Advertisement
5G
LifestyleGadgets

Review | Motorola Razr 5G review: foldable phone’s second screen beats Samsung Galaxy Z Flip’s, but main display and audio are ordinary

  • The Razr costs the same as a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G and takes great daytime photos
  • The battery lasts all day, even with heavy use, but there is no wireless charging

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
The Motorola Razr 5G is one of the best folding phones on the market. Photo: Antony Dickson
Kevin Kwong

Popular as it was in the 2000s, I never owned a Motorola Razr phone. So nostalgia is not the reason I bought the latest Razr 5G. The US brand never grew on me the way Nokia, Samsung or even the BlackBerry did.

Come to think of it, the last Motorola handset I had was the Micro-TAC 5200 (released in 1994), which was functional and sturdy. But there is a certain va-va-voom vibe about the 2020 update of the classic Razr – not least because it is one of the few smartphones on the market that has a foldable screen.

At US$1,676, it costs roughly the same as its direct competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G (US$1,677), but less than the top-of-the-range Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G (US$2,190).

Have I finally found a replacement for my two old – but reliable – phones that I’ve been using for gaming (LG G5) and mobile photography (Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact)?

The Motorola Razr 5G phone has a large chin, designed to allow the phone to fold with no gaps. Photo: Antony Dickson
The Motorola Razr 5G phone has a large chin, designed to allow the phone to fold with no gaps. Photo: Antony Dickson

Design and hardware

When folded, the new Razr measures 72.6mm x 91.7mm x 16mm and the squarish body fits nicely in the palm. It has a glass front and back that are held together by a sturdy metallic frame. The Razr 5G has a large chin by today’s standards but it is a major part of the design, and the top half of the phone folds neatly into the curved bezel without any gap.

Advertisement