Foldables are here to stay, and Samsung so far is probably the only smartphone manufacturer to score a profit on the emerging niche with the revisited Galaxy Fold. Motorola, one the other hand, struck the nostalgia nerve of many with its new Razr flip phone. It seems that one flipped the switch over at Samsung, which quickly came up with its own 'flippable' phone, the Galaxy Z Flip, which was unveiled on February 11 alongside the Galaxy S20-series. Flippin' awesome!
Seeing that the Motorola Razr and the Galaxy Z Flip (Bloom) will be the sole flip phones available on the foldable market for a while, it makes perfect sense to compare and see how they fare against one another. Let's go!
Design & display
Both the Galaxy Z Flip and the Motorola Razr are foldable phones of the clamshell variety, which means that they unfold into the vertical pane, just like the good ol' flip phones. Both devices are gunning for portability, with the Razr being quite pocketable when folded and the Galaxy Z Flip not a gigantic device according to the rumors. According to the murmurs, the Z Flip will employ a 6.7-inch display on the inside and a minuscule 1-inch external screen, which means that once you fold the shebang, it wouldn't have such a large footprint and would be as big as a 3-inch phone would be when folded. Meanwhile, the Razr sports a 6.2-inch main display and a rather generous 2.7-inch external display, which comes in very useful for brief interactions with the phone like checking if you have any pending notifications or capturing a quick selfie. The same applies to the Z Flip as well, but its external display is a lot smaller and not very useful. If you can stomach ticker display, you won't have problems though.
Of course, both displays are of the OLED variety, and while the Motorola Razr's display has a plastic cover, the Galaxy Z Flip uses actual ultra-thin bendable glass. The UTG (ultrathin glass) cover could come in as thin as 30-micrometers, which is very thin, and substitutes the polyimide screen protector-like cover that was used on the Galaxy Fold. Apparently, glass that is so thin isn't as rigid as regular glass, so win-win for the foldable phone industry.
Meanwhile, the Motorola Razr still relies on a plastic-covered display, but thanks to the ingenious hinge that allows the display to actually retract within the handset when folded. This makes the display crease virtually non-existent, or at least way less noticeable in comparison with other foldable devices, mainly the Galaxy Fold. There doesn't seem to be such a mechanism present on the Galaxy Z Flip, meaning that it would probably have a more perceptible crease.
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Specs comparison table
Specs
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Motorola Razr
Display
6.7" 1080p flexible Infinity-O AMOLED display 1.1" external display, 300 x 112 pixels, Super AMOLED
6.2" P-OLED (2142 x 876-pixel) flexible display 2.7" external 600 x 800 pixels OLED display
Dimensions and weight
6.61 x 2.94 x 0.28 inches (167.9 x 74.6 x 7.2 mm), when folded (87.4 x 73.6 x 17.3 mm), 6.46 oz (183 g)
6.77 x 2.83 x 0.27 inches (172 x 72 x 6.9 mm), when folded (94 x 72 x 14 mm), 7.23 oz (205 g)
Chipset
Snapdragon 855+
Snapdragon 710
RAM & storage
8GB/256GB
6GB/128GB
Battery
3,300mAh
2,510mAh
Camera
12MP main + 12MP telephoto 10MP selfie camera
16MP f/1.7 PDAF
Price
$1,399
$1,500
Size comparison
It's hard to keep secrets these days, and this fully applies to Samsung's worst kept secret as even the dimensions of the Galaxy Z Flip got leaked. Here's how it measures up against the Motorola Razr.
When unfolded, the two devices are pretty similar in terms of overall size. Here's a relative comparison of the two in their unfolded states.
Hardware
Hardware isn't really important on foldable phones, as the form factor itself is a solid reason to command a premium price tag. The Galaxy Z Flip with the Snapdragon 855 platform on deck is a definitely the better-spec'd device between the two. Moreover, Samsung has put 8GB of RAM on deck and 256GB of non-expandable storage.
That's the case with the Motorola Razr, at least, which comes with some humble internals. A Snapdragon 710 makes it tick, alongside 6GB RAM, and 128GB of storage. Specs don't really tell the whole story, and if you just skim through the specs sheet, you are very likely to quickly shoot down the phone for its mid-range hardware. Nobody will be getting this device for the specs alone, and it was never intended to be a headbutting flagship in the first place. From my brief time with the phone, it actually felt very capable and quite snappy.
However, both the Galaxy Z Flip and Moto Razr are likely to suffer from the childhood illness of sub-par battery life - the batteries inside are simply not big enough to deliver anything better than a day worth of battery life at least. The Z Flip will likely have a 3,300mAh battery, while the Razr has a 2,510mAh battery.
Camera
Neither the Motorola Razr or the Galaxy Z Flip put any real emphasis on the camera experience. For all intents and purposes, the cameras are there just for the sake of it and won't really push the boundaries of mobile photography any further. A humble entrant that would take the job done -- but not much else.
Anyway, the Galaxy Z Flip dons a dual camera, consisting of 12MP main and another 12MP ultra wide-angle cameras. With a 10MP selfie camera punching a hole through the display, the Z Flip is certainly a more potent phone when it comes to camera prowess. Photos come out sharp, detailed, and colorful, similar to many previous flagships, suggesting that Samsung did not take any shortcuts here.
Price, release date, and expectations
The Motorola Razr has a $1,500 price tag, which is a bit steep for what you're getting. If it were a regular phone, it would have been lambasted and totally destroyed, but none of this will happen with the razr, because it plays so well with your nostalgia. It's a proof of concept that sets the stage for something much bigger for Motorola's future. It's also a foldable phone done right, showing that foldables don't need to be those quirky monstrosities that look so unnatural and unwieldy.
The same applies to the Galaxy Z Flip as well, though it launches at a lower $1,380 price. That's a bit higher than the previously leaked price of nearly $900, but makes sens in the context of foldable devices right now as they're still a hot and very niche commodity.
The Moto Razr could be released any day now, while rumors peg the Galaxy Z Flip release date for sometime in late March/early April.
Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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