Two new Motorola phones are sitting next to me as I write this, and I should be thinking about the design, specs, and when I’ll slot them into my review timetable.
But I’m not.
I’m thinking about the way they smell. I probably need to explain.
Motorola is one step away from making Samsung and Google sweat
It will only take a flagship in the US
Not just color and feel
A new frontier
Most people will be aware of Motorola’s successful partnership with color experts Pantone, and it’s certainly one of the things I’ve liked most about the brand’s hardware over the last few years.
Special colors give Motorola’s phones character and identity, and no other brand has been as successful as Motorola in this respect.
It’s not just the bright, vibrant colors that win either. It manages to make even grey and black look spectacular.
Motorola has also cleverly used different materials to complement them, adding tactility and feel. Who knew a phone covered in wood would be awesome? I love Alcantara in my car, and it works well on a phone, too.
However, Motorola has approached identity in another way, and it’s one I wasn’t aware of until the Razr 2026 and Edge 70 Fusion arrived last week.
The company isn’t satisfied with dominating our sense of touch and sight with its phones. It’s going for our sense of smell, too.
The most shocking part is that I think it really works.
A box of delights
Ready to assault your senses
Motorola infuses a scent into the packaging of some of its phones. Yes, really. If you haven’t bought a brand-new Motorola phone in the last few years, you may not know about it. Equally, it’s only infused into certain premium devices.
Motorola’s “signature fragrance” was announced in 2024, and despite reviewing quite a few Motorola phones since then, I’ve never been hit by it until now. In fact, I’d been almost completely unaware of it.
It’s not on the outside of the boxes, as both the Razr and Edge 70 Fusion have been here, unopened, for a couple of days, and I didn’t notice any scent in my office. It was opening the Edge 70 Fusion’s box that gave me my first whiff.
I noticed, but ignored it at first. I put the phone on charge, yet I could still smell something. I had no idea what it was, but a smell test meant I quickly discovered it was the Edge 70 Fusion’s packaging.
Not a stinker
Way better than it has any right to be
It doesn’t smell like cardboard. And it doesn’t smell like soy, which is used for the ink on Motorola’s packaging. It smells good. It’s hard to describe (I review tech, not perfume), but it has a subtle, sweet, and quite woody bouquet.
It smells unlike any other packaging, which are words I’ve never written before in my more than a decade reviewing tech. I’ve also never before gone around smelling the boxes my phones come in, yet I’ve done my research. Simply, no other phone box smells as good as a Motorola one.
Crucially, it’s not overwhelming, but it’s pungent enough that it lingers after you’ve opened the box and taken out your phone. Keep the box close by, and you’re going to be aware of the aroma for a while. It has lasted about 12 hours for me. But what about the phone itself?
There is a hint of the scent on the Edge 70 Fusion. It’s not as strong as it is on the box, likely because the phone is wrapped in unscented paper, but it is there.
Where can you try it out?
Noses at the ready
The Edge 70 Fusion is the first Motorola phone I’ve smelled, or that has smelled of anything at all when I’ve breathed it in. Does that mean to try Motorola’s signature fragrance out for yourself, you’ve got to buy one?
The Razr 2026 box doesn’t have the same scent. There’s something there, but it’s not as strong, nor is it exactly the same as the Edge 70 Fusion’s box. The fragrance may not have been applied as liberally, or the black box material may absorb it differently than the white material.
Looking online, the Motorola Signature’s box almost certainly carries the fragrance, as do many Edge-series phones released since late 2024. But what if you want the fragrance itself?
A Reddit thread contained a link to a Portuguese Lenovo (which owns Motorola) support forum, where a Motorola agent claimed the scent was called Blue Touch Tech. Many have then linked this to Blue Touch by Franck Olivier, but it’s not clear if the two are connected.
Android Police has contacted Motorola for further insight into how the fragrance was created and whether it has any plans for a dedicated release. We will update when we hear back.
Why does it need to smell?
All part of the lifestyle experience
A perfectly legitimate question at this point is: Why does the inside of phone packaging need to smell of anything? Apple doesn’t make the inside of an iPhone box smell of apples, after all. Yes, I did check to make sure. Told you I was thorough.
At the launch of the 2026 Razr models and a variety of G-series phones, Motorola made a point of explaining how it has worked to become a tech lifestyle brand through partnerships, design, and intention.
If Ferrari, Adidas, and other brands not associated with a particular scent can make a fragrance, why can’t Motorola? It’s as much a cornerstone of luxury lifestyle brands as color and materials, which Motorola has successfully integrated into its phones for several years already.
The signature fragrance genuinely enhanced the unboxing experience, and as I caught the scent every time I returned to my office, I thought, “Mmm, that smells pretty good.” If Motorola bottled it, I’d probably be tempted to splash a bit on.
