Update 1 (9/10/19 @ 11:52 AM ET): Our source updated us on information regarding the new Motorola phone that's in testing. Unfortunately, they now believe were incorrect about the marketing name, though the specifications we were tipped remain unchanged. The phone we described in this article may be the Motorola One Macro, not the Motorola Moto G8 Play. The original article is below followed by our update, which contains a live image of the device.
It has been 6 months since Motorola launched the Moto G7 mid-range smartphone series and over a year since the company launched the Moto G6 series. Thus, we're expecting to see the smartphone brand launch the Moto G8 smartphone series in just a few months, and like the previous generation, we expect to see 4 devices in this upcoming smartphone series: the Moto G8, Moto G8 Plus, Moto G8 Power, and Moto G8 Play. Today, we've obtained specifications for the lower-end Moto G8 Play from a reliable source.
According to our source, the "Play" device carries a model name of XT2015-2, XT2016-1, or XT2016-2 depending on the market. A Motorola device with one of these model names has already been certified by the FCC, revealing the phone's dimensions (157.6mm x 75.4mm) and its supported LTE bands (2/4/5/7/66). Our source didn't know the display size and we can't tell what it'll be from the schematic submitted to the FCC. The Moto G7 Play was on the smaller side with its 5.7-inch screen, so we don't expect the Moto G8 Play to be all that different.
Like the Moto G7 Play, the Moto G8 Play will only have an HD+ (1520x720) 19:9 display. Unlike the last two Moto G Play smartphones, however, the G8 Play will be powered by a MediaTek SoC. Specifically, the phone is being prototyped on top of the MediaTek MT6771 platform, which means that it could ship with either the MediaTek Helio P60 or the MediaTek Helio P70. We can also report that the phone will have either 3 or 4GB of RAM, 32 or 64GB of storage, and according to the FCC, a 4,000mAh battery—a large increase over the Moto G7 Play. We don't know if the phone has a microSD card slot or if the storage technology is eMMC or UFS.
While we don't have the full camera specifications, we can report that the new "Night Vision" camera mode isn't yet supported on the device. The phone is running Android 9 Pie with Motorola's customizations on top. The phone is still in an early stage of development, so we don't know about any new software features that are planned for the product.
Depending on the market, the Moto G8 Play will support NFC, dual SIM, both, or neither. The position of the NFC sensor isn't shown in the schematic submitted to the FCC, so it's safe to say that particular model is one that doesn't support the technology. The phone supports a physical fingerprint scanner which is likely located in its usual position on Motorola phones: underneath the rear camera(s) in the Moto logo indentation.
Motorola is preparing an "Iron" and a "Cosmo" color for the device, and we're seeing evidence that the phone is planned for Brazil, Latin America, Asia Pacific countries, and Europe. We don't know if the phone will be sold in the U.S. like its predecessor, however.
Our source has provided us with accurate information about upcoming Motorola devices on multiple occasions. For example, we provided specifications for the Moto Z4, Motorola One Vision, Motorola One Action, and the entire Moto G7 series. We also learned about the Motorola One Action's Action Cam feature and the Moto G7 Plus/Motorola One Vision's Night Vision feature ahead of launch. Thus, we are fairly confident about the credibility of the information we have obtained on the Moto G8 Play. However, we likely won't see the smartphone launch for at least a few months, so it's possible that a few details may change after the publication of this article. If we learn more details about the smartphone such as its camera configuration, we'll update this article with the new details.
Update 1: It's likely the Motorola One Macro
Sources can be wrong, and unfortunately for us, our source had the wrong information on the marketing name for this device. They reached back to us to say that they now believed the marketing name is the Motorola One Macro, but that they weren't entirely sure since it wasn't an Android One smartphone. However, the Motorola One Zoom recently got announced without Android One, and a device named the Motorola One Macro with model name XT2016-1 just got certified by Thailand's NBTC (thanks @Sudhanshu1414 for the tip!), so the evidence is now pointing toward this device being the Motorola One Macro. We can confirm that Motorola is working on a Macro photo and video mode for a new device, which makes sense given the "One Macro" name.
As a consolation, our source sent us a live image of what's reportedly the device in question. Sadly, they weren't able to grab an image of the rear, so we don't know how many cameras there will be. We can at least see that the phone has a waterdrop notch with a single front-facing camera within, rounded corners, a large bottom bezel, a flat display, and purple-colored buttons. The rear cover may be purple given the buttons, which may mean this is the new "Cosmo" color.
