The Most Important Details From Motorola’s Razr Phone Reveal
Motorola unveiled the resurrected Razr phone last night. The company is clearly betting on nostalgia for the Razr brand coupled with the relative neatness of foldable devices, but at its core, the new Razr is still an Android smartphone. This means it has to keep up with flagship devices from Google, Samsung and others (including those from Cupertino).
If you were even a little intrigued by this clamshell smartphone, here’s a quick recap of everything Motorola said about the new Razr at a big event last night. Yes, it’s a sexy phone; yes, it will cost you dearly.
Folds up (obviously)
Like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, the new Razr can fold. But while the Galaxy Fold folds vertically, the Razr’s hinge is horizontal and folds just like the flip phones of yesteryear. When its 6.2-inch display rolls out, the Razr will reportedly be completely flat and use the phone the same as with any other smartphone, but we’ll have to wait for reviews to appear before we know how well Motorola is trying folding screen will be.
Specifications
In addition to a 6.2-inch POLED display (2142 x 876 pixels), the Razr will ship with a Snapdragon 710 processor, which is slower than most flagship phones, and 6GB of free space. Memory. You get 128GB of internal storage without expansion, a 2510mAh battery, and two cameras: a 16MP (f / 1.7) rear camera and a 5MP front camera.
The front of the phone features a smaller 2.7-inch OLED display for notifications and various other controls. You get one USB-C port for connectivity (and a 15W fast charging adapter in the box). No, the Razr cannot charge wirelessly.
Presumably the slower processor was chosen to conserve battery power, which means, at least on earlier test hardware, battery life could be an issue. This could indicate one of two very different outcomes: first, the slower processor made the finished hardware more energy efficient, or second, battery life will continue to be an issue after release. The phone is rumored to last for an entire day, but we’ll see what that really means when the samples come out for review.
Release and availability
The new Razr is slated to launch sometime in January 2020 for $ 1,499. That’s a high asking price – especially if the hardware is behind schedule – but not outlandish compared to the Galaxy Fold; These flexible home phones use expensive screens and engineering tricks to create the folding screens that define them. However, the $ 1,499 is more expensive than the recently launched Pixel 4 or iPhone 11, both of which have much better specs (but far less wow factor).
Price isn’t the only potential barrier to widespread adoption of the new Razr, however; Motorola decided to make the phone a Verizon exclusive. The phone also uses a digital eSIM rather than a physical SIM – meaning there won’t be an unlocked version of the Razr that could be activated on other carriers’ networks. This seems like a big gamble to me for a phone that relies so heavily on the nostalgic factor of a 15-year-old phone.
Pre-orders for the Motorola Razr kick off on December 26th.