TK Tech Bay

A little slice of nostalgia can go a long way.

Flip-style folding phones have been around for roughly five years now. Initially launched as a fashion or “statement” device, consumers are more familiar with this kind of device. Still a smaller slice of the overall phone market, but the experience is easier to explain.

What if your phone folded in half, taking up less space in a pocket or purse?

Motorola has found success in pairing this functionality with a fond memory of classic cell phones. Now offering a spectrum of solutions, the Moto RAZR+ sits as the “middle child” of the RAZR lineup. It’s always tough to be the middle device.

Should you save money and get a RAZR? Is it worth spending more to get a RAZR Ultra?

Design

I spent a couple of weeks with the ‘Mocha Mousse’ flavor of RAZR+. It makes a fashionable first impression with bronze and brown faux leather accents. RAZR+ resembles a makeup compact, and this color scheme suggests that the compact originated from a high-end store that sells premium makeup.

It’s a lovely look, but one wonders if this style still stands out today. In a sea of fancy phone cases, will someone notice your phone is built of flashy materials?

The hinge is striking, though, and when opened, it snaps into “slab” mode with a satisfying lock. RAZR+ is a rigid and flat open screen, which we can’t say is true of all other folding phone hinges.

I was disappointed at how loose the “halfway” bend felt, especially when holding the phone in “camcorder” orientation. There was just enough wiggle; I didn’t feel the phone’s camera side panel would stay in place if I were shooting video and moving.

It looks good, though. It looks excellent.

Hardware

The most striking aspect of a Flip phone is that we have inner and outer displays. The RAZR+ delivers a better look than the less expensive RAZR. No more chin, very little bezel, and more screen area for users. It’s two devices in one, and the outer screen presents a nearly feature-complete “Pocket Smartwatch” or “mini phone” experience.

Opening the hinge presents a skinny inner display at a roughly 22:9 aspect ratio. 1080p resolution is adequate for this experience, especially at the “medium” price tier. The listed refresh rate of 165Hz is an interesting feature to include on a phone. I feel it contributes very little to consumers navigating the interface, and there are no Android games I can recall that will reach that peak refresh rate. It seems like a bigger number to list simply to win a “bigger number” marketing fight.

As we should expect, RAZR+ splits the differences between RAZR and RAZR Ultra. The RAZR+ has a better outer display, but the same inner screen as the RAZR. The RAZR Ultra has a higher resolution inner screen than the RAZR+.

There’s always a concern about bending plastic screens; the hinge has to deform the display around the bend point. Some people are able to “look past” the plastic warping. Other people can’t “unsee” how light bends through a strip in the center of the display. Unfortunately, there’s no way to prep a user beforehand. You have to try one and see if you like it.

The side fingerprint sensor is snappy and responsive. It’s one of my favorite parts of a folding phone; we can’t include an in-display sensor. The power button is the perfect place to turn on a phone and unlock it in one gesture.

Unlike the RAZR and Ultra, the RAZR+ features a main wide camera and a 2X telephoto camera.

The internals are encouraging on paper.

Moto moves the RAZR+ up to a Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. All the specs are improving on the less expensive RAZR.

Oddly, the RAZR+ has the smallest battery of the three current RAZRs, and unfortunately, Moto continues to use USB 2.0 ports on these phones. Slower data transfer rates and no video output support over a cable.

Software

Moto’s software strategy has always been on the conservative side. There is a lot of custom code and unique apps on a Moto, but they don’t spend as much time on skinning and animating their phones. The RAZR+ is no exception. There are some fun add-ons and wallpapers, but the overall experience can still feel a little plain compared to some of the competition.

I still appreciate Moto’s support, though, where individual apps and components are updated directly in Google Play, rather than every manufacturer’s app and service needing an OTA for updates. It feels like you’re not getting as much support when major OTAs are farther between, but you might not notice the more regular stream of bug fixes and patches installed as Play updates.

Moto is trying to make noise about AI, like every other manufacturer, but ultimately, I feel this distracts the consumer. If you have AI note-taking tools from Google and OpenAI, seeing yet another AI note app from Motorola doesn’t excite you as another competitor. It’s another place for your user data to end up, and it probably won’t feel integrated with the other apps and services you already use.

I’m very skeptical of AI in general, mainly when it primarily relies on cloud services. The RAZR+ has a few pieces to play with, but I don’t feel there’s a cohesive strategy of tools that work collectively as a suite. Reading my screen and scanning my messages so I can remember what pizza I ordered six months ago is rarely a pressing situation for me. I don’t trust solutions that summarize all my messages and notifications.

When I want to look up that kind of info, will I remember that my Moto is also tracking and archiving personal data like that? When I want to create a new music playlist, will I use a Moto app or the music streaming service I pay for?

There’s a novelty to these AI experiences, but I’ve yet to find solutions that solve daily problems or abbreviate busy work. They get tested from time to time, and then I usually move on.

Moto nails the outer display, though. It’s a feature designed to abbreviate interactions, and it absolutely won’t work for every app you use, but Moto allows for more experimentation than some other manufacturers. You can at least TRY to use other apps, and that might save you from needing to open your phone for a short task.

Performance

The RAZR+ boasts some solid specs on paper, but the reality of a Flip-style phone immediately introduces compromises in performance. The Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 is a punchy performer, but only half of the phone can dissipate heat away from the SOC.

The RAZR+ is only capable of peak power in short bursts. Even after finishing GeekBench tests, the final numbers can be underwhelming.

This is a tricky situation for Moto. Selling an expensive phone, gadget enthusiasts expect high-end components, such as powerful processors. The phone can’t utilize that horsepower consistently, though, and it’s not uncommon to run into situations where the phone feels like it’s struggling.

The setup experience is somewhat poor. While the phone is downloading your user data and updating apps, it runs warm enough to stutter. It’s slow to get up and running, which is a disappointing first impression for someone who just spent a lot of a flashy phone.

Daily operation is “fine”, but it never quite feels like the powerhouse device one would expect rocking a Snapdragon 8 series chip. Compared to other devices with an 8S Gen 3, we are not getting that level of performance with the RAZR+.

I do not believe that a fashion phone user expects to edit videos or record podcasts. The RAZR+ can accomplish those tasks, but it’s often slower at creative tasks than most mid-ranger slab phones.

Suppose the RAZR+ were still using the Dimensity 7400 found in the RAZR. In that case, I don’t think users would notice any significant differences in performance, and the phone would likely run cooler in heavy lifting situations.

Motorola was criticized for using a mid-ranger chip in the first RAZR, but I think they were correct to do so. It’s a better daily driver experience.

I’m not sure what the expectations are for consumers shopping for Flip phones, but I don’t think many people expect them to be diesel truck productivity devices. I believe most Flip customers would prefer a more stable experience that runs cooler and gives them more time away from a charger.

Battery / Charging

Speaking of that battery life, it’s difficult to grade. This has the smallest battery of the three current RAZRs. I don’t think the user interested in a RAZR is someone who will open the phone for every interaction. If I test the phone like a traditional slab, that’s not really fair. A RAZR user is able to glance more frequently, while using a smaller screen, and conserving battery along the way.

For my own personal use, it easily lasted a day, but would definitely be a “charge every night” device. I can’t understand why the more expensive RAZR+ has a smaller battery than the RAZR with a chip that can draw more power at peak operation. That combination doesn’t make sense to me.

Thankfully, the charging is a little faster. Moto gives us 45W charging, and on a smaller battery, you won’t wait long to top off your phone. The move to 68W charging on the RAZR Ultra might be worth the jump in price simply for the convenience of juicing up faster still. 

Cameras

Folding phone photography is another metric where we have to know the compromises of the frame, which impact the total quality of images we can create. We can’t expect the cameras on a Flip-style device to compare directly to a slab phone of the same price. Also, Motorola hasn’t always carried the highest reputation for camera tech.

I’m happy that over the last several years, Moto cameras have evolved from “adequate” to “pretty good”. The RAZR+ maintains a more positive reputation with respectable rear cameras in tow. Moto processing feels a generation behind the top players in terms of HDR and skin tone representation, but generally I think people will like the images these cameras capture.

For all the marketing about folding the frame, and novel ways to hold or prop up a folding phone, I would not consider the RAZR+ to be a heavy content creation device, but I’m always going to appreciate a phone that encourages people to shoot selfies with the rear (better) cameras than the mediocre front web cams cutting into our screens. Suppose a fashion phone is also defined by a specific lifestyle (a lifestyle where documenting your activities on social media is important to you). In that case, you should run, not walk, to a folding phone.

Conclusion

The RAZR+ is a charming phone, and, according to Moto’s claims, it absolutely lands positive impressions. What’s difficult to untangle is: WHO might be the right fit for a phone like this?

Not only is there more competition for this idea broadly across the phone market, but also internally at Moto, there are RAZRs both more and less expensive.

If the point of a folding phone is to “make a statement”, the RAZR+ looks the part and will save you some cash over the Ultra. I’m not confident that the Ultra will deliver significant performance gains over the RAZR+, and I’m also not convinced that the target market for a phone like this is concerned about hardcore productivity performance. The main advantage of the Ultra would be its larger battery and faster charging capabilities.

Likewise, there’s a minor concern with the RAZR+ using a smaller battery than the RAZR. Still, faster charging and a nicer outer cover display deliver an experience that scales with the price.

When discussing fashion phones, however, I wonder if people have developed an eye for Flip-style phones yet. We can all “speak iPhone”. People who care about such things will know that the number of circles on the back of an iPhone indicates whether the phone is more or less expensive. Does anyone have an eye for Motos? How many people might cop the difference between a RAZR and a Galaxy Flip?

The market for folding phones is still tiny, but after five years of bending and flipping, the novelty might be wearing off. Moto delivers one of the best examples of this form factor, and at a price that puts heavy pressure on Samsung.

You just have to be specific about which flavor of RAZR might be right for you.  

Credits to:

Juan Bagnell somegadgetguy

Huge thanks to T-Mobile for sending us a loaner unit for this review. please visit their site for more deals on the New Motorola RAZR+ and Other Devices.