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The Razr Returns & Makes History Again
November 18, 2019

Fifteen years ago, the Razr phone arrived and cemented the flip phone into the consumer tech culture. It's making an updated return for 2020 with a foldable screen. Foldable phones in 2019 have had a checkered start. The Royole FlexPai started the category, but it was just a tease with very small volume, the first Samsung Galaxy Fold flopped, before it was modified to prevent dirt in the hinge and creasing of the display, while the Huawei Mate X still hasn't launched. But the just released Motorola Razr could be the savior. The new flip phone comes with a flexible 6.2-inch pOLED interior main screen, an exterior 2.7in second OLED screen for quick glance functionality and a price tag of $1500 in the US when it goes on sale in January. ARS Technica reported that the displays might come from BOE and TCL.  It has the iconic RAZR design that was loved at the start of the 21st Century and a cutting edge technology that doubles the screen size while maintaining the form factor. The foldable flip phone Motorola Razr is a cutting edge return to retro, with a flex. And a price tag.
  • Like the original Razr, it folds closed with a small screen on the front, only this time it’s a touchscreen. It then unfolds to become a larger touchscreen smartphone, with a 6.2-inch display.
  • It has an aspect ratio of 21:9, making it really tall.
  • Instead of the Samsung Galaxy Fold approach, which takes a large phone and turns it into a tablet, the Razr is taking a smartphone and folding it in half for a more portable design.
  • The new Razr is the same thickness as the original Razr when folded down, and thinner than a smartphone like the Pixel 4 when open.

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Figure 1: Motorola Razr Folding
Source: Company
  • Specs are on the mid-range side, packing a Snapdragon 710 SoC, which is not a flagship performer, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, a 2,510mAh battery, and a single main 16MP camera, none of which are exciting. No headphone jack, a USB-C port for charging, and an adapter for headphones.
  • The device comes embedded with a dual battery – on both sides of the display, both of which amounts to a 2,500 mAh cell with 15W TurboPower charging. Although it’s less than the Galaxy Fold, Motorola claims it will last a day on single charge. 
  • Motorola described how a hinge could work in a 2018 patent. Instead of having the hinge mechanism behind the display, like on the Galaxy Fold, Motorola has the hinge on the left and right side of the display, giving the display room to sink into the phone body and bend into a gentle curve. For support Motorola says the hinge "includes moveable support plates that rigidly support the display when the phone is open, but collapse out of the way when the phone is closed." These two design elements allow the phone to have a "zero gap" hinge while also not smashing the display into a crease.
  • The hinge makes the Razr stiff, and slightly difficult to open and close, rather than too flexible, but that makes it satisfying to crisply snap into place and open. There’s no bleedingly obvious crease in the middle of the fold, and the media hasn’t had any early failures yet, but some have pointed out where dust might get into the fold/hinge mechanism.   when closed, there’s barely a gap between the two folded halves of the display. The crease is also barely visible, which isn’t the case on the Galaxy Fold or Mate X. 

Figure 2: Motorola Razr’ and its Hinge Construct
Source: USPO, Company
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Pre-orders start in the US only on December 26, 2019, and general in-store availability begins on January 9, 2020. Motorola says the Razr will also land in Canada, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia at some point in 2020. It may very well please early adopters, depending on durability and reliability, like the Galaxy Fold, but the weak specs might deter others. The media felt it was too expensive for the specifications, but it will likely have limited availability, sell out immediately and is already generating great press for Motorola.  So why not price it as high as possible. "I don't see it as a silver bullet," Motorola President Sergio Buniac told CNET, "we see it as a journey that's just started."
 
Here are the specifications of the new Razr:
  • Operating System: Android Pie 9.0
  • Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 719
  • Memory: 6GB
  • Storage: 128GB
  • Display: Flex View 6.2-inch pOLED HD (2142 x 876) 21:9, Quick View 2.7-inch pOLED (600 x 800) 4:3
  • Battery: 2510 milliamp-hour
  • Size: 72 x 172 x 6.9 mm (open), 72 x 94 x 14 mm (closed)
  • Weight: 205g
  • Rear camera: 16-megapixel f/1.7, EIS, Dual Pixel AF, Laser AF
  • Front camera: 5-megapixel f/2.0
  • SIM Card: eSIM
  • Connectivity: 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
  • Charge port: USB-C
  • Security: Fingerprint reader
  • Color: Noir Black