Budget-Minded Moto G Play 2023 Boasts 3-Day Battery Life

Despite the dominance of Apple and Samsung in the U.S., Lenovo-owned Motorola has consistently held its position as the third-biggest smartphone brand in the country. The company has consistently launched a bevy of smartphones that fall into the category of affordable flagships. Examples include devices like the Motorola Edge+ (2022) and its more affordable sibling, the Motorola Edge (2022). In addition to these affordable flagships, Motorola has also been focusing on its entry-level range that includes handsets like the Moto G Power (2022), the Moto G Stylus (2022), and the Moto G 5G (2022).

In January 2021, the company launched the Moto G Play (2021), which was supposed to receive a successor the next year. While Motorola did not launch a 2022 edition of the Moto G Play, the company has just taken covers off a new Moto G Play handset that will go on sale in January 2023. Motorola has chosen to call this new smartphone the Moto G Play (2023).

The 2023 edition of the Moto G Play looks markedly different than its 2021 predecessor. Besides featuring a redesigned vertically stacked triple camera module (as opposed to the square-shaped dual camera module on the 2021 model), the front fascia of the new phone gets a more modern-looking hole punch cutout for the front camera display. 

For those wondering, the Moto G Play (2021) featured a V-shaped notch for the front-facing camera. Staying with the camera, the resolution of the primary rear-facing camera sensor has been improved from 13MP to 16MP. The resolution of the depth sensor, however, remains the same at 2MP. The Moto G Play (2023) also adds a 2MP macro camera which the previous phone missed out on. At the front, the Moto G Play (2023) gets the same 5MP camera we saw on its predecessor. Another minor change to the 2023 model is the addition of IP52 compliance for water resistance.

Aside from the presence of a hole punch and a higher 90Hz refresh rate, the display specs of the Moto G Play (2023) remain unchanged from its predecessor. Both phones feature a 6.5-inch IPS TFT LCD panel with a resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels. Other features common to both handsets include the large 5,000 mAh battery that could power the phone through three days of normal use. In addition, the 2023 edition of the Moto G Play switches to an entry-level chipset from Mediatek, the Helio G37, instead of a Snapdragon 4 series chip used on the 2021 model. The amount of RAM (3GB) and internal storage (32GB) remains unchanged.

Before we talk about the availability details for the Moto G Play (2023), it is essential to note that the new smartphone doesn't bring significant changes to the list of supported cellular networks. Being an entry-level handset, the phone only supports networks in the United States. In addition, the phone will launch with a slightly older version of Android at launch. While Motorola has yet to confirm an official update to Android 13, there is a good possibility of that happening a few months later.

The Moto G Play (2023) will be Motorola's first smartphone launch for 2023 and is set to go on sale across the United States starting January 12, 2023. The unlocked handset will retail for $169.99 and will be available via Best Buy, Amazon, and Motorola's online store. Motorola will also sell the handset via US Cellular, Metro by T-Mobile, Dish, Spectrum Mobile, Xfinity Mobile, Consumer Cellular, and Optimum Mobile in the months ahead.