The foldable game is really heating up this year, but for some companies, it's business as usual. Motorola was one of the first brands to follow Samsung into the world of folding phones, releasing a revived Moto Razr in 2019 before following it up with a 5G iteration in 2020. But after sitting out of the game for 2021 and keeping the third-gen Razr limited to select regions last year, it was unclear whether we'd ever get our hands on another flip phone from the company again.
But 2023 is a new year, and with it comes two new clamshell phones from Motorola. The Moto Razr+ and Moto Razr are looking to take things in some bold new directions, with the former offering an expansive cover panel perfect for both productivity and gaming, and the latter aiming to deliver an affordable price point. Here's everything you need to know about both phones.
Motorola Razr 2023: Hardware
As if the company is looking to make up for missing out on a Razr launch two years ago, the company is launching two flip phones this year. One acts as a successor for the third-gen Razr that launched throughout much of the world last year, while the other is set to sell for a much cheaper price — for a foldable, at least.
Motorola tends to change up its naming scheme depending on the region it's launching in, and that's true for this year's Razr lineup, too. While the phones are called the Razr+ and the Razr in North America, internationally, they're referred to as the Razr 40 Ultra and Razr 40, fitting in perfectly with the rest of Motorola's global naming structure.
Moto Razr+ (2023)
Motorola's flagship foldable for 2023 is the Razr+, and unlike most folding phones, it all comes down to the exterior display. A 3.6" 1:1 panel might sound small, but it's large enough to get most of your tasks done without opening up the phone. And when you need a more traditional form factor, it's just a flip away.
- SoC
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- Display
- 6.9" FHD+ pOLED display, 22:9 2640 x 1080, 165Hz LTPO interior;3.6" pOLED display, 1:1 1066 x 1056, 144Hz exterior
- RAM
- 8GB LPDDR5
- Storage
- 256GB UFS 3.1
- Battery
- 3,800mAh
- Ports
- USB-C
- Operating System
- Android 13
- Front camera
- 32MP (f/2.4, 0.7 μm) | 8MP (f/2.4, 1.4um) QuadPixel
- Rear cameras
- Main camera: 12MP (f/1.5, 1.4μm), OISUltra-wide camera: 13MP (f/2.2, 1.12μm), Ultra-wide + macro, FOV 108°
- Connectivity
- 5G (no mmWave), LTE, Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.3
- Dimensions
- Open: 73.95 x 170.83 x 6.99mm, Closed: 73.95 x 88.42 x 15.1mm
- Colors
- Infinite Black, Glacier Blue, Viva Magenta
- Weight
- 188.5g (Infinite Black, Glacier Blue)184.5g (Viva Magenta)
- Charging
- 30W fast charging, 5W wireless charging
- IP Rating
- IP52
- Price
- $1,000
When it comes to specs, let's focus on that flagship Razr+ first, because — unsurprisingly — it's the more exciting of the two. Most of the attention has been on the phone's expansive 3.6" cover display, a huge upgrade over the smaller panels the company has included in the past. Despite the larger screen, it doesn't totally obstruct the overall design language of the phone, which now comes in black, blue, and a vegan leather-based magenta.
The cheaper Razr, unsurprisingly, will not adopt its bigger, more expensive brother's outer display. Rather, Motorola is keeping the standard ticker display on its budget foldable, with the rest of the shell kept blank. Depending on final prices — which, even after its announcement, we still don't know — this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we'll have to wait for the actual MSRP to find out for sure.
Unfortunately, you won't find any color as vibrant as the magenta Razr+ on the cheaper model, but with green, purple, and white shades, there's something for everyone.
Motorola Razr 2023: Specs
One of the biggest mistakes Motorola made in its first two Razr models was opting to use mid-range specs, leaving buyers to opt for Samsung's more powerful alternative. It was an error in judgment remedied by last year's third-gen foldable — which, as we've detailed, didn't make its way stateside.
With the 2023 Razr series ready for a North American launch, flagship power is on the table this year for the more expensive Razr+, though not without some caveats.
We're looking at a last-gen Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Although that isn't Qualcomm's latest SoC, it's still mighty powerful — and frankly, the jump between these releases was fairly minor for daily use. As disappointing as a year-old chipset might sound, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 can still hold its own. Powering all of this is a 3,800mAh battery, complete with 30W fast-charging and 5W wireless charging.
The cheaper Razr, meanwhile, swaps to a decidedly more mid-range Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset, but manages to keep things relatively unchanged. It's paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, along with a larger 4,400mAh battery that should last much longer than the smaller cell in the Razr+
Cameras aren't exactly Motorola's bread and butter, and even foldables from Samsung tend to suffer in their image quality for the sake of staying svelte. This year's Razr+ uses a 12MP sensor for its primary lens, alongside an ultrawide 13MP sensor and a 32MP shooter upfront. Frankly, none of these sound particularly impressive, and Moto's image processing usually leaves a lot to be desired.
Meanwhile, the Razr uses a 64MP main sensor — which, Motorola stresses, isn't as powerful as the 12MP lens on the premum model — paired with a 13MP ultra-wide lens and 32MP selfie cam.
If you're a shutterbug interested in the Razr+, you can take solace in the fact that its displays are plenty fast and sharp. The main screen sports a 2640x1080 resolution running at 165Hz, while the outer screen measures in at 1056x1066 — nearly perfectly square. Unsurprisingly, the cheaper Razr drops the expansive outer panel, opting for a much smaller 1.5" OLED display, while the inner 6.9" screen moves to 144Hz.
Motorola Razr 2023: Software
Historically, Motorola's software doesn't provide the most fantastic experience. While the company ships a relatively clean build of Android — with some neat additions like a chop shortcut for the flashlight — some of its UI tweaks feel a bit dated, such as its ambient Peek Display setting. For the most part, the company has left this experience unchanged, choosing instead to focus on customizing the outer screen.
For its new mega-sized cover. According to leaked renders, you'll be able to tweak the outer display to your heart's content. Motorola supports nine different panels, with shortcuts for everything from weather to calendar appointments to Spotify controls. If you'd rather just use the outer screen as an always-available lock screen, you have plenty of different options to choose from.
Following in the footsteps of both the ThinkPhone and the Moto Edge+, Motorola is offering three OS upgrades and four years of bi-monthly security patches, bringing it closer to the Samsungs and Googles of the world. As you'd expect, the Razr(s) will arrive with Android 13.
Motorola Razr 2023: Pricing and availability
After unveiling the 2023 Razr lineup on June 1st, we know exactly when one of the phones is planned to arrive — and not much more about the second unit. If you've had your eyes on the more expensive Moto Razr+ since it started leaking a few months ago, you're in luck. It's set to go up for pre-order on June 16th for $1,000 at select carriers and retailers, with general availability on June 23rd.
If you're in Europe, your wait is even shorter. It went up for sale day and date on June 1st for €1,200 as the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra.
As for the cheaper Razr, well, we'll have to keep waiting for more information. Motorola says it's arriving in the coming months for a cheaper price than the Razr+, though both details are being kept under wraps.
The Razr's great legacy continues
Motorola perfected the flip phone with the original Razr lineup in the 2000s, and after a brief detour into basic slab-shaped smartphones, these foldables feel like the true successor. After a couple of middling devices and a years-long break in North America, it seems like the company is ready to take on an ever-expanding group of competitors. We'll have to wait until later this month to find out just how great the high-end Razr+ really is.
Moto Razr+ (2023)
Motorola might have taken some time off from launching its foldables in the US, but it's raging back with the Moto Razr+. This year, the focus is all on the outer 3.6" display, which promises to let you do virtually anything without opening the phone. And when you need a larger screen, the 6.9" display inside feels just like the company's other smartphones.