Moto G Play (2023): Specs
Value: $170
Android model: Android 12
Show: 6.5-inch LCD (1600 x 720)
Refresh fee: 90Hz
CPU: Helio G37
RAM: 3GB
Storage / Expandable: 32GB / Sure
Rear cameras: 16MP (f/2.2) primary, 2MP (f/2.4) macro, 2MP (f/2.4) depth
Entrance digicam: 5MP (f/2.4)
Battery: 5,000 mAh
Battery life (Hrs:Minutes): 12:54 (Auto) / 12:32 (60Hz)
Charging: 10W
Measurement: 6.6 x 3 x 0.4 inches (167.2 x 76.5 x 9.4 mm)
Weight: 7.2 ounces (203 g)
Colours: Deep Indigo
Motorola has carved out an enormous slice of a budget telephone marketplace for itself, with the Moto G Play (2023) the newest to hitch the combination. You may get this handset for simply $169, which is a discount. However to reach at such a low price, Motorola needed to make some main compromises.
That’s led to a telephone which is close to inconceivable to make use of due to its sluggishness. The Moto G Play show lacks something notable moreover a 90Hz refresh fee — a function that I’m glad to see — whereas the digicam produces lifeless photographs that you simply’ll instantly need to trash. Couple that with the truth that this handset ships with Android 12, and can solely get Android 13, and you’ve got a tool that I can’t advocate, not even for discount hunters.
You get what you pay for, and as you’ll see on this Moto G Play (2023) evaluation, your $169 doesn’t get you a lot.
Moto G Play (2023) evaluation: Value and availability
The Moto G Play (2023) is available in at a really enticing $169, providing a big 5,000 mAh battery and 90Hz LCD for that worth. You should buy it proper now by Motorola or Amazon (opens in new tab). For that cash, you get a paltry 32GB of storage, although you should utilize a microSD card to develop that as much as 512GB. You’ll have to make do with 3GB of RAM, too.
You’ll be hard-pressed to discover a serviceable various at this worth level. In fact, there’s a cause for that, however the subsequent closest competitor could be the OnePlus Nord N300 at $228. (OnePlus’ price range telephone is just out there by T-Cell and Metro by T-Cell in the meanwhile.)
The Moto G Play (2023) is in a league of its personal, for higher or for worse.
Moto G Play (2023) evaluation: Design
Proper out of the field, I seen how low-cost the Moto G Play (2023) is. It’s a hefty machine due to its giant battery, however the easy plastic physique definitely seems like a $169 handset. Each the again and display screen additionally gather fingerprints and mud reasonably simply, making for a dingy telephone after just a bit little bit of use.
The easiest way I may describe the Moto G Play (2023) is purposeful. Its primary building and design definitely received’t impress anybody, however I anticipated no much less for one thing at this worth. I don’t like how slippery the telephone is, although. I’ve practically dropped it on multiple event.
I don’t dislike the look of the Moto G Play (2023), nor its building. Only a few years in the past, low-cost telephones would creak underneath the slightest stress, whereas the Moto G Play (2023) appears to carry robust underneath regular use. It’s only a design that appears reasonably old-fashioned at this level.
Moto G Play (2023) evaluation: Show
Whereas I’ve little drawback with the design, the Moto G Play actually begins to point out its compromises with the show. The 6.5-inch TFT LCD with a 720p decision is simply disappointing. The boring colours and dim brightness depart rather a lot to be desired.
The one saving grace is the 90Hz refresh fee, which theoretically helps to supply a smoother scrolling expertise — when the meager system-on-chip can sustain. A quick refresh fee is a pleasant function to see on a telephone this low-cost and I commend Motorola for together with it.
Right here’s what we measured for the Moto G Play (2023)’s show.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Moto G Play (2023) | Nord N300 | Moto G 5G (2022) |
| Display screen dimension | 6.5 inches | 6.56 inches | 6.5 inches |
| sRGB (%) | 103 (Saturated) / 103 (Pure) | 161 (Vivid) / 114 (Pure) | 102 (Saturated) / 104 (Pure) |
| DCI-P3 (%) | 73 (Saturated) / 73 (Pure) | 114 (Vivid) / 81 (Pure) | 72 (Saturated) / 74 (Pure) |
| Delta-E | 0.23 (Saturated) / 0.22 (Pure) | 0.25 (Vivid) / 0.22 (Pure) | 0.24 (Saturated) / 0.24 (Pure) |
| Peak brightness (nits) | 442 | 573 | 484 |
Wanting on the Moto G Play (2023), you possibly can see that not rather a lot has modified because the Moto G 5G (2022) when it comes to the show. Each have remarkably related colours, colour accuracy, and brightness. The most important distinction is that the 2022 Moto G makes use of IPS expertise for its panel as a substitute of TFT just like the Moto G Play (2023).
At simply 442 nits, the Moto G Play (2023) struggles with any form of vibrant lighting. Utilizing it outdoor was a chore, even within the shade. Making an attempt to see the images I had taken, for instance, proved extremely irritating.
The 90Hz refresh fee isn’t sufficient to save lots of this display screen. Certain, the telephone is $169 and received’t have a flagship-class show, however have a look at how a lot brighter and extra colourful the Nord N300’s is at lower than $60 extra. The Moto G Play (2023) is sort of an eyesore as compared.
Moto G Play (2023) evaluation: Cameras
As you may count on given the value and Motorola title, the Moto G Play (2023)’s cameras are usually not nice. In reality, they’re downright unhealthy in some instances.
Motorola calls this a triple digicam system, however two — a macro lens and a devoted depth sensor — are successfully ineffective. That leaves the 16MP primary lens that does the entire work, and never nicely at that. Round entrance is a 5MP selfie digicam that won’t flatter anybody.
Let’s begin this comparability towards the OnePlus Nord N300 with this picture of a bowl of fruit outdoors on my deck. The Moto’s model is reasonably flat and lifeless, with colours that look boring and nearly washed out. In the meantime, the Nord has a hotter tone that I discover extra welcoming, particularly with the higher lighting on the left. The colours, whereas not nice, definitely pop greater than the Moto’s do.
Heading inside, the Moto G Play (2023) managed to make the bowl of fruit look much less interesting. I see publicity and dynamic vary issues proper off the bat. It’s nearly as if the telephone tried to overcompensate for the dimmer inside of my (well-lit) breakfast space. The Nord N300’s picture isn’t all that significantly better. It’s darker than needed, nevertheless it retains its benefit with the colours.
It might be an understatement to say that the Moto G Play (2023)’s portraits ended up sloppy. I can’t say there’s something redeeming about this. Not solely is the main target utterly out of contact, the blurriness and horrific colour replica utterly mess with my complexion. The Nord N300 isn’t a complete lot higher by any means, nevertheless it has sharper focus and stronger colours.
To wrap up this rear digicam travesty, the Moto G Play (2023) wholly lacks an evening mode altogether. So that you’re left to the whims of the principle sensor to attempt to eke out low-light images — and it doesn’t precisely work nicely. You possibly can’t even make out the bowl of fruit within the blackness, whereas you possibly can at the least see it within the Nord N300’s picture. It’s not fairly, nevertheless it crushes the Moto with out breaking a sweat.
As for selfies, there’s nothing spectacular with what the Moto G Play produces. The 5MP sensor simply couldn’t seize a lot element, overly flattening each my face and the background. Focus is a large drawback right here, too. The blue of my eyes seems to be lifeless. That’s to not say that the Nord’s selfie is significantly better, however at the least it obtained much more element within the strains of my face and hairs in my beard.
As you possibly can see, the Moto G Play (2023) falls flat as a digicam telephone in each situation. Each new scene was like watching a trainwreck occur proper earlier than my eyes.
Moto G Play (2023) evaluation: Efficiency
The Moto G Play (2023) is among the most disappointing telephones I’ve ever used, and maybe essentially the most irritating. The system-on-chip is grossly underpowered to the purpose that utilizing the telephone turns into practically inconceivable till the chipset catches up.
I’ve by no means hidden my dislike for MediaTek’s lower-end chips, and the Helio G37 within the Moto G Play (2023) does nothing to alter my opinion. It’s barely purposeful at occasions, inflicting the telephone to lag considerably in locations — which typically obviates the show’s 90Hz refresh fee.
We bumped into some hassle whereas operating benchmarks on the Moto G Play (2023), however right here’s what we may collect.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Moto G Play (2023) | Nord N300 | Moto G (2022) |
| CPU | Helio G37 | Dimensity 810 | Dimensity 700 |
| Geekbench 5 (single-core / multicore) | 161 / 579 | 595 / 1769 | 542 / 1659 |
Most of our different benchmarks, together with Adobe Premiere Rush and 3DMark Wild Life, wouldn’t run on this chipset. Perhaps that’s not such a foul factor — the Geekbench outcomes have been so poor, I laughed after I noticed them.
The multicore rating was lower than the OnePlus Nord N300’s single-core one. On this price range telephone phase, I frankly didn’t know that was potential, nevertheless it exhibits that MediaTek actually can scrape the underside of the barrel.
I received’t belabor the purpose. The Moto G Play (2023) hits factors of unusability, lagging on extremely primary duties like snapping images, scrolling rapidly on an online web page, and even unlocking typically. Essentially the most irritating instance of this laggy efficiency was after I went to reply a name and the telephone hung for a number of seconds after I hit the reply button. This brought about the caller to suppose I had answered and so they started speaking. Not the tip of the world, however definitely not acceptable from any machine in 2023.
Moto G Play (2023) evaluation: Battery life and charging
The place the Moto G Play (2023) manages to claw again some benefit is in its battery life, an space the place Motorola admittedly excels with its G Collection handsets. The 5,000 mah energy pack lets the Moto G Play (2023) go for an extremely very long time, considerably longer than telephones that price a whole lot of {dollars} extra. That’s the advantage of having such a low-powered CPU.
Right here’s how the Moto G Play (2023) carried out in our customized battery life check, the place we job to endlessly reload internet pages over a mobile connection.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Moto G Play (2023) | Nord N300 | Moto G (2022) |
| Battery dimension | 5,000 mAh | 5,000 mAh | 5,000 mAh |
| Battery life (Hrs:Minutes) | 12:55 (Adaptive) / 12:32 (60Hz) | 13:13 (Adaptive) / 12:51 (60Hz) | 11:37 (Adaptive) / 10:36 (90Hz) / 11:59 (60Hz) |
| Charging | 10W | 33W | 10W |
| Recharge proportion (15 minutes) | 10 | 26 | 10 |
| Recharge proportion (30 minutes) | 20 | 48 | 21 |
The OnePlus Nord N300 outlasts the Moto G Play (2023) in each the adaptive and 60Hz refresh fee modes. It has a extra highly effective chip, too, plus a lot quicker charging. So whereas the Moto G Play (2023) definitely goes a splendidly very long time on a cost, it’s not the very best underneath the $300 mark, although it does wind up on our greatest telephone battery life listing.
The Moto G Play (2023) expenses agonizingly gradual at simply 10W. In half-hour, it solely regained 20% of its battery capability. Evaluate that to the Nord N300’s outcome, which was nearly 50%. No less than, charging velocity is according to the Moto G (2022).
Moto G Play (2023) evaluation: Software program
Within the ultimate disappointment, the Moto G Play ships with Android 12, an OS model that’s nearly a yr and a half previous on the time of our Moto G Play (2023) evaluation. Worse but, Motorola has solely promised a single improve to Android 13, which is sort of six months previous. I discover this positively inexcusable.
It’s a bummer as a result of the Motorola software program isn’t half unhealthy. It’s rather a lot like inventory Android, simply with some additional tweaks thrown in. However the shoddy efficiency hampers the software program expertise, making it a chore to make use of more often than not as I waited for noticeable seconds as issues loaded.
Moto G Play (2023) evaluation: Verdict
I can’t keep in mind the final time I disliked a telephone as a lot because the Moto G Play (2023). The horrible efficiency by itself nearly drove me to insanity on multiple event. The lifeless images additionally left a bitter style in my mouth, whereas the disappointing show let me down as quickly as I began it.
Whereas the low worth of the Moto G Play (2023) is admirable, I discover nothing redeeming about this handset. Its solely power, battery life, is surpassed by the OnePlus Nord N300, which prices lower than $60 extra for a significantly better general expertise.
I can’t advocate the Moto G Play (2023) underneath any circumstances. You’re higher off an older higher-end telephone for this worth. You’d be stunned at what you could find on eBay and Swappa.