Motorola’s cheap Razr could change foldable phones forever | Digital trends

In all the buzz about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5, you might have forgotten Motorola also recently released some foldable phones of its own. The Motorola Razr (2023) and Motorola Razr Plus (known as the Razr 40 and Razr 40 Ultra in the UK, respectively) are two devices with flip screens that are worth your attention. But there is something special about this duo. While the Razr Plus is a flagship phone that shares many similarities with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, the Razr (2023) is rumored to be something we’ve never seen in a foldable phone — a A true, honest mid-range phone. phone.

While US pricing and availability haven’t been confirmed for Motorola’s new foldable phone, it’s likely to fall in the $600 to $800 price range. While not exactly an affordable phone by most metrics, it may have the cheapest MSRP of any foldable phone sold in the US to date.

In other words, this is a very good thing. Motorola should have released a mid-range foldable phone years ago – and in a way, it did. It’s just that it forgot to discount the price.

The Razr (2019) was ahead of its time

I will lift the veil of time and take us on a journey into the past to the first generation of folding smartphones. February 2020 saw the launch of two folding devices: the original Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and the Motorola Razr (2019). These two phones have some similarities: obviously the horizontal folding screen and the high price reflect the advanced nature of the technology.

But for all the similarities, there are many big differences between the two, and the biggest of them is the specs. The Galaxy Z Flip costs $1,380 but it has the powerful specs to back it up. The Snapdragon 855+ chip used is not the latest chip from Qualcomm, but it was still a very powerful processor for its time and it will still be a good chip in 2023. Likewise, the cameras are taken straight from the Galaxy S20, meaning they are close to Best camera on phones at that time.

The Motorola Razr couldn’t be more different. At $1,500, it’s more than $100 more than the Z Flip, so you can assume it’s pushed to the top of the specs available, right? Wrong.

Motorola Razr (2019) is a mid-range phone. Yes, it does fold, but the specs are – if I’m being polite – underpowered. If I’m harsh? They are pathetic. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor is definitely a good chip, and the 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage are also very good… for a mid-range phone. Not for a phone that only costs $500 or $2,000. When compared to the cheaper, more powerful Galaxy Z Flip, you’d be crazy (or blinded by nostalgia) to pay more for an objectively less powerful, less capable phone. .

Despite my obvious anger, I still feel sorry for Motorola. The Razr (2019) isn’t a bad phone, and at its lower price, it’s a big hit. But the technology is simply too new to bring the price down to a level that matches the specifications. But that didn’t stop Motorola from launching new foldable phones in the years that followed.

Enter the Motorola Razr (2023).

Razr (2023) is exactly what we need

Foldable phones have been with us for a few years now, and Samsung in particular has had a field day with them – having released no less than 10 foldable phones under the Galaxy Z series. However, During that time, the company has yet to launch a mid-range folding screen phone.

You might think: “That’s a big deal.” “Who cares about a mid-range phone? Folding screen phones are high-end technology, there is currently no need to introduce mid-range phones.” You were wrong. Sure, foldable To be high-end technology, but phone manufacturers don’t want them to stay that way. Foldables are a brave new frontier in smart device development, and they present an opportunity for manufacturers to make phones cool again.

Be honest with yourself. When was the last time you got really excited about a normal, non-foldable phone? You can only get so excited about a new zoom lens, an upgraded processor, or even a slightly tweaked design. But one urgent phone? Oh, it’s a whole new ball game and we all know it.

The problem is that they haven’t gone mainstream yet. I’ve seen a few Galaxy Z Flip phones on the market but no Z Folds – and certainly no folding phones from other manufacturers. Why? At a wild guess, I’d say it’s because foldable phones are still considered experimental and expensive, not a traditionally good combination. Similar to how VR didn’t take off until it was cheap enough that most people were willing to take a chance, foldable phones won’t take off until there’s at least one mid-range option on the market. The Razr (2023), when combined with the strong brand recognition from the original Motorola Razr V3, could be the phone to take advantage of that.

But it needs to be priced correctly. All we really know for sure about the price is that it won’t be around $1,000 or higher – because that’s where the Razr Plus is, and it’s clearly the higher-end of the two. If the Razr (2023) costs $800, it might be a harder sell. Putting it closer to the $600 price point and comparing it to phones like the Google Pixel 7? Well, you might have a winner there.

Even though it’s late, hello

I’ll say it here and now: The Motorola Razr (2019) should have been a mid-range phone. Motorola should have kept it for a few years and launched it at a more reasonable price. However, if the best time to launch a mid-range folding phone was a few years ago, the second best time is today. The Motorola Razr (2023), if released at a reasonable price, could be the missing piece that foldable phones need to start taking over the smartphone market.

But it won’t be easy, even if the price is right. Motorola has a head start, but you can be sure that other manufacturers are already eyeing mid-range versions of their foldable phones. There are no rumors yet about a cheaper foldable phone from Samsung, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any.

Unfortunately, even if the field is now clear for new mid-range foldable phones, Motorola also has to compete with older variants of Samsung’s foldable smartphones. At the time of writing, you can find a new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 from last year on Amazon for just over $600. If you’re happy to buy a refurbished model then you can expect to get one for even less.

But older flagships have always been a problem for mid-range phones, and there’s no reason to believe the risk is worse for the Motorola Razr (2023) than for any other phone. But I believe the mid-range Razr could be the big turning point for foldable smartphones — and I can’t wait.

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