If you told me in 2010 that one day I’d write an article insisting that a Motorla Razr represented the future of phone technology, I would have laughed. Make no mistake, the Razr was the “it” phone for quite a while, but technology had moved on.
The iPhone was the coolest phone on the block by 2010. Apple had gotten over the initial hiccups and by the iPhone 4, it was the iPhone we expected from the beginning. It didn’t take long from there. Phones lost their physical keyboards, they adopted glass screens instead of plastic, aluminum sides instead of plastic, and soon, all phones were just slightly modified iPhones. Slabs of glass sandwiching components and an aluminum frame. The smartphone equivalent of a yawn.
Now it’s 2023, and the Razr made an unexpected comeback a few years ago. The first version closely copied the design of the original, just with more modern (read: too large) smartphone dimensions. However, by the third generation, Razr was ready to make something new. The 2023 Motorola Razr Plus (Ultra 40 outside of North America) is Motorola’s first look at what the Razr can be. On the outside, a large 3.6-inch display with camera punch-out. On the inside, a huge 6.9-inch folding display. The phone’s function follows its form, changing as you need it. It’s an exciting smartphone, and a glimpse at what the last smartphones will look like.
The “Specs” section has moved to the bottom; it was a bit big.
In This Article:
Design and Ergonomics 9.5/10
If this was my primary phone, I would likely answer more spam callers. Why? Because it brings back something phones have needed since the iPhone: you can slam it. It makes such a satisfying sound when slamming closed. It takes more force to close it than older flip phones, but you can still give it a good slam. I know what you’re thinking, “But the screen!” Well, the Razr is a phone built to be used. Unlike the iPhone, which has a completely exposed screen, the Razr has a non-removable screen protector and raised edges.
Yes, it turns out Motorola was smart enough to protect the screen a little. It’s a shame more manufacturers don’t just build in a nice lip around the screen on all of their devices. Besides slamming, the Razr is the most comfortable large phone you’ll likely hold. It is huge. 6.9 inches? That’s a tablet! However, it’s not much wider than the iPhone 13 mini with a case on. It’s far more tall than wide. This is so you can get a nice square screen when you close your Razr to use the outer screen.
Using that external screen is wonderful for your hands. You thought the iPhone 13 mini was a one-handed smartphone? This takes the cake. Swiping through news stories and reading them on that external display is a wondrous experience. If I’m standing on the subway, it’s the only way I’ll read on the Razr.
Since the Razr needs to fold in half and still be a usable device, it couldn’t be too thick. Instead, it’s thinner than an iPhone when unfolded. The rounded sides provide a surprising amount of grip when the device is this thin. On top of that, they do make it easier to flip the device open. Obviously it feels like a thick smartphone when closed, but because it’s so small, it’s more than manageable.
One thing the Viva Magenta color has over the others is a faux leather back instead of a glass back. Not only does this feel fantastic in the hand, it improves grip and actually makes the device lighter. The glass versions of the Razr are considerably more heavy than the red version. It pays to pick the coolest color. That faux leather doesn’t just look good, it feels good too. It’s a nice soft texture that is easy to grip and somehow feels more premium than even the boring glass we’re so used to. I can’t get over just how much better this feels than the design of most phones.
Between the saturated color, metallic parts, small camera bump, and that faux leather back? Motorola is killing it. This is such a cool looking phone. I’ve pulled this out with friends and they wanted to look at it closer. When has that last happened to you with a phone? When was the last time the iPhone had such excitement? The iPhone X? That was 5 years ago! I flip this open on the subway and usually I catch at least one person stealing a glance. It’s cool. It’s so damn cool. A cool smartphone. I can’t remember the last time I had or saw one of those before this.
Some Drawbacks
Foldable screens are still a little new. Sure, Samsung, Motorola, Oppo, and many others have been making them for years. However, they have still been a niche, a fresh new product category trying to figure out what it would look like. The biggest issue with the foldable that I’ve noticed is the hinge itself. Yes, it gets a crease on the screen, but that’s less of an issue with the Razr Plus than other foldables I’ve seen. It’s more that the phone isn’t as easy to open and close as old flip phones. It feels like you almost need to flip it too hard or open it slowly and carefully. If you do flip it open, you can’t do it like the old flip phones with a hard movement. You’ll want to make sure you put a finger behind the back and don’t let it fully open as to not damage the hinge or screen.
Sometimes when I’d open it, especially when I first got it, I’d hear a squeaking sound. This did seem to break in, but it’s still something to be aware of.
The last thing is something I’m sure you expected when you heard this was a 6.9″ screen. This thing is ridiculously big. I’ll admit, the fact that it’s more tall than wide does help, but this phone could have been smaller in every direction. Especially thinner, so it would be easier to hold and use with one hand. You basically have two choices with the Razr Plus: either use the small outer screen or use the huge main screen. There’s no “just right” in-between size. Of course, I’m coming from the closest thing we have to a “just right” iPhone, the iPhone 13 mini. I’ll obviously be critical of anything that’s so far from the best phone size.
Using the External Screen
Hey, I grew up with GameBoy screens, this is large enough!
I stood on the packed train, hand on the bar above me to make sure I don’t lean too hard on my neighbor when the train comes to a stop. In my other hand is what appears to be a palm-sized phone. It’s my Razr Plus. I’ve got the screen closed, pinky below the phone, index finger above it, and thumb scrolling through news stories. I’ve got my RSS reader, Feeder, open on the external display. I’m easily reading news stories on the outer 3.4-inch display.
Why can’t it always be this easy?
Normally, you might worry about holding your phone with one hand like this. You might need a grip on the back or hold it only at the bottom. But I was able to have a firm grasp on my phone, reading news stories with ease, all thanks to it’s small square screen. It was one of those moments that made foldable phones feel like the future. For people who like a big screen but hate holding it, this could give the best of both worlds.
External Screen Typing Experience
I’ll admit, this is a drawback. The keyboard is certainly wide enough to type on. However, because of the camera cutouts, you will have only a small area to see about one line of text. It does make sending messages more difficult. I’m more bothered by the keyboard itself. You can’t use third party keyboards on the outer screen, only the “Preinstalled Keyboard.” This seems to be GBoard. I’d rather not use a keyboard that shares data with Google. Also, when you switch to GBoard, it changes your inner screen’s keyboard as well, so you have to change it back immediately. I would prefer a keyboard made specifically for this outer screen. Hell, give me a real throwback, use a keyboard that takes up less space: T9.
I Can’t Put My Finger On It…
Well, I could, and it worked. However the outer screen was not oleophobic. I found my fingerprints stuck to the outside of this screen like I couldn’t believe. I bought a film-style screen protector with a better oleophobic coating to both protect the screen and ensure I didn’t have to clean it every time I wanted to use it.
Pitch a Tent!
This, like other foldables, has a “tent mode.” Open the display about 90º and you can either use it like a small display stand, or put it up like a tent, fold facing up. Either way, you have a screen that you can see from multiple angles for watching videos, making videos, or for your music controls. I found it was a great way to have Apple Music open and playing while I worked, with song information available at a glance.
Using it like this showed how function follows form with foldables. The new ways you can use your device become apparent as you play around with it.
My only complaint here is that it doesn’t have any sort of “notchiness” to it. There’s pretty much just the 90º angle you can use. If you want it open, say, 135º, you’re going to find it snaps open completely. It’s as though it wasn’t made for these angles, but was made for satisfying opening and closing first and foremost.
Switching to the Outer Display
The most frustrating aspect of the outer display is how the phone doesn’t seem to want you using it by default. When you download a new app, you have to go into settings, select the outer display settings, select apps, find the app you just downloaded, and now you can select that it’s allowed on the external screen. It’s an arduous process, and Motorola doesn’t let you set default behavior for all new apps. You’ll have to do this every time.
The outer screen is a major selling point, why would they make it so hard to use it? You should be able to enable outer screen use by default for all apps.
There’s also some difficulty switching to the outer display. It works a lot like screen rotation. I found through developing my own apps that it will completely redraw the view, just like device rotation. However, it won’t preserve even fullscreen video. This will redraw too, forcing you to restart playback in most apps. It would be nice if you could close your phone with a video playing in Firefox, and immediately continue watching where you left off on the outside screen.
Performance 8/10
When you release a new flagship device, it’s customary to use the latest processors. That has been going to the wayside though. Apple releases the new iPhone 15 and sells you last year’s processor in it. It’s only a small difference in performance power, it’s not that much of an issue. Many Android manufacturers are doing the same, especially for devices that aren’t their “flagship” model, or are creative side projects. Motorola mostly makes mid-rangers, with this as an exception. The Motorola Razr Plus is their flagship, and it’s a good one at that. Though Motorola did cut a corner or two to get there.
What do you expect? It’s a foldable phone for under $1,000, currently for just $799!
The Razr Plus uses the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. It’s an excellent processor, but was a year old when put into this phone. The Razr also has 8GB of memory, which, while acceptable for a phone, not a computer, but many Android flagships have 12 to 16GB of memory now. Motorola went with high-end specs from last year for their phone this year, and that makes it the low-end of the high end, or the high-end of the mid-range. Something like that.
But how does it work? Quite well! Geekbench puts the single core CPU test a 1,783 and multi-core at 4,485. Respectable figures for an Android phone. The iPhone 13 mini is 2,086/5,317, respectively. My Pixel 5a? Just 813 for the single core and 1,920 for multi-core. As for the GPU test, 6,233. That’s staggeringly lower than the 17,836 my iPhone 13 mini can put up, but extremely close to other results from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
For real-world use, I do notice that sometimes a page has to reload in the background because I did something else in another app in the foreground. It could use a bit more memory. Still, it’s snappy, with apps launching quickly. I never really felt frustrated about how long a game would take to load or how long it would take to switch apps. Just wish they’d stay in memory longer.
A little fun fact: the top half of the phone must be where the processor is located, because during intense tasks, that’s the only part that heats up. It’s interesting that it’s in just that one area, but what else would you expect? They have to pick a side, why not the side that is less likely to be where you have your hand?
Screen(s) 8/10
First of all, something that you’ll see in the documentation a lot, but I’ll repeat it now anyway: you cannot remove the screen protector. It’s thin and you won’t notice it much, but there is a screen protector that, if removed, will break the display. This is how foldables work.
The Crease
Speaking of foldables, you’re probably wondering about the crease. When I told friends I had ordered a flip phone, they all mentioned the ugly crease they’d notice on flip phones in stores. I used the first Samsung Fold device and it was glaringly obvious then. However, the Razr hinge seems to do a fantastic job of hiding the crease. It must spread out the pressure so well. That’s not to say you can’t see the crease, you can, especially when the device is off. But turn it on, even on low brightness or with a darker background, and it disappears.
The Normal Screen Stuff: Refresh Rates and Resolution
These days, judging a phone screen has gotten a little more difficult. Many phones now use a sharp enough resolution that the display doesn’t look fuzzy. Both the internal and external displays have 413 pixel-per-inch (ppi) displays, running at 165Hz. That’s a quick refresh rate with a decent pixel density. The display is wider than full HD, making it a FHD+ display.
The iPhone 13 mini has a better looking display, slightly sharper, better color accuracy. However, the refresh rate on the Razr is much faster than the iPhone’s. As a result, it’s nicer to look at while scrolling through lists. Flick your apps list on both devices, and the iPhone becomes blurry while the Razr stays (comparatively) sharp. For stills, I prefer the iPhone display, but the faster refresh rate on the Moto Razr Plus is a nice upgrade over the iPhone’s display.
The Razr has a good display for a smartphone, and then it folds in half. That’s impressive, even in 2023.
Adaptive Brightness: Does Anyone do it Right?
The iPhone is definitely better than any Android phone I’ve used when it comes to adaptive brightness. It’s not perfect, it sometimes jumps far too low if you set the brightness to anything but max when you’re in a bright room. No Android phone has come close, and the Razr, sadly, is no different. However, the Razr has two screens, how does the outside fare?
Horribly.
Adaptive brightness uses your camera or other light sensors on a device to adjust the brightness of the screen. The cameras on the outer display are located on the lower right corner.
Have you spotted the issue yet?
Your thumb, while using the device as it’s closed, will block these cameras, convincing your device you’re in a dark room. It’ll dim the screen to the lowest setting, and you’ll be left wondering where everything went. This could have been fixed with different camera locations (most people are right handed), or using a separate sensor for light on the top left corner of the outer screen, while closed. The cameras, in this location, was the worst solution. It would have been better to turn the feature off entirely, at least for the external display.
Battery Life and Charging 6.5/10
Charging is an interesting issue for this phone. If you use the 30W “turbo” charging, it’s blazing fast. You can get from 0% to 20% in just 10 minutes. You’ll be up to 50% in under half an hour, and 100% is just over one hour. If you realize your phone is dead before going out, you could charge it while you get ready and be ready for a night out or a full day of work in while you get ready.
On the other hand, there’s wireless charging. The device has a maximum of just 5W for that. Most devices charge much faster. The iPhone does 15W charging. Many Android manufacturers are faster. 5W max wireless charging is slow. On top of that, the phone knows it’s slow. No matter how you place it on a wireless charging pad, or how much power that pad can offer, it will report that you’ve misaligned it, because it’s receiving so little power. I left it on a wireless charger for three hours, and it never got above 80%. It just couldn’t. I don’t know if this was a power limitation or just that it couldn’t get enough power to charge past an 80% charge via wireless power. Wireless charging without the magnetic alignment of MagSafe or Qi 2 is frustrating, but it’s so broken on this phone, it’s not worth trying.
Battery Life
Fortunately, once you do charge this up, it tends to last all day. I found it had about 12 hours of regular usage, with 5.5 to 8 hours of screen-on time, depending on tasks. That’s long enough to make it through a day. It’s a little low for larger devices, but what do you expect? A large portion of the internals goes to a hinge mechanism. Coming from an iPhone 13 mini, I find the battery life acceptable, even good, but those used to phones this large may feel like 8 hours of screen-on time is a bit low.
Cameras 6.5/10
Barely a camera bump! See? It’s possible, Apple!
The camera on the Razr Plus is good. Sometimes it takes great photos that rival and even surpass what I can do with my iPhone 13 mini. For example, the wide-angle lens of the Razr is also capable of taking some decent macro shots. My iPhone 13 mini needs an external macro lens to do what this can do naturally: focus on something up-close.
However, the iPhone beats it for color accuracy, details, low-light, and dynamic range. The iPhone 13 mini has a 1.7µm pixel size, while the Razr’s is smaller at 1.4µm. Larger pixels collect more light, more data, that can be used for processing. The Razr almost uses too much HDR, boosting shadows to the point that the images feel flat. There’s good detail in the parts that don’t get overexposed, but it loses contrast and becomes a less enjoyable image.
These are heavily cropped, but notice how the Razr image (left) appears more flat, less colorful than the iPhone image (right)
It’s not a terrible camera, but, if you’ve used the best smartphone cameras from Apple, Google, and Samsung, you might be disappointed.
Still, the Razr Plus does all of that without a stupid camera bump!
That said, that external camera is fantastic for selfies. You get a better camera, that’s more sensitive to light, and still get a large external display to frame your shot. You can even set it up on a table and set a timer because you can fold partially. It’s practically its own tripod! One of the photos that came out almost better on my Razr than my iPhone was one where I was able to place my Razr on a fence post and do a slightly longer exposure on the steady surface.
Camera Overall
The camera isn’t bad. It’s a good enough camera. I’d put it firmly in mid-range territory. You can take these photos and edit them in a photo editor, increase the contrast, boost the colors a little, adjust the white balance, and get something more like what you see with your eyes (or iPhone). This isn’t a flagship camera, but it’s not bad.
Odds & Ends
This didn’t drive my HiFiMan HE-4xx as well as I had hoped
Sometimes, I just have a random thought or two. Not enough for a full section, but worth mentioning. Here’s a few of those ideas.
Fast Fingers
Here’s something you might not expect anyone to complain about: the fingerprint sensor is too good. I often unlock my phone because I barely brushed my finger against the lock screen. I’ll slide my Razr into my pocket and accidentally unlock it. When I pull it out, Instagram will be open on the outer screen and I’ll wonder if I accidentally liked anything. Please tell me I didn’t like or react to any of my ex’s stories!
I feel like the button should have required a press to unlock. Or at least add just a little more time. It’s so inconvenient to avoid brushing the button even slightly with a registered finger because, if I do, I could unlock the thing when I want it locked.
No one wants to butt-dial someone!
Storage Lacking
There’s only one storage option for this phone: 256GB. I’m not using it as a primary device, so that’s fine. However, I use more than that on my iPhone. If you’re taking a lot of 4K video, you’ll run out of space quickly. Since there’s only one storage option, it likely should be at least 512GB.
I miss when Android phones had external storage. When that was one of the benefits of using Android: the micro SD card slot. Now, just like the iPhone, I need an adapter if I want to expand the storage on the device with a micro SD card. You’ll also need an app to manage it, because there’s no built-in file manager like iOS’ Files app or macOS’ Finder. You could use Google’s Files app, but… it’s Google. How much privacy do you think you’ll have there? Android got rid of or cripled so many of the features that gave them an edge over Apple, it’s no wonder Apple has been gaining marketshare in the U.S.
Android Stuff
My phone came with TikTok. They put TikTok on my phone. Listen, Google’s grabbing enough of my data every time I use an Android phone. I don’t want the most data-hungry social networking app installed on my Android device out of the box.
Fortunately, I could uninstall the bloat. You know, if an Android phone is going to cost as much as an iPhone, at least it can have as much bloatware as the iPhone: none.
Secondly, Android has problems. From needing a third party keyboard to avoid sharing data with Google, to a weird touch accuracy issue. Have you noticed this? With every Android device I use, it just feels like Android requires your movements are smaller and more precise. It’s just a little more uncomfortable than iOS to use. iOS feels like it’s figuring out what you mean to do, under the surface, and it “just works.” I also noticed that autofill passwords is unfortunately often broken. On iOS, I can use it just about everywhere. On Android, it works maybe half the time. I’ve noticed this with a few password managers too.
So, yes, at the end of the day, it’s still Android, and Android still has plenty of usability issues. Users are more satisfied with apps on iOS than Android, and that’s unlikely to change.
Limited Protection
First, this is not a water resistant phone. It can barely withstand a single droplet of water. Keep it away. The Galaxy Flip 5 has water resistance, but doesn’t officially have dust resistance. The Moto Razr Plus is the opposite. Here, you have slight dust resistance, IP52, but not significant water resistance.
When you think about it, the phone you often put in your lint-filled pocket will more likely encounter dust than water, but it’s important to note your phone’s limitations. It’s only IP52 though, so keep both dust and water away from your device.
The display isn’t a huge slab of glass, but your phone may still have glass on it, on the front and even the back, when closed. It’s a delicate device. So, maybe you decide you want a case for it. Good luck. Most cases come from a few third party manufacturers, often from small companies that might disappear as soon as you give it a 1-star review. I found a single case that works quite well from Eastcoo, but don’t expect the same number of options you’d find with an iPhone or even a Samsung or Google device.
Cardboard!
The packaging is all cardboard. Cardboard everywhere. I’m glad to see companies have finally realized that they don’t need to create plastic waste every time they sell something.
Motorola’s Launcher
I have a bit of a confession: I almost never use stock launchers. For years now, Ive just used Nova as my launcher. It’s highly customizable, you can add a few basic gestures, you can position widgets and app icons in sub-positions, it’s perfect for me. I haven’t met a stock launcher I liked more, and in fact only ever used one other launcher in that time: the simplistic Niagara Launcher.
With that out of the way, I did briefly use Motorola’s launcher. It’s a simple launcher that is almost Google-like. Strict grid placement with a few free-floating elements. There’s a sidebar on the left that you’re basically stuck with, and it’s Google News. Not helpful if you’re trying to use Google as little as possible. There’s a grid list for the app drawer.
I went back to Nova 7 quickly. Motorola made a fine—if basic—launcher, I just need my customization.
The Durability Issue
Why doesn’t Apple make a folding iPhone? There are a few reasons. They’re slower to adopt new technologies and spend a longer time refining their user interface than Android developers. However, one reason may be the durability of these devices. Folding tests claim they may only last two years before the screen fails. A folding screen is more fragile. Dust could get under it and break it. It needs a special screen protector and removing it would instantly break the screen. It’s not as though these are tough phones you buy to own for 3-4 years.
Then consider Apple. iPhone owners hold on to their iPhones for longer than Android phone users. Apple may not want to sell something that could fail between 1-3 years from purchase. They also offer great repair services. If you need your iPhone repaired, you can go to Apple. The same can’t be said of Android manufacturers, who often rely on third parties for repairs. Apple may not want the responsibility of repairing such early stage tech.
I haven’t had any issues with this yet, in the months I’ve been testing it, but it could come. I’ve had my Razr for about two months now, starting in late October, 2023. No issues so far, however, if anything happens, I’ll update this section (and likely the overall score). For now, it seems perfectly fine, no issues or early signs of wear.
Overall 8/10
Ask many tech reviewers what the best flip phone of 2023 is, and they’ll run down the specs sheets and point out that, on paper, the answer is the Samsung Galaxy Flip 5. However, the larger outer display, faster refresh rate on the outer display, and dedication to making every app run on the external display makes the Motorola Razr Plus a better flip phone. If you’re looking to the future, the device that makes the best use of its unique feature is the better vision into the future. That’s the Razr. It’s why I chose it over the Flip 5.
That and Motorola was charging a lot less for their flip phone than Samsung was.
Until we have smartphones in glasses and contact lenses, or our own eyes, this is going to be the future. Folding or rolling displays will be our best form factor going forward. You can just feel this is the future, when you’re setting up your phone to play a video in “tent mode,” browsing news stories with the device closed, and flipping it open with ease. Phones that change, become exactly what we need in the moment, feel like the future. Playing with this phone was exciting, a chance to do something completely new.
The Motorola Razr Plus doesn’t compromise. It doesn’t feel like they made sacrifices to make a flip phone. This could be your daily driver. Your one and only phone. It reminds me of the times before the smartphone, when phones were all unique and exciting. Only, now, these phones really can do everything they promise.
The iPhone is fine. It’s a good device. Same with Pixels and Galaxies. But everything feels like it’s stuck in the past when compared to the Razr Plus, and that’s why I love it. The camera’s not the best, it could use more storage and more memory, and the screen could be calibrated just a bit more accurately, but, overall, this is a fantastic Android phone that happens to flip open.
It’s the future. Phones are finally exciting again, and Motorola’s doing it right with the Razr Plus.
Pros:
- External screen is incredibly useful
- Option to unfold screen for more space is fantastic
- A flip phone becomes the right tool for whatever you need
- Price: a sub-$1,000 flip phone!
- It’s a stunner!
- Bleeding edge of cool and functional tech
Cons:
- Battery life is just okay
- Cameras are just okay
- Lack of external keyboard options is frustrating
Specs
Dimensions:
- Width: 73.95mm
- Weight: 184.5g
- Height (closed): 88.42mm
- Height (open): 170.83mm
- Thickness (closed): 15.1mm
- Thickness (open): 6.99mm
Hardware:
- Processor: Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- Memory: 8GB LPDDR5
- Storage: 256GB (non-expandable)
- Display:
- Main: 6.9″ FHD+ pOLED Display, 165Hz Refresh Rate, 1400 nits
- External: 3.6″ pOLED Display, 144Hz Refresh Rate, 1100 nits
- Battery: 3800mAh
- Charging: 30W Fast Charging, 5W Wireless Charging
- Cameras:
- Main: 12MP ƒ1.5, 1.4µm pixels, OIS
- Ultra Wide and Macro: ƒ2.2, 1.2µm
- Single LED flash