Motorola Razr Ultra and Razr (2025) Review: Gorgeous Folding Phones

The Moto X from 2013 was among my preferred smart devices of perpetuity. Motorola, owned by Google at that time, debuted a build-a-phone workshop that let you personalize the handset’s style, from altering the color on the front and back to including various accents for the buttons. You might even include a signature for an additional dosage of customization.

That type of spirited nature stays evasive in the mobile phone worldhowever there are glances thanks to business like Absolutely nothing and MotorolaCase in point: the brand-new Razr 2025 householdincluding the Razr Ultra, Razr+, and Razr. Motorola might have taken the Samsung method and kept the regular glass-slab style we’re utilized to for its folding phoneshowever no. The Razr Ultra lets you pick in between Alcantara, wood, leather-inspired, and satin-inspired styles. The base Razr is available in brilliant, punchy colors, with acetate, nylon, or leather-inspired surfaces.

I have the Pantone Spring Bud Razr, a leather-inspired mint green color– my better half’s eyes illuminated when she saw it (and asked if she might take a bite, naturally). Even my hard-to-impress father stoically stated, “It’s a good color.” I enjoy the FSC-certified Pantone Mountain Trail on the Razr Ultra much more, which is a genuine wood back that exhibits class. Think what? The initial Moto X had a wood back, tooThey may not be adjustable like the Moto X, however these Razrs look fantastic, feel excellent, and there’s absolutely nothing that appears like ’em.

Fine-tuned Edges

The Razr 2025 lineup is not entirely various from in 2015’s designsRather actually, the Razr+ 2025 ($1,000) is nearly the like the Razr+ 2024now with the titanium-reinforced hinge plate for much better toughness. Its specifications equal, which is most likely why Motorola didn’t trouble sending out an evaluation system. Rather, I’ve been checking the Razr 2025 ($700) and the Razr Ultra ($1,300).

Including a 3rd entry into the Razr lineup includes unneeded intricacy, so I’m including a specification table here to assist you understand these gadgets. Basically, the Razr Ultra is the very best of the very best, with the current flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, greater storage and RAM choices, the greatest battery, much faster charging speeds, a devoted AI button, and even a more long lasting ceramic glass screen. It likewise has much better electronic cameras and is the just one that uses Dolby Vision video recording for richer colors in your video. The Razr+ sits a called listed below, though its battery life is its powerlessness, given that it has the tiniest capability, and the Razr provides a standard-fare standard experience, though it stays among the most inexpensive folding flip phones around.

Efficiency is exceptional, though this is more significant on the base Razr design, which has actually offered me some choppy efficiency in previous designs. You may still see some stutters occasionally on the $700 phone, however it’s sporadic, and in general, I’ve been rather delighted with it. The display screens– external and internal– have actually been high notes on both phones, even if I choose the a little bigger screens on the Razr Ultra. They get plenty brilliant, and the high refresh rates make whatever appear fluid.

The battery capabilities in between the Razr Ultra and Razr aren’t too various, and my outcomes were unsurprisingly comparable. These phones lasted me a complete day with 25 to 30 percent staying by bedtime with typical usage. If your screen time extends previous 5 or 6 hours, you’ll more than most likely requirement to charge the phone in the middle of the day.

One enhancement I ‘d like to see in future variations (which I have actually discussed before) focuses on opening the phone. It may simply be my brief fingernails and thick thumbs, however it’s a little battle to wedge a finger into the space one-handed and unfold the Razr. A little lip would assist. Fortunately, you can make the external display screens much more practical without continuously opening the phone, with brand-new widget panels for glanceable details.

There’s less of a crease on the interior screen, though it’s still obvious when seen at an angle, and you can feel it when your finger slides over, however I’ve never ever had an issue with it. The phone is harder general– the IP48 ranking assists make it more dust resistant than previously– and the hinge feels durable. I’ve dropped the Ultra two times onto my wood flooring, and I do not even see a scratch.

It bears duplicating, however the top advantage of a folding flip phone is that it’s an exceptionally small phone. I enjoy that I can simply grip the entire thing with my palm and still engage with it, however then get the advantages of a full-size mobile phone screen when I require it. I’ll take this over an ultra-thin and ultra-light mobile phone any day

Blunt Cameras

The cams display the greatest distinction in between the Razr and Razr Ultra. You’ll see richer information, much better direct exposure, and better complexion on the Ultra, whereas the Razr typically has more sound and usually looks a smidge more processedLow-light images still need you to be really still, even on the Ultra, however they provide strong images that are sharp and vibrant. The outcomes still do not rather compare to the quality of likewise priced phones, like the Pixel 9a or Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, however that’s foregone conclusion.

What’s most unusual is the cam app itself. Motorola still hasn’t found out a method to make it possible for Night mode by default when it identifies you’re shooting in low light, something that’s a staple function on many smart devices. You need to by hand go to the “More” tab to discover it, which’s where you can drag it to your electronic camera menu. Many people aren’t going to do that. (It likewise still does not support Night mode for selfies, though it counts on flashing the screen to compensate.)

Even complete stranger is that the brand-new Group Shot function on the Ultra, which chooses the very best frame so that nobody is blinking in group images, is a devoted mode you require to switch on. Google has a comparable function called Best Take on its Pixel phones, however it’s a post-capture function, so you can repair an image rapidly if you see somebody blinked. I’m uncertain the number of individuals will keep in mind to change to Group Shot mode (which is likewise concealed away in the “More” tab) when attempting to snap a quick selfie with good friends.

If you movie videos a lot with your phone, the Ultra provides a huge dive in video quality over the Razr. The Ultra has Dolby Vision video capture, though this is something you require to by hand allow (once again, why?). Utilizing the Camcorder Mode, which lets you sit tight like an old-school camcorder to record, the quality distinction was obvious in between the 2 gadgets. The Ultra’s video footage was sharper, smoother, more color-accurate, and didn’t burn out in high-contrast scenes, whereas the Razr had super-grainy clips, particularly in low light.

AI Overload

Motorola invested a great deal of time talking up the AI functions in its phones. Perplexity! Gemini! Copilot! Moto AI! I need to be blunt: I did not care much for any of these functions, and of the numerous that I attempted, none made a significant distinction in my life. The exception is Pay Attention– as soon as allowed, it starts a recording session with real-time transcription and a summary after the recording is over. That worked quite well when I utilized it throughout a conference, however it’s likewise a basic function now offered on a lot of flagship phones.

Motorola’s Catch Me Up AI notice summary system showed worthless when half of my notices are simply individuals sending me Instagram Reels to enjoy. When you do have real notices, I do not see how the summary is any faster than me simply checking out the source straight. Motorola’s Remember This function is a little cumbersome. Half the time, I can’t remember what I asked it to bear in mind (Remembrall, much), and you need to go to a Settings menu in the Moto AI app to discover your list of Memories. Why this isn’t a main tab in the app I do not understand.

I conserved 2 images of the Minimal Phone, which was sitting on my desk, and asked Moto AI to keep in mind each. With among them, I didn’t include any additional details, and with the other, I composed in that it was the “Minimal Phone.” Later on, when I asked Moto AI what phone I took a photo of recently, it stated I took a photo of the Unihertz Jelly Titan (which I do not own), and after that it stated it didn’t understand what design the phone in the 2nd photo was, although I supplied a name. Helpful!

You’ll see a great deal of marketing for these AI functions, however they’re genuinely not the factors to purchase the Razr or Razr Ultra. Purchase them if you desire a little and stunning phone– a gadget with genuine character that’s not simply another glass piece.