Moto X Play Explained

Moto X Play
Logosize:150px
Manufacturer:Motorola Mobility
Series:Motorola Moto
Predecessor:Droid Maxx
Successor:Moto X4
Moto Z Play
Related:Moto X Style
Moto G (3rd generation)
Type:Phablet
Form:Slate
Size:148mm H
75mm W
10.9mm D
Os:Original: Android 5.1 Lollipop
Current: Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
Soc:Qualcomm Snapdragon 615
Cpu:1.7 GHz octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 (64-bit)
Gpu:Adreno 405
Storage:16 or 32 GB
Display:5.5" (140 mm) 1080 × 1920 pixel (403 ppi) IPS LCD
Weight:169g
Memory:2 GB LPDDR3 RAM
Rear Camera:21 MP Sony Exmor IMX230, f/2.0 aperture, dual CCT flash, 1080p video recording @ 30fps, slow motion
Front Camera:5 MP
Memory Card:microSDXC up to 128 GB
Battery:3630 mAh Li-Po, non-removable
Sound:Mono speaker
Charging:TurboPower fast charging

Moto X Play is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. Unveiled on July 28, 2015, it was one of three devices that succeeded the second-generation Moto X. In contrast to the high-end Moto X Style, the Play is a mid-range device distinguished by its high battery capacity.

It was released in Canada, Europe, and Latin America in August 2015.[1] In the United States, it was unveiled in October 2015 as the Droid Maxx 2, as part of the Droid line of smartphones that are manufactured by Motorola exclusively for Verizon Wireless.[2] [3]

Specifications

Design

The Moto X Play's chassis features a faux metallic bezel and a textured rear cover, and is splash-resistant. The phone has a 5.5 inch display with sizable bezels; the upper bezel houses the front-facing camera and a speaker/earpiece grill while the lower bezel houses a speaker grill. On the side frame; there is a power button and a volume rocker at the right, a SIM/microSD card tray and a 3.5 mm headphone jack at the top, and a microUSB 2.0 port at the bottom; the left side is empty. At the back, there is the rear-facing camera, the LED flash and a "Motorola" logo. When purchasing the phone it was possible to choose the colour of the microphone and speaker inserts, new central area on the back around the camera and flash and the rear cover from a range of colours and finishes. The rear cover can be removed and replaced with differently-colored versions to customize the phone; no other user-replaceable parts are present under the cover as the battery is non-removable.

Hardware

Moto X Play is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 system-on-chip with a 1.7 GHz octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 64-bit CPU and an Adreno 405 GPU. The phone features a 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD display with 1080x1920 pixels resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio and 424 ppi pixel density. It is available with 2 GB of RAM and 16 or 32 GB of internal storage expandable via microSD card.[4] The Moto X Play includes a non-removable 3630 mAh battery, which Motorola rated as providing 48 hours of mixed usage on a single charge.[5] It also features a 21-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with wide-angle lens.[6] [7]

Software

The Moto X Play shipped with Android 5.1.1 "Lollipop", customized with Motorola's suite of apps including Moto Display, Moto Voice, and Moto Assist.[8] In January 2016, Motorola began to release an update to Android 6.0 "Marshmallow".[9] It enables new features such as "Google Now on Tap", which allows users to perform searches within the context of information currently being displayed on-screen, and "Doze", which optimizes battery usage when the device is not being physically handled.[10] An update to Android 7.1.1 "Nougat" was released in June 2017 for international models[11] and February 2018 for U.S. Droid Maxx 2 models.[12]

Variants

The Moto X Play has several variants to support 3G and 4G networks of different carriers:

Model FCC ID Regions CDMA bands GSM bands UMTS bands LTE bands Notes
XT1561 China[13] Unknown Quad UnknownUnknownUnlocked for Chinese Carriers
XT1562 Europe,[14] Australia,[15] India[16] N/A Quad 850/900/1800/1900/2100 1/3/5/7/8/19/20/28/38/40/41 SIM unlocked
XT1563 Canada,[17] Brazil[18] and most Latin American carriers N/A Quad 850/900/1700(AWS)/1800/1900/2100 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/28

All variants support the four 2G GSM bands 850/900/1800/1900.

Reception

The Verge considered the Moto X Play to be a "more perfect Nexus 5" due to its balance of capabilities and value, and arguing that its camera was one of the best seen on a Motorola to date (although struggling in low-light conditions), but noting that the software on their device appeared to have performance issues.[19]

NotebookCheck was generally positive about the device. The rear camera image quality, the display quality and the battery life were praised. It was concluded that the Moto X Play could "easily cope with 99% of all everyday situations, apps and games" but some of the opponents such as OnePlus 2 had more "computing power".[20]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Motorola unveils new Moto X Style, Moto X Play, and Moto G smartphones. VentureBeat. 28 July 2015. 9 June 2016.
  2. Web site: Motorola now exclusive Droid partner to Verizon. CNET. CBS Interactive. 9 June 2016.
  3. Web site: Verizon's Droid Maxx 2 is a Moto X Play for the US. The Verge. 27 October 2015. 9 June 2016.
  4. Web site: Motorola Moto X Play Price in India, Specifications, Comparison (12th April 2022) .
  5. Web site: Moto X Play review: An unexciting phone with a huge battery. Engadget. 9 June 2016.
  6. Web site: Moto X Play review. Techradar. 9 June 2016.
  7. Web site: Crowd Pleaser: Motorola Moto X Play review. GSMArena. 9 June 2016.
  8. Web site: Motorola Moto X Play review: a decent performer for a bit less. The Guardian. 2 September 2015. 9 June 2016.
  9. Web site: Moto X Play Now Receiving Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update in India. Gadgets360. 6 January 2016 . NDTV. 9 June 2016.
  10. Web site: Android 6.0 Marshmallow, thoroughly reviewed. Ars Technica. 5 October 2015. Conde Nast. October 6, 2015.
  11. Web site: Moto X Play is now receiving the update to Android 7.1.1 Nougat. GSMArena.com. en-US. 2019-01-26.
  12. Web site: Motorola DROID MAXX 2 receiving Android 7.0 Nougat update. Vasile. Cosmin. Phone Arena. 8 February 2018 . en-US. 2019-01-26.
  13. http://www.tenaa.com.cn/WSFW/LicenceShow.aspx?code=7enueImfvrTGbHX115zmeLdTi1kDMuep4HNM9LsGH6MYHtdfrouZLPVcuv3uokaz Motorola Moto X Play Get Certified In China
  14. Web site: Specifications . motorola.co.uk . 2015-08-27 . 2015-07-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150730224609/http://www.motorola.co.uk/moto-x/moto-x-play-uk.html . dead .
  15. Web site: Specifications . motorola.com.au . 2015-08-27 . 2015-07-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150731191650/http://www.motorola.com.au/consumers/moto-x/moto-x-play-au,en_AU,pd.html . dead .
  16. Web site: Specifications . motorola.in . 2015-09-26 . 2015-09-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150915081357/http://www.motorola.in/products/moto-x-play . dead .
  17. Web site: Specifications . motorola.ca . 2015-08-27 . 2015-07-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150730204926/http://www.motorola.ca/moto-x/moto-x-play-ca-en.html . dead .
  18. Web site: Specifications . motorola.com.br . 2015-08-27 . 2015-07-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150729160625/http://www.motorola.com.br/moto-x/moto-x-play-br.html . dead .
  19. Web site: Moto X Play review. Savov. Vlad. 2015-08-31. The Verge. 2019-07-03.
  20. Web site: Wimmer . Florian . Motorola Moto X Play Smartphone Review . 2022-09-01 . Notebookcheck . 14 September 2015 . en.