An icon returns. Perhaps taking a cue from Nokia whose comeback has seen the return of a buffet of reimagined retro phones, Motorola today officially unveiled the remake of its iconic and best-selling Razr series. The much-talked about foldable phone will undoubtedly give Moto and Razr fans something to drool about.
It’s also a phone perhaps the likes of Huawei and Samsung could learn from. You see, it doesn’t fold out to be a tablet-sized device that people don’t need. It’s pocketable and compact, just like the original, and nicely folds out to reveal a 6.2-inch screen. Unlike the Galaxy Fold and Mate X, it flips open vertically.
So, it’s heavier and wider than the original, but that’s ok. The 2019 Razr is in every way a modern day smartphone, despite its nostalgic tendencies.
To enable its folding properties, the Razr also uses a plastic OLED (pOLED) panel, held by a proprietary hinge. There’s a tiny cavity to allow the screen to bend (not fold completely that it will crease). I was super bothered with the crease on the Galaxy Fold so less is definitely more. It will be interesting to see how durable this mechanism will be in the long run.
In its clamshell form, the Razr has a 2.7-inch external display that’s sufficient for the daily essentials like notifications, time and alerts, and also to check on a selfie or two.
There’s a plastic chin that’s reminiscent of the original Razr design. This time around it houses an optical fingerprint reader, vibration motor, antennas and other connectivity modules like GPS and Wi-Fi.
Aesthetically, the Razr looks compact and cool, and would certainly appeal to fans and consumers looking for something that stands out.
Having a compact form factor means there will be compromises though. If you’re expecting a fancy quad-camera setup or massive battery, you’re not going to find it with the Razr.
There’s a commendable single 16MP main shooter and a 5MP selfie camera; that’s pretty much it. No ultra-wide or telephoto lenses, sorry.
In the battery stakes, the Razr technically has two batteries integrated into both sides of the phone, making up 2,510mAh. Not too shabby, although these days that’s considered average. Motorola however says the phone will last a day of use. It charges up via USB-C. In the box is a 15W Turbo Power fast charger.
Under the hood, the Razr is powered by a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor—an able and power-efficient performer. It comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage.
It runs Android 9 Pie out-of-the-box.
From the looks of it, the unboxing experience for the Razr is going to be pretty special.
I can’t wait to get a hands-on with the device, and I hope I’ll have the chance to at Lenovo Tech World 2019 happening now in Beijing, China. I’m not convinced by foldable phones, but I’m liking what I see with the Razr.
Pricing and availability
This retro cool number is going to set you back a pretty penny—USD1,499 to be exact. But hey, still “affordable” as compared to the Galaxy Fold and Mate X.
The phone will be a Verizon-exclusive in the US, and pre-orders are set for 26 December 2019 via Verizon, Walmart and Motorola. It is set to arrive in January 2020.
For more info, visit Motorola
