Early in 2021, Motorola released the Razr 5G on the back of their first attempt back in 2020. This phones selling point is the folding OLED display it gives that same excitement as something like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip which comes in at a similar price tag as the Razr but you can now get the Razr for £659 compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip at £799 (Prices via Amazon).
So let’s take a closer look and see if you should spend this kind of money or if this phone is just to showboat with friends.
First Impressions
The Moto Razr 5G has upgraded on the previous model mainly due to the change in chipset it now comes with a Snapdragon 765G and this provides the phone with speed to do most activities and the phone also comes with 5G meaning its future proof for now.
As mentioned the main reason someone might buy this phone is that folding OLED Display. The phone is built with premium intent but run your finger down the display and there are more lumps than a camel. This is to be expected as this technology is still in the early days and I expect further models will remove this lumpy feel to the display.
When you have the phone open fully and that 6.2-inch display takes your mind of the issues with design, I also found when you fold the phone it fits nicely in your pocket without taking much room.
The other most noticeable factor about this phone is the cost and to a degree, this is new technology so you could understand the price tag but at £659 but some retailers are selling it for over £1000 I can see this price tag only attracting a certain customer base. At this price you might wonder what else you get well, the Razr 5G offers fast charging, 3.5mm adapter for when you want a wired headphone set up.
Design/Display
As you might expect the Razr 5G is centred around that screen its folding display paired with the iconic flip phone design of the Razr for the past. In terms of the build, it has tried to go premium whenever possible the frame is built using a high quality 700 series aluminium paired with a stainless steel hinge. The front and rear of the phone are covered by Gorilla Glass 5 for extra protection. The Razr 5G comes in 3 colour options however when doing some research as well as the device I have in my hand you are mostly only seeing the Black/Gray option.
Moving to the front of the phone you will see a small display and the main camera as well as the power and volume buttons we come to expect.
Move to the rear of the phone and that has the fingerprint sensor that is located near the hinge and you also have the sim card slot and USB-C power port. Towards the bottom of the base is the speaker.
Once you open the phone forget everything I said about the front of the phone as that is now the rear of the phone. (Magic!). The front of the phone has a unique shape Motorola has tried to keep some history of the design with the large chin from the original design. The display has that curved top and bottom with a small cutout in the display for the notch which houses the earpiece and that selfie camera.
Now to the flipping and for these 2005 Razr fans this new Razr does not offer some flipping sound but you can still be a cool cat and flip open with the old wrist flick and it will open and close.
The overall design is quite cool looking but there is a floor in the design the seam around the black panel and slim slot is slightly uneven and the fact this phone has no IP rating but with a phone at this price am unlikely to take it anywhere near water. The other negative about the design is the position of the volume and power buttons it makes it a little tricky to use.
In terms of display, the Razr measures 6.67 x 2.87 x 0.31 inches unfolded which makes it a large phone. Once folded it measures just 3.61 x2.86 x 0.63 inches. Some might say it’s a little on the thick side but that being picky in fact it’s close to the original Razer V3.
As mentioned the Razr 5G comes with 2 displays there is a folding display but the external display also comes with a 4.3 OLED panel with 800 x 600 resolution the external display is only 2.7 inches. It’s not massive but a decent size to display notifications and also show the camera viewfinder for selfies.
The Main display offers a 6.2 inch OLED display that also comes with an HD+ resolution and a 21:9 aspect ratio. Now considering the folding display it’s actually made of plastic, not glass this does raise questions in its durability but in testing it’s performed well and showed no issues but I have only had this phone a short few weeks.
As mentioned the screen is made of plastic which is different to anything else I have reviewed on the mobile market. Yes, you do notice some bumps on the display which you will also feel when swiping along the display. These bumps are overlooked when watching HDR content that makes an OLED display look fantastic on a phone like this inside or outside.
Under the Bonet
Open the Motorola Razr 5G and it comes with a Snapdragon 765G chipset paired with 8GB RAM, 256GB of storage and supports 5G. In terms of benchmarks the single-core of 606 and the multi-core of 1872.
In testing opening apps, moving between the app and rotating the display all worked without any issues. The only slight concern when working hard on the phone it did get hot.
In terms of the operating system, you are given Andriod 10 with a few added tweaks that have made the external display a useful tool that doesn’t just act as a home screen but allows you to switch from the external display to the main internal screen with ease. There are also handy shortcuts to the camera and flashlight.
Moving to the battery life and unfortunately, this is an area they have really underperformed with a 2,800mAh battery. Now you will get a full day of battery life and you do have a battery-saving hack as the external display allows you to check notifications, snapping a selfie it can be done without using much battery life.
Camera Review by our camera expert James Robertson Milligan Instagram – @Lifesizephotography
- Portrait
- Night Vision
- Panorama
- Group selfie
- Live Filter
- Pro
- Spot colour
- Video
Verdict
The Moto Razr 5G is a completely different device that was designed to be different. Motorola has created this flexible display that actually feels just like the competition. The high price is most likely as it’s something unusual and will gain attention.
Now, this smartphone is not everyone and does lack the versatility of its competition and it’s expensive for a folding phone unfortunately for me the camera is an important factor when buying a phone and this camera setup does not cut it for me. However, if you can look past the camera and really want a folding phone and have a bag of money to spend it’s for sure an option to consider.
Product Rating:
Design: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Features: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Camera: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Battery Life: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Value for Money: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 5.0 stars – 3.4 Stars
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