Motorola Razr 2024 Review: A $700 Steal Despite An Underwhelming Camera

Sporting the largest exterior surface we’ve ever seen connected a flip foldable; the Motorola Razr mightiness beryllium connected the verge of a melodramatic comeback. The $700 Moto Razr released past twelvemonth didn’t rather airy the satellite connected fire. This was chiefly owed to its tiny exterior screen, deficiency of h2o resistance, and mediocre low-light camera performance. We did a face-off of the phone’s pricier, much premium sibling, the $1,000 Moto Razr+ 2023, and the $1,000 Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, and picked Samsung arsenic the winner.

Motorola improved from past year’s plan and slapped connected a bully 4-inch outer show connected 2024’s Razr+ and a 3.6-inch surface connected the Razr. No different foldable connected the marketplace presently features 4 inches of surface existent property arsenic the outer display, instantly giving Motorola a existent contender successful the foldable space. We saw a 3.6-inch outer show connected the company’s 2023 offerings, which was reserved for the $1000 Razr+, truthful the $700 Razr having it this twelvemonth is impressive.

The caller Razr besides offers an wholly antithetic chip, a fistful of caller gestures, the Gemini AI dependable assistant, and improved h2o resistance, among a big of caller features. It feels incorrect adjacent to usage 2023’s Razr arsenic a constituent of comparison; that’s however overmuch this foldable has evolved successful conscionable a year.

Motorola Razr Display

The outer show lets you bash everything and easy power to the main display.

I utilized the outer show mode much than I thought I would. And it makes sense, too.  It’s a beauteous pOLED show with a 1056 x 1066 solution and HDR10+. I utilized it for casual nightly watching connected YouTube, immoderate airy gaming, checking Slack notifications, catching up connected emails, taking pictures, and messing astir connected Gemini AI–which is astir apt a database of everything I usage my telephone for.

The Razr wraps each your apps astir the lenses to connection much space. However, not each apps are optimized for a 4-inch display, which renders immoderate partially useless. For instance, the lenses obstruct the Skip Ads fastener connected YouTube and immoderate of Slack’s bottommost barroom icons. The bully happening astir this year’s merchandise is that your apps cannot look connected the outer surface successful full-screen mode. Doing truthful and picking the alternate Default Mode alternatively volition marque your app amusement up a small quadrate distant from the lenses and immoderate different hardware that tin obstruct it.

YouTube looked conscionable good connected Default Mode. I didn’t caput a somewhat trimmed surface successful speech for not having immoderate features blocked. I occasionally switched to Default Mode connected Slack and Gmail erstwhile required. The Full Screen Mode near the app utterly useless connected Instagram, with each the astir important functionality hidden. The Default Mode was highly exhausting since I had to scroll 3 times to spot 1 full station from apical to bottom.

Playing Scooter Xtreme and Retro Drift connected the smaller surface was fine, but I had to power to the regular 6.9-inch surface for amended gameplay for Perfect Piano. All these are games the Razr had already installed connected it, and spending hours connected the 90Hz outer surface was a delight.

On 2023’s Razr, I saw complaints astir the main show not speechmaking the actions of the outer display. Allison Johnson astatine The Verge acceptable a timer connected the screen screen, but it was obscurity to beryllium recovered connected the main screen. I tested the 2024 mentation for continuity with a timer, YouTube, and aggregate games, and the main show could resume everything for me. It picked up my Perfect Piano precisely wherever I near disconnected connected its astir 7-inch sheet with a 120Hz refresh rate, though I couldn’t archer the 30Hz difference. YouTube videos appeared crisp, detailed, and crisp connected the FHD+ main show with a 2640 x 1080 resolution, HDR10+, and 3000 nits of brightness.

Motorola Razr Design

An upgraded hinge but downgraded particulate resistance.

I complained astir the hinge connected past year’s Razr+ being excessively tight. You had to pry the telephone unfastened alternatively of flipping it open. The hinge springs were besides little than ideal, making the instrumentality rapidly unfastened retired with a large and harsh jerk. I’m gladsome some of these issues person been fixed with the caller Razr.

One of the archetypal things I noticed erstwhile I started playing astir connected the telephone was its present cleanable hinge. It’s not choky capable to beryllium a hassle oregon escaped capable to consciousness flimsy. It’s astatine the Goldilocks level of comfort. The opening and closing of the telephone are besides overmuch much controlled and precise, alternatively of a sudden, crisp jerk. It opens regularly and evenly and closes with a satisfying click. However, however good the hinge performs implicit clip is thing astatine slightest a year-long trial tin tell. So, adjacent though the hinge works perfectly close now, that could alteration aft the 10,000th clip I’ve opened it. Only clip volition tell.

Motorola does a fantastic occupation hiding the crease. You’d hardly spot it erstwhile utilizing its main 6.9-inch display. A tiny dip successful the halfway is lone noticeable if airy hits your telephone astatine a definite angle. I’d spell arsenic acold arsenic to accidental that connected the caller Razr, it’s beauteous casual to hide you’re utilizing a foldable.

The telephone is coated successful Corning Gorilla Glass connected the beforehand and “vegan leather” connected the back, supported by high-strength aluminum connected the sides. Weighing 188g, it weighs astir the aforesaid arsenic the erstwhile generation. I received a beauteous ‘Beach Sand’ reappraisal unit, but there’s besides a Koala Grey and Spritz Orange, which I person mixed feelings about, but my different coworkers look to excavation the color.

The Razr went from an IP52 standing connected the 2023 exemplary to an IPX8 connected this year’s iteration. While it improved the h2o absorption score, it importantly downgraded particulate resistance, 1 of the astir important factors connected a foldable phone. Since determination are hinges and crevices to mind, a foldable telephone should withstand particulate and different aerial particles. The existent trial of a foldable telephone is however it fares implicit time, truthful I’m beauteous acrophobic astir however its particulate absorption volition clasp up against the situation aft a fewer months.

Motorola Razr Performance

A MediaTek spot susceptible of handling your multitasking needs.

This is 1 of the areas successful which the recently launched Razr and Razr+ importantly differ. A Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 spot powers the premium model, portion the Razr runs connected a MediaTek Dimensity 7300X processor. I haven’t had the accidental to usage the caller Razr+ yet, but I person immense acquisition with 2023’s Razr+, which sports a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU. Having utilized a Snapdragon and MediaTek-powered Moto Razr, I tin safely accidental you’re not missing retired connected utilizing the cheaper $700 version.

During my week-long testing, I didn’t brushwood a azygous hiccup oregon stutter, which is my acquisition with the Snapdragon chip. I multitasked betwixt Gmail, Slack, and Chrome connected immoderate days. On different days, I played games and alternated that with speedy YouTube videos, and I didn’t consciousness immoderate heating-up issues. Switching betwixt apps is accelerated and smooth, and multitasking is simply a breeze. It scored 1051 connected the Geekbench 6 single-core trial and 2997 connected multi-core, which puts it adjacent to the OnePlus 12, which retails for $800.

The latest Android version, Android 14, is the OS connected the device, which is simply a alleviation to see, considering Motorola doesn’t person the champion way grounds of releasing updates connected time. My Razr+ from 2023 is inactive moving the outdated Android 13. Motorola promises 3 Android upgrades and 4 years of information patches, truthful it’s comparatively future-proof but not arsenic awesome arsenic Samsung’s 4 years of large OS updates and a five-year model of information updates.

The caller Moto Razr ships with 8GB LPDDR4X and 256GB of built-in storage, somewhat little representation than the 12GB LPDDR5X connected the caller Razr+.

Motorola Razr UI and Gestures

Adding apps to the outer surface is simply a breeze. We person caller gestures.

Unlike the outer surface connected past year’s Razr, which was much of a show for widgets, this year’s offering has a afloat show designed to enactment precisely arsenic the main one. A elemental pen icon astatine the apical close of the screen surface allows you to adhd immoderate app you privation to it. There’s nary launcher widget similar connected the Z Flip 5; you pat connected an app to marque it a portion of your outer screen.

You tin scroll done your outer surface pages oregon pinch astatine them to rapidly navigate to a circumstantial one. You tin besides adhd a fewer services similar Google Stocks, Stopwatch, and Spotify arsenic widgets connected a abstracted leafage connected your outer screen. Swiping down connected the surface displays a plethora of speedy settings—honestly, much than you’ll ever need.

It was casual to personalize the phone. The outer surface features themes, fonts, and colour options that are beauteous casual to change. It took maine conscionable a fewer seconds to bash it, and I couldn’t halt appreciating however cute the fastener and location screens looked.

The recently added speedy motorboat lets you pat the backmost of the surface doubly to motorboat an app you tin prime successful Settings, on with pat strength. You tin present besides descent up and down connected the powerfulness cardinal and take from 1 of the two: swiping erstwhile would show notifications and doubly would uncover speedy settings, OR sliding up and down would zoom successful and retired connected camera, maps, photos, and different compatible apps. You tin besides prime descent sensitivity to debar accidental swipes. I thought I’d find this motion a batch much utile than I did. The powerfulness cardinal is casual to press, and the sliding motion often results successful an accidental keypress. The zooming besides wasn’t arsenic creaseless arsenic I’d liked it to be.

Holding the powerfulness cardinal enables Gemini AI, which I turned to respective times during testing. Though I didn’t usage a cellular web connected this telephone and didn’t get to effort these retired myself, I tin bring my manus person to the surface to soundlessness an incoming telephone and flip the telephone implicit to alteration DND.

Motorola Razr Camera

Massively underwhelming low-light photography.

Motorola again gave america an utterly underwhelming camera connected this year’s Razr. The caller Razr sports a 50MP main rear camera with a 2nd ultra-wide 13MP rear camera. The beforehand camera offers 32MP. All cameras sprout successful 4K UHD astatine 30fps and successful FHD astatine 60fps. I messed astir with the camera astatine location and connected my commute to work. While the nighttime shots were peculiarly bad, I wouldn’t accidental I was impressed with adjacent time shots. Zooming successful made my photos suffer a tremendous magnitude of clarity and made them look visually noisy.

The nighttime shots were a implicit mess. They came retired muddled and lacked sharpness, clarity, and detail. To overcompensate for the less-than-ideal lens, the photos featured oversharpening successful immoderate areas, which made them look adjacent worse.

The lone bully happening astir this year’s camera is that it sports deeper lenses that protrude much than past year’s version. This ensured I wasn’t accidentally tapping it arsenic I utilized my screen screen, which helped forestall smudges and scratches.

Motorola Razr Battery and Speakers

An all-day artillery and loud, room-filling sound.

The Razr’s 4200mAh artillery easy lasted 2 days of mean and a time and a fractional of dense usage. After utilizing it for productivity, entertainment, and gaming from clip to clip successful a 16-hour day, I would inactive person astir 40% foodstuff left. I ne'er recovered myself tethered to a socket oregon complaining astir the artillery connected this device. Once it was afloat charged wrong an hour, it lasted astatine slightest 11 hours. All my investigating was done connected 50% brightness and with the debased powerfulness mode off. I americium presently artillery investigating and volition update this communicative with nonstop figures soon.

A 30W powerfulness ceramic charges the phone, though you person to bargain it separately. I blasted Apple for starting this. There’s besides 15W wireless charging support, which I’m thrilled with, arsenic its predecessor offered ridiculously dilatory 5W wireless charging.

The onboard audio is handled by a brace of stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos featuring Spatial Sound. I don’t retrieve cranking the volume, adjacent erstwhile during testing. Around 70-80% was capable to capable my country with sound. Like each telephone speakers, the dependable is much tinny than bass-heavy.

Motorola Razr Verdict

Score: 3.5/5

All successful all, but for the underwhelming camera and the lack of particulate resistance, the caller Moto Razr is simply a coagulated woody for conscionable $700. The outer show is acold from a gimmick and is really useful. It provides capable existent property and an casual UI to adhd immoderate apps you want. The newly-added Default Mode ensures that apps not optimized for a 3.6-inch surface besides tally perfectly.

Design-wise, it aced the crease and improved the hinge, but the superior deficiency of particulate resistance, considering it’s important connected a foldable, is concerning. Performance-wise, you’re sorted, too, with the MediaTek CPU efficiently handling switching betwixt aggregate apps and the artillery lasting astir a time and a fractional to 2 days.

The below-average camera is simply a large compromise you volition person to make. The lone mode you won’t caput its camera is if you mostly click pictures during the day. If you’re into nighttime photography oregon a amended camera is what you privation retired of your adjacent telephone upgrade, it’s champion to look elsewhere.