Moto Z Play + Video Basic Kit + Free Shipping - $299 at BHPhoto

Not a bad deal. It has seemed hard to find discounts on the Moto Z series, even though this model has been around since fall 2016.

In the intervening months, Moto has come out with some awesome phones (namely the G5 Plus and G5S Plus), which share the 1080p screen, Snapdragon 625, fingerprint reader, MicroSD expansion and, in the G5S Plus's case, the 3GB RAM as standard. The G5 Plus can be found at this point in many places for sub-$200.

Besides the "Moto mods", the other big draw of this phone versus those newer, cheaper alternatives is that it uses a USB-C connector. For the G series, Moto's clung stubbornly to the Micro-USB spec so people don't get too frightened with change, and it's been about the only thing about using the G series that's frustrated me.

I've yet to see the new G5 Plus for sub-$200... Anyone know a play selling that cheap? TIA

Quote from candhu.sandhu : I've yet to see the new G5 Plus for sub-$200... Anyone know a play selling that cheap? TIA

There are several deals for $170, search this forum. Costco is one place, newegg is another IIRC.

Quote from SlvrEagle23 : For the G series, Moto's clung stubbornly to the Micro-USB spec so people don't get too frightened with change, and it's been about the only thing about using the G series that's frustrated me.

What you view as stubborn might be a tactful business decision. Those you dismiss as "frightened with change" could simply be buyers who are more likely to be budget conscious, less likely to always be on the cutting edge of phone tech, less eager to upgrade to "another damn charging cable...AGAIN...there's nothing wrong with mine". I'm sure many potential buyers view it as a bonus.

And some people, like me, even though we want to upgrade to usb-c, have a S.O. that has "ZERO interest in getting a new phone and having to relearn everything" and so if we buy a phone with usb-c, that mean every charging station (car, kitchen counter, desk, couch, nightstand table, etc) now has to have TWO chargers.

Quote from SlvrEagle23 : Not a bad deal. It has seemed hard to find discounts on the Moto Z series, even though this model has been around since fall 2016. In the intervening months, Moto has come out with some awesome phones (namely the G5 Plus and G5S Plus), which share the 1080p screen, Snapdragon 625, fingerprint reader, MicroSD expansion and, in the G5S Plus's case, the 3GB RAM as standard. The G5 Plus can be found at this point in many places for sub-$200. Besides the "Moto mods", the other big draw of this phone versus those newer, cheaper alternatives is that it uses a USB-C connector. For the G series, Moto's clung stubbornly to the Micro-USB spec so people don't get too frightened with change, and it's been about the only thing about using the G series that's frustrated me.

I've seen the battery life is pretty good on the G5S plus, but not quite as good as moto z play.

So overall you're saying if you're going to go midrange might as well go G5S plus since it's cheaper and in some ways a bit better?

Quote from MarkLauman : I've seen the battery life is pretty good on the G5S plus, but not quite as good as moto z play. So overall you're saying if you're going to go midrange might as well go G5S plus since it's cheaper and in some ways a bit better?

Personally I'm a huge fan of the G5S Plus. It's my current daily driver, and I was fortunate enough to snag an *at-launch* discount (they exist!) that put it at about $225 total. For that price, it's well worth it.

The Micro-USB thing does bug me (in my case, now that it's late 2017 every other mobile device I use has USB-C, I think it's an excellent standard that should be across the board on new product lines), but I was able to get a reversible magnetic USB charging cable that helps offset some of that nuisance (and the relative fragility of the in-device receptacle).

Quote from utspg1980 : There are several deals for $170, search this forum. Costco is one place, newegg is another IIRC.

Oops - my mistake.
I was thinking the newer G5 "S" version...as I need the bigger screen.

Amazon price matched @ https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01LW9P0H4

Am I correct in thinking the G5 plus would be very similar but the 64GB/4GB G5S Plus would be a slight upgrade over the Z play? Battery and Mods are not really a necessity for me.....

Quote from goldingert : Am I correct in thinking the G5 plus would be very similar but the 64GB/4GB G5S Plus would be a slight upgrade over the Z play? Battery and Mods are not really a necessity for me.....

I had owned the G5S+ and trust me, the dual cameras are bad. It's either Moto's post processing or hardware, pics are really below decent quality. The 16Mpx shooter on the MZP is better and does EIS on 1080P. Plus the battery life is miles better. I exchanged the G5S+ with the MZP a day after BestBuy's deal. Updates are monthly on the Z (now on October) and it's slated to get Oreo by end of this year if Moto sticks to it's promise.

The price is now down to 250 at bhphoto. I think I'm pulling the trigger...