Putting the flip back in phones
Motorola Razr 2023: One-minute hands-on
The Motorola Razr may be the most exciting phone design we see this year, especially since most phone makers are focused on the AI brain inside, not on making a beautiful, colorful outside like the Razr Plus 2024 and the Moto Razr 2024. If you want a cool phone that stands out and delivers an amazing mobile experience, Motorola once again delivers the coolest phone you can buy.
It’s been 20 years since the first Motorola RAZR V3 launched (I had one in matte black on Cingular, now AT&T). I keep hoping that Motorola will somehow bring back the original phone’s laser-etched keys and razor-sharp chin, but the current flip design is really a marvel, and it keeps getting better.
You wouldn’t know from looking, but the Motorola Razr gives you one of the largest screens on any smartphone. Inside is a huge, fast 6.9-inch foldable OLED display. Consider the Galaxy S24 Ultra, one of the biggest phones you can buy, which offers a 6.8-inch display.
On top of that, you get a whole extra screen on the outside. Not just for notifications and widgets; this is not a gimmick display like you’ll find on competing flip phones. This is a full extra display that can run any app on your phone (or at least it will try).
That cover display was a game-changer on the Motorola Razr Plus 2023, and it’s better in every way this year. On the Razr Plus 2024, it’s even bigger, stretching seemingly from edge to edge with a slight bezel around. It’s a much more dramatic effect, giving you a huge view of your apps.
The Razr 2024 has the full-cover display found on the Razr Plus 2023. Say goodbye to the old postage stamp. You can now spend less than $700 / £800 / AU $1,000 and get an affordable flip phone that might be as good as last year’s best flip.
Once again, Motorola delivers on color options, with bright orange and peach colors, a hot pink Razr Plus, and some nice earth tones on the Razr. Hopefully, we’ll see even more colors crop up throughout the next year, as Moto introduced a new Razr Plus 2023 to match Pantone’s color of the year, Peach Fuzz, at the start of 2024.
A flip phone is admittedly still more expensive than a candy bar, and if you don’t care about the style and don’t lust after that brilliant cover display, you may not see the benefit for the high price tag. Wait a little while, though.
Motorola had great sales throughout the last year for both Razr models, and I’m hoping we see discounts on the new hotness early and often.Motorola Razr 2023 hands-on: price and specsMotorola Razr 2023 hands-on: design
I had only one burning question on my way to check out the new Motorola Razr 2024 and Motorola Razr Plus 2024. What cool colors would Moto offer? Last year’s Razr Plus launched in the 2023 Pantone color of the year, Viva Magenta, and then a model clad in the 2024 Pantone color, Fuzzy Peach, was offered soon after. The Motorola Razr has made a stylish name for itself, and more than any specs or features, I was looking forward to seeing something cool.
Motorola delivered cool. Even better, Moto somehow managed to upgrade all the stuff on the Razr, which was already great, while adding some features the original sorely lacked, like worthwhile cameras.
I can talk about the big improvements, but let’s start with colors because Motorola has clearly identified its audience for the Razr and embraced a colorful identity. The Razr Plus 2024 comes in Peach Fuzz, which looks even more vibrant on the new phone than last year’s Razr.
There is also a Midnight Blue, Spring Green, and a throwback Hot Pink color. With Paris Hilton spinning records at the launch party, Motorola is reviving an even hotter pink than Barbie-core fashion offered.
The Razr 2024 also comes in some cool colors, including a very snazzy Spritz Orange, Koala Grey, and Beach Sand that look much better on Motorola’s vegan leather than their names would suggest.
That’s right, vegan leather abounds on the latest Motorola Razr family, and there are no glass rumps to be found. It’s vegan leather and a newer vegan suede finish. It feels great, and the colors look fantastic in that textured finish. I’m curious how well it will wear and clean over the long term, so I’ll have to abuse my Razr samples to paint a properly dirty picture.
Let’s be totally honest about vegan leather, though. It’s great for vegans; it does not harm animals. It also doesn’t use the same chemicals as leather manufacturing, but vegan leather is not environmentally conscious, and it kind of seems like Motorola is hoping that we’ll confuse the two. The Moto Razr packaging contains no plastic, but the phone is now clad in petroleum products, vegan label or not.
Enough about the colors, what has actually changed in the Motorola Razr design? The original Razr Plus was my favorite foldable flip phone, and that was entirely thanks to the huge external display, which is both larger and more capable than the cover screen on competitor’s like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5.
