HIGHLIGHTS
• The new Motorola Razr has been launched for $1,500 in the US.
• cThe new Razr has a folding display to accomodate the compact flip phone form factor.
• The Motorola Razr could come to India within a few months.
Motorola announced its new and rather unconventional flagship yesterday in the form the new Razr and it looks promising right on paper. The new Razr is a flip phone like the original RAZR but unlike the original one, this one has a folding display. And it's a full-fledged smartphone that runs on Android. As with all folding phones, it is expensive but compared to the existing folding phones, it's the cheapest one you can buy today.
The Razr is unique in many ways and it has a complete set of features that set it apart from the existing folding phones in the market. And in classic Motorola style, it has some unique touches to make it appealing to those living in the nostalgia of the original Razr. The Razr has been currently confirmed for the US only but Motorola has opened up a registration page for India as well, which means the Razr is coming to our shores soon.
If you are excited about the new Moto Razr, here a couple of things to know before Motorola considers it for India.
Moto Razr: How's it different from other folding phones?
--The new Moto Razr is currently the only phone with the smallest folding display. When unfolded, the main display measures 6.2-inches, which is much smaller than the one of the Samsung Galaxy Fold. That translates to a compact footprint and hence, a familiar form factor to the conventional glass-slab smartphones.
--Motorola has managed to make the crease almost invisible on the folding display. The Razr uses a dual-hinge system as well as protective plastic layers for additional protection. The hinge has a minimum gap between the display and the body which Motorola says should minimize the risk of damage.
--Surprisingly, the Moto Razr is the only folding phone with water-resistant nanocoating on the body and is splash-proof.
--While the main display is folded, the display slides forward into the chin slightly to accommodate for the fold inside the body. The screen also bends inward into the hinge section to get a completely shut profile when the device is folded shut.
--For fans of the original Moto RAZR, Motorola has built-in a special Easter Egg that offers a classic RAZR UI on the new touch display. It's called the Retro Razr mode and it offers a new launcher that only lets you interact with the phone via touch buttons and the results are shown on a small display rendered on the top half of the screen.
--The Razr uses an old midrange Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset that's not going to guarantee ultimate flagship-grade performance. However, the chipset was chosen because the Razr has been in development for a long time and its launch has been delayed massively. During its development stages, the Snapdragon 710 was the best midrange chipset available. A midrange chipset offers a better balance between performance and battery life, and Motorola found the Snapdragon 710 to be just perfect for the job.
--The Razr tries to enhance its durability with a polycarbonate rear panel that also keeps the weight under check. The front is made of glass though as it houses the 2.7-inch Quick View touchscreen display.
--The new Razr has a capacitive fingerprint sensor resting on top of the chin, which can be used for verification and authentication purposes.
--Motorola is using a stock Android interface for the new Razr which comes with support for app continuity and Moto Experiences feature. However, the Razr runs on Android 9 Pie and there's no clarity as to whether and when the Razr will get an Android 10 update.
--The new Razr only comes in Noir Black colour variant for now. The original Moto RAZR came in a myriad of bright colours and it remains to be seen whether Motorola brings those shades to the modern iteration of the Razr.