Motorola Moto G Play (2023) review: Limited reach

If anybody is aware of the key to a profitable price range cellphone, it’s Motorola. The Chicago-based big has lasted longer within the reasonably priced Android section than simply about anybody else, refining its craft over numerous generations of Moto G units. Nevertheless, the panorama of low-cost smartphones isn’t the identical because it as soon as was. Premium specs are working their method down, whereas once-low costs are on the up. Can Motorola proceed to succeed with its basic “Play” method? Discover out in our Motorola Moto G Play (2023) overview.

• Motorola Moto G Play (2023) (3GB/32GB): $169.99

The second most reasonably priced Moto G machine is again after taking a 12 months off in 2022. Motorola’s Moto G Play (2023) slots proper again into its previous house above the Moto G Pure and proper behind the Moto G Energy, and it doesn’t fall removed from the household tree. In reality, the Moto G Play (2023) takes fairly a couple of classes from its Energy-packed sibling however retains them at a lower cost level.

The Moto G Play and Moto G Energy share equivalent footprints — proper all the way down to the millimeter. You get the identical 6.5-inch LCD, 90Hz refresh price, and HD+ decision with a punch gap digicam within the heart. The almost repeated design leaves you with a large chin bezel, nevertheless it means there are nonetheless a couple of creature comforts; Motorola’s Moto G Play (2023) nonetheless carries a headphone jack and room for microSD storage enlargement.

You’ll in all probability need to make the most of that enlargement, too, given the one configuration of 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. They’re accompanied by a Mediatek Helio G37 chipset to maintain the lights on and a hefty 5,000mAh battery for good measure. It’s not a quick refill at simply 10W peak wired charging, however Motorola does not less than give you a charger within the field.

As for the remainder of the design, the Moto G Play (2023) has a plastic body and plastic rear panel. It is available in a single Navy Blue end, and the again plastic is damaged up solely by the basic fingerprint reader baked into the brand and the corner-mounted digicam bump. The Moto G Play (2023) now has three cameras — a rise over the earlier mannequin — with the 16MP fundamental sensor because the spotlight. It’s backed by a 2MP devoted macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor for further processing knowledge.

Most of those specs are the identical as they had been on the earlier Moto G Play (2021). The show dimension and determination are the identical, solely differing in refresh price, and the bottom RAM and storage are equivalent, too. Maybe the one main shifts are the adoption of a Mediatek Helio G37 rather than the Snapdragon 460 (extra on that later) and a few further megapixels on the first digicam.

Our Motorola Moto G Play (2023) arrived with Android 12 out of the field and has not acquired Android 13. We’re anticipating one full Android model and three years of safety patches — Motorola’s regular price range promise — however not rather more.

Motorola launched plastic-free packaging with the Moto Edge (2022), and the development continues with the Moto G Play (2023). The field is comprised of 60% post-consumer materials and contains the 10W charger talked about above, a USB-A to USB-C cable, and important paperwork.

The Motorola Moto G Play (2023) additionally sticks to a well-known development of arriving within the US and Canada however skipping the remainder of the world. It’s a cut price — in the event you may name it that — at $169, and it’s out there unlocked by Motorola, Finest Purchase, and Verizon. The provider help is just about vast open, masking AT&T, T-Cellular, and Verizon, in addition to most of their MVNOs.

Motorola’s power within the price range section is its consistency. What’s good in a single model of a Moto G machine will seemingly be simply nearly as good within the subsequent. With the Moto G Play (2023), that concept is rarely extra current than when speaking about battery life. The 5,000mAh cell, mixed with the power-sipping 4G/LTE processor, ends in a cellphone that lasts for days and days. It doesn’t matter what you do with the cellphone — whether or not gaming, streaming, or shopping social media — you shouldn’t need to cost greater than each different day in any case.

The Moto G Play (2023) additionally sticks to Motorola’s mild and breezy My UX. We’ve lengthy praised it as one of many lightest Android skins, and it’s no totally different right here. If you happen to’re shopping for unlocked, the one bloat you face proper out of the field is the Fb app, and you may simply uninstall it. Motorola doesn’t load you with its model of apps, as an alternative preferring Google’s variations. One of many unsung heroes of the My UX expertise is the devoted Moto app. It would seem like undesirable bloat at first, nevertheless it’s extra just like the Pixel Ideas app and a customization suite rolled into one. You possibly can set your app grid, select a brand new font, after which study your method round your new cellphone from the identical app. It’s nice for newcomers and those who need to customise their expertise with a couple of faucets.

Regardless of its price range limitations, the Moto G Play (2023) isn’t a bad-looking cellphone both. Certain, it’s plastic which doesn’t really feel all that nice within the hand, however the Navy Blue end and matte texture give it a barely extra premium look. I didn’t have any points with fingerprints, and the slight texture on the facility button makes it simple to seek out with out trying. Motorola’s 90Hz show is eye-catching as properly. No, it gained’t give a 120Hz OLED a run for its cash, however an upgraded refresh price is a simple approach to improve a easy panel, even when the weak efficiency hampers its fluidity (extra on that later).

I’ll additionally reward Motorola’s continued use of basic options yet another time. It’s good to see a 3.5mm jack stick round for yet another 12 months for these unwilling to spend cash on Bluetooth headphones. Expandable storage is nice, too, as 32GB is never sufficient out of the field — I’ve already crammed 10GB in only a few weeks and an enormous chunk is occupied out of the field. The 2023 Moto G Play can also be rated for primary splashproofing and restricted mud ingress, which isn’t all the time a given at this worth tier.

The opposite facet of consistency is that we don’t are inclined to see main enhancements from one Moto G machine to the following. Sadly, the Moto G Play (2023) leans closely into a few of its extra dated options.

For instance, we took challenge with the underpowered Helio G37 chipset when it got here to the Moto G Energy in 2022, and the now two-year-old chipset hasn’t picked up velocity in 2023. It’s simple to maneuver too shortly for the Moto G Play, particularly in the event you’re making an attempt to scroll by an extended webpage or soar by settings too shortly. I’ve frequently needed to cease and await the cellphone to catch up, even when only for a second or two. The 4G-locked Helio G37 additionally implies that we gained’t see Motorola deliver 5G to its most reasonably priced units for not less than one other 12 months, whereas Samsung provides prime speeds on its upcoming Galaxy A14 5G for simply $20 extra.

Not solely is the Mediatek Helio G37 lengthy within the tooth and gradual on the draw, nevertheless it’s really slower than the chipset within the earlier Moto G Play. That mannequin had Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 460 below the hood, which outperforms the Helio G37 in nearly each context. Perhaps the change is a results of the worldwide chip scarcity, nevertheless it’s kneecapping an already restricted machine.

The Moto G Play’s restricted RAM and storage in all probability additionally contribute to the occasional lag. We’re on the level the place 3GB isn’t sufficient while you’re multitasking, and it’s very simple to replenish the 32GB of base storage with only a few giant video games. You’ll nearly definitely need a microSD card.

Underpowered is a theme all through the Moto G Play, and it continues while you lastly drain the battery. The cellphone solely helps 10W wired speeds, so that you’ll need to plant your self at an outlet for some time. Just like the Moto G Energy (2022) — which has the identical battery and charging velocity — the Moto G Play (2023) takes about two hours to cost again to 100%.

Whereas the big 6.5-inch show has a 90Hz refresh price, it infrequently hits the mark. It spends extra time stuttering by menus than easily scrolling by, properly, something. The show isn’t notably shiny in direct daylight, even when set to most brightness. I’m additionally normally a fan of rear-mounted fingerprint readers, however the Moto G Play (2023) sometimes struggles right here, too. It acknowledges my fingerprint perhaps two-thirds of the time, which isn’t an important success price.

Maybe the worst facet of Motorola’s consistency is the software program dedication for price range telephones. The Moto G Play (2023) arrived with Android 12 out of the field, however we’re not anticipating it to see an excessive amount of help past an eventual Android 13 replace. Motorola tends to restrict its most reasonably priced lineup to a single Android refresh and three years of safety patches, which is an enchancment however isn’t nice when customers hold their telephones longer.

Rounding out the unlucky limitations: there’s no NFC chip within the Moto G Play (2023). Which means wi-fi funds or Close by Share file swapping are off the desk. It additionally eliminates digital lodge keys and digital driver’s licenses, although these makes use of are much less commonplace. And eventually, the Moto G Play (2023) packs a single down-firing speaker, which is able to good quantity however feels a bit off steadiness with out utilizing the earpiece as a stereo unit.

Extra isn’t all the time higher, it doesn’t matter what an inexpensive digicam cellphone tells you. We’d moderately have two good lenses than one helpful lens and a few supporting choices, however Motorola is heading the opposite method. The Moto G Play (2023) picked up an extra lens over its predecessor, a devoted 2MP macro. Certain, it ends in a bump that matches most of Motorola’s different telephones, however you’ll spend most — if not all — of your time utilizing the 16MP major sensor whereas the depth and macro choices fill in while you need them.

Motorola’s 16MP fundamental digicam is ok in good lighting, however even then, I wished a bit extra. Although it picked up an extra 3MP over the Moto G Play (2021), the pixels received smaller, costing some low-light efficiency. The outcomes aren’t dangerous within the picture of information in a milk crate or the Rolex clock, however the colours aren’t very punchy, and the small print are inclined to fall off as quickly as you’re out of fine lighting. For instance, the leaves within the nook of the prism picture are considerably blurry towards the sky, and the timber behind the three busts fall into the identical lure.

The Moto G Play’s single vast lens is just not all the time the simplest to zoom with. Motorola provides fast faucets for macro mode and 1x zoom within the digicam app, however the rest requires pinching and squeezing to get proper. I felt comfy zooming in to about 3x with out shedding too many particulars, nevertheless it begins to fall off shortly after that. 8x zoom, which you’ll be able to see on the appropriate, is so far as the Moto G Play (2023) goes, and it will get progressively more durable to land shot. A couple of of the sides of the bulb are noticeably gentle, and the colour profile has additionally shifted.

Whereas the Moto G Play’s zoom might be hit and miss, its low-light efficiency is nearly all the time a miss. There’s no devoted night time toggle, so you need to depend on the 16MP major sensor and a bit post-processing luck to achieve the end line. Which means the small print get even softer, as seen within the timber flanking the statue, and the lights contained in the on line casino are inclined to bleed. The massive neon logos on Caesar’s Palace undergo the same destiny, melting into shiny crimson blobs.

Motorola’s 5MP selfie digicam isn’t glorious, although I used to be impressed with its edge detection. It solely trimmed a couple of of my wilder hairs and dealt with the world the place my hair met the rocks behind me fairly properly. The photographs under are a bit gentle on my face, and the sky is blown out behind the on line casino, however I discover that the colour profile is nearer to actual life than what the first digicam achieved.

The Moto G Play (2023) additionally sticks near its predecessor for video, providing simply Full HD recording at 30fps. You possibly can shoot as much as HD footage at 30fps with the macro digicam, and the selfie digicam is in step with the first sensor’s Full HD functionality. That is all pretty normal for entry-tier telephones.

No person ever stated that making an important budget-friendly Android cellphone can be simple. Actually, it in all probability will get more durable as premium options attempt to work their method down and types attempt to nail particular worth factors. Sadly, the Motorola Moto G Play (2023) is caught in that squeeze. Lots of its options labored properly in 2021 with the final G Play mannequin, however they don’t all sustain in 2023.

Certain, it nonetheless has a headphone jack, a battery that lasts and lasts, and the sunshine, clean My UX pores and skin, however that doesn’t really feel like sufficient. The Mediatek Helio G37 lacks any punch, the charging leaves you tethered to the wall for hours, and there’s no signal of NFC or 5G on the horizon. In fact, we have now to do not forget that this is likely one of the most reasonably priced Android units in the marketplace at simply $170, however the tide is rising round Motorola.

Particularly, Samsung’s new Galaxy A14 5G provides key benefits throughout the board, including a Full HD decision, extra RAM and storage, and 5G speeds for simply $30 extra. It shifts to 15W wired charging and a dependable side-mounted fingerprint reader that doubles as the facility button. It’ll even be supported with Android model updates for 2 years and safety patches for 4 years, making it a safer funding. We’ll have to attend and see how Samsung’s up to date digicam array performs after we get our arms on one, nevertheless it’s shaping up properly with comparable lenses and a 50MP major shooter.

The OnePlus Nord N300 ($228 at T-Cellular) is one other cheap competitor in the same worth section. It has flaws of its personal, nevertheless it brings extra RAM and storage proper out of the field and provides a lot quicker 33W wired charging. Add a bit further punch — and 5G help — from the Dimensity 810 chipset, and it’s simple to see the place spending a bit more money will get you, although for now it solely helps T-Cellular.