Motorola Razr is back, but now it’s an Android smartphone that can fold in half. Motorola has officially announced its much-rumored modern spin on the iconic flip phone.
The 2019 Razr keeps the same general form factor but replaces the T9 keypad and small LCD with a 6.2-inch foldable plastic OLED panel and Android 9 Pie. It’ll cost $1,499 when it arrives in January 2020.
This isn’t the first time Motorola has tried to bring back the iconic RAZR branding. There was an entire line of fairly generic Droid RAZR phones a few years ago on which Motorola just slapped the name in hopes of reminding customers of its past glory.
(You may remember that Motorola styled the old RAZR logo in all caps. For this new model, Motorola is doing the opposite with the lowercase “razr” Since I’m a human, I’m going to henceforth use “Razr” to refer to the new model.)
The new Razr is a fundamentally different take on the foldable phones that we've seen so far instead of turning a modern-sized phone into a smaller tablet, it turns a conventional-sized smartphone into something much smaller and more pocketable.
But the new Razr is much more than just a familiar brand name. This is a true heir to the original flip phone, with a design that’s heavily inspired by its 2004 predecessor, right down to the big curved chin on the bottom (which now also hosts a more modern fingerprint sensor and a USB-C charging port).
(It’s actually exactly the same thickness folded like the original RAZR.) Holding the folded Razr up to the sun, you can see a crack of daylight shining through, but otherwise, the gap is barely discernible. It’s very impressive and the current high watermark in the still-fledgling foldable market.
Motorola Razr Specification
The 2019 Razr keeps the same general form factor but replaces the T9 keypad and small LCD with a 6.2-inch foldable plastic OLED panel and Android 9 Pie. It’ll cost $1,499 when it arrives in January 2020.
This isn’t the first time Motorola has tried to bring back the iconic RAZR branding. There was an entire line of fairly generic Droid RAZR phones a few years ago on which Motorola just slapped the name in hopes of reminding customers of its past glory.
(You may remember that Motorola styled the old RAZR logo in all caps. For this new model, Motorola is doing the opposite with the lowercase “razr” Since I’m a human, I’m going to henceforth use “Razr” to refer to the new model.)
The new Razr is a fundamentally different take on the foldable phones that we've seen so far instead of turning a modern-sized phone into a smaller tablet, it turns a conventional-sized smartphone into something much smaller and more pocketable.
But the new Razr is much more than just a familiar brand name. This is a true heir to the original flip phone, with a design that’s heavily inspired by its 2004 predecessor, right down to the big curved chin on the bottom (which now also hosts a more modern fingerprint sensor and a USB-C charging port).
The core of the phone is, of course, the display. It’s a 6.2-inch 21:9 plastic OLED panel that folds in half along the horizontal axis. Unfolded, it’s not dramatically bigger than any other modern phone, and the extra height is something that the Android interface and apps adapt to far better than a tablet-size screen. The screen does have a notch on top for a speaker and camera and a curved edge on the bottom, which takes a bit of getting used to, but after a minute or two, you barely notice it.
There’s also a second, 2.7-inch glass-covered OLED display on the outside that Motorola calls the Quick View display. It can show notifications, music controls, and even a selfie camera mode to take advantage of the better main camera. Motorola is also working with Google to let apps seamlessly transition from the front display to the main one.
There are some concerns about durability for the folding display, especially after Samsung’s Galaxy Fold issues. But Motorola says that it has “full confidence in the durability of the Flex View display,” claiming that its research shows that “it will last for the average lifespan of a smartphone.” There’s a proprietary coating to make the panel “scuff resistant,” and it also has an internal nano-coating for splash resistance.
(Don’t take it swimming, though.) Motorola says that the entire display is made with a single cut, with the edges entirely enclosed by the stainless steel frame to prevent debris from getting in. The company also points to its years of experience with plastic OLED panels (going back as far as 2011), noting, “We’re not going to go out there and say, ‘consumers should be cautious of how they use the phone.’”
Part of that confidence has to do with the hinge, which Motorola worked with Lenovo to make. It uses a complicated mechanism of multiple hinges and sliding plates to fold and unfold the phone. More importantly, it really does seem to live up to Motorola’s promises: the device unfolds to a fully flat panel, with no visible or tactile creases, and then it folds up completely flush. 
(It’s actually exactly the same thickness folded like the original RAZR.) Holding the folded Razr up to the sun, you can see a crack of daylight shining through, but otherwise, the gap is barely discernible. It’s very impressive and the current high watermark in the still-fledgling foldable market.
Motorola Razr Specification
- Snapdragon 710 processor
- 6GB RAM
- 128GB internal storage
- 6.2-inch foldable pOLED display (2142 x 876)
- 2.7-inch Quick View display (800 x 600)
- 16MP front-facing camera, f/1.7 with Night Vision mode
- 5MP internal camera
- 2510mAh battery
- USB-C
- eSIM
- Android 9 Pie
- Fingerprint reader
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