Moto Z2 Play Unboxing And First Impressions

Motorola, a well known wireless connectivity brand has always spearhead mobile phone innovation and their latest Z2 Play looks to push the bar once again.

Moto Z2 Play

Moto for some time now with the company being passed around and is now under Lenovo. And in recent years, Lenovo has still stayed true to what Lenovo is known for beauty, elegance and innovation.

Last year, Lenovo introduced modular focused phones that allow for unparalleled flexibility that can potentially cater to each individual need of its users. 

For those who have yet to hear about the Z2 Play, the Z2 is manufactured with flagship levels of breeding with flagship quality materials of solid aluminium body and beautiful glass display. It's absolutely beautiful.

One thing about the Z2 Play is that only when you've held it do you realize how rock solid the aluminum frame but at the same time how lightweight it is. It's mind blowing how it feels both solid and light at the same time.

Out of the box though, it's hard to justify the price of the Z2 play given that it has upper mid range specs when compared to the flagship killer specs of the One Plus 5 where their prices aren't that far from each other.

Moto Z2 Play Specs

Display: 5.5-inch FHD Super AMOLED 1920 x 1080 resolution w/ 2.5D curved screen and Gorilla Glass protection at 401 ppi

CPU: 2.2GHz 64-bit Snapdragon 626 octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno 506

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 64GB expandable via micro SD card slot up to 2 TB

Back Camera: 12MP f/1.7 w/ Dual Pixel and dual tone LED flash

Selfie Camera: 5MP w/ wide angle lens and dual tone LED flash

Battery: 3,000mAh w/ TurboPower charging

OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat

Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, HSPA+, LTE, Bluetooth, FM Radio, NFC, IR Blaster, GPS, A-GPS, dual SIM

Others: Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C, Splash resistance, Moto Mods, Colors: lunar gray, fine gold

Sensors: Accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, compass, light, orientation, sound, magnetic

Dimensions: 156.2 x 76.2 x 5.99 mm

Weight: 145 g

Price: PHP 24,999

Disclaimer: This is a loaned unit from Motorola Philippines but rest assured that our review will be honest and unbiased.

Unboxing / Accessories

Everything inside

The red packaging of the Z2 Play is beautiful. It is premium and it carries the usual accessories like documentation, sim ejection tool, USB-C to USB-A cable, power plug and earphones with mic and extra eartips.

It would be nice if Moto added the simple textured backplate cover mod in their packaging to improve the look of the phone as well as to protect the back part of phone.

Build Quality / Design

Moto Mods CPU contacts!

The Z2 Play is one of the few phones that we can say that truly feels rock solid in the hands but can weigh almost nothing given that it has that huge and beautiful 5.5 inch display.

Unmatched solid build and light weight

It is also worth noting that the antenna bands placement and integration with the aluminum body is one of the more unique and beautiful implementations we have ever seen. We hope that other manufacturers will find their own way of integrating the antenna bands on their devices.

Top side are the sim card tray and microphone 1

Bottom are the headphone jack, regulatory symbols and USB Type C port

Pristine left side

Volume buttons and power button at right

Design-wise, the Z2 Play is a reminiscent of the Z Play from last year. Moto refined the aesthetics and made the battery thinner thus the phone is also thinner. There is still that huge camera bump though. It is quickly remedied by adding any of the mods that come as a separate purchase.

Refined Z Play Aesthetics from last year!

The volume rocker and power button is on the right while you will find the sim card tray and a microphone on top while the headphone jack, regulatory symbols and USB-C port at the bottom. 

In front are the display and above it are the earpiece, dual tone LED flash, secondary camera and the sensors while the fingerprint sensor and second microphone is at the bottom half. 

At the back are the beautiful antenna bands, Camera, dual tone LED flash, Moto Logo and the Moto Mods CPU contact pins.

Lastly the display itself is beautiful! The colors are well saturated, the resolution is dense and the blacks are deep while the touch screen is accurate and responsive!

Initial Findings

1. The Z2 Play has flagship aesthetics with a sharp 1080p 5.5 inch Super AMOLED screen that looks great with eye popping colors. 
2. Upper midrange powerhouse with 3,000 mAh battery on paper but may be a little pricey. 
3. Near Stock Android 7.0 Nougat OS out of the box. With Moto customized features that are always better than stock!
4. The main camera looks great when in daylight, though in low light seems that it can still improve. We'll have to do further testing.
5. Android keys are on-screen, no LED light indicator but has the always on display, OTG works, fingerprint scanner works quickly, gyroscope sensor is present.
6. Built in Moto Actions add functional features like chop twice for flash or twist the phone to turn on the camera instantly.

As of the moment

The Z2 Play is promising to be the more functionally capable phones out there! Flagship build with upper tier specs and unparalleled accessory support could carry Moto back in the game!

For our review: Moto Z2 Play Review - Modular Marvel?