The Moto Z3 Play is the Motorola device to buy right now. It's a mix of cutting-edge specs with a modern design that bypasses the ugly notch fad and is completed with a very compelling price point.

Motorola offers many smartphones, but only the Moto Z3 Play hits the sweet spot between features and price that will surely appeal to nearly everyone looking to buy a Motorola device.

Yes it is. The hardware is still powerful enough to carry you through the next couple of years and with the added benefits of Moto Mods, you can add things like 5G connectivity — something no other current phone offers — in the future.

Additionally, the Moto Z3 Play also supports Moto Mods which means you can add extra functionality to your smartphone.

Everyone looking for a value smartphone. The Moto Z3 Play isn't the best Android device with the best specs and best feature-set. However, not everyone wants that because that balloons the price point up to over $1,000. With the Moto Z3 Play, Motorola made the right compromises to deliver a device that lives in the mid-end smartphone market and still packs a punch.

Motorola devices have been lost in the shuffle of Samsung and Google's pivots for smartphone supremacy, and though overlooked, they are still worth consumer's time. This is the scope where the Moto Z3 Play lands and more people should pay attention to it.

Like previous Moto Z devices, the Z3 Play is still wearing that ubiquitous industrial design language of glass and metal. However, this time around, Motorola reduced the front bezels to two small slivers that bumped the fingerprint scanner to the side. The display is a 6-inch, 1080p OLED that looks fantastic and uses the OLED capabilities to deliver Night Display. The back is made of glass, though unfortunately, it doesn't support wireless charging. What you do get is a dual 12-megapixel camera—a main 12MP wide-angle lens with f/1.8 and a 12-megapixel monochrome sensor—and the Moto Mod magnetic pins at the bottom.

This is where a lot of the potential of the Z3 Play resides. Using the Moto Mods, you can add an extra battery, better speakers, a projector, and even 5G to your phone. You can choose whether or not to go in on Moto Mods.

Battery life is the real stand out feature with all-day performance.

Powering it is a Snapdragon 835 processor with 6GB of RAM and a 3,000mAh battery. Performance is snappy and smooth, yet battery life is the real stand out with all-day performance.

Back to the 12-megapixel dual-camera. It doesn't quite reach the performance level of a Pixel 3 and Galaxy S9, but it still does a solid job. The pictures it takes are more than good enough for casual users who aren't examining the detail and color of the photos with an extremely conspicuous eye. Throw in the laser autofocus and dual-LED flash, and it is more serviceable for any one looking for a solid camera.

Other intriguing features the Z3 Play boasts include Android Pie support, microSD expandability up to 512GB and 15W fast charging support.

The most appealing aspect of the Moto Z3 Play that will stand out to people will be its price. At $380, it costs well under what other flagships cost with comparable specs do.

Alternatives to the Moto Z3 Play

The Moto Z3 Play is our selection for the best Motorola smartphone you can buy, but there are many Motorola devices that might better appeal to you.