Motorola Moto X Play Review

When I was asked to review the Motorola Moto X, I was a little unsure. I felt that it would be a bit hard for me to write something so big, as I haven’t written about phones before. However, I have used a lot of smartphones, so I knew this would be something interesting. It was also a way to find out if this was the right phone for me as I am due to upgrade my own very soon.

In the box you have the Moto X Play, although there isn’t much plastic around it to protect it, next we have the charging USB cable - it's not very long, and I prefer a longish cable to be able to put my phone up somewhere high from the plug. Speaking of which, you normally get a plug with just one USB port but this has two - yes two - ports, useful if you have another gadget with a USB cable. Lastly we have the SIM card tool, along with the instructions and warranty.

Holding the phone made me think “wow this is heavy”, when compared to my current phone (a Samsung Galaxy S5), and the screen is big, ideal for watching YouTube videos or trailers. The resolution is quite good, and the colours nice and vivid for games and videos. There are two buttons, one for power and the other for volume. The volume button on the unit I used was a little loose and didn't feel right, though, so was one thing I didn’t like.

I don’t play many mobile games but recently I found Futurama: Game of Drones very fun to play so I thought it was one way to see how it runs. I opened the game and the first thing I noticed was how bright the colours looked as well as how perfectly detailed it is. It doesn’t look bad on the S5, but I like how much cleaner it looks on the Moto X.

The battery in the Moto X Play lasts a lot longer than I expected it to. In general use, it lasts a full day, when using Facebook, Page Manager, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Discord, Etsy, eBay and Futurama it would last until whenever I go to bed. I don’t think it would need charging until the next day unless you use it a lot more.

The speaker is ideal for anyone watching videos without headphones, as it’s quite loud at full volume. It does have a 3.5mm headphone jack, though, in case you do have to listen using headphones.

On to the camera, when I took a picture it was easy to use and you can see how detailed it is. The pictures themselves are crisp and clear, and even when you zoom in you can still see detail in faces and the surroundings. This is probably because it’s a staggering 21 megapixel back camera.

One feature I liked was when picking it up it automatically lights up the screen letting you unlock the phone. It’s much easier than what the S5 does, but I keep worrying it might unlock in your bag or pocket when moving around too much. Another good feature might just be this flavour of Android, but the menu scrolls up and down, rather than left and right.

The only thing I can think to add is to answer those wondering how fast is it. It responds to things I want to do a lot better then my S5, apps opening quicker and switching between apps for instance. I also tested to see which one out of the S5 and the Moto X Play was the fastest to switch off and on again, and the X Play won.

The only downfall is that I couldn't test how well it worked with calls, putting it on speaker or how the battery was in calls, because it required a nano SIM and I have a micro SIM. Other than that, the weight and the wobbly button, I really like the phone.