Motorola's new Razr+ is everything I want from a flip phone (2024)

After years of languishing in the wilderness, Motorola returned to flagship form with last year’s Razr+, a foldable so good that we thought it bested Samsung’s. Now, on the eve of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 launch, I’m tempted to say that Motorola’s done it again. Its 2024 take on the Razr+ iterates in all the right ways, delivering the biggest cover screen yet on a flip phone, redesigned cameras, and doubling down on its winning approach to fit and finishes. This phone looks great, feels great, and doesn’t cost a penny more than last year.

Editor's choice

Motorola Razr+ (2024)

9/ 10

The Razr+ (2024) iterates in all the right places. The cover display is the biggest on any flip phone, the colors and finishes have been refined, and the new 2x telephoto lens is unexpectedly capable. Photography still lags a little behind similarly priced slab phones, and Motorola needs to get its head around proper software support. Otherwise, the Razr+ offers everything you'd want from a flip phone.

Pros

• Bigger and brighter cover display
• Smooth performance
• Flexible and customizable software
• Telephoto lens impresses

Cons

• Long-term software support not up to scratch
• Cameras still lag behind 'traditional' smartphones

$1000 at Best Buy

Price and availability

All-in for a grand

The Razr+ (2024) is available to pre-order in the US from July 10, with an official release on July 24. You can pick it up from AT&T, T-Mobile, Amazon, Best Buy, and Motorola's website.

It’s priced at $1,000, the same price as last year’s model - no price hike here. In fact, the 2023 edition of the phone rarely sold for that much, frequently dropping to $700 on discounts, so keep an eye out for similar savings on this year’s edition. Conveniently, that $1,000 sticker price even includes a free case — color-matched to the phone — with a lanyard to attach it, so unless you want something a bit tougher, you shouldn’t need to splash out on a Razr+ case.

Design and displays

Cover up

Motorola hasn’t reinvented the Razr here, but it’s made one key upgrade year-on-year: last year’s 3.6-inch cover display has now been expanded to 4 inches, running almost edge to edge when the phone is folded shut.

That means the phone looks better than ever, but there are practical boons, too: a little more space to type messages, play games, and control widgets. Some experiences still feel a little cramped — much as I wish it worked, it’s almost impossible to use Google Maps on a screen this size — but this is already a clear upgrade and a much larger screen than Samsung squeezes into its flip phones.

That cover display is an LTPO OLED, and technically, it's faster than before at a 165Hz refresh rate, so it feels silky smooth. You’ll find the same refresh rate on the 6.9-inch internal screen — the same size as last time around —and both displays have also been boosted in brightness. The inner screen now peaks at 3,000 nits, the outer at 2,400, both of which are enough to guarantee usability in almost any light conditions.

The hinge has been tweaked a little again, making sure that it feels rigid and sturdy, especially when fully opened. Last year’s phones had a little wobble to them, which is all but gone now. The folding screen’s crease is about as visible as it used to be, which is to say, not very, unless you go looking for it.

Motorola has kept the curved corners of the 2023 phone, in contrast to the Z Flip’s blocky body, a design that I much prefer. It helps the Razr feel small despite its big display and keeps it comfortable in the hand.

The company has also gone all-in on its vegan leather finish, applying versions to every color of Razr+ this time around. And what a set of colors they are: the lush forest green of my review sample is one of my favorite phone finishes in years. If you want something more muted, look to the deep, dark blue, or try peach or a lurid pink if you’d rather go more eye-catching. Samsung’s no stranger to colorful finishes on its flip phones, but Motorola goes all-out in a way I can’t help but admire.

Finally, a word on durability: I still wouldn’t trust a foldable phone as far as I could throw it, but Gorilla Glass Victus on the outer display should help a little with that. An IPX8 rating also gives the Razr+ water resistance to match the best out there, though there is no rated protection against dust.

Performance and software

There’s nothing wrong with second-class

Motorola has once again resisted the temptation to pack its flagship foldable with a best-of-the-best chipset, instead opting for the more efficient Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. That might be a reason for some to consider the Samsung alternative, but in practice, there’s little reason to: paired with 12GB of RAM, this is a perfectly powerful chip, capable of smooth day-to-day performance and fluid gaming, too. Unless you’re desperate to max out frame rates every chance you get, there’s really no reason to consider the 8s Gen 3 a downside.

Then there’s the software, and there’s good and bad here. Let’s start with the good. Motorola’s take on Android 14 remains relatively unobtrusive, defaulting to Google apps and design language as often as possible, only layering a little of its own flair on top. If you’re a fan of the ‘stock’ and Pixel software experiences, this will feel pretty close.

That commitment to Google goes even further. The new Razrs are the first phones to ship with Google Gemini as the default digital assistant, replacing Google Assistant. You access it with the same set of shortcuts as Assistant, including the option to run Gemini on the cover display. It can handle a similar set of basic queries and smart home controls, plus more advanced ‘AI’ features.

Naturally, there’s been a big focus on the cover display. Motorola has used that little bit of extra space to enhance a couple of its widgets and allow more flexibility. The cover screen now has a dedicated ‘Widgets’ panel that you can load with any widgets that would normally run on your home screen, and as many as you want, filling them out vertically once you run out of space on the screen.

Like last year, you can also try to open and run any Android app you’d like on the cover screen - a sharp contrast to Samsung’s walled approach, which limits you to approved software. Both approaches have pros and cons; Motorola’s is freeing, but janky — not every app will run sensibly on a square, 4-inch screen, and it’s a matter of trial and error to work out which are worth persevering. One final software boost: for the first time, there’s a true always-on-display here, which is long overdue and very welcome.

I mentioned something bad with the software. Don’t worry; it’s not too awful. Motorola has ‘only’ promised three Android version updates and four years of security support, meaning the Razr+ will cap out at Android 17. That’s arguably not a dealbreaker — many change their phones more frequently than that anyway — but in the age of Samsung and Google offering almost a decade of support, Motorola is lagging behind.

More pertinently, it’s lagging behind quite literally. Eight months after its launch, last year’s Razrs still haven’t been updated to Android 14, and there’s little reason to hope this year’s phones will see speedier support. If you buy this phone, buy it based on the software now, and don’t bank on getting every upgrade you hope for.

Cameras

No wide release

Much of the 2024 Razr is iterative, but Motorola did make a pretty bold call when it came to the phone’s cameras: ditching the ultrawide.

Although there are still two cameras on the phone, the 50MP main lens is now joined by a 2x telephoto camera at the same resolution, rather than the traditional wide-angle. The pitch here is simple enough: short-throw telephoto lenses like this are ideal for portrait photography, and most people photograph their friends more often than they do sweeping landscapes.

When Motorola told me about the swap, I was pleased with the choice but cautious in my optimism. I love my Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s 3.2x zoom lens, which I use for photographing people and food photos for my restaurant Substack, product shots for work (including the ones in this article). But that’s an expensive phone with an enormous camera system — what could Motorola achieve in the constraints of a flip phone body?

The answer is a lot more than you might think. The 2x zoom distance is a little shorter than I’d like, but the 50MP sensor here is enough to capture some excellent detail and balanced color when the light is right, and it even does a serviceable job when you jump to 4x.

The lens is bolstered by a surprisingly fast f/2.0 aperture, which keeps it humming along nicely even in dimmer conditions like restaurant lighting. It has limits, though, and for proper night-time photography, you’ll want to switch to the main lens with its even faster f/1.7 aperture and, more importantly, optical image stabilization.

This main camera is a small step up from the telephoto across the board. It does a great job in good lighting, as you'd expect, and outpaces the telephoto in dimmer conditions. It won't match the best phones around at night, nor will it deliver crisp natural bokeh or handle challenging lighting well. But it's good enough that you won't feel let down.

Of course, the cameras also benefit from the form factor. You can use these relatively powerful main cameras for selfies rather than being limited to the lower-resolution selfie camera on the inner screen, which is better suited for video calls.

There’s the option of enabling a camera preview on the outer screen so that your subjects can see how they look or turning on smiley cartoon faces that might help hold the attention of younger kids (or drunk friends). You can access the camera without even opening the phone, which is ideal for quick selfies. Holding the Razr+ sideways and opening it to a right-angle will automatically switch to a dedicated ‘camcorder’ mode and start recording for a touch of retro appeal.

At the end of the day, the cameras here are still a little below the standard you might find in other phones for the price — certainly, a Pixel 8 Pro or Galaxy S24+ will deliver better shots for the money. But you no longer need to settle for a deeply compromised camera in a flip phone — the Razr+ will net you a perfectly capable main camera, which doubles as a top-tier selfie option, and an unexpectedly good portrait lens. Just make sure you won’t miss the ultrawide.

Battery and charging

Gets the job done

If the cameras are one historic flip phone weakness, the battery is another. Fortunately, Motorola solved that problem in previous years, and things are much the same now.

With a 4,000mAh cell, the Razr+ can comfortably last a full day of fairly typical use and will just about cling on if you push it harder. I’ve been going to bed with around 40% left in the tank most days, though I would want a power bank on me if I was taking the phone on holiday and pushing the camera much harder.

Charging is fine, too. The 45W wired charging is far from the fastest but is good enough for quick top-ups. 15W wireless is great, too — I find it especially convenient in flip phones since, with the smaller size, you’re all but guaranteed to drop the phone in the right spot on the charger for maximum speeds.

Competition

The best, for now

There are only three real alternatives to the Razr+ this year. The first is simply last year’s phone — it’s a perfectly good alternative if you’re comfortable with a slightly smaller cover display, worse cameras, and a little less software support. Consider it if you can find it for much cheaper than the 2024 edition, but the newer model is clearly the better phone.

Then there’s the regular Razr. At $700, this is a good deal cheaper, and it now has a large cover display that’s close in size to last year’s Razr+. You’ll have to live with a slower processor and charging, though, and instead of that impressive telephoto, you get a more basic 13MP ultrawide. The savings might be worth it if you’re not too fussed about getting the full-size cover screen.

Then, of course, there’s the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6. At the time of writing, Samsung is about to announce its new flip phone, though we think we know roughly what’s coming. Expect a smaller cover display than the Motorola’s, though a faster processor. The software will be more polished and include years of more support, but it offers less freedom when it comes to that outer screen. Pick this phone if you’re already deep in Samsung’s ecosystem or hope to keep using your flip longer than Motorola’s three years of Android updates will allow.

Should you buy it?

If you want a flip phone and can afford to drop a grand on one, yes

Setting cost aside, this is probably the best phone on the market right now. The cameras are capable, the battery life and chipset are good enough, and the full-size cover display lives up to the promise of the form factor.

The only real downside is that we still don’t trust Motorola when it comes to software support. Even if it did get its act together, Motorola's three-year promise would lag behind Samsung’s. That might be enough of a reason to go for the Galaxy, while the regular Razr offers better value despite a few key downgrades.

But for $1,000, this is almost everything you could want from a flip phone and proof, if it was needed, that these phones are here to stay.

Editor's Choice

Motorola Razr+ (2024)

9/ 10

The Razr+ (2024) iterates in all the right places. The cover display is the biggest on any flip phone, the colors and finishes have been refined, and the new 2x telephoto lens is unexpectedly capable. Photography as a whole still lags a little behind similarly priced slab phones, and Motorola really needs to get its head around proper software support, but otherwise the Razr+ offers everything you'd want from a flip phone.

$1000 at Best Buy