Motorola Moto G Play (2024) Review

May 22, 2024

Image source: Iyaz Akhtar

In the world of smartphones, the quest for the perfect balance between affordability and functionality never ends. Motorola’s latest offering in this arena, the Moto G Play (2024), presents itself as a strong contender for those on a budget, boasting a large screen and expandable storage for less than $100. However, it does come with a few compromises, including the lack of 5G support and a mediocre camera system. This review will take a closer look at the new Motorola Moto G Play, analyzing its features, performance, and overall value to help you decide if this is the right smartphone for your needs.

Design and Build Quality

As for the design, Motorola Moto G Play (2024) does not deviate much from the conservative principles, which is quite logical taking into account the price category of the device. For the body and the back, there is a use of tough and durable hard-wearing plastic for the back and frame , and although it’s not the most prestigious material, it gives the back strength and lightweight. The phone developers claim that it is endowed with a 6. At 5-inches it has a large screen for watching videos, browsing the internet and playing games. As much as it looks slim, it has a perfect fit, because its grip is in conformity with the ergonomical design, and the surface of the fram has a slightly rough finish making it easy to grip.

There is a certain undeniable solidity to the build quality that can be found in this cheap phone. It lacks the IP rating for water and dust resistance which is not strange for this price segment but is still something that clients should bear in mind.

Display Quality

The 6.5-inch LCD screen of the Moto G Play (2024) is a high reflection of the crHD+ resolution. The screen is not super sharp and definitions or colors are not as vivid as with OLED but for most tasks and entertainment it can take it. The brightness is bright enough for indoor use although it may not be very useful if faced with direct sunlight. Probably, for the average consumer, it will be enough and this is even considering the fact that the phone belongs to the budget category.

Performance and Software

Internally, it boasts a fairly unimpressive Qualcomm Snapdragon processor which is unlike some other Moto G models, is coupled with only 3GB of RAM. This setup is quite viable for fundamental usage such as browsing, using social media-apps, and occasional multitasking. It is paired with Android 12 out of the box with only a pinch of Motorola’s branding on top. The near-stock Android experience here is smooth, and comes with fewer preloaded apps which is a bonus for those who like no frills, straight forward, clean experience.

This device has 32 GB internal storage but has a microSD card slot for added storage in case the internal storage is not enough for the user’s files and applications needs. This expandability is beneficial in the context of this price range where devices’ built-in storage is often scarce.

Camera Capabilities

This Moto G Play (2024) is in many aspects reasonable, but the camera system could be improved compared to the competition. It still has a rear single camera and its photo and video taking abilities are not very impressive. Sometimes, the pictures are taken particularly under good lighting conditions have fair details and colors. But in low light or when shooting high dynamic range scenes, the image quality is not that great at all, images are grainy, highly over exposed.

As far as shooting photos is concerned the camera is just decent, but for those users who sometimes rely only on their smartphone and do not use additional cameras this might be enough. As for the forward facing camera, it is also able to offer reasonable performance only in the environment of sufficient illumination, while in the darkness it will not impress the users, which should be taken into consideration by those who are fond of making selfies.

Battery Life and Connectivity

However, there are some areas of the Moto G Play (2024) that are quite decent in terms of usage such as battery life. The battery of 5,000mAh which it comes with would enable the phone be used till the next day and more depending on the usage. This battery back up is perfect for anyone who does not wish to mind the battery charging frequency and just want to have it deliver for as long as it can.

Concerning connectivity, there is no 5G which might be a showstopper for some people in the society. Since destinations for the 5G networking are being embraced in the market, the absence of support for faster connectivity could lead to the device feeling out of date much quicker than some users may prefer. But of course it lacks proper connectivity options such as 4G LTE, WIFI, BLUETOOTH and GPS which are basic requirements for a mobile device and should be enough for the average user.

Pricing and Value for Money

Being a budget-conscious phone, the Moto G Play (2024) goes for less than $100, which provides extraordinary value for money. Again, it provides a reasonable screen size, adequate raw performance for general use, the possibility of expanding the storage, and somewhat unbeatable battery life. Of course, it has its downside even though they are not major issues such as the basic setup of cameras and absence of 5G among others, these are liabilities that are typical of most smartphones in this category.

Conclusion

The Motorola Moto G Play (2024) is a good option for users who need a scrupulous workhorse in the price segment without sharks’ fins. The virtues of this smartphone include a big screened, long lasting battery, and the basic Android OS that it comes with. But the potential buyer should know its drawbacks, namely, the camera and the absence of the 5G connection.

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