2016鈥檚 Z Play, it packs upgrades here and there while actually downgrading select parts.
FORM
We鈥檝e tested the flagship Moto Z before, but the聽Moto听窜2 Play is still shockingly thin despite being 0.8 mm thicker than the Moto Z (at 5.2 mm). Still, it鈥檚 easy to hold and type with one hand due to its thinness, although without the custom plate attached to the back, it is more prone to slippage. It also emphasizes the camera bulge and leaves the magnetic sensor (which is used to connect to different Moto Mods) unprotected. The phone is protected with water repellent nano-coating for spills, splashes, or light rain, but does not make it waterproof.
The most exciting part of the Moto Z series is, of course, its compatibility with Moto Mods, or accessories like a projector, speaker, extra battery, or camera lens, that can be used, swapped, or stored depending on the user鈥檚 needs. The聽Moto听窜2 Play gives you access to these accessories at a lower price point (P24,999). Attached to the phone, they look varying degrees of awkwardness and fluidity, although for technology like this, sleekness and minimalism make way for function.
FUNCTION
Looks aside, we鈥檝e also tested Moto Mods before and loved the Insta-Share Projector that makes viewing videos from a mobile phone way more convenient and enjoyable.
The 1080×1920 pixel display is kept constant and in working order, rendering crisp graphics and standard colors. You also get other standard upgrades with a Snapdragon 626 (from 625) Chipset and 4-GB RAM (from 3 GB). These enable the聽Moto听窜2 Play to run smoothly, although we did notice lag when switching from application to application. The biggest surprise is the camera downgrade. From the Z Play鈥檚 16 MP, f/2.0, the Moto听窜2 Play sports a 12-MP, f/1.7 camera. This shouldn鈥檛 be that big of a deal since some flagship devices use the same hardware, but the聽Moto听窜2 Play struggles with low light and uses sharpening to a fault. We weren鈥檛 even aware of the specs and downgrade as we were testing the camera. Lastly, the battery is also downgraded to 3,000 mAh (from Z Play鈥檚 3,510 mAh) but is actually still pretty reliable with one and a half day of normal use. It is also capable of charging 50 percentage points in 30 minutes, which makes it more convenient for heavy users.
Overall, the聽Moto听窜2 Play sounds like a mixed bag from the spec sheet alone, but in practice, works well, reliably, and smoothly.
Moto听窜2聽Play and聽Moto聽Mods are available in three exclusive Motorola outlets located in the CyberZone areas of SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall and SM North EDSA. They are also available in major Motorola retailers nationwide and via online shopping site Lazada.
