Motorola just dropped a bombshell on the flip phone market with not one, but two new Razr foldables, including the largest screen yet on a modern flip phone.
The Razr 40 and 40 Ultra – released in the US as the Razr and Razr+ – have put the gauntlet to Samsung and Oppo and set a new standard for the emerging foldable form factor.
When are the new Razr phones coming out?
Motorola unveiled the two Razr devices on June 1, 2023 in Madrid, and the more expensive Ultra/Plus model went on sale right away.
There’s a slightly longer wait for the cheaper version, which we’re told will launch “in the coming weeks”.
The previous version of the flip phone, the Motorola Razr (2022), was released in China in August 2022, but it didn’t arrive in the UK until December and didn’t reach the US at all.
How much will the 2023 Razr models cost?
Foldable phones are never cheap, but Motorola has impressively kept its prices relatively contained given the specs on offer here. Here’s how much the two new models cost:
- Razr 40: £799/€899
- Razr 40 Ultra/+: $999/£1,049/€1,199
That pair of prices makes the regular Razr 40 the cheapest foldable flip on the market (ignoring discounts), even beating the Oppo Find N2 Flip, and keeps the Ultra/Plus model unexpectedly competitive, coming in at just a bit more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Z – Flip 4.
What are the specs and features of the new Razrs?
With two very different phones in the Razr 40 series, let’s take a look at them one by one.
Razr 40 Ultra/Razr+
Let’s start with by far the most exciting model: the Razr 40 Ultra, or Razr+ for the US market.
What stands out here is the phone’s huge external display, which takes up the entire top half of the phone, even all around the two camera lenses.
Motorola
This 3.6-inch poLED screen is not only the largest cover screen on a flip phone to date, with a resolution of 1056 x 1066, but also runs at a silky-smooth 144Hz refresh rate to make it feel snappy and responsive.
Like on other flip phones, this can be used for simple widgets with controls for your calendar, weather, music playback or taking selfies with the main cameras.
Unlike other flip phones, the screen is actually big enough to run entire apps too. Not everything will work perfectly given the unusual aspect ratio – and the phone will warn you as such when you first open an app here – but for those that work this adds a lot of extra functionality, and should reduce how often you actually need to open the phone completely.
There’s enough space for a full keyboard in messaging apps, a dedicated widget for Spotify, and support to watch video on streaming apps including Netflix, Disney+, and Max. Motorola has even designed a few simple games just for this display, in what feels like a throwback to the classic flip phone days of the original Razr.
In addition to that screen, the phone is finished in glass – on the Infinite Black and Glacier Blue models – or vegan leather on the Viva Magenta. Whichever color you choose, all pieces of external glass – display or body – are covered with protective Gorilla Glass Victus.
The foldable form factor has been improved elsewhere too. Motorola has adopted a teardrop hinge design that allows the new Razr to close completely flat, with no visible gap between the two halves when the phone is closed, and a much less noticeable crease when the screen is open. It’s also nice to be open to a whole range of angles.
Motorola
Beyond that, it’s an impressive display too, a 6.9-inch panel with pOLED display technology with an almost absurd 165Hz refresh rate – the fastest on a foldable phone to date – which can also drop to 1Hz to save battery thanks to the use of an LTPO panel.
The only real downside to the redesign is that the phone doesn’t rather opened completely flat, instead of course sitting at an angle of about 175 degrees.
The phone even has some protection against dust and water, with an IP52 rating, meaning it’s safer from dust than the most recent Samsung models, but not rather as waterproof.
The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, which is the flagship-level silicon released in mid-2022. That doesn’t quite have the look of the more recent 8 Gen 2, but for most of us it offers more than enough power, and enough efficiency to provide solid battery life too.
Speaking of that battery, Motorola says it’s 3800mAh, with charging in the form of 30W wired speeds plus a wireless charging option.
Motorola
As for cameras, the phone packs a 12Mp, f/1.5 main camera with optical image stabilization alongside a 13Mp ultra-wide lens – solid specs, but nothing special.
The 32Mp selfie camera built into the main screen has an unexpectedly high resolution. You’ll probably still prefer using the phone’s main camera for photos thanks to its larger sensor and fast aperture, but this should be a good option and great for making video calls.
Finally, when it comes to software, the new Razr comes with Android 13, supported by Motorola’s usual range of easy tweaks and gesture controls, plus support for its Ready For wireless technology to connect the phone to a PC.
Here are the full specs:
- 3.6 inch, 144 Hz pOLED cover display
- 6.9 inch, 1-165 Hz LTPO poLED main display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- 8/12GB working memory
- 256/512 GB storage
- Cameras:
- 12Mp, f/1.5, OIS main camera
- 13Mp, f/2.2 ultra-wide camera
- 32Mp, f/2.4 selfie camera
- 3800mAh
- 30W wired charging
- 5W wireless charging
- stereo speakers
- IP52
- Gorilla Glass Victus
- 5G
- 73.95 x 170.83 x 6.99mm (open)
- 184.5/188.5g
- Android 13
Razr 40/Razr
The regular Razr 40 – or just Razr if you’re in the US – is clearly priced to serve as an entry point into the foldable market, and the phone’s specs have been balanced accordingly.
Motorola
Unlike the Ultra/+ model, this has just a small 1.5-inch cover screen, positioned to the side of the main cameras in a design reminiscent of the recent Galaxy Z Flip models. It is limited to use for simple notifications, quick controls and widgets.
The phone is wrapped in vegan leather, with Gorilla Glass Victus on the screen, and comes in a trio of colours: Summer Lilac, Sage Green, and Vanilla Cream.
The folding elements of the phone are the same as on the more premium model, with the same teardrop hinge, closing flat on a similar display – albeit capped at 144Hz.
Motorola
The big change on the inside is a move to the mid-range Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip, making this less of a more powerhouse – although still perfectly adequate for most day-to-day use.
The other change is the cameras. While the ultra-wide and selfie cameras are the same as on the Ultra/Plus, the main camera is different: there’s a higher resolution 64Mp main camera, also with OIS – but thanks to the use of a smaller sensor it comes out to the same pixel size as on the Ultra, and has a slower aperture.
One advantage is that you get a larger 4200mAh battery, but the same combination of wired charging and 30W wireless charging.
Here are the full specs:
- 1.5 inch, 60 Hz AMOLED cover display
- 6.9 inch, 144 Hz AMOLED main screen
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
- 8 GB RAM memory
- 256GB storage
- Cameras:
- 64Mp, f/1.7, OIS main camera
- 13Mp, f/2.2 ultra-wide camera
- 32Mp, f/2.4 selfie camera
- 4200mAh
- 30W wired charging
- 5W wireless charging
- stereo speakers
- IP52
- Gorilla Glass Victus
- 5G
- 73.95 x 170.82 x 7.35mm (open)
- 188.6g
- Android 13
Read our roundups of the best Android phones and the best phones coming in 2023 to see what the two Razrs are up against.