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

Abstract

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

This would possibly not imply a lot to you if the Lord of the Rings films got here out if you have been a toddler, however for just a few temporary years, the Motorola Razr V3 was the best cellphone you could possibly get. It is not that it was significantly better than different telephones on a sensible degree — this was, in any case, an period when telephones have been nonetheless largely for calls and texts. No, it was all about type, for the reason that V3 was a classy, ultra-thin

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

Everyone knows that since then, Motorola has turn into 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 sluggish comeback with a sequence of Android-based Razr

foldables
, nevertheless, and its new

2025 models
appear supposed to go toe-to-toe with the large guys. The corporate could possibly be poised to regain a few of its former glory, though that may most likely depend upon what ships in 2026.

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It’d ache some individuals at Apple, however there’s stable logic to the concept.

The Razr-tipped spearhead

What’s totally different this time round

Motorola

With out delving too far into specs, the brand new Razr and Razr+ fashions are fairly stable. 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 foremost cameras and 32-megapixel entrance sensors. The MediaTek Dimensity 7400X processor within the base Razr is a knock in opposition to it, however for those who care extra about energy effectivity than 3D framerates, you need 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 would give slightly extra consideration to the product that is not simply one other slab of steel and glass.

The place issues actually get attention-grabbing is with the first-ever Razr Extremely. It is a telephone that, on paper at the least, 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 sometimes solely discover on laptops and gaming telephones, whereas the Flip is capped at 12GB. In terms 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 niche 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 embrace 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, they usually could possibly 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 meanwhile, I would give slightly extra consideration to the product that is not simply one other slab of steel and glass.

Motorola additional appears to be all-in on my thought of blending and matching totally 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 nicely every part gels on Motorola’s aspect, but it surely’s good that an organization is breaking out of the notion that one or two AI fashions ought to deal with every part.

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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, at the least till the inevitable

Z Flip 7
. Even then, although, rumors counsel that Samsung’s product may nonetheless have weaker display screen, RAM, storage, and digital camera specs. That is type of stunning — Samsung could possibly be poised to cede some floor, at the least within the US.

The revolution is not right here simply but, nevertheless — the primary difficulty is value. 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 most effective, but it surely’s most likely not going to be a mass-market success by advantage of focusing on a richer demographic, in the course of a US-instigated commerce warfare no much less. To reclaim the throne, Motorola might have to push down the Extremely’s value 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, value amongst them, which ought to make it extra palatable outdoors the scope of foldable fans. And whereas the bottom Razr has some weak factors, $800 continues to be cheap for those who insist on having one of many newest foldable gadgets — that is as a lot as a non-folding iPhone 16. Personally, I would quite 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 large time once more might hinge (no pun supposed) on the teachings it learns this 12 months, and whether or not it might leverage any modest success into one thing extra. It’s, in any case, going up in opposition to a behemoth within the type of Samsung, and for those who think about tablet-style foldables, there’s an ocean of competitors on the market, significantly from Chinese language manufacturers like Oppo and Honor.

One factor Motorola might be contemplating itself fortunate for, at the least, 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 one of the costly tablet-style foldables ever produced, presumably costing upwards of $2,000. There is not any signal of a clamshell iPhone coming anytime quickly — so if Motorola performs its playing cards proper, it may set up itself as a pressure to beat lengthy earlier than the 800-pound gorilla enters the room.