Motorola Razr 40: Everything you need to know

Motorola has just dropped a bomb on the flip phone market with not one, but two new Razr foldables, including the biggest screen yet on a modern flip phone.

The Razr 40 and 40 Ultra – releasing in the US as the Razr and Razr+ – have laid down the gauntlet for Samsung and Oppo, setting a new standard for the emerging foldable form factor.

When will the new Razr phones be released?

Motorola unveiled the two Razr devices on 1 June 2023 in Madrid, and the more premium Ultra/Plus model went on sale immediately in the UK and Europe, though won’t hit US stores until 23 June.

There’s a slightly longer wait for the cheaper version, which we’ve been told is launching in the UK “in the coming weeks,” and so far has no date at all for the States.

The previous iteration of flip phone, the Motorola Razr (2022), was released in China in August 2022, but didn’t arrive in the UK until December and never made it to the US at all.

How much do the 2023 Razr models cost?

Foldable phones are never cheap, but Motorola has done an impressive job of keeping its pricing relatively restrained given the specs on offer here. Here’s how much the two new models cost:

• Razr 40: £799/€899
• Razr 40 Ultra/+: $999/£1,049/€1,199

Note that we don’t yet have a price for the regular Razr in the US.

That pair of prices makes the regular Razr 40 the cheapest flip foldable on the market (ignoring discounts), beating even the Oppo Find N2 Flip, and keeps the Ultra/Plus model unexpectedly competitive, coming in only a little more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.

What are the new Razrs’ specs and features?

With two quite distinct phones in the Razr 40 series, let’s take them one by one.

Razr 40 Ultra/Razr+

Let’s start with the more exciting model by far: the Razr 40 Ultra, or Razr+ for the US market.

The thing that stands out here is the phone’s massive external display, which covers the entirety of the phone’s top half, even wrapping around the two camera lenses.

This 3.6in pOLED display is not only the largest cover screen on any flip phone yet, running at a resolution of 1056 x 1066, but also runs at a silky smooth 144Hz refresh rate to help it feel snappy and responsive.

Like on other flip phones, this can be used for simple widgets with controls for your calendar, the weather, music playback, or taking selfies with the main cameras.

Unlike other flip phones, the screen is actually big enough to run whole apps as well though. Not all will work perfectly given the unusual aspect ratio – and the phone warns you as such whenever you open an app on here for the first time – but for those that work this adds plenty of extra functionality, and should reduce how often you actually need to open the phone fully.

There’s enough space for a full keyboard in messaging apps, a dedicated widget for Spotify, and support to watch video on streaming apps including Netflix, Disney+, and Max. Motorola has even designed a few simple games specifically for this display, in what feels like a throwback to the classic flip phone days of the original Razr.

Beyond that display, the phone is finished either in glass – on the Infinite Black and Glacier Blue models – or vegan leather on the Viva Magenta. Whichever colour you pick, any bits of external glass – display or body – are covered in protective Gorilla Glass Victus.

The foldable form factor has been improved elsewhere too. Motorola has adopted a teardrop hinge design which allows the new Razr to close fully flat, with no visible gap between the two halves when the phone is shut, and a much less noticeable crease when the screen is open. It’s also happy to sit open at a whole range of angles.

It’s an impressive screen otherwise too, a 6.9in panel using pOLED display tech with an almost-absurd 165Hz refresh rate – the fastest on any foldable phone yet – that’s also able to drop as low as 1Hz to save battery thanks to using an LTPO panel.

The only real downside to the redesign is that the phone doesn’t quite open fully flat, instead naturally sitting at something like a 175-degree angle.

The phone even has some dust and water protection, with an IP52 rating – meaning it’s safer from dust than the most recent Samsung models, but not quite as waterproof.

The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, the flagship-tier silicon released midway through 2022. That’s not quite got the oomph of the more recent 8 Gen 2, but for most of us it offers more than enough power, and enough efficiency to deliver solid battery life too.

Speaking of that battery, Motorola says it’s 3800mAh, with charging in the form of 30W wired speeds plus a wireless charging option as well.

As for cameras, the phone is equipped with a 12Mp, f/1.5 main camera with optical image stabilisation alongside a 13Mp ultrawide lens – solid specs, but nothing outstanding.

The 32Mp selfie camera built into the main display is unexpectedly high-resolution. You’ll probably still prefer to use the phone’s main camera for photos thanks to its larger sensor and fast aperture, but this should be a good option, and great for taking video calls.

Finally, when it comes to software the new Razr will ship running Android 13, bolstered by Motorola’s usual array of simple customisations and gesture controls, plus support for its wireless Ready For tech to connect the phone to a PC.

Here are the full specs:

• 3.6in, 144Hz pOLED cover display
• 6.9in, 1-165Hz LTPO pOLED main display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
• 8/12GB RAM
• 256/512GB storage
• Cameras:
  • 12Mp, f/1.5, OIS main camera
  • 13Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide camera
  • 32Mp, f/2.4 selfie camera
• 3800mAh
• 30W wired charging
• 5W wireless charging
• Stereo speakers
• IP52
• Gorilla Glass Victus
• 5G
• 73.95 x 170.83 x 6.99mm (open)
• 184.5/188.5g
• Android 13

Razr 40/Razr

The regular Razr 40 – or just Razr if you’re in the US – is clearly priced to serve as an entry point to the foldable market, and the phone’s specs have been balanced accordingly.

Unlike the Ultra/+ model, this features only a small 1.5in cover screen, positioned to the side of the main cameras in a design that evokes the recent Galaxy Z Flip models. It’s limited to use for simple notifications, quick controls, and widgets.

The phone is coated in vegan leather, with Gorilla Glass Victus on the screen, and comes in a trio of colours: Summer Lilac, Sage Green, and Vanilla Cream.

The foldable elements of the phone are the same as on the more premium model, with the same teardrop hinge, closing flat on a similar display – though capped at 144Hz.

The big change to the internals is a shift to the mid-range Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip, making this less of a more powerhouse – though still perfectly capable for most day-to-day use.

The other alteration is the cameras. While the ultrawide and selfie cameras are the same as on the Ultra/Plus, the main camera is different: there’s a higher resolution 64Mp main camera, also with OIS – though thanks to using a smaller sensor, it works out to the same pixel size as on the Ultra, and has a slower aperture.

One benefit is you get a larger 4200mAh battery, but the same 30W wired charging and wireless charging combo.

Here are the full specs:

• 1.5in, 60Hz AMOLED cover display
• 6.9in, 144Hz AMOLED main display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB storage
• Cameras:
  • 64Mp, f/1.7, OIS main camera
  • 13Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide camera
  • 32Mp, f/2.4 selfie camera
• 4200mAh
• 30W wired charging
• 5W wireless charging
• Stereo speakers
• IP52
• Gorilla Glass Victus
• 5G
• 73.95 x 170.82 x 7.35mm (open)
• 188.6g
• Android 13

Read our roundups of the best Android phones and best phones coming in 2023 to see what the two Razrs are up against.