Motorola Razr 5G long-term review: A major improvement and my favorite foldable to date

Motorola really kickstarted the folding smartphone craze with the 2019 Razr, which admittedly had a horrible launch and was plagued with issues. It was overpriced with subpar specs for a $1,499 phone, was tragically a Verizon exclusive and durability was questionable. From an aesthetics standpoint, however, it was pure gold. A perfect tribute to the original flip phone Razr of 2005 with a lot of innovative ideas. In just a matter of months, its successor debuted and solved most of the original’s shortcomings. On paper, the new Razr 5G isn’t as good as Samsung’s Z Flip counterpart but is still my favorite foldable yet. What it gets right, it absolutely nails. Let’s take a closer look.

Design

The 2019 Razr was already a very slick device, but also a bit blocky with a 1st gen vibe. It still had a lot going for it and the Razr 5G maintains that core design. It’s now rounder and more modern in appearance with seemingly every external surface rethought. For starters, the wide, ugly front fingerprint reader has been moved from the chin to the back, cleverly integrated with Motorola’s round logo. It’s on the lower half of the body, an unavoidable engineering choice, but is easy enough to get used to. The back is also Gorilla Glass 5, replacing the cheap-feeling plastic from the 2019 model.

The chin itself is now rounder and flows better with the rest of the design. It’s plastic, not aluminum as Motorola implies, but the antennas are inside and metal would block the signals. On the bottom of the chin is a speaker grill at left, USB Type-C charging port and a very welcomed addition on the right – a physical SIM tray. The 2019 model only had an internal eSIM that was locked to Verizon. This unlocked model has an eSIM as well, but only one SIM can be active at a time.

The 48MP main camera is in the same position on the bottom of the front panel, also Gorilla Glass 5, but not as bulky and more streamlined. The dual-LED flash is within the enclosure on the right. Above this is the 2.7-inch external G-OLED Quick View display, same as last time, but much more usable (more on that later). It also seems to blend in better when off. You can barely tell it’s there at most angles.

The power button has moved to the left side and is still narrow, but nice and clicky this time. The volume rocker remains on the right.

The stainless steel hinge has been redesigned as well, looks more refined and opens/closes with a smoother action and less noise. I have full confidence that it will last for years.

The main 6.2-inch flexible P-OLED display is also the same as before, but Motorola was able to tighten it and greatly improve how it sits on the central support plates. It feels much better as you slide your finger around with virtually no weird bumps and irregularities underneath – a problem with the original. It’s again not fixed and actually slides under the chin a little when closing.

The iPhone-ish notch at the top is small and angular and looks like it belongs. I dig it. The 20MP selfie camera and earpiece live there. There isn’t a crease at the center, more like a subtle ripple in three parts as you can see where those plates are, but it’s much less noticeable than Samsung’s bowling gutter on the Z Flip models. The phone also folds completely flat as the flexible screen forms an arch within the hinge (hence why it slides a little), unlike Samsung’s counterparts that still have a gap between halves. And forgive the wallpaper, it’s a relic from last Halloween.

Overall, the design tweaks on the new model make a world of difference. It doesn’t look like compromises were made to accommodate new tech this time. Everything flows organically and it looks modern, seamless, and positively futuristic. Samsung does have an edge on specs and a hybrid glass main display (Ultra-Thin Glass), but the Z Flip is also blocky and basically, two phone halves sandwiched together. The Razr 5G doesn’t have that function over form look and Motorola is surprisingly the design leader here. Even the original holds up (see below).

Hardware

Performance

This is a typical case where specs and real-world performance diverge. Samsung’s latest Z Flip 5G sports a Snapdragon 865+, while the Razr 5G has a Snapdragon 765G (same as the Pixel 5). It sounds bad, but unless you’re a hardcore gamer, performance is fast and fluid. You’d be hard-pressed to find fault with the 765G’s horsepower in everyday use. 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage round out a very competent package. I’m not a big gamer, but Need for Speed was fast without dropped frames. The only quirk is the tall aspect ratio – 21:9. If you’re looking for next-level performance, a larger screen with a 90Hz+ refresh rate is probably on your list, anyway.

The single bottom-firing speaker is perfectly serviceable. It gets plenty loud and isn’t a tinny mess. I do wish it could work in tandem with the earpiece for stereo sound, but the top half of the phone is very thin when unfolded, so only so much can fit. Given that most use wireless earbuds or headphones these days (and Bluetooth in the car), it’s not really an issue. That goes for the lack of a headphone jack as well. Motorola does include a 3.5mm headphone jack to USB-C converter in the box, which itself doubles as an amplified speaker when the unfolded phone is placed upright at the base (like an inverted gramophone). Call quality is also excellent and the earpiece is loud and crisp, for those who actually make calls.

The outer display looks great with punchy colors and is a traditional glass OLED, and a lot more can be done this time without opening the phone. Unlike the previous model where the Quick View display was more akin to a smartwatch for notifications and controlling music (and to use the main camera for selfies), you can now launch just about any app on it. Of course, you’re limited by the 2.7-inch real estate, but it handles most apps surprisingly well and it’s easy to use YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. without unfolding the phone. You can even play games and Motorola includes a fun retro title – Astro Odyssey.

The main 6.2-inch P-OLED display has a resolution of 373ppi, which isn’t in the 500+ppi range of many flagships, but is plenty sharp in real world use. Colors are also punchy and Motorola provides three saturation modes if you want to tone things down.

It has a taller than normal aspect ratio at 21:9, but it’s not extreme like the outer display of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 2. You’ll see black bars with games and 16:9 videos, which is common today, but you can also fill the screen (which will crop videos a bit). Touch response is as good as any conventional screen and it feels fine under the finger, although additional care should be taken with fingernails and sharp objects. I’ve been using mine for several weeks and the screen remains scratch-free. It’s not the brightest display outdoors and the plastic can be a bit more reflective than glass, but it’s still very usable in direct sunlight.

On the topic of 5G, it, unfortunately, skips Verizon’s mmWave spectrum. If you use it on Big Red, you’re limited to LTE. It does work with AT&T and T-Mobile sub-6GHz 5G, which is growing nationwide. If you’re wondering why Verizon carried the 2019 Razr and not the new one, this is why. Unlocked models are otherwise fully compatible with Verizon (and a Verizon SIM is in mine) and data speeds have been perfectly fine. And remember, 5G is still in its relative infancy, so LTE remains the backbone for now. It is something to consider for 2022 and beyond, however, for Verizon users.

Battery

The battery is fairly small by today’s standards at 2800mAh, although a step up from the 2019 model’s 2500mAh unit. As a comparison, Samsung’s Z Flip 5G has a 3300mAh battery. That being said, the Z Flip has a larger, higher-resolution display and a more powerful processor, so things even out in the end. In actual use, battery life wasn’t bad at all. I usually got through a full day and well into the night, and rarely had to plug in before bed.

A 15W fast charger is included in the box and took less than 90 minutes to charge it from 1% to full. Wireless charging, however, is absent. That one is questionable for such an expensive phone, but looking at how thin the back panel is, it’d be tough to integrate it.

Standard battery options are available like Battery Saver and Adaptive Battery, and usage details break everything down. Screen time is also shown and I’m honestly not sure if the external display is included in that. Keep in mind that a quick 20 minute charge, for example, won’t reset the screen usage tally. That happens after a full charge to 100%.

Software

As with most recent Motorola devices, the software provides a stock experience with some Motorola tweaks. It ships with Android 10 and the company’s My UX software experience. Popular gestures like chopping twice for the flashlight and twisting your wrist twice for the camera are all here with Moto Actions, a companion app with its own settings.

I turned them off for this particular device as it’s unusually thin, expensive and I don’t want to accidentally double chop it onto concrete. They do work as advertised, though, and I played with them for several days without issue. I find more traditional ways of controlling the phone preferable to most of the above, such as pressing the power and volume down buttons for a screenshot. Old habits I guess.

Android 10 on the Razr 5G is basically Android One that Google first introduced in 2014. It’s a refreshing change from modified versions like Samsung’s One UI and LG’s LG UX, and an additional benefit over devices like the Galaxy Z Flip series. Very few things deviate from Android One, such as settings for the external display, although that’s simply to accommodate the new hardware. There are additional camera settings as well.

The phone app is generally stock, but I swapped it with Google’s official counterpart from the Play Store. And this was only because I like the app icon better as it matched the messaging app’s color. It’s the little things in life.

Camera

There’s only one main camera, a 48MP f/1.7 shooter at a wide 26mm, but it’s a solid performer. It would be nice to have an ultra-wide or telephoto companion, but I’m perfectly fine with what’s being offered. It’s a huge upgrade from the camera on the 2019 Razr and the outer display allows it to be used as the selfie shooter as well. Also, the outer display will show animated cartoon faces to provoke a smile when shooting others.

Indoor and low light photos really show what a camera can do, so I’ll start here. Most indoor shots were sharp and well exposed, and colors were usually spot on. On rare occasions, they would be a bit yellow in low light. Unlike the 2019 model, I have no problem carrying this phone as my only camera.

This garage is full of old fluorescent tubes and isn’t well lit, but the razr 5G did a solid job with my bike. You didn’t think I rode a Honda, did you?

My cat was sleeping on a chair under a table in an already low lit room and the shot is sharp and well exposed (and she doesn’t like to be woken up).

Night shots were equally impressive. I dare say these are up there with the iPhone 12 and Z Flip 5G, and I’m certainly not disappointed. Everything is well balanced and sharp.

Daylight shots are as good as any modern flagship with exposure, color balance and sharpness all on point. Not much of a challenge for a new smartphone, but it reinforces how versatile this single shooter is.

The camera has several settings with a couple unique to Motorola, although similar functions can be found on Pixel and Samsung phones as well. These include Night Vision, Portrait, Panorama, Spot Color and Pro – the latter of which offers control of focus, aperture, ISO, white balance and exposure (below at right).

Spot Color allows you to choose one object in a picture and maintain its color, while the rest of the scene becomes black and white. We’ve seen this for years on Motorola phones like the 2018 G6, but it’s tweaked and improved.

Night Vision is comparable to Night Sight on Pixel phones and Night Mode on iPhones, and it works just as well on the razr 5G. Dark scenes are really brought to life, almost to a daylight level.

There’s a 20MP, f/2.2 selfie camera that can shoot 1080p video at 30/60fps and includes auto HDR. It’s a competent shooter and works great for video chats, but there’s little incentive to use it for selfies when the main 48MP, f/1.7 camera works in tandem with the outer display for that. The main shooter also includes auto HDR, gyro-EIS (which is impressively stable given it’s not OIS), 4K video at 30fps, and 1080p video at 30/60/120fps. Time-lapse and slow-motion video are also standard options.

You won’t fill up the 256GB onboard storage anytime soon, although there’s no MicroSD card support. Cloud services like Google Photos or Dropbox are always available for backup.

Closing

The Motorola Razr 5G is part of the latest major experiment in the industry – clamshell smartphones. The company actually started this roller coaster with the 2019 Razr and was soon overshadowed by Samsung’s superior Z Flip. It’s using what some consider a last generation OLED screen with flexible plastic, something Samsung moved beyond after the original Galaxy Fold. The Z Flip and 5G sequel use Samsung’s impressive Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) that feels like glass under the finger, but also creates a large gutter at the fold that’s hard to ignore. There are compromises with both screen types.

However, the Razr 5G pulls off what Samsung can’t – it recreates a legend from Motorola’s past. The design is very slick, nostalgic, and well thought out, looking much more futuristic than the Z Flip which is basically a slab folded in half. Objectively, Samsung’s counterpart is a better phone, but that’s almost beside the point. You’re likely buying the Razr 5G for the cool factor, nostalgic design, and yes, pocketable form factor, and this has it in spades. Performance is good enough for the vast majority of users and those looking for an absolute powerhouse won’t compromise with such new tech, anyway.

With the Razr 5G, you get a very usable exterior display, stock Android with a few extras, a very capable camera, and arguably the coolest design money can buy. And that last part is the only real downside as the phone launched with an insane $1,399 price tag. AT&T and T-Mobile carry it in-house, so that brings much more palatable monthly payments and typical carrier discounts. Verizon customers are stuck paying full price for the unlocked model, although Motorola has recently dropped the price to $1,199, which helps the sting a little.

Folding phones are clearly a niche category for now, but if you have money to spend and want the slickest clamshell, if not technically the best, the Motorola Razr 5G is your best bet. It’s definitely my favorite.
Motorola Moto Razr 5G | $1,199 | Motorola, Amazon

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