Motorola recently announced the upcoming releases of two flip smartphones and one of them might have the best exterior display experience of any “foldable” phone.
Razr Plus – Purchasing Guide
Motorola was so famous for their RAZR flip phone series that in 2019 after Samsung’s (initially failed) entry into the foldables market, they decided to reboot the RAZR series to rekindle the nostalgia with the Motorola Razr 5G, a full touchscreen flip phone and after a few years on general release hiatus which they ended in late 2022 they are finally back with not one but two models of the RAZR: The regular Motorola Razr or Razr 40 and the RAZR+ or Razr 40 Ultra.
3 Reasons To Try Motorola Razr Plus
So, if you’re into flip phones and foldables or want to dabble into a different type of smartphone experience, here are some of the reasons you might want to get your hands on a Razr Plus when they finally hit shelves near you:
- Probably the most unique reason is the form factor. It houses arguably the best cover-screen/exterior display of any flip phone out there. With 3.6 inches of exterior screen real estate, it blows competitors such as Samsung’s Galaxy Z-flip 4‘s 1.9 inch screen out of the water. This means the functionality is much higher as you can use a multitude of apps and widgets to a pretty high level without having to open up the phone including the main camera setup which you can use as a very sturdy, high-quality selfie cam when opened halfway. There are also a few games available to play on the exterior screen which is awesome and its 144Hz OLED display means the performance is as smooth as you can get anywhere on the market.
- The interactivity between the exterior and interior screens almost mirrors what you would see in high-end book-type foldables. This simply means you can continue using your favourite apps seamlessly even after you open or close the screen. Some apps aren’t optimised for this function but the basic day-to-day apps seem to work pretty well.
- Finally, Motorola have basically been doing flip phones for different generations so if anyone knows how to create a killer flip phone even in the current market, it’s them. After a few years away, they will be looking to take a share of the market which Samsung has basically had a free run at so they will be looking to optimise the performance and indeed the experience as a whole which certainly makes them an exciting prospect in this area of foldable devices.
Design
The RAZR+ sports a really clean, streamlined design which is quite visible the moment you set eyes on the device. When folded, it only measures 15.1mm from front to back, which makes it arguably the thinnest flip smartphone in the market, especially due to the lack of a camera bump (which is probably mandatory for a flip phone). When opened, it reveals a screen which covers about 85% of the interior, which is pretty good if not revolutionary. The bezels don’t distract too much and the tear-drop camera cut out doesn’t look as thick as on some other competitor devices. It is also a pretty tall-looking phone with its 20:9 aspect ratio, but that is no drawback as it makes gripping the phone a little bit easier.
However, the biggest design upgrade comes with the presence of the 3.6 inch 1080p 144Hz OLED external display, the first of its kind in the flip phone market. It quite simply blows the competition out of the water with all the new features accessible with this design choice.
Build
The RAZR+ comes with a Gorilla Glass Victus+ back so it certainly feels premium and should be well protected against the common phone-drop instances. It is also pretty light at around 185g which is the same range as the Z Flip-4.
The RAZR+ also comes with an improved hinge mechanism which makes it able to hold its form at various angles and opens up new possibilities with its Flex View Technology when making and viewing content as well as being able to shut completely flat which makes it harder for dust particles to find a way through so while its IP52 water resistance rating might not be eye catching, it should be able to survive in the common “moisture-filled” accidents. There is no camera bump here which means the phone doesn’t wobble when placed on a flat surface but most flip smartphones come in this form so there’s no extra points for the RAZR+ here.
Color Options
The RAZR+ comes in 3 colour types: Glacier Blue, Black and Viva Magenta. One would expect the Magenta to be the most popular choice once again but the Glacier Blue also looks really good if you’re someone who loves their devices to stand out. These 2 colours especially look unique when the cover screen isn’t in use as it looks like the phone is dual coloured, which is pretty neat to look at.
New Features
The RAZR+ comes with a host of new features including LTPO display tech which means the screen refresh rates are optimized according to what apps are being used. This is great for improving power efficiency and preserving battery life. It also comes with wireless charging capabilities. Although, at 5W you’re probably best off just charging the “old fashioned” way with the more than decent TurboPower 30W charging (unless it’s overnight).
Customization is also ramped up here with users now able to select the apps they want to be able to access from the external display as well as the custom panels which allows them to prioritize the apps that matter most to them and give the phone a more personal feel. The availability of games optimized for play on the external display is also unique to the RAZR+ and Motorola made sure they gave users something to keep their minds busy when they don’t want to open up the phone.
Getting into the screens, asides from the external display which has already been mentioned, the main display is no slouch itself. Coming with a 6.9 inch 165Hz OLED Gorilla Glass Victus display and brightness levels up to 1400 nits, this phone certainly offers a high-end viewing experience even under bright light. The crease might be a bit visible under certain lighting circumstances but it’s nothing too serious.
Finally, everyone wants to know about the cameras. The RAZR 40 Ultra’s 12MP sensors don’t look flashy but most camera work these days comes from the software processing and Motorola will probably make sure this sensor delivers steady high-quality shots. It also comes with a 13MP ultrawide + macro vision lens and 32MP selfie camera which means it can be a very efficient device for content creators. The ability to shoot stable 4K videos at up to 60fps is also great but we’ll probably have to wait to see how that works in real time especially with its Optical Image Stabilization capabilities.
Price
The RAZR+ is going to cost $999 if you live in the US. This isn’t cheap by any means but it’s basically half what the Razr 5G was launched at back in 2019 and the same launch price as the Galaxy Z Flip 4. This would probably be the range most flagship flip smartphones will enter the market at so it’s not a jaw dropping entry price by any means.
Other Tech Specs
Power – The RAZR+ comes with 3800mAh of battery, which isn’t amazing but something had to give for us to get the beautiful exterior display and it had to be some battery capacity. It’s not all gloom however as the phone is optimized in other areas to get the best out of its battery capacity. Its 30W TurboPower ultrafast charging capabilities also means you can easily juice up the phone in quick-time
Processor – The RAZR+ is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2 chip which is great but not spectacular. It should be able to get the job done without any hassles, however, as it is still a high end chip so heavy users such as gamers don’t need to be deterred. It is very well optimized.
Storage – The RAZR+ comes in only three variants, 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of non-expandable storage and 12 GB of RAM with 256GB and 512GB variants, so there’s something for everyone. The phone is also packed with a set of great sounding speakers and fast WiFi amongst others so we could go on about all the great features here but a hands-on experience would probably be best.
Final Thoughts
Motorola are certainly coming back into the mainstream foldables market with a bang. They released a China-First version last year but it looks like they are ready to take on Samsung’s Z Flip series with the RAZR+. The entry price makes it competitive and the features even give it an advantage in some aspects which is awesome to see as competition will only make the quality of future phones better.
However, an issue here could be the release schedule which is probably too close to Samsung’s Unpacked event where they could announce the next model for their flip series so let’s hope that doesn’t take the attention away from this well built device from Motorola because at a thousand dollars, this is definitely the phone for you if you love to mix nostalgia with a high-end smartphone experience.
