Motorola has a new big-screen foldable to challenge Google and Samsung, and it sports a feature fans long for — stylus support. Right after Samsung axed S Pen support on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Razr Fold brings stylus-compatible foldables back to the U.S. less than a year later.
In many ways, the Motorola Razr Fold and its optional Moto Pen Ultra companion are better than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and its S Pen. Unlike Samsung’s foldable offerings, the Razr Fold uses an active Pen Ultra stylus with Bluetooth connectivity that works on both the cover and main displays.
Officially, the Moto Pen Ultra is a $99 add-on for the Razr Fold, but you can get the stylus for free right now when you buy a Razr Fold from Motorola. The accessory’s separate nature is one drawback, and another is that the Pen Ultra has a somewhat bulky charging case and must be powered independently of the foldable. For those reasons, I expected to view the Pen Ultra as an unnecessary expense and another thing to lug around or charge.
As it turns out, Motorola thought of almost everything when it comes to the Pen Ultra. It can do so much more than simply help you draw, annotate, or write. If you have a Razr Fold or are planning to get one, the Pen Ultra is a must, and these are the six things you need to try with it.
Take a screenshot
The Moto Pen Ultra connects to the Razr Fold over Bluetooth, enabling features that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. One of those features is called Knock Knock, and it lets you take a screenshot by hitting the bottom of your pen against a flat surface twice. It’s a neat trick that, in my testing, works beyond flat surfaces — I can double-tap my arm with the Pen Ultra, and it’ll capture what’s on my screen using the Knock Knock tool.
To start using it, open the Settings app with the stylus connected and tap Smart Pen in the list. Then, tap Pen Controls and find Knock Knock listed under Gestures. Flip the toggle beside Knock Knock, and you’re able to immediately start using your pen to take screenshots.
Remember that Motorola doesn’t recommend using Knock Knock on either of your Razr Fold screens, as it can damage them.
Track your pen’s location
With an active stylus that uses a separate charging case for storage, it’s easy to worry about losing the pen, charging case, or both. One of the things I liked about Samsung’s S Pen Fold Edition is that it slotted into a Galaxy Z Fold case for easy storage. However, Motorola did think of this and added a neat location tracking feature for the Pen Ultra. It’s important to note that the Pen Ultra itself does not have a built-in tracker; instead, there are two Razr Fold features that help you keep track of your stylus.
You can receive reminders when your stylus is out of its case by navigating to Settings > Smart Pen > Out-of-Case Reminders. After flipping the toggle, you can get reminders either five minutes, 10 minutes, one hour, or one day after it is left outside the charging case. There’s also a toggle next to Last known location that, when enabled, records the pen’s location when you last removed it from its charging case.
In the settings app’s Smart Pen page, under Last known location, you can view the exact coordinates of the location where you most recently took out the Pen Ultra. This might help you remember where you used it last, making it easier to track down if you ever lose it.
Draw in any text field to type
Another cool trick you can do with the Razr Fold and the Moto Pen Ultra is to use your stylus to draw in any text field. This one doesn’t require changing any settings — simply take out your pen and start drawing in a text field, and Motorola’s software will convert your handwriting into text in real time.
It’s a handy feature that lets you quickly fill out a text field while in the process of using your stylus. Instead of putting it down and typing with your fingers, you can simply draw in the text field with the pen, allowing the software to handle the conversion.
Take a photo or start a video
By default, you can use the Moto Pen Ultra in certain Motorola apps, including the Camera. The toggle is called Use Pen Actions in Camera under the Smart Pen settings page and the Camera submenu. With the Camera app open, you can press the side button on the Pen Ultra once to take a photo or start or stop video recording, depending on the camera mode.
It’s like having a remote control for your smartphone camera, and there’s no better form factor to take advantage of one than a foldable. The Razr Fold is like a tripod, and you can prop it up somewhere while using the Pen Ultra to take pictures remotely and discreetly. This way, everyone can be in the group photo without having to use photo timers or AI editing features.
Customize the Moto Pen Ultra side button
Speaking of that side button, it’s the key to maximizing your Moto Pen Ultra. With the pen connected, open the Pen Controls menu in the Settings app and look for Long-press button. Tap that menu, and you’ll see a list of actions you can trigger with that shortcut. They include Annotate, New note, Hover to magnify, and Circle to Search. When you long-press the Pen Ultra side button, you’ll be able to quickly jump into one of those features.
I love Circle to Search, so I’ve set the Pen Ultra to launch that experience when I long-press the side button. The Annotate option marks up your screen, and Hover to magnify enlarges certain parts of your screen as you hover over them with the stylus. Whichever option you prefer, you can select it in the stylus’ settings.
The other side button utility is the Toolbar, which opens when you short-press the Pen Ultra. Or, you can tap the pen’s floating screen bubble to open the Toolbar. Either way, you’ll get a quick button for the Pen Ultra’s settings and access to four shortcuts when you open the Toolbar. Luckily, you can customize exactly what those shortcuts are in the Settings app.
To do so, go to Smart Pen and tap Toolbar. Then, select four features or apps to include in the Toolbar. The only four features available are the defaults: Hover to magnify, Screen record, Annotate, and Notes. However, you can replace any or all of those feature shortcuts with app shortcuts. This allows you to launch apps directly with the Pen Ultra’s Toolbar.
I came into testing the Pen Ultra thinking the stylus was a gimmick, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The stylus is great for smooth drawing and excellent palm rejection on the Razr Fold, but it’s also superb for other features like gesture control, shortcut activation, and more.
Best foldable + pen combo
The Motorola Razr Fold and the Pen Ultra are a perfect pairing, as the Razr Fold is a rare foldable that lets you use the stylus on both screens. It’s another thing to carry around, but Motorola makes it worth your while with key Pen Ultra features beyond basic drawing or annotating.
