Motorola Razr Review

Motorola took a serious gamble when it reintroduced humble flip phone with the new Razr in 2019.

It triggered waves of nostalgia within the smartphone market – albeit a lot of raised eyebrows at the $1500 price point – and Motorola has done it again in 2020 with its premium smartphone, the $2000 Razr 5G.

A gentle blend of modern technology and features from a bygone era, the Razr 5G coaxes consumers with the snap-shut flip phone feel which reminds me of a simpler time, when Blockbuster ruled and CD mixtapes were the ultimate gift.

"A gentle blend of modern technology and features from a bygone era,"

DESIGN

When flipped shut, the design reminded me of an early 2000s Blackberry. But what the original Blackberry didn't have was a vivid display that users could navigate like a mini home screen.

When it's sitting on the desk, the closed display appears to have sensors which can monitor movement when your hand drifts across the screen. This is a quick and easy way to check for notifications and a nice little touch.

The display itself, while locked, is quite basic with just the time, date and battery. But once unlocked users can personalise which apps they can access via the small screen and you can set it up so the app will stay open once you un-flip and open the big screen.

You can also use the selfie camera while it is on the small screen, though I struggle to see why users would opt for this when the larger, better quality camera is easily accessible. You can also dial and make calls from the small screen, too.

The biggest plus for me as a ‘90s baby was the ability to end calls by flipping shut the phone.

I haven't done this in years and it's a tangible feature that a lot of top-tier smartphones on the market cannot compete with.

Motorola tried to accommodate the awkward flip mechanism with a sleek, chic and thin design. Equipped with both fingerprint ID technology and Face ID (it's rare for a smartphone to have both) my first qualm was the fingerprint sensor is a little lower than anticipated.

The rear-mounted sensor doesn't sit where the finger naturally goes, so you have to feel around for it until you get used to where it is.

The back of the phone is neatly designed with the Motorola logo on the fingerprint sensor and a small, double-lens camera.

I had the Razr in dark grey and it is a very stylish look, although it does come in rose gold too if you prefer it to look less business-like.

Once unflipped, I was impressed by the vivid colour on the 6.2-inch OLED screen. There's virtually no crease where the phone closes either. The only design flaw would be the chunky bottom which accommodates the flipped screen and the two large screws in the middle to supports the fold function.

Otherwise, the long, slim screen size gave it a similar look to a Samsung or Apple phone.

The design was upgraded from last year's Razr with curved glass and aircraft-grade aluminum which makes it feel soft and comfortable sitting in my hands.

Although notably, the Razr 5G only has two modes: flipped and unflipped. Unlike the Samsung Z Fold 2, it doesn't have ‘flex mode' which allows you do use it as a mini laptop or book.

PERFORMANCE

Powered by a Snapdragon 765G paired with 8GB RAM, the Razr 5G has the same chipset as the Google Pixel 5 ($999).

It is also equipped with Google Assistant and has NFC for Google Pay.

After scrolling through the screen for a while, I found there was minimal screen lag and the apps were all welloptimised and easy to navigate.

And with an 876 x 2142 resolution, I was pleasantly surprised at how the display fared in direct sunlight. Legibility of the flipped screen was a bit harder to see, however.

The Razr 5G is made with a 2800mAh battery and the battery life was quite decent with regular use. Probably due to the flip function, the phone doesn't support wireless charging which a surprise given the price point.

CAMERA

There are three ways you can utilise the camera on the Razr 5G: Selfie on the closed phone, selfie on the open phone and the rear camera.

For a premium smartphone, I wasn't overly impressed with the quality of the Razr's camera.

The pictures taken are quite nice but competition in the price department is the iPhone, which has pro-grade cameras which take incredible photos.

Specs-wise, the Razr's camera as a 48MP resolution, with an f/1.7 aperture and a 26mm focal length. It also shoots 4K video at 30fps. But it doesn't have an ultra-wide lens.

Despite this, my test photos came out crisp and with somewhat vivid colours.

Portrait mode came out okay but again, it's hard not to compare this camera with other premium smartphones on the market when its resolution, depth-mapping and colours are not top-tier.

You can also open the selfie camera on the mini screen by twisting wrist twice, which is a fun novelty.

EXTRAS

The box doesn't come with a pair of motobuds charge, which the $299 Moto g9 play does, but it comes with a pair of standard headphones, a wall charger, lightning USB-C cable and adaptor because the model does not have a headphone jack.