Motorola Razr (2024) series revealed: Stiff competition for the Z Flip 6

4 months ago 79

TL;DR

  • Motorola has launched the 2024 Razr and Razr Plus phones.
  • Both phones bring an IPX8 rating while the standard model gets a huge cover screen too.
  • The Razr (2024) starts at $699, while the Razr Plus (2024) will set you back $999.

The Motorola Razr 2023 devices were two of the best flip foldable phones in recent years. How can the company top these entries, though? Well, Motorola has just launched the Razr and Razr Plus (2024).

The two phones have a few features in common, such as a similar 6.9-inch folding LTPO OLED screen (165Hz, 3,000 nits peak brightness), 15W wireless charging, and Gorilla Glass Victus for the cover screens.

These phones also share an IPX8 rating, as opposed to last year’s IP52 rating. That means they’re not rated for dust ingress but should survive a dunk in water. More on this IP rating later, though. Otherwise, the devices are both available in your choice of vegan leather or vegan suede.

Razr Plus (2024): What’s new?

Motorola Razr Plus 2024 cover screen games

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Motorola Razr Plus (2024)

Want the best Razr? That’ll be the Razr Plus (2024), of course. It features a 4-inch cover screen, which is a claimed 17% larger than last year’s Plus variant. The firm says it’s redesigned several cover screen panels (stocks, weather, and calendar), while also bringing Google Gemini to the cover screen.

Motorola says the phone has a smaller hinge that enables a reduced display crease and better dust protection. We’ve already mentioned the IPX8 rating, but a representative noted during a briefing that the IPX8 rating inherently has “level 5” dust protection. Of course, that begs the question of why it’s not an IP58 rating, then. You should try to avoid dust and other fine debris, either way.

Motorola Razr Plus 2024 home screen apps

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Motorola’s top Razr brings the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, which isn’t quite as good as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 but still brings flagship-tier performance. We’re also glad to see a slightly larger battery this time, going from 3,700mAh to 4,000mAh. Expect relatively brisk wired charging thanks to 45W speeds.

Another notable change is the rear camera setup. We still have a dual rear camera system, but we’ve now got a 50MP main camera and a 50MP 2x telephoto lens. Yep, Motorola has ditched the ultrawide camera in favor of a zoom-focused shooter. Otherwise, a 32MP camera is available on the folding screen.

Motorola is also promising Moto AI features in the “coming months.” For starters, you can say “catch me up” to get a summary of your communications, reducing the need to sort through notifications. You can also say “pay attention” to start recording conversations or speakers and automatically transcribe and summarize them.

The final Moto AI feature sounds like a manual take on Microsoft’s Recall. Simply say “Remember this” to capture on-screen info and save it with AI-generated details.

We’ve asked Motorola whether “Remember this” captures screenshots, screen recordings, or both formats. We’ve also asked what kind of AI-generated details will be generated. Finally, we’ve asked the company to clarify which devices will get these Moto AI features. Unfortunately, the company told Android Authority that more details would only arrive closer to the launch of the feature.

Motorola Razr: The cheaper option

Motorola Razr 2024 desktop fold

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

The Razr 2023 was arguably the best mid-range foldable phone of 2023, and the refreshed Razr seems to continue this trend on paper.

The biggest upgrade is easily the switch from a paltry 1.5-inch ticker cover display to a 3.6-inch cover screen. This new screen is derived from the 2023 Razr Plus, allowing you to run full apps, including Gemini.

Moto’s vanilla foldable brings a MediaTek Dimensity 7300X chipset. This chip actually has a weaker CPU on paper than the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 seen in the Razr (2023), primarily due to the older CPU cores. But we’ll need to wait for benchmarks to see how the standard Razr fares.

Motorola Razr 2024 gemini app

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Motorola Razr (2024)

The 2024 phone retains the 4,200mAh battery and 30W wired charging speeds seen in last year’s device, but we do get a wireless charging boost.

Motorola’s standard Razr also brings a 50MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide lens (with autofocus). We were disappointed with photos from the Razr (2023) so we hope for a substantial leap in image quality here.

Motorola Razr (2024) series pricing and availability

Motorola Razr Plus 2024 ports

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

The new foldable phones will be available to pre-order from July 10, with sales taking place from July 24.

Want the Razr Plus (2024)? It’ll cost $999 in the US, and it’s available in Midnight Blue, Spring Green, and Peach Fuzz.

Meanwhile, the standard Razr (2024) will set you back $699 and will be available in Beach Sand, Koala Gray, and Spritz Orange.

Both phones will receive three major OS updates and four years of security patches. That’s not bad but it’s behind Samsung’s 4+5 update policy for last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 5, with the upcoming Z Flip 6 expected to get seven years of updates.

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Motorola Razr Plus (2024)

Motorola Razr Plus (2024)

Even bigger cover screen
New Moto AI features
Telephoto camera

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