Motorola is confident its new razr phone won't break like the Samsung Galaxy Fold

by Florin Troaca

Nov 15, 2019, 5:58 PM

Motorola is confident its new razr phone won't break like the Samsung Galaxy Fold

With the new Motorola razr (coming soon to Verizon Wireless), Motorola Mobility and its parent company Lenovo are trying to offer us what they call "the phone of tomorrow." While this 2019 razr looks a lot like the iconic Motorola RAZR V3 that's now well over a decade old, it packs modern and appealing specs and, more notably, it's got a flexible display.

As the world's first clamshell phone to sport a flexible screen, the Motorola razr is more compact than the flexible display smartphones announced before it, including the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X, which are considerably larger and heavier.

When unfolded, both the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X feel more like tablets, not phones. In contrast, the Motorola razr remains a phone no matter how you use it and, from this point of view, it may just be the most user-friendly foldable handset yet. Of course, we have to wait until we get the chance to scrupulously test the razr before passing proper judgments on it.

Can the Motorola razr avoid the issues that plagued the Galaxy Fold?

As you may remember, earlier this year Samsung had to postpone the release of its Galaxy Fold from April to September. That's because the device - as initially built - was prone to issues related to its flexible screen. After only a few days of use, multiple testers had found bulges in the middle of the Galaxy Fold (right where the screen was folding), plus dead pixels. Samsung did fix everything since then, so now the Galaxy Fold is alive and well and you can buy it for $1,980.

With the Samsung Galaxy Fold saga in mind, we asked Motorola about the reliability of its foldable razr. More exactly, our full question was: "What measures has Motorola taken to ensure the reliability of the device, and is it confident in it remaining issue-free in the long run, unlike what we saw with the Samsung Fold?"

Here's Motorola's answer:

"We didn’t bring the new Motorola razr to market until we knew it was ready. We have full confidence in the durability of the Flex View display, and based on our research, it will last for the average lifespan of a smartphone. We acknowledge this is a brand new technology and we are committed to continue improving as the industry evolves. Therefore, we’ve created a world class service package to make sure every razr customer has an exceptional experience."

Hopefully, when the new razr hits the market (beginning January 2020), it will indeed be issue-free. The smartphone will cost $1,499.99, so customers have to be assured they're not spending that much money on a product that can't serve them well.

We already wrote about the "world class service package" that's mentioned in Motorola's answer above. This will be available in the US only, although something similar might be announced for other markets, too. The best thing about the service package is that if the screen (or any other part of the phone) breaks, customers can get the razr repaired or replaced in just 24 hours. Should the flexible screen break under normal usage, Motorola vows to repair it for free. If the screen is damaged in circumstances that fall outside of Motorola's standard warranty, a replacement will cost you $299.

You can take a closer look at how Motorola designed the 2019 razr in the video below:

We also asked Motorola if it had any plans to release the razr unlocked, or via other carriers besides Verizon. Unfortunately for non-Verizon customers, the answer is not encouraging. Here is what Motorola told us about this:

"We have a long-standing relationship with Verizon, and we are excited to be working with them to bring consumers the first-ever clamshell-style foldable smartphone. We work closely with our carrier and retail partners when determining our distribution and sales strategy and for the time being, razr is exclusive to Verizon."

A feature-packed clamshell phone

Although the main attraction of the Motorola razr is its inner flexible screen - a 6.2-inch panel dubbed "Flex View" and offering 876 x 2142 pixels - the reinvented clamshell phone also has an external display. Called "Quick View," this external screen is a 2.7-inch, 600 x 800 pixels one that lets you quickly interact with many of the device's functions - you can make calls, view notifications, reply to messages, and even authorize mobile payments without flipping the phone open.

The Motorola razr is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor - this is not as fast as a Snapdragon 8xx series processor, but it should be perfectly adequate for a hassle-free mobile experience. Other features include splash-free coating, 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage space, two cameras (16 MP rear, 5 MP front), and a 2510 mAh battery. At launch, the Motorola razr will run Android 9 Pie (we assume and hope that Motorola is already considering updating the handset to Android 10 at some point).

Based on everything that we know about the Motorola razr thus far, do you think you'll want to buy it come January 2020?