Motorola Razr Plus and Razr will return in 2024 with upgrades and interesting features. The Chicago-based company (owned by Lenovo) has announced a new foldable phone with new colors, looks, upgraded cameras, a larger screen, Moto AI, and Google Gemini. I toured and used the new Motorola Razr Plus and Razr for about 30 minutes at a press event in Brooklyn, and what struck me was how much fun is packed into these new flip phones.
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I think this is the most important part of Motorola’s announcement: These Razrs are designed to strike a balance between stylish, fun, and innovative. In a world where phones are dominated by drab titanium, black and gray colors, each Razr is available in a rainbow of colors and is fun to look at and hold. The big news on this front is that the Razr Plus is now available in a pink version, which is a direct echo of the original Razr V3 flip phone from 2004, when the pink version was the one worn by Paris Hilton!
But will a stylish phone be enough to entice consumers to buy their first foldable phone? In an era when foldable phone shipments represent only a fraction of all phone sales, Motorola seems to be most effective by offering a high-end Razr Plus for $1,000 and a more affordable Razr for $700, as the company Just like it did last year. No other phone maker has taken this approach.
Motorola Razrs shipments increased 1,473% in the first three months of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023, according to research data firm Counterpoint. Clearly, Motorola’s methodology is working. Therefore, it makes sense for the company to build on this momentum by launching two new versions of the Razr at the same price as last year and with significant upgrades.
Whether Motorola has found the right mix of fun, style, and technology to get people trying a foldable phone in 2024 remains to be seen. But I’m looking forward to reviewing and testing both Razrs soon.
look at this: First Look: 2024 Motorola Razr and Razr Plus get colorful upgrades
Motorola Razr and Razr Plus design
The Razr and Razr Plus have many similarities. The phones ditch the glass backs we’ve come to expect on other devices and feature a similar vegan leather back to what we saw last year, but this time with a variety of faux leather textures and even faux suede. In the short time I had with each phone, they were a joy to hold. Both Razrs feel like sleek, luxurious casings built into the phone. The faux leather stripe on the back of the two-tone Midnight Navy Razr Plus really caught my eye.
Motorola is really pushing this sleek look and feel, but the design is also innovative. Both the Razr and Razr Plus have a new hinge that’s 30 percent smaller than last year’s model. Smaller hinges have fewer moving parts, which should benefit long-term durability. Smaller hinges also mean there are fewer places for dust to get in.
The 2024 Razr and Razr Plus are rated IPX8 for water resistance, which means it can be submerged underwater for 30 minutes, which is comparable to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. The “X” in the rating means there is no official dust rating this year.
Another benefit of the smaller hinge is the reduction of screen creases. Oh, it’s still there, but it’s not as obvious anymore. I also noticed that the phone opened and closed much easier than previous models.
Both phones have brighter internal screens (up to 3,000 nits), which should be helpful when outdoors. Both phones now feature Motorola’s new Water Touch technology on both the inner and protective screens, allowing the phone to respond to taps, touches and swipes even when used in the rain – just like we saw on the OnePlus 12 That way.
Motorola’s new Razr and Razr Plus feature vegan leather and a stylish look
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One area where differences start to show between the two phones is the refresh rate of the 6.9-inch main display. The Razr Plus’ internal screen refresh rate tops out at 165Hz, while the regular Razr’s display refresh rate tops out at 120Hz, which is still impressive. In the half hour I spent with the phone, it was hard to see any noticeable change in one phone’s refresh rate from another. But I know my gamer friends will be excited about the extra 45Hz the Razr Plus offers.
Perhaps the biggest change on each phone is the cover screen. Razr Plus has a new 4-inch overlay screen. This is the same size as the cover display of the Honor Magic V Flip, which was launched in China earlier this month.
The regular Razr inherits the 3.6-inch screen from the 2023 Razr Plus. At the launch event I attended, it was hard to tell the difference between the two phones just by looking at the screens, but one clue was the regular Razr’s small strip of vegan leather on the screen.
Cover screen software and interface have been updated. You can open any Android app on it, and improved software panels are easier to navigate, including a new “all panels view” that you can trigger by pinching and swiping out.
Motorola Razr and Razr Plus cameras
The Motorola Razr and Razr Plus come in a protective case with a shoulder strap. Both phones have two external cameras built into the screen cover.
Both phones have two external cameras embedded in the screen cover. I really like this look, very eye-catching. Each phone’s main camera has a new, larger sensor with 50 megapixels and optical image stabilization. The regular Razr retains the same 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera as last year.
But the Razr Plus replaces last year’s ultra-wide camera with a new 2x telephoto 50-megapixel camera. Motorola told me the reason behind the switch was that the company found that its users were taking more zoomed-in photos than ultra-wide shots. Personally, I like telephoto lenses and ultra-wide angle lenses and it’s hard for me to choose one over the other. But I would probably lean towards a longer focal length lens.
Motorola Razr and Razr Plus battery and processor
The Razr Plus is powered by a Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 chip and has a 4,000 mAh battery that supports 45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging. In comparison, the regular Razr is equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 7300x chip, has a battery capacity of 4,200mAh, and supports 30W wired charging and 15W wireless charging.
Moto AI on Razr Plus
Four different colors of the Motorola Razr Plus: (from left to right) Spring Green, Midnight Blue, Hot Pink and Peach Plush.
This won’t happen if phones launched in 2024 don’t mention artificial intelligence. The Razr Plus runs Moto AI, which is done on-device and in the cloud, and will provide camera features such as improved portraits, video autofocus, and long-exposure imaging. I’m especially excited to try out the Razr Plus’ new lenses to see how and if the new hardware, Snapdragon chip, and Moto AI will improve.
There are also features like “Attention,” where the Razr Plus will record and transcribe conversations on request, and “Style Sync,” which generates original wallpapers for your phone that match or compliment what you’re wearing and look fun — again is the word.
The Razr Plus will have Google Gemini built-in, which can be fully accessed via an overlay screen if needed. When you purchase the Razr Plus, you can also use Gemini Advanced for free for three months.
Moto AI won’t come to older models and is limited to the Razr Plus. Motorola says it will add more Moto AI features in the coming months and years.
Now is a good time to mention that the Motorola Razr and Razr Plus both run Android 14, and the company promises three years of major operating system software support and bimonthly security updates for four years. That’s a decent promise for Motorola, but it’s still a year short of Samsung’s four years of major Android software updates and the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s five years of security updates.
Moto Tag Take a breath
Moto Tag is an ultra-wideband-enabled Bluetooth tracker for Android phones, not just Motorola devices.
Perhaps one of the most surprising things Motorola has announced is the Moto Tag, which actually elicited a gasp from a handful of reporters during my briefing. It works on Google’s Find My Device network, supports Ultra Wideband, and is compatible with all Android phones with Bluetooth.
The Moto Tag can be found on any Android phone paired with it, but it also has a built-in button that can be pressed to locate your phone. But the same button can be used as a remote shutter button to take photos – another interesting feature. The Moto Tag comes in green and blue and will be available in the US on August 2 for $30.
Motorola Razr and Razr Plus pricing and launch
The Motorola Razr 2024 comes in Beach Color (left), Spray Orange (right) and the Razr Plus comes in Midnight Blue.
The new Motorola Razr Plus will be available for pre-order on July 10 at T-Mobile, AT&T, Motorola.com, Amazon and Best Buy for $1,000. The regular Motorola Razr will also be available to pre-order on T-Mobile on July 10 for $700, and will then unlock on Amazon, Best Buy, and Motorola on July 24.
I have to hand it to Motorola, the company has really made a splash with the features they’ve added and improved on the Razr and Razr Plus. I’m looking forward to testing each one out soon to see how these new additions and features actually perform, and whether Motorola can top last year’s excellent Motorola Razr Plus. But something tells me I’m going to have a lot of fun in the process.
