Motorola Moto Z2 Play vs. Motorola Moto Z3

Phone Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of Motorola Moto Z2 Play and Motorola Moto Z3. Compare sizes, cameras, batteries, memory, and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right phone for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the phone that will best fit your needs.

Phone Specifications Comparison

Motorola Moto Z2 Play vs. Motorola Moto Z3 Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
Product Type Smartphone Smartphone
Form Factor Touch Touch
Height 156.2 mm 156.5 mm Motorola Moto Z3 has greater height than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Width 76.2 mm 76.5 mm Motorola Moto Z3 has greater width than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Depth 5.99 mm 6.75 mm Motorola Moto Z2 Play is narrower than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Weight 145 g 156 g Motorola Moto Z2 Play is lighter than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Body Colour Lunar grey | Fine gold Ceramic black
Body Material Aluminium Gorilla glass, 6000 Series aluminium alloy
Protection Splashproof, waterproof P2i (liquid repellent coating)
Waterproof (Water-resistant) Yes Yes Both phones are waterproof.
SAR Value 1.24 W/kg (body), 1.455 W/kg (head) -
Integrated Components FM radio -
Connector Type USB Type-C - 24 pin USB-C
Moto Mods
Headset jack - mini-phone 3.5mm
USB Type-C - 24 pin USB-C
Moto Mods
SIM Card Type (Size) Nano SIM Nano SIM
SIM Card Qty Single-SIM Single-SIM
DISPLAY Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
Display Type OLED display OLED display
Display Technology Full HD Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Screen Size (Display Size) 5.5" 6.01" Motorola Moto Z3 has larger screen size than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Screen Resolution (Display Resolution) 1920 x 1080 pixels 2160 x 1080 pixels Motorola Moto Z3 has better screen resolution than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Display Format Full HD Full HD+
Pixel Density 401 ppi -
Aspect Ratio - 18:9
Colour Depth 16.7 million colours 16.7 million colours Both phones have the same color depth.
Display Features - 2.5D Glass, night mode, Max Vision display
Display Protection (Screen Protector) Corning Gorilla Glass (scratch resistant glass) Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (scratch resistant glass)
PROCESSOR Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
Processor Type (CPU) Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
Clock Speed 2.2 GHz 2.35 GHz Motorola Moto Z3 has higher clock speed than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Processor Core Qty 8-core 8-core Both phones have the same number of phone cores.
64-bit Architecture Yes Yes Both phones have 64-bit architecture.
Graphics System (GPU) Qualcomm ADRENO 506 Qualcomm ADRENO 540
MEMORY Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
RAM LPDDR3 SDRAM - 3 GB 4 GB Motorola Moto Z3 has more RAM than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Internal Memory Size (Storage Capacity) 32 GB 64 GB Motorola Moto Z3 has more internal memory than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Supported Flash Memory Cards (Expandable Memory) microSDHC, microSDXC - up to 2 TB microSDHC, microSDXC - up to 2 TB
CAMERA Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
MAIN CAMERA
Number of Main Cameras 1 2
Sensor Resolution 12 Megapixel 12 Megapixel Both phones have the same camera resolution.
Lens Aperture F/1.7 F/2.0 Motorola Moto Z2 Play has better lens aperture than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Focus Adjustment Automatic Automatic
Laser Auto Focus Yes -
Special Effects - Black & White, Cinema, Live Filters, Spot Colour
HDR Mode Auto HDR mode -
Camera Modes Burst mode, Panorama, Pro mode, Best Shot Slow motion video, Panorama, Time-lapse mode, manual mode, group selfi mode
Light Source Dual LED flash Dual LED flash
Video Resolutions 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 60 fps, 3840 x 2160 (4K) at 30 fps, Slo-mo video 1280 x 720 (720p) at 120 fps, 854 x 480 (480p) at 30 fps 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 30 fps
Camera Features (Functions) Zero Shutter Lag, Phase Detect Auto-Focus (PDAF), Quick Capture, Drag to focus & exposure Zero Shutter Lag, Phase Detect Auto-Focus (PDAF), Colour Correlated Temperature (CCT) flash
SECOND CAMERA
Sensor Resolution (2nd Camera) - 12 Megapixel
Sensor Type (2nd Camera) - Monochrome CMOS
Camera Functions (2nd Camera) - Capture depth information
FRONT CAMERA
Number of Front Cameras 1 1
Sensor Resolution (Front) 5 Megapixel 8 Megapixel Motorola Moto Z3 has better front camera resolution than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Lens Type (Front) Wide-angle lens Wide-angle lens
Lens Aperture (Front) F/2.2 F/2.0 Motorola Moto Z3 has better front lens aperture than Motorola Moto Z2 Play.
Special Effects (Front) Beauty effect -
Camera Modes (Front) Professional mode, Auto Night mode Slow motion video, Time-lapse mode
Light Source (Front) Dual LED flash Display flash
Video Resolutions (Front) 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 30 fps, 1280 x 720 (720p) at 120 fps, 854 x 480 (480p) at 30 fps 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 30 fps
BATTERY AND CHARGING Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
Battery Capacity (Battery Size) 3000 mAh 3000 mAh Both phones have the same battery capacity.
Fast Charging Technology - TurboPower technology Motorola Moto Z3 has fast charging technology.
Run Time Details Mixed usage: up to 30 hrs -
Battery Technology - Lithium Ion
CELLULAR Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
Technology CDMA2000 1X / GSM / WCDMA (UMTS) CDMA2000 1X / GSM / WCDMA (UMTS)
Mobile Broadband Generation 4G 4G Both phones have the same mobile network generation.
Operating System Android 7.1.1 Nougat Android 8.1 Oreo
Intelligent Assistant - Google Assistant
Navigation A-GPS, GLONASS GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
COMMUNICATIONS Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
Data Transmission GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE
2G Band 850 GSM, 900 GSM, 1800 GSM, 1900 GSM, 800 CDMA2000 1X, 1900 CDMA2000 1X 850 GSM, 900 GSM, 1800 GSM, 1900 GSM, 800 CDMA2000 1X, 1900 CDMA2000 1X
3G UMTS Band - Band 1, Band 2, Band 5, Band 8
3G UMTS Frequency - 2100, 1900, 850, 900
4G LTE Band Band 1, Band 2, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 7, Band 8, Band 12, Band 13, Band 17, Band 20, Band 25, Band 26, Band 28, Band 29, Band 30, Band 38, Band 39, Band 41, Band 66 Band 1, Band 2, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 7, Band 8, Band 12, Band 13, Band 14, Band 17, Band 18, Band 19, Band 20, Band 25, Band 26, Band 28, Band 30, Band 34, Band 38, Band 39, Band 40, Band 41, Band 46, Band 66
4G LTE Frequency FDD 2100, FDD 1900 PCS, FDD 1800+, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS, FDD 850, FDD 2600, FDD 900, FDD 700a, FDD 700c, FDD 700b, FDD 800 DD, FDD 1900+, FDD 850+, FDD 700 APT, FDD 700d, FDD 2300 WCS, TDD 2600, TDD 1900, TDD 2500, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS-3 FDD 2100, FDD 1900 PCS, FDD 1800+, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS, FDD 850, FDD 2600, FDD 900, FDD 700a, FDD 700c, FDD 700 PS, FDD 700b, FDD 800 lower, FDD 800 upper, FDD 800 DD, FDD 1900+, FDD 850+, FDD 700 APT, FDD 2300 WCS, TDD 2000, TDD 2600, TDD 1900, TDD 2300, TDD 2500, TDD 5150, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS-3
Wireless Interface IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.2 LE EDR Bluetooth 5.0
NFC Yes Yes Both phones have an NFC reader for mobile payments.
Messaging Services SMS, MMS SMS, MMS
MEDIA Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
Supported Digital Audio Standards - AAC, PCM, MP3, FLAC, AAC +, eAAC+, MIDI, AMR-WB, AMR-NB, Vorbis, AAC-ELD, WAVE
Supported Digital Video Standards - H.264, H.263, HEVC, VP8, H.265
FEATURES Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
Phone Functions Speakerphone, voice control, call timer, conference call, flight mode, voice dialing, vibrating alert Speakerphone, voice control, call timer, conference call, flight mode, voice dialing, vibrating alert
Sensors Accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, magnetometer, gyro sensor, hall sensor, ultrasonic distance sensor Accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, magnetometer, gyro sensor, ultrasonic distance sensor
Security Devices Fingerprint reader Face recognition, fingerprint reader
Additional Phone Features Three microphones, TurboPower techbnology Smart Screen function, four microphones
Android Enterprise Recommended - Yes
OTHERS Motorola Moto Z2 Play Motorola Moto Z3
Included Accessories Power adapter, USB-C to 3.5 jack adapter USB-C to 3.5 jack adapter, USB-C cable, TurboPower charger
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