Motorola Razr fails folding durability test earlier than expected

Let’s say you are planning to buy the new Motorola Razr and you are interested to know if its quirky design can handle our everyday usage. CNET has decided to perform a durability test on the Razr’s folding mechanism to check the lifespan of its moving parts for us. The test was executed using a machine called FoldBot, designed by SquareTrade, which automatically folds the phone and opens it again. Last year, the same test was performed on the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which lasted 119,380 folds on the machine. So, how did the Moto Razr do?

The FoldBot machine, initially calibrated for the Galaxy Fold, was redesigned for the Motorola Razr and CNET started a livestream yesterday with the goal of reaching 100,000 folds on it. Unfortunately, at 27,000 folds, the livestream hosts noticed that the machine was experiencing some resistance from the mechanism of the phone. Apparently, the hinge was making noises and resisting the fold. Additionally, when closed, the Razr also seemed slightly uneven. However, the screen still looked unchanged and worked well.



During the same durability test, the Galaxy Fold’s screen broke in the end, but only after lasting 119,380 folds on the machine (to be precise, 14 hours of constant folding and opening had done it for the Galaxy Fold). That being said, it’s important to also mention that the test was slightly different for the two devices, as the machine adapted for the Razr folded it only halfway through, while the Galaxy Fold was closed all the way through every time.

Okay, but what does this mean in real life? Given the fact that the machine folded the Razr halfway through and that the data from the 2017 reports that Americans are checking their phone around 80 times a day, that means the Razr could eventually show some problems after around a year. It’s important to note that, according to CNET, the testing machine might not have been configured optimally for the test. Also, the machine does the folding quite quickly, when in reality, people don’t usually walk around abusing their phones like that.