Now that the Moto G7 series is out in the wild, let’s dive deeper into its cheapest variant – the Moto G7 Play. Compared to its predecessor – the Moto G6 Play, the price basically settled at $200. When factoring in the specs and improvements across the board, is it still a good buy?
Moto G6 Play and Moto G7 Play Differences
Advantages of Moto G6 Play
- NFC (Europe)
- 4000mAh battery
- Dolby audio support
Advantages of Moto G7 Play
- higher 77.3% screen-to-body ratio, slimmer profile
- Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- Snapdragon 632
- dedicated microSD slot, up to 512GB
- up to 4K @ 30fps video recording
- 8MP selfie camera
- USB Type-C
Moto G6 Play and Moto G7 Play Similarities
- closely related design
- glass and plastic build
- 5.7-inch screen
- 720p
- Corning Gorilla Glass
- IPS LCD panel
- microSD support
- 13MP main camera
- 8MP selfie camera
- audio jack
- BT 4.2
- rear-mounted fingerprint scanner
- 10W fast charging
Which is a better buy between the Moto G6 Play and Moto G7 Play?
Checking out the design of the two devices, it seems like only the notch separates them as the back looks almost exactly the same. Not to mention the same 720p display resolution. But the Moto G7 Play has a bigger screen to use due to the extension of the notch.
One of the biggest upgrades here is the Snapdragon 632 of the G7 Play as opposed to the entry-level SD 427/430 of the G6 Play. While it does provide better overall performance and a spacier 3GB RAM, you’re still stuck with 32GB to use.
Camera performance didn’t change much, at least with the physical sensor as it stays at 13MP. However, you can now record up to 4K resolution. As for the selfie camera, it’s at 8MP with the G7 Play unlike the 5MP/8MP on the G6 Play.
Perhaps, the biggest disappointment for the G7 Play is dialing back its battery capacity from 4000mAh to 3000mAH and absence of NFC, in exchange for the USB Type-C port.
With Moto G7 Play priced at $200, you get a faster mobile processor, 1GB more of RAM, slightly updated design and camera software improvements. But you also lose NFC and a much-needed 1000mAh battery capacity. Moto could have made it a sweet deal if not for its downgraded battery.
Read: 3 Reasons Why The Moto G7 Series Will Fail in 2019
| Specs | Moto G7 Play | Moto G6 Play |
| Display | 5.7-inch IPS LCD HD+ 720 x 1440, 19:9 ratio, ~294ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 19:9 ratio | 5.7-inch IPS LCD HD+ 720 x 1440, 282ppi, 18:9 ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass (unspecified) |
| Dimensions | 147.3 x 71.5 x 8 mm, 149g | 154.4 x 72.2 x 9 mm, 175g |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SDM632 Snapdragon 632 (14 nm) | Qualcomm MSM8937 Snapdragon 427/430 (28 nm) |
| GPU | Adreno 506 | Adreno 505 Adreno 308 – USA |
| Memory | 32 GB, 2 GB RAM + dedicated microSD, up to 512GB | 32 GB, 3 RAM or 16 GB, 2 GB RAM + microSD, up to 256 GB |
| Main Camera | 13 MP, f/2.0, 1.12µm, PDAF | 13 MP, f/2.0, 1.12µm, PDAF |
| Front Camera | 8 MP, f/2.2, 1.12µm | 5 MP (USA) 8 MP (other markets) |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot, BT 4.2, A2DP, LE, USB Type-C, headphone jack | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot, BT 4.2, A2DP, LE, microUSB, headphone jack |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 3000mAh battery (10W charging) | Non-removable Li-Ion 4000mAh battery (10W/15W charging) |
| OS | Android 9.0 (Pie) near-stock with Moto features | Android 8.0 (Oreo), upgradeable to Android 9.0 (Pie) with Moto features |
| Official Price | $200 | $199 (at launch price) |
