Moto Z2 Play is certified in China: 5.5-inch screen, 4GB RAM and 20% lower battery capacity

The Moto Z Play has made a name for itself thanks to the 3510mAh battery it sports. Add to that large capacity cell the power sipping Snapdragon 625 chipset that is found under the hood, and you have a phone that allows you to walk right past the outlets in your home, the office, the airports, or in the library. But the sequel to the phone, the Moto Z2 Play, is apparently not going to give users the same opportunity to go without a charge for two to three days.

With the Moto Z2 Play getting certified by Chinese regulatory agency TENAA (which is similar to the FCC in the U.S.) we understand that the battery on the next-gen model (XT1710) apparently weighs in at 2820mAh. That works out to a 20% cut in the capacity of the power source. Other specs, such as the 5.5-inch OLED display, and the 1080 x 1920 resolution (FHD), remain the same. Powering the new phone is a Snapdragon 626 chipset carrying an octa-core 2.2GHz CPU. We would expect the Snapdragon 626 chipset to provide the same energy saving ability found on the Snapdragon 625, so things could be oikay on that front.

According to its TENAA certification, the Moto Z2 Play will feature 4GB of RAM, up from the 3GB it had last year. 64GB of native storage is expected, up from the 32GB offered on the Z Play. The 16MP rear facing camera on the 2016 model, is now a 12MP shooter on the Moto Z2 Play. And don't forget the transformation of the fingerprint scanner from a square on last year's phone, to the oval shaped biometric reader on the 2017 unit.

The fact that the new model has been certified by TENAA would seem to indicate that it won't be terribly long before the next-gen device is made official. Usually, those owning a phone are happy to see the updated version of it go on sale. But if enough changes are made to the Moto Z2 Play that the result is just average battery life, the new model (which will be offered in Black and White) might turn out to be a dud when it comes to sales.

As to why Motorola might negatively impact the battery life on the Moto Z2 Play, it's hard to say. Perhaps the company had to go with a thinner, less powerful battery in order to make the sequel thinner so it could join the other svelte Moto Z2 models. That would be a shame, because many smartphone users would rather have that outstanding battery life than a device that seems to disappear when turned sideways. Whatever the reason, if these new battery specs are indeed legit, there might be some disappointed Moto fans thinking twice about upgrading their OG Moto Z Play.

Check out pictures of the Moto Z2 Play by clicking on the slideshow below!


source: TENAA (translated) via AndroidCrunch