Motorola Razr (2024): tomorrow’s foldable bargain?

Motorola Razr (2024) Introduction

Motorola’s revived Razr brand initially got off to a rocky start, but last year’s Razr (2023) and Razr+ (2023) were quite good. They had high-quality displays, a sleek build, a premium feel with grippy leatherette, and a very competitive price.

That’s why we’re excited about the new Razr 2024 models, which will apparently be announced this week. The big Razr+ (2024) (or maybe Razr Ultra?) will continue as usual: large external screen, 165 Hz screen on the inside, possible camera upgrades.

But the regular Moto Razr (2024) sounds like it will be the real winner. Why? Firstly, it is expected to retain its $699 price tag, making it an incredibly affordable foldable device. And it comes with a brand new 3.6-inch external screen. Last year’s model only had a small ticker screen for notifications at the time. So this year’s Razr might get a serious big boy upgrade for the same low price!

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Motorola Razr (2024) Specifications

Cut a few corners, but make a lot of friends

Specifications	Motorola Razr (2024)
Size and weight	6.73 x 2.91 x 0.29 inches (170.82 x 73.95 x 7.35mm) About
Display	Main: 6.9-inch FHD+ OLED, 120Hz External: 3.6-inch OLED
Processor	MediaTek Dimension 7300X 8-core, 2.5GHz, 4nm
Software	Android 14
Cameras	50 MP main 13 MP ultra-wide 32 MP forward facing
Battery size	4,200mAh
Charging speeds	30W wired charging 5W wireless
Prices	8GB/256GB for $699

Motorola Razr (2024) Design and Display

Midranger gets the premium features

It seems that the Motorola Razr (2024) will resemble the design of the Razr+ (2023): an external screen with a diagonal of 3.6 inches and a nice metal frame with a grippy texture are expected. We haven’t heard much about the hinge; previous models felt strangely soft and spongy when opening and closing. They would still click into place at the end of the movement, but you can’t leave a Moto Razr half open like a Galaxy Flip can. But we’ll see if that is addressed.

We don’t have any information on whether the external screen will have a high refresh rate, but the main screen will apparently be able to hit 120Hz for super smooth animations. It will also be a 6.9-inch diagonal, the same as before. A pOLED panel is likely to provide quite striking colors and contrast; Motorola has done a pretty good job tailoring the OLED panels it uses in its phones.

Dimensions-wise, we expect the Motorola Razr (2024) to be about the same as the 2023 Razr models – maybe a little thinner, maybe a little lighter, but we don’t expect a major change.

Motorola Razr (2024) camera

32 MP selfies, anyone?

Last year’s Motorola Razr (2023) had a 64 MP main camera, while the Razr (2024) is rumored to have a 50 MP sensor. That shouldn’t be taken as a downgrade: it could be a sensor with larger pixels, which would allow for more light collection, less blur, and better performance at night.

The regular Razr does not have a zoom camera, but a 13 MP ultra-wide snapper. And the selfie camera is expected to have a resolution of 32 MP – a bit of an exaggeration, we’ll see how it performs.

We’re not sure if the Razr (2024) will get the Pantone color calibration that Motorola’s flagships are getting this year, but maybe the Razr+ will?

As for video, the cameras should still be capable of 4K at 60 FPS and 1080P at 120 FPS for slow motion. We don’t expect luxury features like HDR10+ video, at least not on the base Razr (2024).

Additionally, any additional AI tuning features are still up in the air.

Motorola Razr (2024) Performance

Good amount of storage space!

The base Razr (2024) is expected to rock a MediaTek Dimensity 7300X. It is still a new chip and we have no experience with it yet, so we cannot really form an expectation yet. What we do know is that it is built on a 4nm process and has a top clock speed of 2.5 GHz. It certainly won’t crush the benchmarks, but we get the feeling it will be quite power efficient. With Motorla’s lightweight software it will probably perform just fine for everyday tasks.

Starting storage will also be 256GB – pretty generous for a foldable phone that starts at $700, we’d say. But we definitely don’t expect it to be a UFS 4.0 chip – more likely an old generation UFS 3.1. It will reportedly have 8GB of RAM, which is pretty standard for Android phones these days – not flagship, not low enough to complain about. It will probably be LPDDR5.

Motorola Razr (2024) software

Pretty obvious: the new phones will launch with the latest Android build, currently Android 14. Of course it would be Motorola’s skin, which comes with the beloved classic features like the rotate gesture to turn on the camera, even when the phone is locked, or the chopping gesture to turn on the flashlight.

Moto also has some light generative AI features, like the wallpaper generator, which will build a fresh new image based on your outfit (you’ll need to take a selfie or photo of the fit). But nothing crazy or deep like the Galaxy AI or the new iOS 18 features.

For longevity, we expect something like three years of Android updates and four years of security patches. Motorola updates come out relatively quickly, but there is room for improvement.

Motorola Razr (2024) battery

No mega speeds

The new Razr (2024) is said to come with a 4,200mAh battery, which isn’t amazing by today’s standards, but still quite impressive considering the cell only fits in half of the phone. The Razr Plus (2024) is also expected to get a charging speed upgrade, but the regular Razr will likely stick with 30W.

No word on wireless charging upgrades either. Last year’s Razr did support 5W charging pads, we expect the same. It’s not ideal: use it to keep the percentages in check during the day, but if you really need to top up, cable is still the better option.

Should you wait for Razr (2024)?

It looks like the Motorola Razr (2024) will be a pretty cool upgrade from last year’s Razr. Just adding that 3.6-inch screen but keeping the price at $700 already sounds like a game changer.

That said, if you own a Razr (2023), you’ll be fine. People who are new to the foldable space and don’t feel like spending $1,000 on the new concept will find this device has enough to hook them in and keep them as Moto fans. At this point, we’re hoping the camera gets some love, as the Razr (2023) was lacking in that area.