Motorola Moto Z Style vs Moto Z Play: What’s the rumoured difference?

Lenovo is lining up the launch of a new flagship Moto handset family. With the new Moto G recently announced, the Moto Z is expected to replace the Moto X family.

Pulling in the full force of Moto retro love, the announcement was teased with a throwback video starring the Motorola RAZR and confirmation of the 9 June launch date. 

There have been leaks from all sides, pointing to two Moto Z handsets, likely known as the Moto Z Style and Moto Z Play. So how do these handsets compare? We’ve crunched the rumours to draw out exactly what we think the difference will be. 

Moto Z Style vs Moto Z Play: Design

With the Moto G occupying the lower end of the range, the Moto Z is expected to push the premium end, offering a metal design, with a slim waistline. That might lead to the camera protruding, with a distinctive roundel encompassing the lens and flash array.

There’s no firm measurements for the new Moto Z Style of the Moto Z Play and it’s thought they will be similar sizes, although one may be thinner than the other, with the Style said to be 5.2mm thick and the Play thought to be 7mm thick.

They are reported to offer modular accessories with connection pins on the bottom of the rear to allow MotoMods, to enhance the camera or speakers for example.

Lenovo is likely to offer Moto Maker on both devices to let you customise various aspects, and there has been a range of rear covers already shown off. These will likely clip into place and reduce that naked camera bump to a flatter design. We’ve seen leather, cork, and various other materials leak. 

Currently, it looks as though the design of these handsets is going to be mostly the same aside from thickness. That will, at least, allow the MotoMods to be used across either handset, if that’s the intention.

Moto Z Style vs Moto Z Play: Display

The previous Moto X devices were different on the display, with the X Play sporting a 5.7-inch Quad HD display and the Moto X Play with a 5.5-inch Full HD display.

For the new Moto Z, it looks like they will offer the same size 5.5-inch display. This is also the same size as the Moto G4, although, like the previous X models, it’s likely that the differentiator will lie in resolution, with the Moto Z Style offering 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution and the Moto Z Play with 1920 x 1080 pixels.

That positions these handsets quite differently.

Moto Z Style vs Moto Z Play: Hardware

As with the display, we expect the difference between these two handsets to be played out in the hardware department. Following the example of the Moto X, we’d expect the Moto Z Style to again be the premium power handset. 

It’s likely to carry a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, a popular choice for leading smartphones in 2016. This is likely to have 3/4GB of RAM. Storage is likely to be 32GB, with microSD expansion, although Moto Maker may offer different configuration options. 

The Moto Z Play, as the lower-tier device, might come along with a newer generation mid-range chipset, like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625. This is likely to offer 2/3GB of RAM and probably the same storage options, although could step down to 16GB.

With different thicknesses, it’s likely that Moto will repeat the performance from the Moto X Style and Play battery, which had 3000mAh and 3650mAh capacities respectively. In the slimmer Z Style handset you’ll likely get a smaller capacity while the Play could walk away with better overall endurance.

Moto Z Style vs Moto Z Play: Cameras

The Moto X offered a 21-megapixel camera across its devices, with a 5-megapixel camera on the front. The Moto G Plus has a 16-megapixel camera with laser autofocus and a 13-megapixel camera in the regular Moto G. We suspect that laser autofocus will appear on the Moto Z models.

To differentiate from the Moto G, the Moto Z Style and Play might offer the 21-megapixel camera still, although with the trend moving towards fewer pixels in many cases, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a 16-megapixel camera on both, or the same divide as the Moto G. The thicker Moto Play might also get optical image stabilisation, as the increased size will allow for it.

Currently, it’s a little too soon to draw out which it likely to be the most appealing, although with a Hasselblad MotoMod accessory, it could all become a moot point.

Moto Z Style vs Moto Z Play: Conclusions

The Style and Play previously pitched to a different price point. The Style was larger and more powerful and the Play was cheaper and slightly lower spec. The Moto Z Style and Play are likely to aim to repeat that performance, but with MotoMods offering a range of modular accessories for the Moto Z, offering a similar design becomes more important.

However, we suspect that the Moto Z Style will be a flagship competitor with a packed and competitive spec sheet, while the Moto Z Play will offer much the same feel, but in a cheaper and less powerful package. Repeating the performance of the Moto X handsets from 2015, it could be the Style lacks substance and the Play ends up with some impressive specs for the price, as well as a battery advantage.

The new Moto Z is expected to be launched on 9 June 2016 at Lenovo World. We will of course update when we have full details of what the handsets will offer.

READ: Motorola Moto Z: What’s the story so far?