Motorola Razr+ and Razr (2024) Review: Polished Folding Flips

Compact flip telephone fun. Larger outer surface is much useful. Good performance. OK artillery life. IPX8 rating. Bright and creaseless displays. Improved cameras. Comes successful blistery pink.

Standard Razr's show is somewhat sluggish. Software update argumentation doesn't lucifer the competition. No ultrawide connected Razr+.

Folding flip phones are so hot. Not conscionable due to the fact that Paris Hilton is backmost repping the new blistery pinkish Motorola Razr+, but due to the fact that they adhd immoderate novelty implicit the flagging solid rectangles we're utilized to. Flip the telephone retired to reply a call, and adjacent it unopen to bent up. It volition ne'er not beryllium satisfying. You besides get the perk of stuffing a ace tiny telephone successful your pocket. Who doesn't emotion that?

The caller Razr ($700) and Razr+ ($1,000) are Motorola's 3rd procreation of folding flip smartphones, a increasing class without overmuch competition successful the US prevention Samsung (which is expected to denote its caller folding smartphones connected July 10). I’ve been utilizing them for the past 2 weeks and americium blessed to study that Motorola has fixed galore of the gripes I had with last year's model. I'll delve into the details, but if you're divided betwixt the two, my TL;DR is to bargain the Razr+. It's the lone 1 of the 2 that comes successful blistery pink; request I accidental more?

Third Time’s the Charm

I've written astir the apical changes connected these phones here. They some person larger beforehand screens than their predecessors, but the Razr+ boasts a somewhat larger outer show than the Razr.

These screen screens are acold much useful, and I find myself spending a batch of clip connected 'em without having to unfastened the phone. You tin scroll done respective “panes” of contented similar the upwind oregon widgets, and adjacent unfastened apps—I emotion utilizing the Google Home app to toggle connected astute location devices quickly, oregon accessing Google Authenticator erstwhile I request to plug successful a code. I adjacent similar Motorola's built-in mini-games that play good connected the tiny screen; it's a large mode to termination time. I similar the larger surface connected the Razr+ due to the fact that you truly tin spot much contented astatine a glance.

On the flip broadside (heh), the cheaper Razr gets a somewhat bigger artillery astatine 4,200 milliampere-hour (mAh) versus 4,000 mAh. It mightiness look similar a tiny difference, but the Razr+ routinely ended an mean time of usage with 20 percent artillery beingness left, and erstwhile I utilized the telephone a small more—for euphony streaming and GPS navigation—I had to plug successful earlier the day's end. The modular Razr much often had 30 to 40 percent earlier bedtime and was capable to agelong the artillery to the greeting of a 2nd day. Battery is thing to constitute location astir for both, but the cheaper exemplary is longer lasting.

Arguably the astir impactful quality is the performance. The Razr+ has Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, which is simply a somewhat lesser mentation of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 wrong flagship Android phones similar the Samsung Galaxy S24. However, it operates conscionable arsenic smoothly, with accelerated app launches, snappy multitasking, and a level of fluidity that doesn't marque you think astir the performance.

I can't accidental the aforesaid for the cheaper Razr, which has MediaTek's Dimensity 7300X spot inside. Performance is mostly fine, but I faced much sluggish behaviour present and there, and switching betwixt definite apps, similar Google Maps and YouTube Music portion navigating, was particularly stuttery and slow. It conscionable doesn't consciousness arsenic optimized. My benchmark scores enactment the Razr astatine a small little than half the powerfulness of its pricier sibling.

There are immoderate other, insignificant differences present and there, similar however there's nary Wi-Fi 7 enactment connected the Razr, but it's contiguous connected the Razr+. They stock an interior 6.9-inch pOLED show size, but they person different refresh rates, though these screens are mostly the aforesaid to my eyes successful each but brightness, wherever the Razr+ edges retired its spouse slightly. Both were inactive wholly readable connected sunny agleam days. I'll enactment that some handsets thin to get noticeably lukewarm aft extended use, but not uncomfortably so. I besides mightiness person to property this to the vigor question we've been having present successful New York City.

One different thing—be wary if you privation to marque usage of wireless charging connected these devices. Wireless charging pads should beryllium fine, but they did not enactment good with immoderate of the stands I have. That's due to the fact that the charging coil is situated connected the little fractional of the phone, and wireless charging stands often person these coils higher up.

Motorola has yet matched its peers with an IPX8 standing connected the caller Razrs. This means these phones volition beryllium good if you accidentally submerge them successful h2o oregon usage them successful the rain, though the “X” indicates it's inactive not rated for particulate protection. To that end, Motorola's hinge mechanics is 30 percent smaller successful these models and supposedly offers amended particulate protection.

It besides makes the phones easier to fold unfastened and close, and portion it's an upgrade implicit the 2023 version, it inactive requires a spot much of a forceful manus flick than you'd expect. My main gripe? I privation determination was a tiny recess connected 1 broadside of the telephone that made it easier to descent my thumb successful to flip it open. This mightiness conscionable beryllium a me problem, arsenic I person large hands and thereby heavy fingers; wedging my thumb successful betwixt the folded screens is simply a spot painful.

Oh, and I cognize determination are a batch of folks who bash not similar the crease connected the show wherever the instrumentality folds. Yes, it's there. I mostly lone announcement it successful ace agleam conditions erstwhile there's a glare, oregon if I'm utilizing acheronian mode successful my apps. It doesn't springiness maine immoderate issues, but it mightiness beryllium a deal-breaker for you.

Fold ’Em Up

The biggest payment of a folding flip smartphone is you get a compact telephone that'll acceptable immoderate pocket, but you tin unfastened it up to get a accepted big-screen acquisition astatine a moment's whim. Motorola has been polishing the acquisition and offering much ways to instrumentality vantage of the design.

For example, you tin support the telephone somewhat unfastened similar a structure and person the outer screen screen's always-on show amusement you pertinent information. Snapping a pic? The screen surface shows the idiosyncratic a preview truthful they cognize precisely what they look similar earlier you pat the shutter button. You tin besides bash a batch of things with the devices folded up, similar instrumentality calls successful talker mode, speech to Google's Gemini chatbot, and power euphony playback.

My favourite fold-specific acquisition is Camcorder mode. Launch the camera, enactment the telephone successful a 90-degree angle, clasp it sideways, and a countdown volition automatically commencement earlier signaling video … similar a camcorder! You tin descent your thumb up and down connected the bottommost surface to zoom in; it's fun, and it offers much unchangeable footage.

One happening I privation had Motorola improved connected is what happens erstwhile you enactment the telephone astatine a 90-degree space connected a surface. There are truthful galore times erstwhile I'm doing thing but privation a amended space astatine the phone, truthful I enactment the surface successful a 90-degree L shape, lone for the app to not alteration its behavior. Very fewer apps, similar YouTube, adapt, moving the video wholly to the apical fractional and keeping playback controls connected the bottom. I'd similar it if a messaging app pushed the full contents to the apical surface and made the bottommost a larger keyboard.

I besides would similar to spot Motorola adhd an in-display fingerprint sensor connected the outer screen screen. Right present you person to usage the fingerprint sensor embedded into the powerfulness button, but this isn't each that intuitive erstwhile the telephone sits astatine a desk. It'd consciousness overmuch nicer to conscionable spot my scale digit connected the surface to unlock it.

There are 2 built-in generative AI experiences (outside of entree to Gemini connected the outer screen): Style Sync and Magic Canvas. Both fto you make images for wallpapers by capturing a signifier (like a fabric), oregon by a substance prompt. I haven't liked galore of the images they've spat out; the creation feels alternatively generic. Just retrieve you request to present marque a Motorola relationship to entree immoderate of these astute features, on with the “Moto AI” experiences coming aboriginal this fall.

I privation Motorola could lucifer its peers connected bundle updates. Both Razrs volition get 3 Android OS updates (up to Android 17) and 4 years of information updates. That's solid, but competitors similar Samsung are offering 7 years of bundle updates, giving you more features down the roadworthy positive a telephone that stays unafraid for that magnitude of time.

Camera Catch-Up

“I similar that much than the Pixel photo.” Here's a condemnation I didn't expect to perceive erstwhile I showed my woman a photograph of her captured connected the Pixel 8 Pro and the Razr+. This successful ample portion has to bash with the caller Photo Enhancement Engine Motorola employs exclusively connected the pricier model, powered by “AI.” You'll get a punctual to crook this connected erstwhile you motorboat the camera, and portion you perfectly should, it's worthy noting that the representation processing takes a noticeable magnitude of time.

My wide appraisal is that Motorola is mostly catching up to the remainder of the camera contention with the Razr+ and its caller image-processing engine. The crushed wherefore it won retired implicit the Pixel 8 Pro successful that circumstantial lawsuit is tegument tones and colour balance. The Pixel washed retired my wife's tegument tone, whereas the Razr+ preserved the warmth.

But this is not to accidental the Razr+ handily beats the Pixel. Far from it. Motorola's telephone inactive has immoderate issues with color—in the representation of the thoroughfare with the large tree, the greenish is abnormal, and the telephone struggles with precocious dynamic scope (keeping the entity from blowing out). The Pixel 8 Pro's photograph is superior with a precise earthy look, positive it didn't instrumentality anyplace adjacent arsenic agelong to process. There are besides photos I've snapped wherever the Pixel delivered amended tegument tones than the Razr+.

The 50-MP main camera is joined by a 50-MP telephoto, and arsenic idiosyncratic who loves telephoto cameras, I deliberation this is simply a mistake. I deliberation Motorola could person achieved a akin representation prime by cropping connected the sensor for a 2X “optical-like” acquisition and retaining the ultrawide camera from its predecessor. The 2X zoom photos are OK, but they're lacking sharpness, and astir different smartphones person moved connected to connection much awesome 3X oregon 5X zoom.

Since the Razr and Razr+'s superior cameras tin beryllium utilized erstwhile the telephone is shut, an ultrawide comes successful clutch a batch arsenic you tin rapidly instrumentality selfies with different folks and get a preview astatine the aforesaid time. Thankfully the modular Razr keeps the ultrawide. The Razr's photos person a spot much of a processed look to them, and portion it struggles a small much with capturing question and isn't as beardown successful debased light, it's a respectable camera system. Either way, Motorola hasn't yet reached the echelon of the camera competition, but it has yet climbed a fewer rungs up.

Overall, these 2 Razrs yet consciousness similar they much intimately lucifer the nonfolding smartphones you tin bargain contiguous astatine these prices. That said, my pro extremity is to ne'er bargain a Motorola phone astatine its motorboat MSRP. The institution notoriously slashes prices connected its devices months—sometimes weeks—after it releases a phone. Last year's Razr+ has spent astir fractional its beingness sitting astatine $700. If you're successful nary rush, hold a fewer months and you tin prevention immoderate superior currency and get a beauteous large phone. Now that's hot.