Motorola Moto G Play Review: A Decent Super-Budget Phone

Motorola Moto G Play is the brand’s answer to what a phone offering value for money should be.

On paper, the G play looks decent with a massive 5,000mAh battery and a good-looking appearance. Now let’s see how it holds up in real life.

Motorola Moto G Play Display And Design

Motorola Moto G Play is a budget phone so there is no reason to expect a premium look. However, the company has done enough to make sure the handset looks modern in 2021.

The usual hole-punch is replaced by a tear-drop notch. Fortunately, the notch doesn’t draw much attention so don’t worry about it being too intrusive. What is more troublesome is the large chin which is definitely noticeable.

On the back of the Motorola Moto G Play, there is a dual-camera setup and a fingerprint sensor. On the sides, you will find the volume rocker, the power button, the USB-C port, and a headphone jack.

The front of the phone is dominated by a 6.5-inch 720p LCD display. While it does its job, there is nothing to write home about. The colors aren’t quite punchy and the refresh rate is mediocre.

Motorola Moto G Play Performance And Battery

Motorola Moto G Play specs sheet isn’t exactly impressive. Under the hood, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 processor paired with RAM of 3GB and inbuilt storage of 32GB. Compared to other phones in the G series, this is a major drawback as all of the G Play’s siblings have at least 6-series chips.

Fortunately, the phone features a MicroSD card slot so you can expand the storage if you wish.

Despite the lower-grade chipset, the phone performs well in daily life. However, the lack of power shows when you throw more intensive tasks at it, like gaming. When we tested the Motorola Moto G Play with Call of Duty: Mobile, the phone did slow down a bit but it worked well in-game.

All the phones in the 2021 G series have good battery life, to which the G Play can attest. The handset draws power from a 5,000mAh battery. Since the screen has a low resolution, you can easily have two days or even more with the phone on one single charge.

There is no wireless charging on this phone, which isn’t surprising given its price.

Motorola Moto G Play Camera

The camera setup of the Motorola Moto G Play consists of a 13MP f/2.0 primary snapper and a 2MP depth sensor. So with these cameras, users won’t have access to the versatility of a telephoto or an ultra-wide camera on this handset.

In good lighting, the cameras can yield good shots. They aren’t exactly detailed or vibrant but definitely shareable. In less-than-ideal conditions, like low-light, you will get blurry and overblown pictures.

Overall, the cameras on the G Play will remind you that you are using a budget phone.

Motorola Moto G Play Software And Features

Motorola Moto G Play runs on the company My UX based on Android 10. Motorola has always done an excellent job scaling back software and it’s evident on this phone. Everything is easy to navigate and can easily find what you need in no time.

Motorola also offers some extra features; for example, the Moto app which enables many convenient gesture controls, like flipping the phone to enter ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode or touching the phone with three fingers to take a screenshot.

The best thing about these extra features of the Motorola Moto G Play is that they are all in the Moto app and you can enable as well as disable anything you want.

One of the most significant downsides of the phone, besides the mediocre cameras, is the dated Android 10. While the company said users would get Android 11, it didn’t say when.

However, Motorola said that the G series would get at least one software update, so it safe to say that the best you can get is Android 11.

Motorola Moto G Play Price

The most appealing feature of the G Play is its inexpensive price tag. The phone is retailed for $170 and the Motorola Moto G Play price in India is Rs. 6,900.

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