Motorola's new Razr telephones really feel like a push again into the massive leagues

Abstract

Motorola’s new Razr fashions present it is severe about main foldables, notably the Razr Extremely.
The Razr+ and Razr Extremely beat Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 in some areas — and will even maintain an edge in opposition to the Z Flip 7.
Motorola should still want to repair its worth proposition if it desires to be a dominant drive within the foldable market.

This may not imply a lot to you if the Lord of the Rings motion pictures got here out while you have been a toddler, however for a couple of transient years, the Motorola Razr V3 was the good cellphone you might get. It isn’t that it was significantly better than different telephones on a sensible degree — this was, in spite of everything, an period when telephones have been nonetheless largely for calls and texts. No, it was all about type, because the V3 was a trendy, ultra-thin

flip phone
fabricated from aluminum, at a time when many telephones have been nonetheless basically plastic bricks. The V3 was so widespread that I bear in mind seeing large banners for it hanging in my native movie show.

Everyone knows that since then, Motorola has turn out to be a secondary participant in shopper telephones, dwarfed by rivals that extra shortly embraced smartphone tech, above all Apple and

Samsung
. It has been staging a gradual comeback with a sequence of Android-based Razr

foldables
, nevertheless, and its new

2025 models
appear meant to go toe-to-toe with the massive guys. The corporate may very well be poised to regain a few of its former glory, though that can in all probability rely upon what ships in 2026.

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It’d ache some folks at Apple, however there’s strong logic to the thought.

The Razr-tipped spearhead

What’s completely different this time round

Motorola

With out delving too far into specs, the brand new Razr and Razr+ fashions are fairly strong. They each have 6.9-inch, 165Hz inside shows, which makes them nice to have a look at, and these are paired with 3.6- and 4-inch exterior screens, respectively. The telephones additionally share 50-megapixel essential cameras and 32-megapixel entrance sensors. The MediaTek Dimensity 7400X processor within the base Razr is a knock in opposition to it, however when you care extra about energy effectivity than 3D framerates, you have to be happy. Springing for a Razr+ will get you a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, 12GB of RAM, and a 50-megapixel telephoto digital camera, amongst different upgrades.

I might give a bit extra consideration to the product that is not simply one other slab of metallic and glass.

The place issues actually get attention-grabbing is with the first-ever Razr Extremely. It is a telephone that, on paper no less than, completely decimates Samsung’s widespread Galaxy Z Flip 6. It has a state-of-the-art Snapdragon 8 Elite, as a substitute of the Flip’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (“for Galaxy,” excuse me). It additionally sports activities 16GB of RAM, one thing you may usually solely discover on laptops and gaming telephones, whereas the Flip is capped at 12GB. In the case of charging, the Extremely helps 30W wi-fi energy and 68W over USB, making the Flip’s 15W and 25W figures appear pathetic. Neither telephone has a telephoto lens — an enormous miss, in my books — however the Extremely has 50-megapixel entrance and ultra-wide cameras, and the entrance shooter on the Flip is capped at a measly 10 megapixels. There’s much less of a spot with show tech, however a 7-inch 165Hz panel nonetheless beats a 6.7-inch 120Hz one.

Motorola

As if that weren’t sufficient, ornamental choices for the Extremely embody wooden and Alacantara variations. Whereas Motorola and others have experimented with alternate supplies, it is uncommon for them to point out up on a flagship product, and so they may very well be a deciding issue for individuals who prioritize type. I do know that if I have been available in the market for a brand new telephone in the mean time, I might give a bit extra consideration to the product that is not simply one other slab of metallic and glass.

Motorola additional appears to be all-in on my concept of blending and matching completely different AI platforms for various functions. Other than its personal Moto AI, there are hooks for Google Gemini, Perplexity, Meta Llama, and even Microsoft Copilot. There’s nothing disappointing about Samsung’s integration of Gemini with its personal AI options, and I will should see how properly every thing gels on Motorola’s aspect, however it’s good that an organization is breaking out of the notion that one or two AI fashions ought to deal with every thing.

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It is about points like personalization, resilience, and privateness.

Making an enormous play

However the true work lies forward

Motorola

Whereas I am undecided that the vanilla Razr and the Razr+ will transfer the needle a lot, the Extremely is clearly a shot throughout the bow, meant to place Motorola on the forefront of clamshell-style foldables, no less than till the inevitable

Z Flip 7
. Even then, although, rumors recommend that Samsung’s product would possibly nonetheless have weaker display screen, RAM, storage, and digital camera specs. That is type of surprising — Samsung may very well be poised to cede some floor, no less than within the US.

The revolution is not right here simply but, nevertheless — the primary concern is worth. When it ships in Could, the Extremely will begin at $1,300 for a 512GB mannequin, about $80 greater than an equal Z Flip 6, and a full $200 greater than a 256GB Flip. The Extremely will entice individuals who need the perfect, however it’s in all probability not going to be a mass-market success by advantage of focusing on a richer demographic, in the midst of a US-instigated commerce warfare no much less. To reclaim the throne, Motorola could must push down the Extremely’s worth to make it an unbeatable deal.

The Extremely is clearly a shot throughout the bow, meant to place Motorola on the forefront of clamshell-style foldables.

Who is aware of, although — possibly the cheaper Razr fashions will catch on. The $1,000 Razr Plus additionally beats the Z Flip 6 in some respects, worth amongst them, which ought to make it extra palatable exterior the scope of foldable fans. And whereas the bottom Razr has some weak factors, $800 remains to be cheap when you insist on having one of many newest foldable units — that is as a lot as a non-folding iPhone 16. Personally, I might moderately spend my cash on an iPhone, or possibly a Pixel, however not everybody cares about issues like processor specs or

IP ratings
.

Motorola’s prospects for hitting the massive time once more could hinge (no pun meant) on the teachings it learns this 12 months, and whether or not it could actually leverage any modest success into one thing extra. It’s, in spite of everything, going up in opposition to a behemoth within the type of Samsung, and when you contemplate tablet-style foldables, there’s an ocean of competitors on the market, notably from Chinese language manufacturers like Oppo and Honor.

One factor Motorola might be contemplating itself fortunate for, no less than, is Apple’s hesitancy about becoming a member of the fray. Whereas the primary

folding iPhone
may ship in 2026, it is anticipated to be probably the most costly tablet-style foldables ever produced, presumably costing upwards of $2,000. There is no signal of a clamshell iPhone coming anytime quickly — so if Motorola performs its playing cards proper, it may set up itself as a drive to beat lengthy earlier than the 800-pound gorilla enters the room.