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How do you improve your most popular Flip phone, which was widely rated as the best flip phone of last year? Motorola faced this exact problem, and its approach was to take all the feedback it received and address it.
The result is the Motorola RAZR Plus 2024, also known as the Motorola RAZR 50 Ultra outside the US. It addresses almost everything that we faulted with last year's model, and in doing so, Motorola has raised the benchmark for Flip phones in 2024 and beyond.
Motorola Razr Plus 2024
Who should buy this: Anyone who wants a flip phone experience that's fun and practical with the ability to use any app on the smaller front screen.
The bottom line: The Motorola Razr Plus shows what happens when you listen to customers. It fixes all of the major problems with the previous generation and has a lot of nifty software tricks designed to help you embrace the foldable phone life.
Pros:
- Excellent use of the front screen
- Gorgeous color choices
- Fantastic performance
- Neat software tricks
- Front screen can run any app on your phone
Cons:
- Unknown durability
This is why the Motorola RAZR Plus 2024 is such a great phone and will almost certainly be the best Flip phone of 2024.
Summary: Motorola sets the benchmark
At our briefing for the new Razr series, Motorola shared some numbers that indicated its impact. Last year’s RAZR series saw a 28% growth globally and made Motorola the fastest-growing brand. The RAZR series also reached 75% market share in the Flip phone segment, which is outstanding considering that last year’s RAZR was the first reboot of the original reboot a few years ago. Of the new RAZR buyers, 78% were apparently switching from an Apple device, and this showcases the value of the RAZR promise: it’s a fun experience that gets people excited.
The Motorola Razr Plus 2024 shows that listening to your customers can herald great results. It also shows that the competition for the Flip segment is ramping up, and Samsung’s dominant market position in foldable phones is not unbeatable. Crucially, I think the Razr Plus — and the regular Razr, which I’ll be covering later this week — represent the biggest challenge to Samsung’s flip dominance in the US.
The Motorola Razr Plus 2024 also sets the standard for all flip phones going forward. It’s not enough to treat the front screen like a large smartwatch. Now, the expectation has to be that companies build entirely new experiences for the front screen. Apps and games need to be front and center. Embracing the front screen as a small phone also means battery life improvements: It takes less battery to power a small screen, and this can yield better overall satisfaction with battery life.
Motorola chose to bring in Paris Hilton for its launch in New York City, which made a lot of sense given the history. Paris Hilton was the original influencer for the RAZR V3 twenty years ago, and bringing her back to help launch the Hot Pink Motorola Razr Plus 2024 yielded tons of coverage in non-tech press. This is who Motorola is targeting with its Razr, and it may be working: I recently went to a gas station outside the US where the attendant asked, “Is that the new Motorola?” That’s the first time I’ve ever been asked that, as it’s normally, “Is that the new Samsung?”. Perhaps Motorola’s marketing efforts and influencer-first approach are starting to work.
We won’t have to wait long to see just how sustainable that is. Samsung is expected to respond with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which is rumored to launch tomorrow (July 10). Samsung will also likely be heavily marketing the Flip 6 around the Olympics in just a few weeks, and it remains to be seen whether the Razr Plus 2024 can stand out even against Samsung’s marketing prowess. Regardless, stay tuned for coverage of Samsung’s new foldables and how they compare.
Now, here’s our Motorola Razr Plus 2024 review!
Design & Display
On the face of it, the Motorola RAZR Plus 2024 looks just like last year’s Razr+, with a few tweaks in just the right places. It features the same iconic design used last year, with a larger display dominating the front and an improved hinge that is 30% smaller, making for a thinner and lighter phone. This hinge is also meant to make it easier to flip open and close with one hand, although my large finger still finds it challenging to do so quickly.
Motorola’s research found that the average user spends 75 minutes per day using the external display. After two weeks, I use the front display about 45% of the time. This is the magic of the front display, which is crucial to the overall Motorola RAZR Plus 2024 experience.
At 4 inches, it is 17% larger than last year’s model, making it easier to see more on the screen. The front display is also the real reason to buy the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 over anything else: it’s an even better little phone than last year, which I absolutely adored. More on that in a moment.
This year, Motorola went all-in on its unique finishes for the rear of the Motorola Razr Plus 2024. There are two choices – Vegan Leather and Vegan Leather Suede – and which one you get depends on which color you pick. The colors are fantastic: there is a beautiful midnight blue (which is the only one with a racing stripe), a pastel-like pink, a spring green, and my favorite: Hot Pink. Naturally, I’m rocking the Hot Pink, and it is glorious.
The main display is a new 6.9-inch pOLED display. It features HDR10+ certification and 3000 nits peak HDR brightness. It covers 120% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and the 165Hz dynamic refresh rate makes for an excellent scrolling experience. This display is great, and the crease doesn’t affect usage, although the pre-installed screen protector does reflect fingerprints. You won’t really have a reason to complain about the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 display.
The Cover Screen
The Cover Screen unlocks the magic of the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 (as well as the Razr 2024 and last year’s Razr+). Unlike Samsung and OPPO, which treat the front screen as an extension of the phone itself, aka like a larger smartwatch, the Razr Plus 2024 Cover Screen is a small phone. It’s perfect for those who want a small phone that becomes much bigger when needed. Many people struggle with the size of big phones, but the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 is thin and light and folds up to fit into any pocket.
Motorola introduced its take on the Cover Screen last year, and this year, it has improved the experience in many ways. Panels have been redesigned — including the ability to see all your panels (aka home screens) in one view — and a new widget panel lets you add multiple widgets to one screen. Like your regular home screen, you can resize them and add as many as you want, reaffirming the feeling that this is just a tiny and optimized Android phone.
The new Spotify panel provides quick access to new recommendations, and when you’re listening to something, the entire lock screen becomes an animated Spotify screen with quick controls. There are also many new options to customize your screen with photos, fonts, and clock faces. New for this year is the Always On display, which mimics your regular lock screen, and the new home screen can add quick shortcuts to four apps.
The Motorola Razr Plus 2024 Cover Screen acts just like a small Android phone, and it’s this approach that makes it truly magical
Apps are crucial to the Cover Screen and make the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 magical. OPPO’s approach to the Cover Screen is a selection of curated mini-apps, while Samsung offers a limited selection, although you can enable more apps by installing Good Lock and tweaking some options.
Motorola doesn’t make it convoluted: there’s an Apps panel, and you can easily add any app on your phone to it. I’ve yet to find an app that didn’t work well on the front screen, and while the full 4-inch display does cover the cameras making some options hard to select, it’s easy to open the shortened folder-like view by just tapping and holding the bar at the bottom. This is how the Cover Screen on any flip phone should be, and Motorola absolutely nails the experience here.
Then there’s the part that makes it truly fun: the games panel. Last year saw Motorola pre-install a few games that take advantage of the Cover Screen. The result was a big competition between the 40 or so media/creators in my group chat over who could score the highest in Stack Bounce. The winner was Tim Schofield, but this year the competition wasn’t Stack Bounce. It was Freekick football, and like FIFA – aka EA Sports FC 24 – it is hopelessly addictive. Tim set the early benchmark, and Rich Woods came in and beat him. Then, late last week, I beat Rich, but sadly, it didn’t last. Rich then decided to go over 1000 points higher than me, which reminds me: I’ll be back; it’s time for another game. I will beat him… eventually.
I also use the Cover Screen for most daily things that don’t need a large screen. I paid for travel – like the New York subway – for my coffee and food, and I even paid for a hotel. I’ve used it for mapping and even drafted very long emails. There are glitches and quirks where it isn’t the most conducive for typing walls of text, but I use it so often that I can’t go back to my iPhone. The Motorola Razr Plus 2024 has ruined a regular smartphone for me.
Hardware & Performance
The Motorola Razr Plus 2024 is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, coupled with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The processor is the little brother to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 used in most flagship phones, and I’ve had no complaints about performance. Yes, some folks may lament the lack of the absolute best chipset that Qualcomm has to offer, but it doesn’t matter in actual usage.
The battery has been bumped to 4,000mAh and is paired with 40W charging, 15W wireless charging, and the ability to reverse wireless charging of other phones and devices. Battery life has been mostly excellent, with the phone capable of lasting a full day of usage in most conditions, but under heavy usage, I found it needed charging towards the end of the night.
There is a direct correlation between the amount of Freekick football I play and how early I need to charge during the day, so if you don’t game, you’ll likely end up with about 20% charge remaining at the end of the day. If you exclusively use the main display, you’ll likely find it doesn’t last as long, but if you use the front display as much as I do, it feels like it could last for days on end.
Charging is rapid, and it mostly hits 30W when I’m charging using my existing cable and charging brick. At this speed, a full charge takes around 1 hour and 10 minutes, which is around 57 mAh/min. It’s not the fastest, but it’s not the slowest. Regardless, it is more than fast enough for everyday usage, and you won’t have any complaints, especially as it rapidly charges over 50%.
Software & AI
The Razr Plus 2024 follows Motorola’s established approach to software: rely on the core Android experience with tasteful little tweaks and improvements. The result is one of the nicest software experiences on a phone and also my favorite font of any phone.
Like every phone this year, the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 is also all about AI. Motorola has paired Google's Gemini features with a range of Moto AI experiences, most of which are launching later this year. One of these is the new Style Sync, which can generate wallpapers for you based on an image. There are also new AI-powered optimizations in the camera, which can be enabled with a tap of the option in the viewfinder, which you absolutely should do.
The Motorola Razr Plus 2024 will come with three months of the Google One AI plan, which pairs 2TB of Google One Storage with Gemini Advanced. After the 3-month free trial, it'll cost you $20/month, and it's questionable just how much value Gemini Advanced provides. It's the default voice assistant, although I've found it's less useful than Google Assistant for non-generative tasks like controlling your smart home. My verdict is firmly noncommittal on Gemini, at least in its current state, but that doesn't reflect on the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 in any way; rather, it's a reflection on Google as a whole.
Beyond AI, the Razr Plus 2024 also incorporates the Moto Actions that complete the Razr experience. A simple double chop of your hand turns on the flashlight, which is super useful in dark conditions. Similarly, a double twist of the phone launches the camera, which makes it quick and easy to take pictures in a snap. Both actions work most of the time, although there are noticeable moments when they don't activate, especially when the phone is folded.
Cameras
If there's one area where the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 may not appeal to you, it is the cameras. Specifically, the choice of a 2x telephoto camera instead of an ultra-wide camera. It’s a personal preference whether you’re on team ultra-wide or team telephoto, but personally, I think a good telephoto is more than acceptable. I know I’m in the minority, but based on the non-techie people in my life, I suspect they’d rather have a telephoto lens.
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The new Razr Plus features two new 50MP cameras. The main sensor features OIS, whereas the 50MP telephoto offers 2x optical zoom but lacks OIS. Frankly, it needed OIS, but overall, it’s more than acceptable for social media posts. I suspect this is the goal: everything about the new Razr Plus is designed around sharing life on social media, and the telephoto lens is more than acceptable for that, at least in great lighting conditions.
Last year’s RAZR Plus ultrawide camera left much to be desired, even in great lighting conditions. This year’s telephoto is a significant improvement, though it still requires optimal lighting conditions. That said, some photos indoors can come out fairly well.
Many of these are not acceptable for printing or even showing off to people on a big screen. However, they are more than good enough for social media, as are selfies. The Razr Plus form factor and Moto actions to quickly launch the camera make it perfect for selfies, and I absolutely love taking selfies with this camera.
For many people, the video quality will be hit and miss, but at the launch, I captured some footage of Paris Hilton that I think showcases the capability of video recording. Is it the best for video? Absolutely not. Will it take videos that capture the moment and that you don’t mind reliving? Yes, it will.
When you hold it at 90 degrees, it becomes a camcorder and automatically starts recording. The UI pivots to give you controls exactly where your thumb is, so you can quickly start and stop recording (with a tap) or zoom in or out (with a swipe). The video above was captured in camcorder mode, complete with the zoom.
When you’re taking a picture of someone, the cover screen shows them what’s on the screen, so it’s easy for them to give their approval. It also stands out when you’re taking photos in selfie mode, although if you’re right hand, the camera position means you’ll sometimes inadvertently end up capturing part of your palm.
I love taking selfies with this phone!
Regardless, this camera is fun. Smartphone cameras are meant to capture moments, and the Razr Plus form factor and quick actions make taking photos fun. Even though the pictures aren’t technically the best, the Moto Razr Plus makes it fun to take pictures, and that will be more than acceptable for most people.
Price, Availability & Verdict
At a price of $999.99, the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 is priced exactly the same as last year, even though it is vastly improved in so many ways. I really like this phone, and it offers excellent value for money, but if you don’t mind waiting, there’s a strong chance it will see a few discounts fairly quickly. At launch, it’s available via T-Mobile and AT&T, as well as Motorola.com, Amazon and Best Buy. It goes on sale tomorrow (July 10) and is expected to launch on
Then there’s the Motorola Razr 2024, the non-Plus variant. In many ways, it is essentially last year’s RAZR Plus at a lower price point: $699.99. I have a lot of thoughts on that phone but stay tuned for more in the coming days. If you want to know more about it, check out my thread on Twitter.
The Motorola Razr Plus is the most fun I’ve had with a phone this year, and I pick it over the iPhone and other more expensive devices.
The Motorola Razr Plus 2024 is one of my favorite phones to use. I wrote a third of this review on the front screen while walking around New York. I use the front screen all the time, and I opt to use the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 over phones that cost $200 to $300 more. It’s the most fun I’ve had with a phone this year, and it’s shaping up to be the best Flip phone of the year, as well as one of the best phones of the year. The real question is what will Samsung offer, and we’ll have that answer in one day.
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