The Moto X Play is powered by snapdragon 1.7GHz 64 Bit octa core processor running Lollipop with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. The X Play comes with 21MP primary camera and a 3630 mAh non-removable battery. Is it worth for the price of ₹18,499? find out.
X Play Unboxing
Inside the box you will find the handset, quick start guide in English and Hindi language options, warranty information, data cable, travel charger (5V ~ 1.15A), SIM ejector Pin and standard quality earphone. SAR value : 0.80 W/Kg head and 1.23 W/kg body.
Design and Display
The handset design is just like the other Moto E, Moto G and Moto X smartphones. However there are some minor changes. The side have got a metallic finishing that look like metal, but it in fact is made of plastic. It’s a curvy design bulkier in the center and gets slimmer towards the edges. Weight with battery is 167 grams and dimensions are 75.04 x 148.18 x 11.10mm.
The back panel can be removed and there is nothing really inside, battery is built in. The reason why the company has given the option to remove the back panel is that users can buy extra (colorful) panels and change the look as and when they want. I bought the black colour version for the review. The rear panel looks cool thanks to the textures, it gives a good grip and a premium feel.
Power button and volume rocker are on the right side, Micro USB port is at the bottom and audio jack on the top along with SIM tray. This is a dual SIM handset you need 2 x nano SIM and you can also use a micro SD card – so you can use dual SIM + micro SD, check image below.
Moto X Play sports a 5.5 inch screen with corning gorilla glass 3 protection and supporting 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. There are no dedicated navigation buttons and hence some area on the screen will be used for on screen navigational buttons.
Colour reproduction, viewing angles and touch response are very good. If you run your finger on the edge of the screen you will not feel the frame, it is that smooth.
There is no LED notification and native video calling is not supported. There are following sensors – accelerometer, light, proximity, hall and magnetic. It is not clearly mentioned on official site if the handset comes with dual mic, also there is no option in settings (call) to enable noise cancellation.
Memory, Storage and OS
There is 2GB RAM, 16GB storage and micro SD card support. On the first boot you will get around 10 GB free internal space and 1.1GB free RAM. OTG is supported but you will need to download the file manger app from google play if needed, as that does not come pre-installed. Apps are getting installed on internal storage and there is an option to move to external storage.
X Play is running Android 5.1.1 32 bit OS.
Performance
This handset is using the well known Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 64 Bit (big.LITTLE) (MSM8916) octa core chipset (28 nm) clocked at 1.7GHz coupled with Adreno 405 GPU. Performance is smooth, hardware is powerful (however it cannot play 4K videos) but does heat up with heavy usage. The max temperature I encountered was 45 degrees when I was outdoor under the SUN, using the camera.
Benchmark
| Benchmark App | Score |
| Quadrant | 22861 |
| Antutu (32 bit) | 1st – 32644 , 2nd – 31385 |
| Nenamark 2 | 58.2fps |
| Multi touch | 10 point |
Gaming
I installed Asphalt 8, on internal storage. The game play was smooth in high visual quality mode. This hardware is good enough for heavy games.
Camera
The Moto X Play key attraction is the 21MP primary camera. The front camera is of 5MP resolution. The camera picture quality is excellent, however the focusing is not that great, at times it is not able to focus close subjects properly and output is not that sharp. Long shots and low light (street light) turned out pretty impressive. Camera quality in general in above average.
The camera interface is different and as seen on other Moto handsets. You need to move the rectangle on the subject you want to focus and there is option to control the exposure. This handset can shoot FHD videos. Do check the sample images and videos at the end of this review.
Others
Sound is very loud and clear. In-call sound is also pretty good. 4G worked on both the SIM slots. No issues with WiFi, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth.
There is no double tap to wake up option, however the handset supports voice command, and it’s always active, Just say ‘Okay Moto X Play’ and then say the command, it works even in standby mode. Plus there is the Moto screen, that shows the notification (quick glance) when you pick your phone without having to press the power button (as seen on most Moto smartphones). This is a very good option when you are driving, you can use this and let the handset read out text messages.
Battery
There is 3630 mAh non-removable battery. I did not find the battery performance that impressive considering the mAh capacity, it’s average. You can expect 3 to 6 hours of continuous moderate to heavy usage. The handset did last for one and a half day with mixed usage. Fast charging is supported buy you will need to buy separate fast charger that will be made available soon.
| Performance | Time | Battery drop % | Battery Max Temp |
| Benchmark | 12 Minutes | 4% | 39 degree |
| Gaming (Asphalt 8) | 18 Minutes | 8% | 42 degree |
| FHD movie play with full brightness + Wi-Fi on | 37 minutes | 10% | 39 degree |
| Wall Charge (on standby) | 3 hours 33 minutes | 5% to 100% (wall charge) | 35 degree |
| Wall charger 2nd | 2 hours 9 minutes | 7% to 74% | 35 degree |
Verdict
The Moto X Play is using the Snapdragon 615 chipset that is used on other handsets with a cheaper price tag. Now considering the 21MP camera performance and the battery performance, I think the price of ₹18,499 is high.
Though it is a very good handset, the camera performance can be improved, battery backup is not that great, handset heats-up, but overall the handset does look pricey at this price tag.
Moto X Play is available for ₹18,499.
Image Gallery
Rear Camera sample
Front Camera sample
Video Review