Motorola has officially unveiled its new Moto Z3 Play, a modular smartphone set to hit the United States this summer, at a $499 price point.
The Moto Z3 Play comes with midrange specifications but hopes to stand out from the crowd thanks to modular accessories called Moto Mods. In fact, Motorola is offering a free magnetic battery pack with each Z3 Play purchase, to sweeten the deal.
Moto Z3 Play Promises A Premium Mobile Experience
Motorola touts that its latest smartphone has a sleek design, an edge-to-edge display, and AI smarts to make things more convenient.
"It's a high quality, premium mobile experience accessible to everyone, with must-have features that matter most, and the opportunity to go beyond the everyday with moto mods," says Motorola. "The best part about moto z3 play is it will get better with time as new moto mods become available and AI and Moto Experiences get richer."
Moto Z3 Play Specs
The new Moto Z3 Play features a 6-inch Super AMOLED display with a full HD+ resolution of 2,160 x 1,080 pixels and an 18:9 aspect ratio, an upper-mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage space, expandable via microSD, and Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box.
Other specs include a dual rear camera setup, consisting of a 12-megapixel sensor with a f/1.7 aperture and a 5-megapixel depth-sensing sensor, an 8-megapixel selfie cam with flash and a f/2.0 aperture.
It also has a 3,000 mAh battery, a USB Type-C port with fast charging support, and a fingerprint sensor now located on the side rather than on the front.
$499 Moto Z3 Play Or $529 OnePlus 6?
The Moto Z3 Play will launch unlocked at $499 for the 32 GB version, bundled with a battery mod. That price point, however, is pretty close to that of the OnePlus 6, which retails at $529 for a 64GB model, and offers notably more advanced specifications.
The OnePlus 6 raised the bar for devices in the $500- $600 price category and new handsets in the same market segment, such as the Moto Z3 Play, face heavy competition.
For those unfamiliar with OnePlus' latest flagship killer, the OnePlus 6 sports a 6.28-inch Optic AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,280 x 1,080 pixels and an 19:9 aspect ratio, a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM, 64 GB, 128 GB, or 256 GB of storage, and a 3,300 mAh battery.
The OnePlus 6 also has a dual rear camera setup, consisting of a 20-megapixel sensor and a 16-megapixel camera, while a 16-megapixel front shooter will handle selfies and video calls. On the software front, the smartphone runs OnePlus' own Oxygen OS based on Android 8.1.
For a difference of just $30, those looking for a new Android smartphone might be tempted to go for the more powerful OnePlus 6 rather than the Moto Z3 Plus. On the other hand, the latter supports modular accessories, so it might appeal to those looking for a more customizable experience.
The Moto Z3 Play will launch on Sprint and U.S. Cellular this summer, but it will also sell unlocked at various retailers such as Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, Fry's, Target, and B&H Photo. In Canada, the handset will be available at Virgin Mobile, Videotron, MTS, Bell Canada, and SaskTel.
For more information, interested customers can register for Moto Z3 Play updates on the company's website.
