Motorola Unveils the New Motorola razr with Flexible Screen

Angelo Ilumba Senior Writer

Updated 14 November 2019

Motorola has unveiled the all new Motorola razr foldable phone. Marrying the classic RAZR design with an ingenious, cutting edge approach to foldability, the device is sure to attract a lot of adopters—assuming they're willing to shell out $1,499 for it. The razr will be available for preorder with Verizon on December 26 before it ships out January 9.

WhistleOut TV’s Sherri Riggs and I attended Motorola's razr event and were among the first people to get our hands on the all-new, err, mostly new, device.

Classic Meets Modern

Younger millennials and Gen Z’ers might not remember a time without smartphones, but oldies, like me (well, I’m not THAT old) certainly do. Our first phones were heavy clunkers that did little more than make calls and maybe do basic text messaging.

If you are of a certain age (no really, I’m not THAT old), there is a good chance you owned a Motorola phone at some point in your life. After all, the first commercial mobile phone call was made on a Motorola phone back in 1983—a very good and not THAT long-ago year to be born. From then on through the 90s and mid 2000s, Motorola was a dominating force in the mobile phone market.

Perhaps the most iconic of Motorola’s phones—and one that saved them from dipping sales at one point—was the Motorola RAZR (old phone: all caps, new phone: lowercase). Initially intended for market as a pricey exclusive phone, this flip phone quickly became gigantically popular. With its slim and slick body, the RAZR helped move the mobile scene from strictly utility to design forward. Before the Apple iPhone came along, the RAZR was the phone to have. Through its prime years, over 130 million RAZRs were sold. I owned a RAZR. It fit in my pocket perfectly and did everything I expected of my phone (at the time), and it looked good.

For the most part, cell phone makers have done away with the clamshell design. But with the development of flexible screen technology, Motorola decided it was the perfect time to marry the old with the new in the form of the new razr.

How the Motorola razr Differs from Other Foldable Phones

It might not feel like it, but this is the year of the foldable phone. We’ve already seen two foldable phones unveiled in 2019, the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X. With astronomical prices starting (around $2000 for the Galaxy Fold and $2400 for the Mate X), these aren’t devices that were meant to be in the hands of everyday mobile users.

With a price tag at $1,499, the Motorola razr isn’t exactly cheap, but it could signal a step forward towards getting foldable screen tech to the masses. For lack of a better term, the new razr is the “midrange” choice of this first generation of foldable phones.

Price isn’t the only thing distinguishing the Razr from the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X: size and utility seem to be quite different as well. Where Huawei’s and Galaxy’s devices can be viewed as smartphones that fold out into phablets, the Razr, with its small 2.7” quick-view front display, seems more like a high-end basic cellular phone that folds out into a seperate 6.2” display smartphone.

Motorola razr Specs and Features

Here are just some of the razr's specs and features we learned about at Motorola's event.

Front Quick View Display

The 2.7” touchscreen quick view display on the new razr is located on the front of the phone and acts as the point of contact when the clamshell is shut closed. Motorola wants you to think about the quick view display as a way to escape perpetual connection with your smartphone and all that entails.

But the quick view display is still pretty connected. Through the front display you can:

Use Google Assistant
Play music
Take selfies with the phone’s main camera
Read and responds to texts and emails
Answer calls

Flex View Display

When you open up the new razr, you’ll have access to a seamless 6.2” OLED display. Here you’ll have the typical smartphone experience you are used to. For video viewing, the display pops out an ultra-widescreen 21:9 aspect ratio.

Held tight by moveable metal plates and supported by the shell’s body, the screen feels firm to the touch, but as you might expect from a flexible screen, it does have a plastic feel and you can totally sense the bumps and imperfections of the base behind it.

The best part about the flex screen? No visible crease. Sure, after several hundred more folds this might change. For now, there's no crease to be seen. I did notice a very slight curve to the display when the phone was opened, which could get annoying. Then again, many might not even notice it.

The Hinge

Flip phones need hinges to, well, flip. Hinges, however, can be cumbersome, which is something you certainly do not want when creating a flex-screen phone that should a have a flat front and a flat back.

The hinge on the razr is actually quite impressive. With some clever engineering, Motorola was able to find a way to completely hide the hinge so that the phone lies mostly flat when opened and has virtually no gaps when folded shut.

Moto Actions

We are starting to see gestures become more common with new phones. Motorola doesn’t intend to be left behind. With Moto Actions, you can control your phone with a literal flick of the wrist

Want to take a selfie? Twist your wrist twice to open the camera. Want to mute notifications? Just turn the phone upside-down to activate do-not-disturb mode.

The Chin

You'll notice when you open the razr that it has a relatively pronounced "chin" at the bottom of the phone. This houses a speaker, antennas and the fingerprint sensor. Intuitively, I thought the fingerprint sensor was also the phone's home button. Turns out I was wrong: the home button is on the touchscreen, you know, like pretty much all smartphones nowadays.

Operating System

The Motorola razr is set to run on Android 9 Pie. It’s something of a shame, given that its successor Android 10 has been developed with foldable phones in mind. However, Motorola promises a seamless transition between the quick view screen and the main display. So, the best parts of Android 10’s foldable features will probably not be missed.

Processor

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor powers the latest razr with 6GB of RAM. Not quite the type of kick we are seeing on flagships with higher-end processors, but the average user might not notice.

With this type of power, you might compare the razr more with the Pixel 3a or Samsung Galaxy S10e than you would the iPhone 11s and Samsung Galaxy Note10s. Yet another sign that the Motorola razr is made to be the “midrange” foldable phone.

Cameras

The cameras on the razr are probably not going to blow you away. The main rear camera will snap pictures at 16MP while the front camera shoots photos at 5MP. One nice feature about the phone is that you can use the main camera as a selfie camera when you have the phone flipped shut, and with Auto Smile Capture, you don’t even have to press a button to get the perfect shot.

The Satisfaction of Hanging Up

We all get spam calls. Some of us get into heated talks with our loved ones, coworkers, partners or unhelpful customer service reps. In these cases, it sure would be satisfying to just quickly hang up the phone. We’re not really able to do this with smartphones. It just doesn’t have the same feeling when you have to press a couple buttons just to hang up the phone.

The Motorola razr, however, is addressing this issue with the return of the flip hang up. Tired of hearing yelling come from the other end of the call? Just snap the phone closed and you’re done.

Who Is the razr for?

First off, this phone is only for people who can realistically afford a $1,499 phone. So, it's not for many of us.

Motorola is heavily emphasizing that this phone is for anyone who values the connectivity of smartphones, but also values portability. Turn your 6+ inch smartphone into an unobtrusive device with just a flip.

“Our research shows that consumers are looking for increased portability,” Ruben Castano, Head of Design said, “so designing a device that was compact, sleek and seamless guided every decision we make.”

To get more granular, the Motorola razr is for Verizon customers. Verizon is the exclusive carrier of the new phone. The razr is Verizon's first foldable phone.

First Impressions

My initial reaction to the Motorola razr is that the phone is kind of cool. I don’t think it’s the right phone for heavy users (the processor is a big problem, especially at this price), but it’s got its fun points. Remember, I owned a RAZR back in the day, so I’m definitely feeling the nostalgia here. Sure, it might be a bit gimmicky, but I might be exactly the type of person that gimmick would work on, if I had money. Someone who’d love a bit of the past with a whole lot of the modern.

I promise you though, I’m not THAT old.

Angelo Ilumba

Senior Writer

Angelo is a highly experienced writer for WhistleOut, specializing in unraveling the complexities of the mobile and tech world so that readers can easily understand what is relevant to them. Angelo has been featured on several publications such as MoneyTalksNews, Yahoo Finance, NPR and more.

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