Back in January 2019, The Wall Street Journal had reported that the Motorola Razr Fold would cost anywhere in the region of approximately $1,500 (£1,170) and the current pricing for this new gadget is falling closer to that cost estimate. It is not an expensive deal for a foldable phone but it is relatively high when one considers the fact that the hardware specs of the Motorola Razr Fold are almost mid-range. Considering this, we have written this Motorola Razr Fold Review covering all the aspects of this device.
The new Motorola Razr Fold will initially be available only through Verizon for $1,499.99, or an EMI of $62.49/month for a 24-month plan. Pre-orders for the Motorola Razr Fold had been opened on December 26, 2019, and the phone has now been released via an official ceremony in Jan 2020.
Let’s kick off by understanding the Motorola Razr Fold price. In the United Kingdom, the Motorola Razr Fold has been made available exclusively on EE, with the pre-orders already opened during December 2019. The device will even be available in Latin America, the EU, Asia, and Australia. While it is not yet known what the SIM-free or contract price would be for the Motorola Razr Fold in the UK, the company has confirmed that its European price would be €1,599 (about £1,360).
History of this gadget
The Motorola Razr was a series of mobile devices by the Motorola organization as a part of their 4LTR line devices. The V3 was the initial phone that was released in the series and it was introduced during July 2004 and released in the open market during the third quarter of the year 2004. The V3 version was soon followed by the improved V3i having collaboration with Apple Inc. for the iTunes to be built-in with the device.
Due to its striking appearance and slim profile, it was marketed as an exclusive fashion phone. Later, its price was lowered and hence it sold over 50 million units by July 2006. Motorola’s Cell phone division sales had become stagnant and started losing money. The Razr phone’s success made the organization profitable again. The V3 model sold almost 130 million units, becoming the highest-selling clamshell phone in the world to date.
The subsequent models were V8, V9, and V9m. But, the Razr2 sales were not as impressive as the first one, and hence consumers started moving to compete for products.
Better than its predecessor
In this Motorola Razr review, it is clear that this device has revived the slim Razr flip phone, after almost 15 years of the original “game-changing” device had hit the market.
The new Motorola Razr Fold is an all-screen device on the inside as compared to featuring the thin keypad like that of its predecessor. In the present era of similar-looking black rectangular devices with touch screens, this new Motorola Razr Fold has the potential to bring some of the excitement back to the market.
The Motorola Razr Fold has a 6.2in screen that folds together when closed, along with another, smaller screen for displaying notifications on the outer shell.
Motorola has been describing the new Motorola Razr Fold as an “impossible” feat of engineering. The device has a fold that closes flush against the other side. The competitive Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, by contrast, has a little gap between each screen when it is folded.
The zero-gap hinge allowed the company to bring to the market a device that folds completely into half. Many people didn’t believe that the company could do it, but for the company, it was fun to work on something which everyone thought to be impossible.
Hands-on review of this gadget
Taking the smartphone world with a storm, the Motorola Razr Fold is a stylish option for people who wish to flaunt their style quotient with their communication devices. The device is not extremely high on technical specifications and standards but it has the quality which makes the investment worth. Below mentioned are a few technical specifications with a detailed description of some of the important aspects of the device.
Details about the Main internal folding screen:
21:9 being the aspect ratio, 2142 x 876 pixels, 6.2-inch POLED (plastic OLED)
Details about the Front shell screen:
4:3 being the aspect ratio, 800 x 600 pixels, 2.7-inch GOLED (glass OLED)
Details about the camera:
16MP main camera, f/1.7 aperture, and 5MP front-facing selfie camera
Details about the processor:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor
RAM capacity:
6GB RAM
Storage capacity:
128GB storage
Battery capacity:
2510mAh battery capacity
Android version:
Android 9
Charging details:
15W TurboPower fast-charge
Fingerprint scanner details:
The fingerprint scanner is located on the front in the bottom ‘chin’
Speakers details:
The speakers are also mounted on the front chin
Slot details:
There is One USB-C slot which is located on the bottom of the phone.
Motorola Razr Fold Looks
Now talking about the actual phone, the Motorola Razr Fold looks similar to its original Motorola Razr, such as the curved bottom chin, but these aspects have been revamped. The company has even made the design water-repellent. Some of the technical details of the phone are discussed below in this blog.
Display specifications
The primary display of the brand-new Motorola Razr Fold is a 6.2-inch flexible OLED HD+ display (876×2142 pixels) screen having the 21:9 aspect ratio that can fold completely into half. The company says that there is no gap between the two halves on the screen when it is folded. During the folded state, the individual users can access its secondary 2.7-inch (600×800 pixels) Quick View display screen which can be even be used to take selfies, control music playback, view notifications, and much more. The Motorola Razr Fold has a 2.7-inch second display. It uses advanced flexible OLED screen technology with a groundbreaking hinge mechanism that allows the phone to be folded with both sides perfectly flush. Such an engineering breakthrough protects its display and creates a thin and compact design.
Camera Details
Motorola has packed the single 16-megapixel f/1.7 primary camera on the phone which acts as a selfie camera for the phone’s folded state and as the primary shooter during the unfolded condition. The company has even bundled up a Night Vision mode for the camera software to ensure that the phone takes good quality images even in low-lighting conditions. The AI algorithms have been utilized to create better low-light images.
There is also a 5-megapixel camera inside the Motorola Razr Fold. It is present on the main display notch of the device. It is useful to take selfies when the customers don’t want to fold the phone or need some more screen details to properly craft the selfie.
Software specifications
While talking about the software, the Motorola Razr Fold runs stock of Android 9 Pie and the organization has made sure that when you flip open the phone, whatever you were seeing on the secondary screen is seamlessly transitioned on to the main display screen as well.
The bottom chin of the device houses a fingerprint sensor along with the USB Type-C port. The customers will get an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC, which is paired with 6GB of RAM, along with a 2510mAh battery. The battery is supported by a 15W fast charging support, but given the smaller battery size, it will be interesting to observe whether the battery can last throughout the day on a single charge. It is possible though, as the users of the Motorola Razr Fold are likely to use the second smaller display for several tasks and only switching to the primary display for things that need a large screen.
Connectivity details
While discussing the connectivity details, there is no SIM card slot on the phone, but it does support the eSIM cards. Moreover, Motorola has added the NFC support, along with other connectivity options such as Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, and GPS. The Motorola Razr Fold measures 72x172x6.9mm dimensions in its unfolded state and 72x94x14mm dimensions while being folded. The Motorola Razr Fold weighs only 205 grams.
Features that could have been better
For such an expensive device, the Motorola Razr Fold specs are underwhelming, meaning that this is a phone aimed only at the buyers who want a modern retro look and are ready to sacrifice the hardware features for the same.
If one was to line up the new Motorola Razr Fold against the Samsung Galaxy Fold or the new Huawei Mate X for a specifications battle, it would be easily beaten. Following are some of the features which, if taken care of, could make the Motorola Razr Fold a competitive device.
- No wireless charging
- No expandable storage slot
- No headphone jack
Conclusion
Thus, it can be seen that there are several benefits of the Motorola Razr Fold in terms of style and looks. The phone does have decent specifications which make it stand apart from its competitors. The cutting edge technology makes it even more impressive for a no-gap folding screen. So if you are someone who has a frenzy for stylish phones, this is the device that you need in 2020.
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