Motorola Moto X Play review: Crowd pleaser

Crowd pleaser

Hristo Zlatanov, 16 October, 2015.

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.

Motorola Moto X Play

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...