Motorola’s 2026 Razrs are almost worth buying just for their stunning looks… almost
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The ugly: Motorola's bi-monthly updates that end in 2030 (and that's security updates only, there's no promise for major Android versions) and rewriting links with affiliate codes.
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Tasty looking phone, and the basic model has all I need. Still too pricy.
Regarding cases: I always buy some sort of case that folds over the screen, both for drop protection and to save the screen from being scratched in my pocket.
Given that the main screen is protected when closed, and these phones seem to have a slightly resilient outer skin which should help with drops, a case seems far less necessary.
Regarding cases: I always buy some sort of case that folds over the screen, both for drop protection and to save the screen from being scratched in my pocket.
Given that the main screen is protected when closed, and these phones seem to have a slightly resilient outer skin which should help with drops, a case seems far less necessary.
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The outer display is a tempting treat, lowering fold wear and reducing table footprint in a myriad of settings.
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Minor correction: the Razr Fold has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, not the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The Razr Ultra does have the Elite.
(really Qualcomm, naming things can't be this hard?)
(really Qualcomm, naming things can't be this hard?)
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I'd prefer no front screen. I'd rather only pick up my phone when I went to use it, bit constantly check it.
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Bitter experience tells me to never touch anything by MediaTek where software updates are a concern...
(although that one is Qualcomm, who have historically had better-but-still-awful update policies)
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macosandlinux
Ars Praefectus
This, plus an OS full of privacy-infringing/stealing, plus Motorola adding AI shite on top of it. You got to pay me to use this crap. Not charge even more for your phones than the last years (yes, I know RAM/storage crunch).
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Other than fleeting novelty i dont see the appeal. Folded it’s unpocketably thick as a brick.
Just bring back non-folding mini models.
Just bring back non-folding mini models.
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They look 'something'. Which distinguishes them from every other black-slab-that-instantly-goes-in-a-case. For foldables cases are trickier so the design of the phone itself matters more. For a lot of people the phone part is 'just fine' (adequate performance, adequate camera) and the exterior matters more than the interior.
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I swore off Motorola phones over a decade ago for this exact reason. The Google-owned Moto briefly pulled me back in but they, too, were rapidly abandoned once Google sold them. As long as Google, Samsung, and Apple phones exist I will never buy a Moto.
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Daily driver is a Pixel 9Pro, but I keep an iPhone6 for going on runs. The Pixel sitting in either an arm sleeve or belt is just annoyingly chaffing when you're doing 15 mile training.
Mine's defintely a smaller usage case, but I'm sure people have similar circumstances where smaller would be preferable.
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This is the most anodyne review I've seen on Ars, with zero mention of specs (camera, processor, battery...) . Was this based on a hands on review or a press release?
I expect more of Ars.
I expect more of Ars.
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I realize that the bar is gnawing at the floor of hell at this point; but it's hard to think of any cogent definition under which that isn't straight malware.
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I would love a flip phone, but all the vendors currently offering them are a mess of hostile to the consumer (Samsung) or security issues galore (Motorola, Nubia, and Xiaomi).
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I got a Moto Razr flip phone last year on a good deal. I loved the idea of a flip-phone smartphone, but in practice it was too big/bulky. Difficult to flip open one-handed, screen too large when open to comfortably reach across with a thumb (not exclusively a razr problem, but with the extra thickness of the phone it didn't help).
The usage experience was slower/laggier than I was used to from more powerful devices, and most deal-breakingly for me was the camera. Took ages between opening it and being ready to snap a photo, so I'd miss a lot of good shots of moving subjects, and the photos that came out were fairly poor quality when I did get one.
Gave up on it and bought a Pixel 9a. No novelty factor, but it just does all the things competently. Don't think I'd go into the flip-phone waters again unless I hear about big changes to the experience. I think flipping worked best on the tiny and light dumbphones of the olden days
The usage experience was slower/laggier than I was used to from more powerful devices, and most deal-breakingly for me was the camera. Took ages between opening it and being ready to snap a photo, so I'd miss a lot of good shots of moving subjects, and the photos that came out were fairly poor quality when I did get one.
Gave up on it and bought a Pixel 9a. No novelty factor, but it just does all the things competently. Don't think I'd go into the flip-phone waters again unless I hear about big changes to the experience. I think flipping worked best on the tiny and light dumbphones of the olden days
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I think that's a feature these days, not a bug. It allows the people who know to buy the high end they want, and people who don't to think they're getting the high end (and generally modern hardware will perform ok for long enough to get out of the return window).
See the Core 5 220U, Core 5 Ultra 225U, Core 5 Ultra 226V, Core 5 220H and Core 5 Ultra 225H.
Sorry, I'm just angry after trying to give someone advice earlier on what CPU they should get in a new laptop.
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I have and recommend a 2024 Razr. It's a very good phone. The form factor is a delight. Unfolded, it's thinner than an iphone air. Propping it partially open as a display, or at my bedside to watch a video is a whole new use-case. The extra screen shows the camera view to people who are getting their picture taken, which really helps composition with groups or kids. It still has the motorola gestures from ilke 10 years ago if anyone remembers that (you can turn on the flashlight or the camera by just waving your phone a specific way that is actually pretty cool). It's got a plastic frame which really helps with durability and makes it lightweight. The processor and ram are supposedly light, but I play Slay the Spire and balatro on it all the time and don't notice anything annoying.
A few downsides:
A few downsides:
- Updates are somewhat slow, bimonthly, and only for 4 years.
- One of the security updates broke the wifi tether feature, and took 4 months to be fixed.
- My screen did show a defect in the fold after a few months. Motorola replaced it under warranty. There is apparently no repairs for these phones. I had to mail it in and wait a week or so.
- Screen resolution is a bit low, but this is kinda ok in that I can't tell, and it saves battery life.
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Queue the inevitable uuuge rebates next year, and we have a bunch of winner phones here.
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Physics suggests otherwise.
When you fold a phone, the mass distribution is doubled over any single point of contact in a fall. It may be the same total mass, but it's more focused. It results in more inertia focused on the point of contact to transfer the same energy. So point-shock will be at least twice as much as before.
More force applied to the same area argues a higher chance of damage happening.
But, that's pretty incidental.
The biggest issue, though, is fatigue. ANYTHING that moves experiences more fatigue than anything that doesn't move. Candy bar phones are far and away more durable than anything that came before WRT fatigue. That's because what came before folded. And those hinges were what typically lead to something failing. The hinge might last, but the wires and such passing through them didn't. Material science may have improved on that, but screens are going to still fatigue depending on how often the phone is folded.
Personally, I wouldn't own one if it was given to me. My phones typically last a decade or more and have no scratches, cracks or other issues. I don't see any folding phone even being able to do that. But people will people and they are a choice. We still have choices, and the freedom to FAFO.
Never let it be said that I don't encourage teaching moments.
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A relative owns a Samsung flip phone, it formed a hideous crease in the screen at the hinge after about 6 months. Are these any better?
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After my experience with my Motorola Razr 60 Ultra, don´t but it.
The software is still buggy, after a years use.
I would recommend not buying a fold at all, it´s just a hassle needing to opening the phone to do things.
The fingerprint button always logges me into the device even when I'm putting it in my pocket, so I have called people many times, and sent weird text messages.
The screen has to stripes with dead pixels in the fold part of the screen, sent a mail to then earlier this week, and this no response.
The software is still buggy, after a years use.
I would recommend not buying a fold at all, it´s just a hassle needing to opening the phone to do things.
The fingerprint button always logges me into the device even when I'm putting it in my pocket, so I have called people many times, and sent weird text messages.
The screen has to stripes with dead pixels in the fold part of the screen, sent a mail to then earlier this week, and this no response.
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Yes! I had the exact same thought but couldn't place the phone. I had a htc touch diamond with that game. God, that was a long time ago.
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I don't see myself ever owning one of these but I'm glad they exist. It's good to see a brand attempting something interesting for once.
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The affiliate links nonsense is particularly troubling. Directly profiting off of people's purchasing in such an invasive way is a particularly insane violation of trust
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Given the prices, I'm honestly impressed they sell enough of these each year to justify updating the product line.
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I've been using a Razr 60 Ultra as my daily driver for 6 months now and I'm still happy with it. I always wanted a flip phone when I was younger, but when I finally had enough money to buy one, smartphones were already taking over so I never got one.
I got the red version with the leather-like texture on the back and it looks and feels amazing. Definitely not a phone you want to put in a case. The downside is that I have managed to drop the phone twice already (while it was closed) and each fall left a visible dent in the metal frame and scraped off some of the paint.
The folding screen was my biggest concern, but it looks ok so far. There was a noticeable crease in the middle of the screen from the beginning and two little dents near the edge of the screen so far but all of them are only visible when the screen is off.
The folding mechanism feels good and opening and closing it with one hand is no problem. It feels a lot better in the pocket than my old phone and the added thickness doesn't bother me at all, my wallet in the other pocket is pretty much the same size. The outer screen is pretty useful for taking photos, checking messages or controlling music playback. I even watch YouTube videos on it regularly, because a lot of stuff I watch is just a person talking in front of a camera, so it often doesn't need to be an a bigger screen.
The software is pretty stable, I think in those 6 months the phone maybe crashed twice? There was some "MotoAI" stuff popping up when I set up the phone but after I just skipped the part where it wanted me to create a Motorola account it hasn't come up since. The performance is great too.
The price is still a big issue, but I was able to get some Black Friday deal where it was 780€ instead of 1200€, which is still very expensive for a phone but more in line with what I was willing to spend.
I got the red version with the leather-like texture on the back and it looks and feels amazing. Definitely not a phone you want to put in a case. The downside is that I have managed to drop the phone twice already (while it was closed) and each fall left a visible dent in the metal frame and scraped off some of the paint.
The folding screen was my biggest concern, but it looks ok so far. There was a noticeable crease in the middle of the screen from the beginning and two little dents near the edge of the screen so far but all of them are only visible when the screen is off.
The folding mechanism feels good and opening and closing it with one hand is no problem. It feels a lot better in the pocket than my old phone and the added thickness doesn't bother me at all, my wallet in the other pocket is pretty much the same size. The outer screen is pretty useful for taking photos, checking messages or controlling music playback. I even watch YouTube videos on it regularly, because a lot of stuff I watch is just a person talking in front of a camera, so it often doesn't need to be an a bigger screen.
The software is pretty stable, I think in those 6 months the phone maybe crashed twice? There was some "MotoAI" stuff popping up when I set up the phone but after I just skipped the part where it wanted me to create a Motorola account it hasn't come up since. The performance is great too.
The price is still a big issue, but I was able to get some Black Friday deal where it was 780€ instead of 1200€, which is still very expensive for a phone but more in line with what I was willing to spend.
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I once owned a Motorola phone. When it had a problem, I asked a question about it on their support page. This was shortly after Lenovo purchased the company. Their response was to return it to the phone company from which you purchased it for assistance. I told them I purchased it directly from them. They replied that I should return it to the phone company from which you purchased it. I took this as meaning that they used the Lenovo purchase as an opportunity to essentially void the warranty. No more Motorola for me.
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Not that I would buy one of these, but I love that the non-functional surfaces are textured rather than slippery-as-hell glass or smooth metal. (Curious to know how long it lasts without fraying, and whether its replaceable.)
I hate cases, and whenever I get a new iPhone I immediately put a textured Slickwrap on it to get some friction for a better grip.
I hate cases, and whenever I get a new iPhone I immediately put a textured Slickwrap on it to get some friction for a better grip.
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Dollars for donuts those link rewrites are not just inserting affiliate links (pretty f’ed up), but also tracking the hell out of you. Some diabolical shit for a major hardware manufacturer.
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My wife got last year's Ultra. She used it for a couple months until the Pixel 10a dropped and she switched back to a conventional phone. She really wanted a flip phone but found the unfolded screen too tall. The poor BT performance and abysmal cameras didn't help.
It's been sitting on my desk untouched ever since. I was going to sell it but can't be bothered, so I guess it's going to stick around as our emergency backup phone in case one of us destroys/loses our daily driver.
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