Lenovo has not forgotten its smartphone aspirations this year at IFA, and has introduced the latest addition to the Moto brand. The new Moto Z Play claims to have one of the longest battery lives on any smartphone, while the new Haselblad case from Moto Mods promises to take some of the best smartphone pictures ever.
The Moto Z Play is a midrange phone powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor. It’s a variant of the existing Moto Z, although the the Play has a redesigned chassis and brings the audio jack back into the fold.
On the front is a 5.5-inch FHD Super AMOLED display, although it doesn’t appear to have the same treated glass as the Moto Z. Accompanying the Snapdragon 625 is 3GB RAM, with no mention of internal storage. Interestingly, Lenovo claims that the Moto Z Play’s 3510mAh battery will allow it up to 50 hours of battery life. A fast charge option will also allow users to top up an extra nine hours of battery life in just 15 minutes.
The Moto Z Play’s 16MP f/2.0 rear camera cuts a few corners to remain in its chosen price range. The camera lacks optical image stabilisation, which will likely affect its overall performance. That being said, it manages to retain the laser autofocus from the Moto Z.
It is likely that the camera was sacrificed in the Moto Z Play due to the announcement of the new Hasselblad True Zoom case. This casing allows all compatible Moto smartphones to mount a 12MP camera featuring a 25-250mm (35mm equivalent) lens. The camera sensor is much smaller than that found on the Moto phones, but the long lens more than makes up for the difference.
The additional camera is still powered by the smartphone, but features physical shutter and zoom buttons. The Hasselblad case is also capable of shooting images in RAW. The idea isn’t entirely new to the mobile world, but it’s interesting to see that Lenovo is willing to give the idea a try with its Android smartphones.
The Moto Z Play will be available in September for around $408 (about RM1600); while the Hasselblad True Zoom case will be sold for $299 (about RM1200) at the same time.
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