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Motorola is updating its Razr line of modern flip-phones with foldable displays by launching two new models.

The 2023 Motorola Razr phone features mid-range specs and pricing and it’s set to hit the streets later this year. And the Motorola Razris launching this month, with a faster processor, bigger cover display, and several other premium features. At $1000 and up, it’s closest competitor is the similarly-priced Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4.

Motorola Razr+

Unfolded, the phones look a lot alike. Both have 6.9 inch, 2640 x 1080 pixel LTPO AMOLED displays. The Razr+ supports refresh rates up to 165 Hz, while the cheaper model tops out at 144 Hz, but I doubt most people would notice much difference.

But close the phone sand you’ll see a much more significant difference: the Razr has a tiny 1.5 inch display that’s meant for notifications and other basic content, while the Razr+ has a 3.6 inch, high-res, high-brightness display with a 144 Hz refresh rate.

Motorola Razr+

You can use it to frame your camera shots when shooting selfies or making video calls. But you can also use the screen to run just about any Android app without unfolding your phone first. It’s a bit small by modern smartphone standards, but it’s big enough to let you get plenty done without switching to the much larger interior display.

Motorola has also introduced a Panels software experience that can be used to show custom home screens with app icons, widgets, and other content on the cover display. And there’s an option to switch apps between running in full-screen mode (so they extend all the way to the bottom of the screen, where the two rear cameras are located), or a compact view (leaving a black border along the bottom so that the cameras don’t hide part of the app).

Under the hood, the Razr+ also has a faster processor (Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 rather than Snapdragon 7 Gen 1), faster storage (UFS 3.1 rather than UFS 2.2), and a different camera system. It’s also a tiny bit thinner… but both phones are among the thinnest foldables around.

Motorola says it’s also made the phone “nearly creaseless,” which is something we’ve heard from foldable phone makers before, but this time independent testers are actually confirming that you may barely even notice the crease when using the phone in unfolded mode.

There are a few reasons why the cheaper Razr still might be a more interesting option for some folks. First, it has a bigger battery than the Razr+ (4,200 mAh compared with 3,800 mAh). And more importantly, it’s expected to cost substantially less, which could make it one of the most affordable phones to date with a foldable display when it launches later this year.

Unfortunately Motorola isn’t saying exactly how much the phone will cost in global markets. But it’s already on sale in China for CNY 3,999 (about $565). The Razr+ starts at CNY 5,699 ($805) in that country, so I’d expect the Razr (2023) to sell for closer to $700 or $800 globally.

Here are some key specs for both:

razr+razr (2023)
Display (primary)6.9 inches
2640 x 1080 pixels
LTPO AMOLED
165 Hz
1,400 nits peak brightness
HDR10+
6.9 inches
2640 x 1080 pixels
LTPO AMOLED
144 Hz
1,400 nits peak brightness
HDR10+
Display (cover)3.6 inches
1066 x 1056px
pOLED
1,400 nits peak brightness
144 Hz
1.5 inches
368 x 194 pixels
ProcessorQualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
RAM8GB or 12GB8GB or 12GB
Storage256GB or 512GB
UFS 3.1
128GB or 256GB
UFS 2.2
Cameras12MP (primary)
13MP (ultrawide + macro)
32MP (front-facing)
64MP (primary)
13MP (ultrawide + macro)
32MP (front-facing)
Battery3,800 mAh4,200 mAh
Charging30W (wired)
5W (wireless)
Water resistanceIP52
SoftwareAndroid 13
3 major OS updates
Starting Price$1000$700
Availability

June 1: China, Europe
June 23: US, Canada
Coming soon: Latin America, Asia

October 12: United States

One thing to keep in mind is that in China and Europe, the Razr+ and Razr (2023) are known by slightly different names: the Razr 40 Ultra and Razr 40.

press release

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  1. 999 is still ripoff especially after taxes are included. I definitely would not buy the budget one coming out later in the year as you will have to unflip the damn phone every time you want to use it, destroying any benefit of a folding device.
    I don’t trust Moto to keep updates going solid through Android 15 as they’ve failed to do this on many if not most of their other new models that never even got Android 12.
    They have earned a bad reputation.

  2. So the more expensive Razr+ with a larger front screen and more powerful processor comes with a smaller battery and substantially weaker camera?

    1. good question. 1 grand is a lot of faith to put into Motorola’s security update support compared to Samsungs established 4+ years. i have a motorola phone that was new 1 and half years ago and it is stuck on Android 11. It is a gamble. This product needs a sale.

      1. Not a typo. There’s a lot more to making a good camera than throwing megapixels at it. But unfortunately that’s still the spec most often offered up by manufacturers. I’m assuming that the reasons for these differences at that a) the 12MP camera has a higher quality image sensor or other features that the 64MP lacks and b) Motorola sacrificed battery capacity to make the Razr+ a little thinner.

        1. Indeed. I’m only ever using the 12MP mode on my 48MP phone’s camera, because a full resolution picture takes ages to process and takes too much space with marginal gains in visual quality. In that case, 12MP + big sensor is a much better solution for image quality than 100+MP resolution and tiny sensor.

      2. 400mAh isn’t a big difference, but it still seems like a difference in the wrong direction since it will need to power a larger screen and more powerful CPU.

        1. If you rarely open the phone to use imaybe the battery life will be prolonged to compensate for lack of battery? The cover display is the only thing this model has going for it at that price tag of 999

          1. It’s sort of funny that the premium feature on a folding phone is a screen so you don’t have to unfold it.
            And I get it, because my son had the Razr 5G, and honestly after playing around with it, I don’t want to fold and unfold my phone. It’s a cool gimmick, but it’s awkward and makes the phone extra thick.
            He just bought an S23 Ultra a couple months ago to replace it.