While everybody may be watching the newest flagships roll out each year, the budget and mid-range markets are becoming the unsung heroes of the Android world. Recently, Amazon began selling phones in these niches at a deep discount by presenting ads on the lock screen, among other small customizations. The program, and the phones on it, have thus far met with stellar reviews, which is quite likely to be the fate that befalls the Moto G4 Play. Aping the new flagship Moto Z lineup in design instead of taking cues from the Moto X lineup like the rest of Moto’s budget family, the Moto G4 Play keeps a modest spec sheet that should be enough to get things done for all but the most intensive users. The phone is now available on Amazon through the Prime Exclusive program for just $99.
While the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor inside the Moto G4 Play may sound dated, it’s still quite capable, being a quad-core, 64-bit affair, and when paired up with 2GB of RAM, should be enough to run the show for anybody not interested in hardcore HD gaming, Linux virtualization, video editing, VR, or other processor and GPU intensive tasks. A 5″ display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a battery size of 2800mAh pair with 16GB of storage, a Micro SD slot, and full 4G LTE compatibility for all four major US carriers to round out a fairly nice package that could be said to be on par with some 2014 flagships. The whole show runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, with an update to Android 7.0 Nougat planned by the end of the year. While Amazon’s version is a bit customized, this shouldn’t hold the update up all that long.
The normal price of the Moto G4 Play, for the unlocked model, is $149.99. This means that buyers through Amazon’s program enjoy $50 off in exchange for a few ads here and there. While some purists will be willing to shell out extra to keep the experience pure and as resource-light as possible on those budget internals, there are many who would be glad to rock such a device for less than most 2013 flagships go for online or in pawn shops. The device is available now, exclusively for Amazon Prime members.
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