Foldables aren’t as area of interest as one may suppose. I typically spot foldable telephones in individuals’s arms, particularly these in customer-facing roles. Perhaps that’s a big sufficient addressable marketplace for manufacturers to justify providing foldable telephones which can be priced greater than your common high-end smartphone. However I typically marvel why Motorola, which was the primary mainstream model to launch a flip-style foldable, by no means thought of making a book-style foldable cellphone. Its friends, nonetheless, have been providing book-style foldables for years, together with Samsung and Huawei. Even Apple is predicted to launch the same system sooner or later.
So, don’t be shocked if I inform you that I’ve spent the previous month testing Motorola’s first entry into the phase, the Razr Fold. Surprisingly, it felt rather more polished after I first noticed the system earlier this yr on the CES tech present in Las Vegas. Certain, it has its shortcomings being the first-generation system, however the total expertise, mixed with its {hardware}, software program, and cameras, makes it a strong foldable cellphone.
Right here’s my assessment of the Motorola Razr Fold.
What: Motorola Razr Fold| Worth: Rs 159,999
Distinct design and smooth profile
The Razr Fold attracts inspiration from the model’s widespread Edge collection. It options subtly curved edges and a square-shaped digital camera island that homes 4 cameras and gently slopes throughout the again. You probably have used a current Motorola cellphone, you’ll instantly discover that the identical design language carries over to this foldable. I’m additionally glad that Motorola prevented a glass again and as an alternative opted for a woven, textured black end, which provides the cellphone a particular appear and feel. It’s additionally much less fragile than a glass again. Throughout my month with the system, I didn’t discover a single scratch or scuff on the rear panel. A case within the field protects the cellphone from on a regular basis put on and tear, which is a welcome addition.
I used the Motorola Razr Fold for over a month as my main system. (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Specific)
The Razr Fold measures 4.6mm thick when unfolded and 9.9mm when folded. It weighs 243 grams. Whereas it maintains a comparatively slim profile, it isn’t fairly as skinny or as gentle because the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. I’d say it sits someplace between the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Google Pixel 10 Professional Fold when it comes to dimension and weight.
A seasoned foldable cellphone person who has used each the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Pixel 10 Professional Fold for months, I can say the Razr Fold is designed to be an ultra-premium smartphone – and it reveals. The curved edges, together with the Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 safety on the outer show, add an additional layer of sturdiness. Extra importantly, I felt assured utilizing the Razr Fold and not using a case.
The Razr Fold slides simply into my pocket, and I might sit comfortably even whereas carrying tight denims. The cellphone additionally feels snug to carry for lengthy intervals, whether or not folded or unfolded. I believe Motorola has nailed the fundamentals of a foldable cellphone, and loads of that comes right down to its hinge. Its guardian firm, Lenovo, has a long time of expertise constructing laptops and perfecting hinge mechanisms, and it reveals within the Razr Fold.
One other spotlight, if you happen to ask me, is the stylus help. It’s optionally available and bought individually, and though I didn’t use it with the system (I solely briefly tried it at Motorola’s workplace in Gurugram throughout a briefing), I believe a stylus is smart. Since Samsung dropped S Pen help on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Motorola appears to be capitalising on that chance.
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Needless to say whereas the Razr Fold has IP48 and IP49 scores, providing water resistance for as much as half-hour and safety in opposition to high-pressure water jets, it isn’t totally dustproof.
The display(s) and multitasking powerhouse
Like every other book-style foldable in the marketplace, the Razr Fold’s largest promoting level is its two-screen expertise. The interior 8.1-inch show does have a visual crease, but it surely steadily fades into the background with common use. Even when the crease is seen, it isn’t distracting. Nevertheless, in my day-to-day use, I discovered myself relying extra on the 6.6-inch outer show. It made the cellphone really feel extra like a conventional slab smartphone, which is acquainted for many customers – and I’m no completely different.
The Motorola Razr Fold has a 6,000mAh battery, which is the biggest of any foldable cellphone so far. (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Specific)
The basic concept behind a foldable cellphone is adapting to 2 screens. For me, having two screens makes on a regular basis duties simpler. All the things, from studying The Indian Specific e-paper to checking the positioning’s every day numbers on Chartbeat, feels extra pure on the bigger interior show. The additional display actual property provides you a extra full view of the content material, and the identical applies to Zoom calls and taking notes.
One other nice instance is when you find yourself studying an electronic mail or shopping a webpage with a number of hyperlinks. With two screens, clicking a hyperlink means you’ll be able to open it on the second display and skim it later with out dropping your home. As I’ve stated earlier than, having two screens at your disposal fully modifications the way in which you multitask on a tool.
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In fact, loads depends upon the person. In my case, I work for a information publication, which is a fast-paced occupation, and I additionally journey loads. For somebody like me, a foldable cellphone makes loads of sense. Not as a result of I need to flaunt a cellphone with two screens, however as a result of it’s genuinely helpful for the type of work I do. I typically kind total tales on the cellphone itself, and I additionally don’t thoughts utilizing the Razr Fold’s display as a monitor and pairing it with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. It might look odd to the typical person, but it surely works for me.
Each shows are stunning and clear. The 8.1-inch display is nice for Netflix or gaming. Moreover, most Google apps (together with a couple of third-party ones) take full benefit of the interior display. I discover apps like Google Images, WhatsApp, and Gmail significantly helpful on the interior show, the place you’ll be able to have your electronic mail listing and the present electronic mail open facet by facet. This makes scanning by means of messages and responding to emails a lot simpler, much like the expertise you’d anticipate from a Home windows or Mac desktop app. Nevertheless, some apps, together with Instagram, are nonetheless not optimised for book-style foldable telephones, which is a disgrace.
Multitasking is the spotlight of the Razr Fold. (Picture: The Indian Specific/ Anuj Bhatia)
Multitasking is what makes foldables such fascinating gadgets, making them rather more succesful than commonplace smartphones. On the Razr Fold, split-screen mode helps as much as three apps concurrently. Nevertheless, not like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Razr Fold lacks versatile app resizing, which implies customers don’t have any management over how a lot display area every app occupies.
App continuity works nicely on the Razr Fold, as I might seamlessly change from an app on the exterior show to the interior display. One other instance of multitasking on the Razr Fold is Freeform, which locations an app in a small floating window that you would be able to transfer across the display, much like YouTube’s picture-in-picture mode. Moreover, the cellphone affords a function known as Moto Unplugged. When enabled, this mode limits distractions by permitting you to obtain solely textual content messages and cellphone calls whereas nonetheless providing you with entry to the digital camera, serving to you keep targeted on the duty at hand.
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Quick performer and lengthy battery life
The Razr Fold comes with a succesful chipset. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip (16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage on my assessment unit), which might not be Qualcomm’s newest and strongest flagship processor, however it’s nonetheless extremely succesful. Does it matter? Based mostly on my expertise, the Razr Fold has carried out extraordinarily nicely. Evaluating most day-to-day duties with my Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely, its efficiency was not less than on par.
I used the Fold’s exterior show more often than not. (Picture: The Indian Specific/ Anuj Bhatia)
The cellphone comes with Android 16 out of the field, and Motorola guarantees “7 OS updates and as much as 7 years of safety updates ranging from the worldwide launch date”, placing it in step with different premium smartphones from Samsung and Google. The person interface is clear and largely bloat-free, which must be the case if you’re spending over one and a half lakh rupees for a cellphone.
Gaming is one other space the place the Razr Fold shines, particularly if you happen to take pleasure in enjoying video games on its expansive 8.1-inch show. The cellphone options audio system tuned by Bose and Dolby Atmos integration, which was good for watching films or listening to music.
The Razr Fold additionally has a spread of AI options, powered by Google Gemini, Moto AI, and Perplexity. There’s even a devoted facet button that permits you to rapidly entry instruments for summarising notifications, producing photographs, or creating playlists. Essentially the most sensible AI function, nonetheless, is Google’s Circle to Search, which helps you to rapidly pull up extra particulars about no matter is in your display—a function now accessible on most Android telephones.
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Motorola additionally affords Good Join, its model of a productiveness device that works with Home windows laptops operating Home windows 10 or later. As soon as put in, you’ll be able to entry the Razr Fold’s apps and information on the laptop computer utilizing Cross Management. When the cellphone is unfolded and related to a laptop computer, you should use the Motorola Razr Fold as a second display and simply switch information between gadgets. Nevertheless, I didn’t get an opportunity to check this function.
The Motorola Razr Fold is skinny however not as smooth because the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. (Picture: The Indian Specific/ Anuj Bhatia)
The Razr Fold is fitted with a 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, a next-generation lithium-ion expertise designed to supply longer battery life and quicker charging. The cellphone ships with the 90W charging brick required to take full benefit of its full-speed 80W wired charging, which Motorola calls TurboPower charging. It takes roughly 46 minutes to cost the system from 20 per cent to 100 per cent. On a mean day, taking loads of images and movies, a good bit of internet shopping, and utilizing WhatsApp extensively, the battery didn’t fall wanting Motorola’s claims; in actual fact, it carried out higher than I anticipated.
Wonderful cameras
I’ve been a staunch critic of the digital camera efficiency on Motorola smartphones for years, however I used to be pleasantly shocked by how good the Razr Fold cameras are. The cellphone packs a triple 50-megapixel rear digital camera system, consisting of a wide-angle, ultrawide, and telephoto lens. There’s additionally a 20-megapixel selfie digital camera on the entrance and a 32-megapixel selfie digital camera on the interior show.
My expertise with the cameras on foldable telephones from Samsung and Google has been blended and underwhelming. Nevertheless, Motorola has nailed the digital camera expertise with the Razr Fold. Images look crisp, clear, and vibrant. Photographs seem reasonable and convincing, and I can lastly seize stunning landscapes in a manner that I wasn’t capable of with earlier foldable telephones.
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The Razr Fold’s digital camera provides distinction, brightens faces, and preserves highlights within the sky, for instance. In my photographs, the digital camera maintains pure pores and skin tones whereas preserving high-quality particulars. Nevertheless, I do want the digital camera might seize portrait photographs a little bit higher.
Under are some digital camera samples shot on the Razr Fold. Please word that the pictures have been compressed for the net.
Shot on the Razr Fold (Picture: The Indian Specific/ Anuj Bhatia)
Shot on the Razr Fold (Picture: The Indian Specific/ Anuj Bhatia)
Shot on the Razr Fold (Picture: The Indian Specific/ Anuj Bhatia)
Shot on the Razr Fold (Picture: The Indian Specific/ Anuj Bhatia)
Shot on the Razr Fold (Picture: The Indian Specific/ Anuj Bhatia)
Shot on the Razr Fold (Picture: The Indian Specific/ Anuj Bhatia)
So, do you have to purchase the Motorola Razr Fold?
In the previous few years, foldable telephones have gotten higher, but they by some means nonetheless really feel unfinished. The Razr Fold retains the phase thrilling, however the system is way from excellent. Foldables, in my view, nonetheless lack an optimised person interface designed for dual-screen gadgets, and the Razr Fold doesn’t resolve that drawback. Nevertheless, Motorola’s first try at a book-style foldable cellphone is commendable, with only a few negatives. That stated, I do want Motorola had launched a wider-screen foldable as its debut book-style foldable, because the Razr Fold’s kind issue not feels as recent or distinctive because it as soon as did.
That stated, the Razr Fold can simply function your every day driver and exchange a conventional slab smartphone, but it surely comes at a excessive price, particularly at a time when job losses are rising and financial uncertainty stays excessive. You probably have the price range, the Razr Fold suits nicely into the skilled market. If you’re an fanatic, a enterprise person, or an actual property skilled on the lookout for a tool that stands out from the gang and delivers a strong, distinctive expertise past the run-of-the-mill smartphones accessible at present, it is a system that gained’t disappoint.