SpecEagle review · Motorola

Moto X Play review: A battery-focused mid-ranger with a 3,630 mAh cell and clean software.

SpecEagle Editorial·Aug 2015·$300
Overall
50/100
Class rank
#2 of 2
Tier
Mid-range
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

The battery-life value Moto.

Moto X Play paired a big 3,630 mAh battery with a 21 MP camera and clean software for a true two-day mid-ranger. The Snapdragon 615 was its limit, but for endurance-focused buyers it was an easy recommendation.

01Display

64/100

64/100 is one of the weaker display results among mid-range phones of 2015 — 7 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

TypeIPS LCD, 60 Hz
Size5.5 inches
Resolution1,920 × 1,080 px (FHD)

02Camera

58/100

58/100 trails the 62-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2015.

Main21 MP, f/2.0, PDAF
Selfie5 MP

03Performance

52/100

52/100 trails the 57-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2015.

ChipsetSnapdragon 615 (28 nm)
RAM2 GB
Storage16 / 32 GB · microSD

04Battery

74/100

74/100 is one of the weaker battery results among mid-range phones of 2015 — 7 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

Capacity3,630 mAh
Wired15 W TurboPower

05Build

62/100

62/100 is one of the weaker build results among mid-range phones of 2015 — 6 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

06Value

66/100

66/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2015.

What works
  • 3,630 mAh battery delivered great endurance.
  • 21 MP camera and FHD screen.
  • Clean Android, updated to 7.1.
  • microSD + jack.
What doesn't
  • Snapdragon 615 throttled.
  • Mono speaker.
  • Thick 10.9 mm.
  • No fast-charge brick on all variants.

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 2-phone cohort of mid-range devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .