The UK variant of the Moto E5 Play is a 5.34in phone with a 960 x 480 FWVGA+ (18:9) TN display. It runs Android Oreo out-the-box; has a quad-core Snapdragon 425 processor with 1GB of RAM; and has 16GB of internal storage space that can be expanded with up to 128GB of additional space through a microSD card.
By comparison, the 5.7in E5 and 6in E5 Plus both have an 18:9 720p IPS display. All three phones have the same processor and have the latest iteration of Android Oreo pre-installed.
The biggest difference is the camera and the battery capacity. The E5 Play has a single rear-facing 8-megapixel camera, while the E5 and E5 Plus have 12- and 13-megapixel cameras respectively. Battery capacities vary across the range: the E5 Play has 2,100mAh, the E5 has 4,000mAh and the E5 Plus has a massive 5,000mAh battery instead. On the plus side, the E5 Play’s battery can be removed, so you can potentially buy spares to carry as a backup.
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Motorola Moto E5 Play review: Price and competition
At £89, the Moto E5 Play is the cheapest in the family. The regular E5 costs £120, and the E5 Plus is £149.
It has quite a few rivals. Vodafone’s Smart N8 fluctuates between £65 and £85, and it has a 16:9 5in 720p display, a 13-megapixel rear shooter and comes with a MediaTek processor coupled with 1.5GB of RAM.
There’s also the newer Smart N9 at £110, which one-ups its predecessor with an 18:9 720p 5.5in display and 2GB of RAM.
There’s also the Alcatel 1 at £70. It has an 18:9 5in display that runs at a 960 x 640 resolution; a MediaTek processor with 1GB of RAM; a rear-facing 8-megapixel shooter; and 8GB of internal storage space which can be further expanded with an 8GB microSD card.
Best Motorola E5 Play contract and SIM-free deals:
Motorola Moto E5 Play review: Design and features
Make no mistake, the E5 Play looks like a budget phone. The all-plastic build and uninspiring looks aren’t going to win any design awards, but the phone feels robust and the removable plastic rear cover allows you to easily replace the phone’s 2,100mAh battery, access the 128GB microSD card expansion, or swap out the nano-SIM.
There’s a 5W, fast-charging micro-USB port on the phone’ bottom edge and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top. The volume rocker and power button reside on the right edge. The phone’s speaker sits above the display, which means you get forward-facing sound – it’s not especially loud, however, and it doesn’t sound particularly refined.
Around the back of the phone, there’s a fast fingerprint reader that works remarkably well, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, which protrudes from the body of the phone.
The E5 Play isn’t waterproof, though Motorola claims the phone is ‘water repellent’ due to ‘advanced nano-coating technology’ – so it should survive the odd accidental splash of water. Just don’t take it in the bath.
It also doesn’t have NFC, which means you won’t be able to make contactless payments as you would with the E5, E5 Plus and the Vodafone Smart N8 and N9.
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Motorola Moto E5 Play review: Display
The E5 Play has a 5.34in 960 x 480 FWVGA+ (18:9) TN display. The phone’s resolution is rather poor for a modern-day phone, and given that the Vodafone Smart N8 has been out for over a year and sports a 720P display, it’s rather disappointing to see Motorola hasn’t upped the pixel count.
It’s not the prettiest display to look at, either. There’s noticeable colour shift when tilting the phone, so viewing angles aren’t great, and colour accuracy, vibrancy and contrast ratio measure poorly.
The E5 Play achieves an average Delta E of 8.74 and a maximum of 15.49. To put that into perspective, the black spectrum looks blue and colours are all over the shop; it achieves only 67.9% of the sRGB colour gamut, so the most vibrant colours appear dull and subdued. The 619:1 contrast ratio is equally unimpressive, and leaves the screen looking less punchy than some rivals.
On the plus side, the display’s peak brightness of 340cd/m² is bright enough to remain legible under normal ambient light. Take it out in the sunshine, however, and you’ll struggle to see the phone’s display.
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Motorola Moto E5 Play review: Performance
All the budget phones I’ve reviewed under £150 struggle to perform, as they’re let down by weak processors: the E5 Play is no exception.
