I’ve been worried about the Motorola Razr Fold since its CES announcement. The company has found success with its clamshell Razr lineup, but it’s a latecomer to the book-style foldable market.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series and Google Pixel Fold lineup are well-established in the US, but it’s a struggle to find traction with phones that cost nearly $2,000.
However, I was willing to give Motorola the benefit of the doubt.
The company has a winning playbook, especially with its midrange phones. And if it could somehow bring the same formula to book-style foldables, it has a legitimate chance at success.
UK pre-order pricing had me nervous, but the more I think about it, the more I believe the Motorola Razr Fold will be a hit.
Motorola is winning the foldable war and it’s leaving Samsung in the dust
Motorola has the right idea
Motorola did better than I expected
The spec sheet brings the goods
There’s a great scene in the movie Margin Call, where Jeremy Irons’ character is explaining how there are three ways to get ahead in business. You can be first, be smarter than everyone else, or you can cheat.
Motorola doesn’t have the luxury of being first to market with the Razr Fold, but it has a decent chance at success through the other two avenues.
I didn’t expect to be impressed by the Razr Fold’s spec sheet, but I’m pleasantly surprised. In typical Moto fashion, the company appears to have locked in on what’s important to foldable users.
I’m all for a thinner and lighter device, but it has to be balanced with enough battery life to get me through the day — especially since I buy book-style foldables to take advantage of the larger internal display.
I was initially alarmed by the price of the Razr Fold in the UK.
The 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery in the Razr Fold should do that. It’s a step I wish Samsung and Google had taken this year, but I’m glad at least Motorola is bringing some of that advanced battery tech stateside with the Razr Fold.
It weighs 243g, so people who are used to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 in their pocket will feel it’s a regression, but it still measures less than 10mm when folded.
It’s a trade-off I’m willing to make, especially since it means I can use the internal display heavily all day without worry.
I’m willing to compromise on power
I doubt I’ll feel affected
I love that Motorola is going with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 in the Razr Fold. I’ve used the chipset in the OnePlus 15R, and I can tell you from experience, you won’t be lacking power.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is an expensive chipset and, for most people, not currently worth the premium it adds to devices.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is a wonderful compromise, giving me all the power I’ll need while letting Motorola spend that extra money on more RAM and a bigger battery.
If the UK spec holds for the US, the Razr Fold will come with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. That’s similar to the company’s strategy with the Razr Ultra last year, so I expect that to be the correct configuration.
Stylus support is one of those small things, but if it matters to you, it really matters. And I completely understand — you have this gorgeous, expansive internal display, and it only makes sense you’d want to be able to use a stylus on it.
I don’t care how thin the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is; I believe it was a mistake to remove the S Pen support.
Pricing will matter most for Motorola
The Razr Fold seems expensive
I was initially alarmed by the price of the Razr Fold in the UK. £1,800 seems steep, even given Motorola’s advantages over the competition.
But then I remembered that this wasn’t the first time I’ve been through this with Motorola.
The pre-order price includes a stylus and other discounts and bonuses. It’s also worth noting that UK and US pricing aren’t correlated, so Motorola could still sell the device for less in the US.
Even if they don’t, it’s perfectly reasonable to assume the same deals that apply constantly to every product in the Moto lineup will also come to the Razr Fold.
Sure, the initial MSRP might be north of $1,800, but I’d be absolutely shocked if the phone didn’t spend the majority of its life priced between $1,500 and $1,600 on one sale or another.
That’s when book-style foldables start making sense, and as long as Moto exhibits the same savvy it has with midrange phones and the Razr lineup, it has a chance with the Razr Fold.
Motorola still faces an uphill battle
Even with excellent hardware and competitive prices, Motorola needs to do more.
Android 16 on the Razr Ultra is an encouraging sign, as it delivered decent improvements. However, more software support is needed, and it must arrive promptly.
It’s not unreasonable for people to complain about updates arriving late or new Android versions appearing months after other manufacturers have upgraded their phones — especially if you are charging flagship prices.
Still, Moto is on the right track, and if the Razr Fold can deliver and make book-style foldables more accessible, the company will have a winner on its hands.
