This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
How do you make a long-time fan of an ex-industry-leading smartphone brand fallen from grace (more than once in its history) turn on said brand and write not one but two critical editorials in the space of just a few days?
Simple - you continue to make some of the same mistakes that have prevented your brand from regaining its lost relevance over the last few years and find new and creative ways to show you're not ready to rival the likes of Samsung, Apple, or even Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo on the world stage.
Exhibit A: the inexplicably delayed Razr Fold
Okay, perhaps "delayed" is not technically the right word to describe Motorola's first-ever book-style foldable, as no one can know when the company (or rather its Lenovo parent) actually started working on this device.
The Razr Fold certainly looks promising, but also rather familiar and unremarkable... for something that's still months away. | Image Credit -- Motorola
But even if that was two weeks ago (which it obviously wasn't), the Razr Fold is clearly late to the market already, risking to be forgotten or even viciously mocked if it doesn't go on sale soon. For its part, Motorola has only announced "more specifications will be shared in the coming months", which if you ask me, is an insult of the highest order for many of the brand's devoted fans, suggesting the foldable's commercial release might not take place until the summer.
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Now, I fully realize that this is far from the mobile industry's first such official product "pre-announcement" or teaser meant to build buzz around a potentially game-changing device without relying on the usual leakers or unauthorized word-of-mouth. But that strategy doesn't tend to work when said product is not that special or when it was supposed to be a thing years ago. Just ask Samsung how effective last year's Galaxy S25 Edge game plan proved.
I'm not (necessarily) saying that Motorola should have expanded the Razr family beyond clamshell-type phones back in 2020 or 2021, but it's hard for me to get excited about a first-gen alternative for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 that may well become available at the same time as or even later than the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
Are you interested in Motorola's new high-end products?
Yes, both of these look amazing to me
42.31%
Yes, but only the Razr Fold
14.84%
Yes, but only the Signature
20.33%
It's a no from me for both
22.53%
Adding (further) insult to injury, the (few) Razr Fold specs confirmed so far are in no way mind-blowing or revolutionary, and while I have no doubt that that very promising pricing rumor from just a couple of a days ago will (eventually) pan out, I'm afraid it could all be too little (not in a good way) and too late for this long overdue iPhone Fold rival.
Oh, and speaking of the iPhone Fold, I obviously realize that Apple could well adopt a similar launch strategy for that device (which should have also seen daylight a long time ago), but as much as it might pain you to admit (and myself to write), Apple is Apple. Not everyone can afford to make the same apparent mistakes as Apple (and especially get away with them), and the brand holding 12 percent share in the US smartphone market as of Q3 2025 is certainly not part of that select group.
Exhibit B: the non-US-friendly Signature
You know what my biggest peeve with Motorola is right now? That I actually got fooled into believing the "world-class" Signature would be the start of a beautiful new flagship lineage for the entire world.
The Signature is an undeniably gorgeous phone you may never be able to buy stateside. | Image Credit -- Motorola
All the signs were there. The pre-launch promotion was seemingly more aggressive and (at least for me) more effective than ever before, the design was a knockout, and the announcement was timed perfectly with the start of the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, I'll tell you exactly what went wrong. The Motorola Signature was unveiled with no US availability details and a vague "coming soon" label for Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific regions.
While I've never been under the impression that North America is the center of the civilized world (especially in this day and age), that's clearly a super-important market for Motorola that the Lenovo-owned brand weirdly insists on treating as an afterthought year after year.
Somehow, the Martini Olive model is even prettier than the Carbon version. | Image Credit -- Motorola
Now, is it still possible that the Signature will eventually reach the United States (and Canada) under that name or a different one? Yes, but will it matter if that happens after Samsung puts the Galaxy S26 family on sale around the world? Well, also yes, but it would have still been smarter and more effective for Motorola to step into a new (non-foldable) Android flagship age with full global availability info.
That would have been a major and very welcome sign of maturity for a brand that keeps falling short of greatness lately mostly through self-sabotage and a constant lack of inspiration regarding the simplest things. Oh, well, there's always next year.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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