I want to buy the Motorola Razr Plus, but I refuse to do so at this price point

I really want a small phone. But I’m not one of those techies that says that and then immediately proceeds to buy a Galaxy S24 Ultra or an iPhone 15 Pro Max. In fact, I really wanted to get a Zenfone 9 awhile back, but TL;DR: I fell in love with a Pixel 6a instead.

So, here’s how that short préambule is directly linked to Motorola’s latest Razr (2024) and Razr Plus (2024) flip-foldables:

• I still want a small phone and in 2024, you can’t really get smaller than a flip phone
• Having experienced a Pixel phone, however, that transition becomes kind of tough

I mean, my current phone takes awesome photos, has a lengthy software support cycle and it kind of, sort of helps that it is made by the guys who made Android to begin with. The Moto Razr Plus doesn’t do any of that and yet costs more than twice as much.

Pricing is a form of strategy

Don’t bother trying to change my mind

When I chose the Pixel 6a over the Zenfone 9, I did so because of three key reasons:

• Longer software support lifecycle
• Vastly better camera performance (mostly due to post-processing)
• An eye-catching price tag

And while most techies are still waking up to the wonderful reality of “not having to change your phones every 2-4 years”, I’ve been in that camp for awhile now. I just used to have to do it manually after a certain amount of time. Now? Google does it for me. And it makes my life a whole lot easier.

But besides that, I’d reckon that most folks would appreciate the lower price tag and solid camera performance just as much, if not more, than little ol’ me. Yet it’s not as simple as that either. Here’s what I mean: a phone’s price tag determines the buyer’s expectations.

I’m not going to pretend like it wasn’t a fact: I had very low expectations for the Pixel 6a and I just kind of needed a new phone. So it was pretty easy for me to get blown away. Key part in the scenario? More than a year later, I’m still impressed and it still gets the job done.

Which is great. But I really, really want a small phone. Better yet: I want a drag of that exciting tech innovation.

In plainer terms: I really want a foldable, man.

Phones ≆ expensive commodities

Earning your cost is a thing

Well, look at it from the brightside: it’s good that we’re not all living in feudal Japan, because I believe that if the Moto Razr (2024) — and its beefed-up sibling — were citizens there, they’d have a tough time earning their keep.

I’m just going to say it plain and simple, as I see it: if the Moto Razr (2024) Plus costs as much as a Pixel 8 Pro, it should offer at least as many features of similar quality. Otherwise, it would just appear as an expensive commodity.

And that goes double for when said phone launch happens mere months before the Pixel 9’s launch, which just got revealed and is expected to happen on August 13.

But let me simplify it even further: I love phones in navy. In that dark shade of blue reminiscent of a stormy sea. I almost lost it — in that super-honest nerd-tastic way, which we rarely get to experience in new ways past the age of 30 — when I saw the latest Razr Plus was offered in such a shade.

So, obviously, my first thought was that I should get it. I was already pretty convinced that I’m gonna get the Pixel 9 (especially if a blue variant exists) anyway, so I’m mentally prepped for spending.