Motorola announced the all new Moto X Play today in an event in London and New York City. The Moto X Play debuts alongside the Moto X Style, and is a smaller and more affordable option.
Here is everything you need to know about the all new Moto X Play.
Slightly smaller display, but bigger battery
The Moto X Play comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) display, which is slightly smaller than the Moto X Style’s 5.7-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440) display. It’s powered by a 1.7GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor along with 2GB of RAM. Motorola will offer the phone in both 16 and 32GB options, and the MicroSD slot offers expanded storage.
The 3,630mAh battery will provide up to 2 days of life on one charge. It includes quick charging capability, which means that you can get 8 hours of battery life after charging the device for only 15 minutes from 0 percent.
The Moto X Play features advanced nano-coating technology, which provides a water-repellent barrier for accidental spills, splashes, or light rain. However, it’s not considered waterproof, so it can’t be submersed in water or exposed to high pressure.
Rounding out the specs include NFC, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g/b/n (dual band capable), and Nano-SIM compatibility.
“Best in class” camera
Motorola has never wowed anyone in the camera department, so we’re hoping things will be different this year. Motorola is promising “best in class” cameras on both the Moto X Play and Moto X Style. Both phones offer a 21-megapixel rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture and Colour Correlated Temperature (CCT) flash with dual LEDs. The Moto X Play can record 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) video at 30 fps or slow motion video at 720p (1,280 x 720). Sadly, optical image stabilization wasn’t mentioned.
The front-facing camera comes in at 5 megapixels and features an 87-degree wide-angle lens for the perfect selfies.
Near Stock Android with helpful features
Motorola continues to offer a near stock Android experience along with innovative features such as Moto Assist, Moto Display, Moto Voice, and Quick Capture.
Moto Assist offers the ability to control certain aspects of the phone depending on your location. For example, you can set the phone to automatically enter silent mode when you get home or automatically read your text messages to you when you’re in the car.
Moto Display will show you notifications without turning on the full display to save battery life.
Moto Voice allows you to say Google Now commands to your Moto X Play without ever needing to touch the device.
The phone will come with Android 5.1.1 out of the box, and will likely get updated to Android M later this year.
Moto Maker customization
Like previous Moto X phones, the Moto X Play can be customized via Moto Maker. Motorola will offer up to 14 different backs and 7 different color accents, which vary by market. Base models will include Black on Black and White with a Winter White back.
Availability
The all new Moto X Play will be available in 55 countries this August, but unfortunately it won’t be available in the U.S. Motorola didn’t specify specific pricing, but did say that it will be $300 to $400 cheaper (off contract) than competing flagship phones.
