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Motorola Tries to Recover Foldable Relevancy with 2nd Razr
May 31, 2020
Motorola captured the attention of the tech world in 2019, when it pre-announced its iconic Razr flip phone as a foldable smartphone. However, the Motorola Razr had rather lackluster specifications and was quickly overshadowed by the more powerful Galaxy Z Flip from Samsung. In December, they disclosed work on a 5G version of the Razr, and recently a representative for Lenovo, revealed a possible launch date. The Motorola Razr was the first vertically foldable smartphone to hit the market when it went on sale in the U.S. on February 6th. It featured a main 6.20-inch OLED foldable display made of plastic and a secondary 2.69-inch OLED rigid display on the outside. Other than the ingenuity of the foldable display and hinge mechanism, the Razr was a rather unimpressive mid-range smartphone, packing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a 16MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, Android 9 Pie, and a 2,510mAh battery. The Galaxy Z Flip, released in 2020 had a better OLED display, a better processor, more RAM, more storage, a larger battery, newer software, faster charging, better cameras and used UTG as the protective cover lens.
Motorola Razr (Gen 1) Specifications -- During the December China Industrial Design Exhibition held in Wuhan, China, a Lenovo staff member reportedly told attendees that the company plans to launch a 5G version in China in 2020. Recently, Lenovo’s South Africa general manager Thibault Dousson told the Reframed Tech podcast (via Androidauthority) that there is “a new iteration [of the Razr] coming up. There’s one in September I think.” Later, Mr. Doussan reiterates that there’s a “generation two” foldable in the works. The first Razr launched in February, only 8 months prior to second Razr’ launch. The original was, however, announced 3 months before it went on sale, so it’s possible there could be a September announcement and a launch closer to the end of the year. The 5G-enabled, second-generation Motorola Razr has the code-name “smith” and model name “XT2071-4.” The foldable is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765, with its Snapdragon X52 modem, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, and a 2,845mAh battery. Expect a 6.2-inch foldable OLED screen and a 2.7-inch outer OLED display. The rear camera is also getting an upgrade to Samsung’s 48MP ISOCELL Bright GM1 sensor while the front camera is getting upgraded to a 20MP shooter. The device will run Android 10 out-of-the-box, presumably with Motorola’s many improvements to the Quick View display. The dimensions of the main “Flex View” and closed “Quick View” displays haven’t changed from the first-generation model, though there was expectations that UTG. The second-generation model is being developed for China and North America. The device will likely only support sub-6GHz 5G networks as Motorola may not be able to pack mmWave antennas into the body to support mmWave 5G networks like Verizon’s Ultrawide Band network.
Figure 1: First-Generation Motorola Razr Foldable Smartphone.
May 31, 2020
Motorola captured the attention of the tech world in 2019, when it pre-announced its iconic Razr flip phone as a foldable smartphone. However, the Motorola Razr had rather lackluster specifications and was quickly overshadowed by the more powerful Galaxy Z Flip from Samsung. In December, they disclosed work on a 5G version of the Razr, and recently a representative for Lenovo, revealed a possible launch date. The Motorola Razr was the first vertically foldable smartphone to hit the market when it went on sale in the U.S. on February 6th. It featured a main 6.20-inch OLED foldable display made of plastic and a secondary 2.69-inch OLED rigid display on the outside. Other than the ingenuity of the foldable display and hinge mechanism, the Razr was a rather unimpressive mid-range smartphone, packing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a 16MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, Android 9 Pie, and a 2,510mAh battery. The Galaxy Z Flip, released in 2020 had a better OLED display, a better processor, more RAM, more storage, a larger battery, newer software, faster charging, better cameras and used UTG as the protective cover lens.
Motorola Razr (Gen 1) Specifications -- During the December China Industrial Design Exhibition held in Wuhan, China, a Lenovo staff member reportedly told attendees that the company plans to launch a 5G version in China in 2020. Recently, Lenovo’s South Africa general manager Thibault Dousson told the Reframed Tech podcast (via Androidauthority) that there is “a new iteration [of the Razr] coming up. There’s one in September I think.” Later, Mr. Doussan reiterates that there’s a “generation two” foldable in the works. The first Razr launched in February, only 8 months prior to second Razr’ launch. The original was, however, announced 3 months before it went on sale, so it’s possible there could be a September announcement and a launch closer to the end of the year. The 5G-enabled, second-generation Motorola Razr has the code-name “smith” and model name “XT2071-4.” The foldable is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765, with its Snapdragon X52 modem, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, and a 2,845mAh battery. Expect a 6.2-inch foldable OLED screen and a 2.7-inch outer OLED display. The rear camera is also getting an upgrade to Samsung’s 48MP ISOCELL Bright GM1 sensor while the front camera is getting upgraded to a 20MP shooter. The device will run Android 10 out-of-the-box, presumably with Motorola’s many improvements to the Quick View display. The dimensions of the main “Flex View” and closed “Quick View” displays haven’t changed from the first-generation model, though there was expectations that UTG. The second-generation model is being developed for China and North America. The device will likely only support sub-6GHz 5G networks as Motorola may not be able to pack mmWave antennas into the body to support mmWave 5G networks like Verizon’s Ultrawide Band network.
Figure 1: First-Generation Motorola Razr Foldable Smartphone.
Source: Tushar Mehta/XDA-Developers
While the upgraded specs certainly bode well for the new Motorola Razr, it still seems to be missing flagship appeal. The Galaxy Z Flip is already a much better proposition than the current Motorola Razr. If Samsung releases an updated Z Flip, it could very thwart Moto’s second attempt as well. Then there’s also Huawei which is reportedly working on a cheaper clamshell foldable. Motorola clearly has its work cut out for it. The 2019 Razr was a disappointing phone overall with an inflated price, budget specs, and bad build quality. If Motorola addresses all those issues, it could have a decent chance at making a mark on the foldable phones market. From: Android Authority