The Snapdragon 626 powering the Moto Z2 Play is still quite new. It is a slightly upgraded variant of the Snapdragon 625, hence the MSM8953-Pro official moniker. Bearing that in mind, we already have a few expectations to approach the performance section with.
With a total of eight Cortex-A53 cores, clocked at up to 2.2 GHz (200 MHz more than the SD625), the Snapdragon 626 is a solid mid-ranger. It aims to offer smooth performance - more than satisfactory for everyday tasks and thus enough for an average user. Built using a 14nm fabrication process, the SD626 is part of a growing number of highly power-efficient chipsets, which aim to prioritize battery endurance.
The only other upgrade brought about by the new chipset version seems to be Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity.
Aside from that, we were pretty sure what sort of performance to expect from the chipset in synthetic number-crunching tasks. Still, we were curious to see how the small bump in the clock speed would affect the numbers.
We should also note that the Z2 Play can be picked up with either 3GB and 4GB of RAM, with 32GB or 64GB of storage, respectively. We are testing the higher end one. It reports 3.6GB of actual usable memory.
AnTuTu 6 paints a pretty anticipated picture, with everything falling in line nicely. The Snapdragon 626 now shows an even smaler performance gap with the Snapdragon 650, which runs inside the original Xiaomi Mi Max. Then again, the boost probably comes courtesy of software improvements in Android as a whole.
AnTuTu 6
Higher is better
OnePlus 5 180331
Motorola Moto Z2 Force 178674
ZTE nubia Z17 178629
Xiaomi Mi 6 177326
Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid 152548
Lenovo Moto Z Droid 151619
LG G6 143639
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 140324
Samsung Galaxy S7 132084
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890, Nougat) 129629
Huawei P10 126629
Oppo F3 Plus 91458
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 85162
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 85162
Xiaomi Mi Max 74488
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 68322
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro 67540
Moto G5S Plus 64554
Lenovo P2 63493
Moto G5 Plus 63390
Samsung Galaxy C7 62818
Motorola Moto Z Play 62217
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 61616
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 61616
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 57902
Moto G5 43755
LG Q6 37276
With the possible exception of a few other Xiaomi models, it is hard to get better raw performance for your money than the Z2 Play has to offer. Then again, some of its contenders are really not that far behind and can still offer the same fluent real-life experience, and often for a a lot less money.
Basemark OS 2.0 - another popular compound benchmark, paints pretty much the same picture. Looking at the Lenovo P2 and Moto G5s Plus, we can't help but notice some tough competition within Lenovo's own ranks.
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
Motorola Moto Z2 Force 3609
OnePlus 5 3601
Xiaomi Mi 6 3547
ZTE nubia Z17 3281
Huawei P10 2910
Lenovo Moto Z Droid 2690
Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid 2689
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890, Nougat) 2670
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 2381
Samsung Galaxy S7 2128
LG G6 2126
Oppo F3 Plus 1890
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 1728
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 1728
Xiaomi Mi Max 1362
Lenovo P2 1235
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro 1228
Samsung Galaxy C7 1222
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 1213
Moto G5S Plus 1176
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 1107
Moto G5 Plus 1089
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 1050
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 1050
Motorola Moto Z Play 1031
Moto G5 795
LG Q6 275
On to graphics then and the Adreno 506. Just like the tests show, the one inside the Snapdragon 626 is unchanged from the 625 variant. Numbers fall in line perfectly, especially in off-screen tests, where you get a level playing field.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
ZTE nubia Z17 63
Motorola Moto Z2 Force 61
OnePlus 5 60
Xiaomi Mi 6 59
Lenovo Moto Z Droid 49
Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid 48
LG G6 41
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 40
Samsung Galaxy S7 38
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890, Nougat) 38
Huawei P10 29
Oppo F3 Plus 17
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 15
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 15
Xiaomi Mi Max 15
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 9.9
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 9.9
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 9.9
Motorola Moto Z Play 9.8
Moto G5S Plus 9.8
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 9.8
Lenovo P2 9.8
Samsung Galaxy C7 9.8
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro 9.8
Moto G5 Plus 9.7
Moto G5 7.1
LG Q6 5.8
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
ZTE nubia Z17 56
OnePlus 5 56
Xiaomi Mi 6 56
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 41
Motorola Moto Z2 Force 40
Huawei P10 35
Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid 32
Lenovo Moto Z Droid 31
Samsung Galaxy S7 27
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890, Nougat) 27
LG G6 24
Oppo F3 Plus 17
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 15
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 15
Xiaomi Mi Max 15
Motorola Moto Z Play 10
Moto G5S Plus 10
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 10
Lenovo P2 10
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 9.9
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro 9.8
Moto G5 Plus 9.7
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 9.7
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 9.7
Samsung Galaxy C7 9.6
Moto G5 7.1
LG Q6 5.3
In practical terms, the Adreno 506 is perfectly adequate for casual gaming on the Moto Z2 Play. Still, it falls behind the Mali-T880 MP4, inside the Helio X20 just slightly. If gaming is a real priority for you, it might be worth considering the MediaTek instead.
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
ZTE nubia Z17 43
Motorola Moto Z2 Force 42
OnePlus 5 41
Xiaomi Mi 6 41
Lenovo Moto Z Droid 32
Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid 32
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 30
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890, Nougat) 29
Samsung Galaxy S7 28
LG G6 26
Huawei P10 22
Oppo F3 Plus 10
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 9.5
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 9.5
Xiaomi Mi Max 9.4
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 6.5
Moto G5 Plus 6.4
Moto G5S Plus 6.4
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 6.4
Motorola Moto Z Play 6.2
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 6.2
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 6.2
Lenovo P2 6.2
Samsung Galaxy C7 6.2
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro 6.1
Moto G5 4.6
LG Q6 3.8
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
ZTE nubia Z17 41
Xiaomi Mi 6 41
OnePlus 5 40
Huawei P10 30
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 30
Motorola Moto Z2 Force 22
Lenovo Moto Z Droid 18
Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid 18
Samsung Galaxy S7 15
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890, Nougat) 15
LG G6 12
Oppo F3 Plus 11
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 9.4
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 9.4
Xiaomi Mi Max 9.4
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 6.9
Moto G5S Plus 6.8
Motorola Moto Z Play 6.7
Lenovo P2 6.7
Moto G5 Plus 6.4
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 6.4
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 6.2
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 6.2
Samsung Galaxy C7 6.1
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro 6.1
Moto G5 4.6
LG Q6 3.5
GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
Motorola Moto Z2 Force 25
ZTE nubia Z17 25
Xiaomi Mi 6 25
OnePlus 5 24
Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid 20
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 20
Lenovo Moto Z Droid 19
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890, Nougat) 16
LG G6 16
Samsung Galaxy S7 15
Huawei P10 14
Oppo F3 Plus 6
Xiaomi Mi Max 5.5
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 5.4
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 5.4
Moto G5 Plus 3.5
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 3.5
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 3.5
Motorola Moto Z Play 3.4
Moto G5S Plus 3.4
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 3.4
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 3.4
Lenovo P2 3.4
Samsung Galaxy C7 3.4
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro 3.4
Moto G5 2.5
LG Q6 2.1
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
ZTE nubia Z17 25
Xiaomi Mi 6 25
OnePlus 5 24
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 20
Huawei P10 16
Motorola Moto Z2 Force 15
Lenovo Moto Z Droid 12
Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid 12
LG G6 8.5
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890, Nougat) 8.3
Samsung Galaxy S7 7.9
Oppo F3 Plus 6
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 5.4
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 5.4
Xiaomi Mi Max 5.4
Moto G5S Plus 3.8
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 3.8
Motorola Moto Z Play 3.7
Lenovo P2 3.7
Moto G5 Plus 3.5
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 3.5
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 3.4
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 3.4
Samsung Galaxy C7 3.4
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro 3.4
Moto G5 2.5
LG Q6 1.9
Then again, if you are in it for the fps, spending the same money or slightly more elsewhere could yield even better results.
Basemark X
Higher is better
Huawei P10 39433
OnePlus 5 38844
Motorola Moto Z2 Force 38615
Xiaomi Mi 6 38541
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 36506
Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid 36405
Lenovo Moto Z Droid 36322
ZTE nubia Z17 33513
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890, Nougat) 32609
Samsung Galaxy S7 32345
LG G6 30507
Oppo F3 Plus 16695
Xiaomi Mi Max 15487
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 13666
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20) 13666
Moto G5S Plus 10488
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 10482
Lenovo P2 10472
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 10455
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 10446
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 10446
Samsung Galaxy C7 10445
Moto G5 Plus 10406
Motorola Moto Z Play 10401
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro 10394
Moto G5 7475
LG Q6 6179
While on the subject of good value, this seems like as good a time as any to bring up the Moto G5s Plus and the Lenovo P2 again. The first you can potentially pick up for about EUR 300, while the latter is EUR 50 cheaper.
Of course, they match the Moto Z2 Play only in terms of performance. In all other aspects, the three phones are vastly different - each with its own selling points.
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