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Moto Z3 Play renders reveal a familiar design that ditches the front-facing fingerprint sensor

Motorola might have shot themselves in the foot a couple of years ago by promising to make all Moto Mods forward compatible. That restriction makes it really difficult to make a device that actually looks different, and with our first look at the coming Moto Z3 Play, that’s exactly what we’re seeing…

OnLeaks partnered with KillerFeatures this week to deliver the first set of renders of one of Motorola’s upcoming smartphones, the Moto Z3 Play. Part of the same mid-range lineup that started with the battery champ Moto Z Play, the Z3 Play offers up a familiar design to the rest of its family. The phone has a camera bump up top, pins at the bottom for mods, and the same thin profile we’re used to.

The dimensions of this phone are expected to remain mostly identical to devices that came before it, keeping compatibility with the various Moto Mods on the market today. The phone is thicker than the Moto Z2 Play that came before it, potentially hinting that we could see a bigger battery this time around.

There are a few things to note from the design this time around. For one, the “Moto” moniker we’ve seen on devices for the past few years is replaced with the full “Motorola.” Lenovo previously talked about using the Motorola brand more in 2018, so this move certainly aligns with that. There’s also a dual-camera array on the back, and it looks like glass might be making a return to the design.

The other thing you’ll probably notice right away is the slightly slimmer bezels. Along the top and bottom things have been cleared up, possibly giving us an 18:9 display. Some rumors have mentioned a 6-inch display, which might be possible.

To get rid of the bottom bezels, it looks like the front-facing fingerprint sensor has been ditched. While many would assume Motorola is going for an in-display sensor to make up for that, that may not be the case. Instead, it’s looking like a fingerprint sensor will be embedded on the right side of the device alongside the volume buttons.

Lastly, it’s important to note the Moto Mod pins on the bottom of this phone. As usual, there’s a large cluster of pins in place, but this time with another strip along the bottom, and the pins themselves have a very different look. It’s possible Motorola could have plans on improving Mod functionality with this other strip, but it’s just unclear for now.


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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

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