The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra is the best foldable you can get right now

Because the launch of the reimagined Razr in 2019, Motorola has come a good distance.

Final 12 months’s Razr 40 Extremely beat its largest rival, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, to win our crown as the perfect folding telephone.  

There have been some hiccups stopping it from perfection, together with an older chipset and a barely underwhelming digital camera for the value. Nonetheless, this 12 months Motorola has managed to include {hardware} upgrades and a aggressive worth for 2024’s launch, the Razr 50 Extremely – often known as the Razr+ (2024) within the US.

There are compromises, however they’re all in the precise areas – making this flip telephone the cream of the foldable crop, and top-of-the-line smartphones I’ve ever reviewed.  

Design & Construct 

• 4 colors
• IPX8 ranking
• Matching leather-based case and strap

At first look, the Razr 50 Extremely appears like final 12 months’s mannequin. It retains the identical curved edges that enable it to suit comfortably in your palm when closed. That stated, Motorola has outdone itself this 12 months with the duvet show, which is the biggest we’ve seen on a flip telephone at 4-inches.  

The hinge on the telephone permits it to open and shut easily, leaving barely any hole between the 2 halves. When shut, the telephone is simply 15.32mm thick, 73.9mm lengthy and weighs simply 189g, so it matches completely in pockets – even the minuscule ones on ladies’s denims (game-changing, of us).  

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Because of the digital camera bump, the telephone doesn’t lie absolutely flush with the show dealing with up, however that’s a typical gripe of many flagship smartphones. Motorola claims that the revamped hinge permits customers to shut and open the telephone one-handed extra simply. It’s doable, however it nonetheless takes a little bit of fiddling round.

There’s a minimal crease, particularly after simply unfolding the system. Nonetheless, not like cheaper foldables just like the Nubia Flip 5G, it’s barely noticeable and doesn’t spoil my expertise watching YouTube or streaming Netflix. 

The telephone is available in 4 colors: Scorching Pink, Spring Inexperienced, Peach Fuzz and Midnight Blue, which I examined. These tones are current on each the aluminium chassis and the vegan leather-based rear a part of the telephone. The blue model has a delicate stripe down the center, including a little bit of a aptitude to probably the most understated color within the vary.  

The Razr 50 Extremely packs an IPX8 ranking, which suggests it could possibly survive a 1.5-metre dunking for as much as half-hour. Whereas that’s a better water resistance than final 12 months’s mannequin, the telephone has no mud safety, although Motorola did inform Trusted Opinions that the construct and hinge are designed to minimise letting this in.  

There’s additionally now Gorilla Glass Victus on the duvet display, so it’s extra protected in opposition to drops. However after all, I’d suggest nonetheless utilizing a case as a result of nature of its construct.

The amount rocker and energy button sit on the right-hand facet, with the USB-C port on the backside. The facility button has a fingerprint scanner inbuilt, and it really works constantly effectively. Face recognition can be out there.

This premium telephone comes with an identical vegan leather-based forged and optionally available strap, so you possibly can carry the telephone on a lanyard or crossbody type. I cherished the purple colourway on my mannequin, although it typically had bother gripping the telephone when first placing it on.  

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Display & Audio system 

• Big 4-inch exterior show
• 6.9-inch inside show
• Stereo audio system

On account of its foldable nature, there are two shows to debate on the Razr 50 Extremely. Let’s begin with that large outdated 4-inch FHD+ pOLED 120Hz exterior one.  

This daring, vibrant and spectacular outer show stretches across the cameras, so you possibly can run any app on it. This can be a distinction to many different flip rivals that solely embody smaller screens predominantly for studying notifications. 

Which means you possibly can watch YouTube movies, use Google Maps and reply to chats on Messenger, all with out unflipping the telephone. There are additionally devoted widgets for the exterior show, equivalent to a Spotify participant. 

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Apps which can be opened on the outer show largely default to working smaller, leaving a niche on the backside. Some apps equivalent to Messenger provide the choice of a ‘Fullscreen editor’ when typing on the keyboard, which eliminates the chat above for a cleaner viewing expertise. Others, such because the climate, lengthen to the underside – although the digital camera bump does cowl over some icons.  

Utilizing the show closed whereas travelling is extraordinarily helpful. I can management my music and reply messages, all whereas having a safer grip on my telephone. It’s additionally helped me handle my display time higher, as I’m much less prone to scroll by way of social media as soon as the Razr is closed. Which may be a psychological factor, after all.  

Shifting onto the interior show – you get a 6.9-inch pOLED show, with a decision of 2640 x 1080 and a refresh fee of as much as 165Hz. That’s the joint-highest refresh fee of any telephone.

There’s solely the choice to pick out between ‘excessive’ and ‘normal’ relatively than placing the show completely on any particular quantity. Nonetheless, the LTPO tech means it could possibly drop all the best way right down to 1Hz to preserve battery life when not required.

You additionally get a peak brightness of 2400 nits, leading to a shiny, vivid display that’s straightforward to view below daylight and is a pleasure to observe movies on. Nonetheless, as a result of it’s longer than the common sweet bar mannequin, you’ll get letterboxing on the sides of content material from the likes of Netflix, which makes use of the 16:9 ratio. It’s attentive to faucets and swipes, although, with no sluggishness in sight.  

The Razr 50 Extremely has stereo audio system, with help for Dolby Atmos. The audio isn’t as vibrant or punchy as I’ve seen on different flagships, however it’s moderately loud so respectable for podcasts and movies. There’s additionally no headphone jack, however that’s normal lately on telephones of this worth.  

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Specs & Efficiency 

• Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
• 12GB RAM/512GB price of storage

Final 12 months’s Razr 40 Extremely ran on an outdated Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor – that’s not the case anymore. The Razr 50 Extremely is full of the most recent Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 which launched in 2024. That is paired with 12GB RAM and 512GB price of storage within the UK. US customers solely get 256GB, sadly.  

This chipset will not be as highly effective because the 8 Gen 3, purchase you possibly can nonetheless anticipate speedy efficiency day-to-day. The telephone is fast as well up, and has no issues switching between app and between the 2 shows. It’s additionally able to some work and gaming, do you have to want it.  

Motorola Razr 50 Extremely benchmarks

As you possibly can see, it’s not fairly flagship-level efficiency. If you would like that in a clamshell foldable, we suggest the Galaxy Z Flip 6. That’s additionally the higher system for energy customers, because it gives a vapour chamber system for cooling. Throughout lengthy video calls, I seen that the Razr 50 Extremely acquired fairly scorching.  

Cameras 

• 50Mp essential digital camera
• 50Mp telephoto
• 32Mp selfie

Motorola has opted for a beefed-up digital camera setup for this technology, however to do this it needed to ditch a significant part. Motorola has swapped out the ultrawide for a 50Mp telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom so customers can get higher zoomed-in pictures and improved portrait pictures. That is paired with a 50Mp essential snapper.  

Some could disagree with the choice to take away the ultrawide digital camera. Nonetheless, I’d argue that almost all of those have a drop in high quality in comparison with the principle one, and solely are available helpful a handful of instances. I’d a lot favor to have a set-up that prioritises zooms for the likes of journey and concert events.

The principle digital camera on this telephone is essentially spectacular. The Razr 50 Extremely captures an distinctive quantity of element, together with fantastic textures equivalent to fur and hair. Shadows additionally seem dynamic, with cloudy pictures wanting simply as spectacular as these taken in vivid sunshine.  

Colors pop so much on the Razr, albeit erring barely on the over-processed facet. Nonetheless, in the event you love filter and like daring and vivid photographs, this received’t be a difficulty.

Portrait mode is equally strong, with simply sufficient of a blur to look skilled. There’s the choice to make use of this in 4 totally different focal lengths, although the closer-up pictures are extra correct in capturing fantastic particulars.

The 2x optical zoom is great, with solely a slight shift in colors. As you veer into digital territory, particulars start to melt and begin to look ropey previous 10x zoom. Nonetheless, that’s a compromise of choosing a telephone with a flippy construct, relatively than one thing that prioritises the cameras just like the Pixel 8 Professional.

Night time mode captures an incredible stage of element, with processing working to minimise gentle glare in comparison with the principle digital camera. Nonetheless, it doesn’t fairly raise topics as clearly as rivals – see the bush under on the Razr (first) in comparison with the OnePlus 12 (second):

It’s a disgrace that the entrance digital camera isn’t the perfect, however when you will have such a viable various, I don’t see this as a dealbreaker.  

Motorola has additionally included loads of distinctive flip digital camera options. This consists of the exterior show digital camera preview, which is especially helpful for recording vlogs because it acts as a preview window.

There’s a setting to allow a cartoon preview, which can assist get youngsters’s consideration for photographs. Lastly, there’s the retro camcorder mode, which mechanically begins to report video if you fold the telephone at a 90-degree axis.  

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Talking of video, the Razr 50 Extremely can report in each 4K and 1080p, in 30fps and 60fps, with help for HDR10 in the event you movie in FHD high quality. Adaptive stabilisation additionally helps to minimise undesirable shakes and labored fairly easily throughout my testing.  

Battery Life & Charging 

• 4000mAh battery
• 45W wired charging
• 15W wi-fi charging

Motorola has elevated the battery on the Razr Extremely from 3800mAh to 4000mAh.

That’s nonetheless smaller than many different flagship rivals, however for a flip telephone, I used to be impressed with the battery on the Razr 50 Extremely. On common I’d get a couple of day and a half’s price of utilization, watching movies, listening to Spotify, messaging and taking calls. 

In comparison with the day-long battery lifetime of the Razr 40 Ultra, this is quite game-changing.   

Wired charging has also been improved from 30W to 45W. This juices the phone from zero to 59% in 30 minutes. Plus, there’s also 15W wireless charging support, should you need it.  

…for a flip phone, I was impressed with the battery on the Razr 50 Ultra

Software & Apps 

• Android 14
• Three years of software updates
• Plenty of exclusive foldable features

One of the benefits of getting a Motorola phone is that you get a clean software experience – with this phone shipping with the latest OS at the time of writing, Android 14. That means there’s minimal bloat and app duplications, which brands such as Oppo and Samsung have.  

There are all the usual Google apps and settings, plus plenty more features exclusive to this phone. This includes gesture controls such as twisting your wrist twice to open the camera when the phone is closed, and the ability to keep apps open when you transition between displays. 

And as this is a flip phone, you can open the device to answer a call when it rings – a feature that will appeal to my fellow millennials. For videos and visual calls, the phone can be used in laptop, stand or tent modes, with apps such as YouTube adjusting to the orientation.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Any app can be used on the outer display (Maps, Instagram, YouTube etc), but they aren’t all completely properly optimised – some just work better on the full screen, as otherwise information can be cramped. Google and other developers will probably not work on dedicated versions of these apps until there are more devices with this unique flip-style build.  

Motorola has made a big shout about including Gemini AI on the external display, and support for Moto AI, with Magic Canvas that can create custom wallpapers. I’m not that enthused by gen-AI features, but the Razr has plenty of other customisation options for fonts, wallpapers and themes, so you can make this phone your own.

One of the benefits of getting a Motorola phone is that you get a clean software experience

The Razr 50 Ultra comes with three years of software updates and four years of security updates. While this is standard compared to most of the market, it’s well behind the promises of Google and Samsung, which offer seven years of each.  

Price & Availability 

The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra/Razr+ starts from £999/$999. That price remains flat in the US, but it’s a £50 drop in the UK compared to the previous generation.

You can buy it outright from Motorola, Amazon and Currys within the UK, and pre-order it from Motorola and Finest Purchase in America – in the event you try this, you’ll get $100 off the RRP, making it an actual steal.  

The telephone goes on sale within the States on 24 July. UK readers may register their curiosity for the Scorching Pink colourway, which hasn’t hit cabinets but on this nation.

In the event you’d favor to purchase the telephone on contract, then it’s out there from the likes of O2, Carphone Warehouse and Vodafone in Britain, and T-Cell within the US. We’ve acquired the perfect month-to-month UK offers out there under.

And in the event you’re within the US, the choices under have a minimum of 5GB of information:

The most recent Samsung Z Flip 6 clocks in £50/$100 costlier than that. Whereas it gives cooling, a greater processor and longer software program help, it doesn’t have a telephoto lens and contains a smaller exterior show.

Due to this fact, except your precedence is working probably the most highly effective apps and video games, the Razr 50 Extremely gives extra on your cash – particularly in the event you’re within the UK. You may verify our round-up of the perfect foldable telephones for extra choices.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Do you have to purchase the Motorola Razr 50 Extremely? 

The Motorola Razr 50 Extremely has made strong enhancements on the 2023 foldable whereas managing to undercut its largest rival, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.

Its improved battery life means it may be used for a day and a half on a single cost, whereas the extra highly effective essential digital camera means the telephone shouldn’t be far behind sweet bar flagships. Motorola’s resolution to chop the ultrawide lens is a good trade-off.

The massive exterior show is a pleasure to make use of, as are all of the quirky options of this distinctive construct. All these components make this flip telephone a very distinctive piece of tech – one which has even tempted a few of my Apple loyalist mates.

Positive, not all of the apps are optimised for this display, the interior selfie digital camera isn’t the perfect and the telephone will get a bit scorching right here and there. Nonetheless, that is the strongest Razr but, and the perfect clamshell foldable in the marketplace proper now contemplating the value you pay.

Specs

• 4-inch, 165Hz pOLED cowl show 
• 6.9-inch, 1-165Hz LTPO pOLED essential show 
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 
• 12GB RAM 
• 256/512GB storage 
• Cameras:
  • 50Mp, f/1.7, OIS essential digital camera 
  • 50Mp, f/2.0 telephoto digital camera 
  • 32Mp, f/2.4 selfie digital camera 
• 4000mAh 
• 45W wired charging 
• 15W wi-fi charging 
• Stereo audio system 
• IPX8 
• Gorilla Glass Victus 
• 5G 
• 73.99 x 171.42 x 7.09 mm (open) 
• 189g 
• Android 14