Motorola Moto X Play review: Crowd pleaser
Crowd pleaser
Synthetic benchmarks
The Motorola Moto X Play is part of the middle tier of Motorola's 2015 lineup. As most such phones this year it means a Snapdragon 615 chipset. It features a dual quad-core CPU with the one cluster of Cortex-A53 cores clocked at up to 1.65GHz, the other at 1.11GHz. Adreno 405 is in charge of graphics and there's 2GB of RAM on board.
Qualcomm's chip in the upper midrange is so ubiquitous and we've seen it so many times that we didn't expect any surprises. The octa-core CPU is in the middle of the bunch of similarly equipped devices - the Oppo R7 Plus leads the way, with the Galaxy A7 also ahead of the Moto X Play. The Xiaomi Mi 4i and vivo X5Max are trailing in this test.
GeekBench 3
Higher is better
-
Meizu MX5
5110 -
OnePlus 2
4429 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
4242 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
4226 -
LG G Flex2
3604 -
Moto X Pure Edition
3433 -
Oppo R7 Plus
3204 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
2880 -
Motorola Moto X Play
2608 -
Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
2451 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
2423 -
ZUK Z1
2341 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
2336 -
vivo X5Max
2291 -
Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
1589
Overall performance in Antutu, on the other hand, is towards the top of the Snapdragon 615 bunch. The R7 Plus is an inch ahead of the Moto X Play, both comfortably in front of the Mi 4i. The Galaxy A7 scores noticeably lower here. The Atom-powered Zenfone 2 ZE551ML posts a higher score and the Xperias C4 and C5 Ultra perform even better.
AnTuTu 5
Higher is better
-
Moto X Pure Edition
50629 -
Meizu MX5
48915 -
LG G Flex2
47680 -
OnePlus 2
47207 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
46502 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
46307 -
ZUK Z1
43088 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
42301 -
Oppo R7 Plus
37750 -
Motorola Moto X Play
37020 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
34491 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
31436 -
Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
29907 -
vivo X5Max
29630 -
Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
24293
Not quite the same results in Basemark II 2.0, though. The overall score of the Moto X Play is on par with the Galaxy A7, but both show modest numbers. Mediatek-powered Xperias are a notch higher in the charts, and the Oppo R7 shows that the Snapdragon 615 is capable of more than the Moto X Play delivers.
The CPU parts of the benchmark see the Moto X Play post some better numbers. In single-core performance it's tied with the Oppo, somewhat behind the selfie-obsessed Xperias. The Galaxy A7 trails here too. All eight cores thrown into battle, the Moto X Play climbs higher, but differences between the S615 devices are minimal. The Zenfone 2 with just four cores is understandably weaker in this test.
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
-
LG G Flex2
1726 -
OnePlus 2
1622 -
Meizu MX5
1252 -
ZUK Z1
1178 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
1090 -
Oppo R7 Plus
968 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
939 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
931 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
813 -
Motorola Moto X Play
809 -
vivo X5Max
656 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
296
Basemark OS 2.0 (single-core)
Higher is better
-
LG G Flex2
5597 -
OnePlus 2
5301 -
Meizu MX5
3262 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
3008 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2900 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2872 -
Oppo R7 Plus
2707 -
Motorola Moto X Play
2687 -
vivo X5Max
2580 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
2480 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
2203 -
ZUK Z1
1871
Basemark OS 2.0 (multi-core)
Higher is better
-
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
24035 -
Meizu MX5
22976 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
21809 -
LG G Flex2
18856 -
Motorola Moto X Play
17226 -
OnePlus 2
16798 -
Oppo R7 Plus
16784 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
16640 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
13521 -
ZUK Z1
10490 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
8565 -
vivo X5Max
8327
The Adreno 405 is no graphics powerhouse, and is a lot better suited to 720p displays. If you're not into demanding 3D gaming on your mobile though, it does just fine with 1080p screens. In Basemark X, S615-equipped smartphones are spaced pretty tightly in the 4800-5000 range, though the X Play is towards the top. Only the Oppo R7 Plus shows a meaningful advantage.
The Zenfone 2 ZE551ML with its PowerVR G6430 scores markedly higher, as do the assorted higher-end Adrenos in the 800-series Snapdragons.
Basemark X
Higher is better
-
OnePlus 2
21937 -
LG G Flex2
19360 -
Moto X Pure Edition
14598 -
ZUK Z1
13596 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
12565 -
Meizu MX5
10403 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
5695 -
Oppo R7 Plus
5349 -
Motorola Moto X Play
5032 -
Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
4953 -
vivo X5Max
4893 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
4875 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
4802 -
Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
1866
There's a very obvious divide between the various chipsets in the results of GFXBench. The Moto X Play is in the lower tier with the rest of the S615s and amongst them it's decidedly average. The Zenfone 2, Meizu MX5 (with a different PowerVR GPU), and Moto X Pure/Style (Adreno 418) occupy the middle ground, and the S810 with the Adreno 430 is on top. Oddly, the ZUK Z1 with the older gen S801 and Adreno 330 rules the intense Manhattan benchmark.
GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
-
LG G Flex2
49 -
OnePlus 2
48 -
Moto X Pure Edition
34 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
27 -
Meizu MX5
27 -
ZUK Z1
27 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
16 -
Motorola Moto X Play
15 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
15 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
15 -
vivo X5Max
15 -
Oppo R7 Plus
15 -
Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
14.2 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
14 -
Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
5.3
GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)
Higher is better
-
LG G Flex2
48 -
OnePlus 2
46.7 -
ZUK Z1
28 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
27 -
Meizu MX5
27 -
Moto X Pure Edition
24 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
16 -
Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
15.1 -
Motorola Moto X Play
15 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
15 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
15 -
Oppo R7 Plus
15 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
14 -
vivo X5Max
14 -
Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
9.7
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
-
ZUK Z1
28 -
OnePlus 2
22 -
LG G Flex2
22 -
Moto X Pure Edition
15 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
13 -
Meizu MX5
10 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
6.2 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
6 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
6 -
Oppo R7 Plus
6 -
Motorola Moto X Play
5.8 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
5.8 -
Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
5.7 -
vivo X5Max
5.7 -
Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
1.7
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
-
ZUK Z1
28 -
OnePlus 2
22 -
LG G Flex2
22 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
13 -
Meizu MX5
9.5 -
Moto X Pure Edition
9.3 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
6.4 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
6.4 -
Oppo R7 Plus
6.3 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
6.2 -
Motorola Moto X Play
6.1 -
Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
6 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
5.8 -
vivo X5Max
5.7 -
Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
3.9
The Kraken 1.1 benchmark examines JavaScript performance and the Moto X Play does OK. It's on par with the Galaxy A7, but also the same as the Moto G (3rd gen), which has an inferior chipset. It's not so much about the SoC this one though, since the Alcatel Idol 3 does a substantially worse job, despite rocking a Snapdragon 615 ship itself.
Kraken 1.1
Lower is better
-
LG G Flex2
4621 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
6360 -
OnePlus 2
6808 -
Moto X Pure Edition
6910 -
ZUK Z1
8409 -
Meizu MX5
11414 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
11439 -
Oppo R7 Plus
11908 -
vivo X5Max
11967 -
Motorola Moto X Play
12236 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
12266 -
Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
12272 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
15815 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
17157 -
Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
18124
Compound web browsing benchmark Browsermark 2.1 puts the Moto X Play on par with the Zenfone 2. The Galaxy A7 flies the S615 flag in this test, where the otherwise strong Oppo R7 Plus underdelivers. The Xperias are clearly not liking either of the browsing tests.
BrowserMark 2.1
Higher is better
-
Moto X Pure Edition
2132 -
LG G Flex2
2086 -
OnePlus 2
2055 -
Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)
1655 -
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML review
1486 -
Motorola Moto X Play
1483 -
Meizu MX5
1471 -
Xiaomi Mi 4i
1396 -
Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
1359 -
Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
1343 -
ZUK Z1
1278 -
Oppo R7 Plus
1224 -
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
860 -
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
793 -
vivo X5Max
607
The Motorola Moto X Play does well within the confines of its hardware. It rarely shines, but also never lets you down. The Snapdragon 615 isn't known for its trailblazing performance but for what it's worth, Motorola's implementation is quite good and coupled with the relatively lightweight UI the overall performance of the device, whether in applications or in games, is quite adequate. And it manages to do that without overheating, something some other 615 equipped devices are known to do.
With a Snapdragon 808 inside, the Moto X Pure/Style is, of course the more powerful proposition, but within its price range the Moto X Play does the job quite well.
Reader comments
- Gulab
- 01 Apr 2019
- v$A
I am using Moto x play from last about 3 years .The problems I an facing is Camera which frequently stops and specially when in need .The Torch stops opening .I gave it to Lenovo ( Moto)service centre twice but the problem still persists. I am really...
- rohit
- 18 Jul 2018
- 7ki
you should try to format your moto x play
- Anonymous
- 25 Jun 2018
- MZx
I had the same problem. It went away when I cleared cache memory...