Motorola Razr Plus review: A Good Foldable Experience

The Motorola Razr Plus is more than just the best foldable phone you can purchase (in terms of flip phones); it’s a completely new type of smartphone, delivering more than any device before it. When the phone is closed, it transforms into a little miniature communicator, a pocket mirror, along with a palm-sized map. This is the phone that finally makes folding a display in half acceptable, and it begs the question of when the rest of the greatest phone makers will catch up. Read on for the detailed review.

Price

There is only one variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage of INR 81,999. Viva Magenta is available via T-Mobile US and Motorola directly. The Motorola Razr Plus costs the same as last year’s Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, which was most likely Moto’s target price. It takes the majority of what a flip phone offered last year and adds an external display nearly half the size of a regular smartphone screen. You don’t have to spend more than Samsung charges for this added value, but Samsung is releasing a new Galaxy Z Flip 5 phone shortly, so this equation may alter. 

Display

Even if the Motorola Razr Plus didn’t have a great external display, it would still be a standout for its large folding internal screen, which is great news if you’re waiting for the Motorola Razr 2023, which will have the same internal screen (though the slower chipset will run it at ‘only’ 144Hz). 

At 2640 x 1080 pixels, Motorola’s display has the same ‘FHD+’ resolution as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4. When fully extended, it measures a magnificent 6.9 inches, which is truly a marvel of contemporary technology. When the first tablets were released, they had a 7-inch display, and now that same display size – and a higher-quality display as well is accessible on a thin, foldable smartphone.

Camera

Why must everything fall apart when it comes to cameras? In the past year, I’ve tested and previewed a number of Motorola phones, and none of them have pleased me with their photography capabilities. The Motorola Razr Plus, however, continues Moto’s challenging tradition of phones with poor camera performance. 

How awful is it?  Quite bad. I made a big mistake by relying on this phone for my child’s 8th grade graduation. I’m not going to make the same mistake again for the High School finale (the one that counts). Zoomed images appear fuzzy and oversharpened, and even simple portrait shots require assistance. This phone has all of the markings of a low-quality camera.  The one saving grace is that its low-quality main camera is still better than most selfie cameras, yet the Motorola Razr Plus is designed to be used as a selfie camera. 

Software

I remember exactly when I realised the Motorola Razr Plus was something completely fresh to me. I went trekking with my dog, intending to use the Razr for photography and fitness tracking. As usual, I downloaded my maps to AllTrails, and as I trekked, I checked my maps and documented my progress. 

Normally, I check my phone maps compulsively to ensure I’m on track, seeking the best and easiest ways to keep the dog and youngster entertained. I always feel like I’m interfering with my walk with my devices, but not with the Razr Plus. I could look at my AllTrails map on the external monitor without having to open the phone. You may configure how practically every app on your phone acts when you close the display. An app can do nothing or display on the external screen automatically. You can also have apps ‘tap to transition,’ allowing you control over whether they appear on the cover screen ad hoc with a single button push. Each programme can be configured to have its own behaviour. 

Performance

If you only care about benchmark rankings, the Motorola Razr Plus is not the phone for you. Thankfully, real-world performance tells a different story than the specs suggest, and despite using the same platform as last year (or possibly because of it), this phone performs better than the previous Razr, and better than I expected.  The Razr Plus is substantially identical on the inside to the Motorola Razr 2022. They both feature the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 CPU and 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and Moto has definitely done some work to optimise its software in the year since the Razr 2022 was released.

Battery

Motorola has done everything to fit a huge battery inside the Razr Plus’s tiny folding casing. It’s even crammed a larger battery inside the folding frame than the iPhone 14 Pro, though Apple manages power slightly better. I couldn’t get through a whole day with the Motorola Razr Plus on a single charge, but that’s mainly because the phone was so much fun to use. 

With a vibrant and useful external display, I utilised the phone far more than I would a flip phone that is black and motionless when closed. Even when I wasn’t checking my hiking trails or keeping up with Slack talks, I enjoyed having a computer.

Verdict

The Motorola Razr Plus / Razr 40 Ultra represents a significant step forward in smartphone evolution, outperforming any previous flip or foldable device. With the screen open, it’s remarkably thin for a device with such a large display. When you close it and start using apps on the external screen, you have a totally new gadget that is unlike anything you’ve ever used. It’s not flawless, but it’s so far ahead of what other phones have to offer that any flaws are easily overlooked. The Motorola Razr Plus is a winner, and you should check it out if you want to get thrilled about phones again.

Warranty Plan