Motorola is back with two new Razr flip phones for the UK, the Razr 50 and Razr 50 Ultra. Harking back to the iconic flip phone of 2004, the brand hopes to challenge Samsung’s might with these foldable Android devices. I was at the launch of the new Razr phones in New York City and tried out the Razr 50 Ultra to see how it stacks up against the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and other high-end smartphones, given Motorola’s fashion premium – forward bend at a good price of £999.
I’ve only had it in my hands for a day or so, but I think there are three clear ways the Razr 50 Ultra beats the Z Flip 5 right out of the gate.
Compared to the Z Flip 5, which is an all-metal and glass design, the Razr 50 Ultra comes in four brighter and more attractive colors, including a Hot Pink shade that’s a direct throwback to the pink Razr from years 2000 that was seen. in the hands of many famous people, including Paris Hilton.
I’ve been loaned an attractive spring green model, and along with Pink, Midnight Blue and Pantone’s 2024 Peach Fuzz options, the back of the phone is covered in colored vegan leather. This might not be to everyone’s taste, but the soft-touch finish feels great to hold, and also adds grip where glass phones like the Z Flip are more slippery.
The matte finish also completely hides fingerprints, so you won’t have to keep wiping the Razr — although you certainly will for the lid display, since it’s all glass.
It’s that 4-inch bezel-less display that’s the second way Moto has Samsung beat here. The Z Flip 5 has a 3.4-inch external display, but it’s quite sharp when you use it and tilts around the two cameras. Moto has opted for full coverage with a screen that wraps around the camera and flash to give you a lot more usable space.
There’s almost no bezel around its exterior, and when it’s closed, I found it easy to tap out a quick text, find my way around with Google Maps, or load up a Spotify playlist. Unlike Samsung, Motorola lets you run full Android apps by default on the Razr 50 Ultra, so you don’t always need to unwrap the phone to get things done. On the Z Flip 5 you can also do this, but you have to change some settings and there is less space to see things since the screen is smaller.
In addition to full apps, you can also choose which widgets to use on the external display, including Spotify, weather, calendar and more. Granted, when I’m trying to write a long message, I’d rather have the phone open, but a great side effect of a screen like this is that I can glance at notifications and send a message if needed and I tend not to dive into a social media doomscroll session or mindlessly open a few apps after I’ve done what I wanted to do.
The Razr’s ugly but useful display also has an always-on display to match Samsung’s, displaying key information even when the phone is locked.
The cameras on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 are decent for a foldable phone – cameras are often where foldable devices fall down a bit as the sensors necessarily need to be smaller to fit into a slimmer device. The other downside of the Z Flip’s photographers is the lack of a telephoto zoom lens, with Samsung opting for a main camera and an ultra-wide camera that can take in more of a scene. I really miss not having a zoom lens on that phone as all the zooming is done digitally so the photos are worse quality than if you had an optical zoom lens.
Thankfully, Motorola has decided to give the Razr 50 Ultra a prime lens and a telephoto zoom, betting that people will prefer better-quality zoom shots to ultra-wide ones, since there’s no ultra-wide lens here. wide.
I think this is the right choice. Unless you’re close to something you’re likely to snap and zoom all the time, ending up with smaller photos if your phone doesn’t have a dedicated telephoto lens. I’ve enjoyed the 2x zoom on the Razr 50 Ultra, which obviously can’t match the 5x zoom on phones like the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but for photos of friends at a bar or getting a little closer to street art and animals , has already proven useful.
I need a few more days before I can decide if the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra is a better buy than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, but first impressions are great. The design is great and there are plenty of ways to customize the phone in addition to color, with plenty of software customization and a range of new cases, including ones with straps to wear the Razr as a summer accessory.
You can buy the Razr 50 Ultra from Wednesday 26 June in the UK for £999.