The Motorola Razr 50
The Motorola Razr 50, also known as the Razr (2024) in North America, is the vanilla foldable option from the manufacturer. It’s the way to go if you want a good-looking and affordable foldable that does a lot but doesn’t max out the spec sheet. It’s a step up from the Razr 40, especially in looks.
The Design
When looking at the Razr 50, it is pretty easy to mistake it for last year’s Razr 40 Ultra since the design is a huge leap over what its predecessor looked like. Motorola has decided to throw away the tiny cover display from last year and adopt a much larger one that is bound to be a lot more useful in daily life. It has two large cutouts for the cameras and a smaller one for the flash.
The back panel of the phone is made of vegan leather and has the Motorola logo in the center with “razr” branding beneath. It is available in three colors, which are Beach Sand, Koala Grey, and Spritz Orange. It looks very sleek compared to last year. You also get IPX8 certification, which is great considering that wasn’t around last year.
The Screens
The cover display is the star of the show. It is a 3.6-inch pOLED display (more than double the diagonal of the 1.5-inch rectangular panel from last year) with a 90Hz refresh rate, 1,700-nit peak brightness, HDR10+ certification, and 1056 x 1066 resolution. It’s small, but Motorola didn’t skimp on the quality. Plus, the series will allow you to access Google Gemini from the cover display, along with three free months of Gemini Advanced.
The foldable display is almost the same as last year’s; an LTPO FHD+ pOLED display measuring 6.9 inches with HDR10+ certification, but more than double the peak brightness at 3,000 nits and a slightly lower 120Hz refresh rate.
The Hardware
On the inside, Motorola makes an interesting switch from reliance on Qualcomm chips and moves to the MediaTek Dimensity 7300X, a midrange SoC made primarily for dual-screened phones (foldables, essentially). I’m not sure how this benchmarks beside comparable Snapdragon chips, but it’s nice to see some MediaTek love.
The device comes in either an 8/256GB or 12/512GB configuration, with UFS 2.2 storage. The battery is a 4,200 mAh cell with support for up to 30W wired charging and 15W wireless charging.
The Cameras
The selfie camera is the same 32MP sensor from last year. The ultrawide in the cover display also stays the same at 13MP. However, the primary sensor with OIS is pushed down to 50MP from 64MP. That doesn’t necessarily mean a drop in quality though. Both the rear and front support 4K/30 video recording.
The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra
If you’re a power user and you don’t want your smartphones to pull any punches, then the Razr 50 Ultra, AKA the Razr+ (2024), is more up your alley. Trust me when I say that it does a whole lot better than last year’s model.
The Design
The Razr 50 Ultra is a very good-looking device, though not vastly different from its predecessor. The most notable thing is that the cover display has grown to take up essentially the entire cover of the device. It maintains a vegan leather back panel which you can get in three Pantone colors: Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Hot Pink, and Pantone Color of the Year 2024: Peach Fuzz. Plus, it gains IPX8 certification, so it can survive brief immersion in water.
The Screens
The LTPO AMOLED cover display on the Razr 50 Ultra is the joint largest you can get on a clamshell foldable, sharing the 4-inch spot with Honor’s Magic V Flip. Even though it is “just” a cover display, it is Dolby Vision certified, has a 165Hz refresh rate, 2,400-nit peak brightness, and 1272 x 1080 resolution. What a screen.
The inner display is close to the same as last year’s: LTPO AMOLED, 165Hz, HDR10+, FHD+, with a 6.9-inch diagonal. It gets Dolby Vision certification and higher 3,000-nit peak brightness though.
The Hardware
Motorola sticks with Qualcomm here and flies as close to high-end as it can manage, opting for the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, which should mean plenty of power. The device is available in 12/256GB and 12/512GB configurations, with UFS 4.0 storage. The battery is 4,000 mAh — up 200 mAh from last year — and fast charging also increases 50% to 45W when wired. Wireless charging triples to 15W, and the device even introduces 5W reverse wired charging. That’s a lot of improvements.
The Cameras
The upgrades haven’t stopped though. There was a 12MP + 13MP setup in the Razr 40 Ultra but the Razr 50 Ultra pushes both rear camera units to 50MP. So you get a 50MP primary camera with OIS, and the ultrawide is dropped for a 50MP 2x telephoto with OIS. The selfie camera remains at 32MP. You’ll be able to record at up to 4K/60 whether on the front or back.
Pricing For Motorola’s New Foldables
You’ll be able to get your hands on the Motorola Razr 50 starting at CNY5,699 (~$510), and the Razr 50 Ultra is expected to start much higher, at CNY6,199 (~$785), which isn’t surprising considering all the upgrades. The devices are official in China but an international launch is expected very soon.
