Motorola's new Razr and Razr Plus might just make you want to switch to a foldable phone. Here's a hands-on look.

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Motorola announced its new Razr and Razr Plus foldable phones on June 1. Only the Razr Plus will be available for preorder starting on June 16 for a starting price of $999.99. The Razr Plus will be available to buy on June 23 from Motorola's website, AT&T, T-Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, Google Fi, Optimum Mobile, Best Buy, and Amazon.

While Motorola revealed a standard Razr model alongside the Plus and detailed its features and specifications, the standard model's release date and price have yet to be announced in the US. 

Motorola's latest Razr flip-style clamshell foldables look like Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip4, but each model has its own unique ingredient that makes them more tempting, like a potentially lower price tag, or a large exterior display that doesn't force you to unfold the phone every time you want to use it. 

In fact, these very ingredients could be the key that makes a foldable phone finally worth buying. I had an opportunity to get some hands-on time with both phones prior to their unveiling. Here are some first impressions.

Motorola's Razr Plus fixes my biggest issue with clamshell-style foldable phones

Motorola updated its latest Razr foldable phone design and did away with the bottom lip from the 2022 model, which was reminiscent of the classic Razr flip phones from the mid-2000s. Now, the Razr and Razr Plus have a modern clamshell design, where both halves are identical and flat. 

The exterior and frame of the Razr Plus is premium glass and metal in two color options — Infinite Black and Glacier Blue. A third "Viva Magenta" color option has a vegan leather back on the lower half of the device.

The Razr Plus runs on 2022's flagship processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It might be a year old, and it's somewhat surprising to see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in a premium release in 2023. Still, the processor is a powerhouse that runs the Android operating system and any app in the Google Play Store quickly and smoothly.

Motorola's Razr Plus has a dual-lens camera with smaller 12 and 13 megapixel counts than you'd find on regular flat phones, like the Galaxy S23's 50MP camera, but I still expect camera performance to be excellent. After all, Google's Pixel 6a has a 12MP camera that easily competes with phones that cost three times as much with four or more times the megapixels.

Unique to the Razr Plus is a relatively large, 3.6-inch display on the exterior of the phone that practically takes up the entire top half of the phone's exterior, which gives you the same control and functionality as if the phone was unfolded. Technically, you could use the Razr Plus exclusively with the exterior display, apps and all, without ever unfolding it.

It means you don't have to unfold the Razr Plus to perform quick tasks, like replying to a message. That's especially useful if you only have one hand available and can't use your other hand to unfold the phone.

That gives it a big advantage over the standard Razr and the Galaxy Z Flip4, which have smaller displays that are really just designed to show you notifications.

The interior display is a massive 6.9 inches — it's even bigger than the $1,200 Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's 6.8-inch display. However, to be fair, the Razr Plus' display is noticeably narrower, which means apps and content don't look much bigger, if at all.

Interestingly, the Razr Plus' display runs at 165Hz, which is higher than the standard 120Hz refresh rate you'll find on premium phones these days. I didn't notice that the Razr Plus' display was especially smoother during my short time with the phone, but it's something I'll look at in more detail when I get my hands on a review unit.

I'm not expecting any revelation in battery life with a relatively small 3,800mAh battery. The Z Flip4 has a 3,700mAh battery that doesn't especially impress, and even forces those who rack up a lot of screen time to top up their phone in the afternoon.

Starting at $999.99, the Razr Plus' price is typical among similar foldables, like the $999.99 Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4. 

Motorola's standard Razr could be the most affordable foldable phone you can buy

While the Razr Plus fixes the issue of having to unfold the phone every time you want to use it, the standard Razr may fix the issue of affordability with foldable phones. 

Motorola hasn't announced the standard Razr's price yet, but the company says the price will be "meaningfully different" compared to the Razr Plus. Considering the standard Razr's less premium overall features, I can only surmise that it'll be significantly less expensive than the $999.99 Razr Plus.

While I say the standard Razr is "less premium overall," it still manages to look and feel like a thoroughly premium device with a metal frame and vegan leather on both halves of the back. The vegan leather comes in three different color options, including Sage Green, Vanilla Cream, and Summer Lilac.

The standard Razr runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 — a mid-range processor from 2022 that's not quite as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but is still utterly capable of running the Android operating system and apps quickly and smoothly. Depending on the standard Razr's price tag, its performance isn't something I'm worried about.

You'll also find a dual-lens camera system on the standard Razr, but the main camera has a 64 megapixel count that's more akin to premium flat phones. I'm anticipating comparable photo quality to the Razr Plus' 12MP camera, despite the higher megapixel number.

The standard Razr's 1.5-inch exterior display won't have the same total functionality as the Razr Plus' 3.6-inch exterior display, but it's useful to glance at notifications and perform basic tasks, like flicking to the next music track. It can even act as a preview screen for the Razr's main camera so you can frame yourself correctly when taking selfies with the main camera, which I expect is superior to the selfie camera for taking selfies.

At 6.9 inches, the standard Razr's interior display is as large as the Razr Plus', but it runs at 144Hz instead of 165Hz. That's still a higher refresh rate than most premium phones, and I didn't perceive much difference in smoothness between each phone's display. 

Apart from price, the standard Razr may come with another meaningful benefit — longer battery life. It has a bigger 4,200mAh battery that could give you more confidence to go out and about without a backup battery.

Motorola Razr and Razr Plus release date and price

The Razr Plus will become available for preorder on June 16 for a starting price of $999.99 on Motorola's website, AT&T, T-Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, Google Fi, and Optimum Mobile, Best Buy, and Amazon. The Razr Plus will be fully released through the same stores on June 23.

The standard Razr's release date and starting price aren't yet available. However, I anticipate that the standard Razr's price tag will be lower than the Razr Plus'.

Motorola Razr and Razr Plus specs