It’s been a few months — and a few more product launches — since theMotorola Razr+ first took my breath away, but no amount of foldables has kept me from thinking about how impressed the company’s latest clamshell left me. That said, the missing Moto Razr, the cheaper flip phone that promised to bring this smartphone style to budget-minded shoppers, has left me feeling impatient.
Finally, in the midst of a total onslaught of new phones, we know exactly when the Razr is hitting store shelves — and, crucially, how much it’ll cost you. Thankfully, it’s good news on both fronts, potentially adding yet another contender toMoto’s growing collection of excellent devices.
Motorola Razr (2023)
The Motorola Razr (2023) might not hold up to its big brother, the Razr+, but if you’re looking for a clamshell at a fraction of the usual price, this is it. Moto removed the signature cover display — replacing it with a ticker — along with some weaker specs. The result? The first ever $700 clamshell phone available in the US.
Motorola is announcingavailability for two smartphones today, but unsurprisingly, it’s the flip phone that has our attention.Initially announced earlier this summer— and having been available in various regions for months as the Razr 40 — the Motorola Razr is finally arriving stateside this month. The phone is set to go up for preorder on October 12th, with wide availability on October 19th. It’s coming to Amazon, Best Buy, and Motorola’s own website, alongside T-Mobile, AT&T, and a whole slate of smaller carriers like Metro, Xfinity Mobile, and Consumer Cellular.
From my hands-on with the Razr in June.
If you’re wondering why I’m leading with the Razr’s availability here, rather than leaning on an outline of its specs and design, it’s not just becausethis is the same phone I got hands-on time withearlier this summer. Rather, the priceisthe story here: $700 unlocked, with a limited time sale bringing the price down to just $600.
It’s tough to say how great this pricing is until we put the phone through its paces with a full review, but needless to say, it’s promising. For comparison’s sake, this device costs as much as a Pixel 8, $100 more than the Galaxy S23 FE, and just $200 more than the Pixel 7a — assuming all devices are at full price, of course. You’re going to sacrifice some power under the hood in exchange for a folding screen —something admittedly, not for everyone— but I know there are plenty of budget-minded gadget nerds out there willing to make that sacrifice.
But okay, $700 — or $600, if you’re willing to buy sooner rather than later — is only a good deal if the underlying device is good. So what makes the Moto Razr tick? While it’s unfortunate (if unsurprising) to see the 3.6-inch outer display didn’t make the cut here, the rest of this clamshell device looks like a solid midrange offering from Motorola. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC, its 2022 midrange chip that, as best as I can tell, has never made it stateside before now. Paired with 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage and 8GB of RAM, it’s not the most impressive specs sheet I’ve ever seen — but it might not need to be.
All four Razr colors, including the new pink shade not shown off over the summer.
It combines a 1.5" OLED ticker display reminiscent of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 with a 6.9" FHD+ 144Hz pOLED main screen that, for the most part, reads on paper as a near-identical panel to the Razr+. That’s a good thing — I quite liked that foldable’s display when I reviewed it over the summer, and repeating it here seems like a sign of sure success.
This model is a little thicker than its more premium cousin — 15.8mm when closed compared to the 15.1mm Razr+ — but with a 4,200mAh battery, I can’t imagine anyone complaining. That’s up from 3,800mAh in the Razr+, making for one of the largest cells in a clamshell yet. I wouldn’t expect much from the cameras, though. Although the 64MP main sensor sounds more impressive than the 12MP lens found on the other model, Motorola made it clear during our hands-on time earlier this year that the sensor itself is smaller. The Razr+ may not have a knockout camera, but it’ll still shoot more impressive shots than this phone.
But no one’s buying this device for the camera — they’re buying it for the novelty. The Razr trades the matte glass finish seen on the Razr+ for a vegan leather material that should help add some extra grip. Combined with the fingerprint-resistant aluminum frame, and this might be a phone that’seasierto hold, despite its cheaper price. You’ll find it in previously-announced white, green, and purple finishes, along with a pink shade new to this announcement.
The Razr will also be the first device to sport Moto Unplugged, a new Do Not Disturb implementation from Motorola built from the ground up to help users disconnect from the apps on their phone. You can select specific apps and notifications to allow through in a given session, complete with a password to keep you focused on your tasks at hand. The company highlights limiting distractions during work or disabling notifications to relax at night. Although it’s launching with this phone, it’ll be on the Razr+ in the coming weeks, along with unspecified devices in the future.
We’ll have plenty to say on the Moto Razr in the coming weeks, but it’s safe to say it’s quite the promising device. WhileSamsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 may have outshined itin the eyes of plenty of foldable fans, the Razr+ has remained one of the most purelyfunreleases of the year. With any luck, the regular Razr will maintain that sense of joy at an all-new, more affordable price point. Of course, for those looking for a cheaper, non-foldable phone,Motorola hopes you’ll take a look at its latest Edge entry instead.
The Motorola Razr brings the price of a clamshell down to just $700 in the US for the first time, and while you’re giving up some big features to get there, it’s still an exciting phone to consider.
