Motorola’s $399 Razr is the most affordable foldable cellphone deal nonetheless out there from Prime Day

What is the deal?

Final 12 months’s Motorola Razr is at the moment on sale for simply $399 ($300 off), its lowest worth but,  Amazon Prime Day.

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Motorola Razr (2023) stays one of the reasonably priced foldable telephones available on the market, with a retail worth of $699.
• Some notable compromises embrace a smaller exterior show, a lower-end processor, and a weak digicam system.
• The Motorola Razr handles day-to-day actions pretty properly, and may even run extra graphics-intensive duties if wanted.

It has been on my thoughts because the very first foldable: at what level will these shape-shifting telephones be reasonably priced sufficient for everybody to purchase? The primary iterations have been understandably costly due to the R&D and supplies that producers had put in — and likewise due to innovation — so it was solely a matter of time earlier than processes grew to become extra streamlined and the value for entry dropped, proper?

Additionally: Among the finest low-cost foldable telephones I’ve examined will not be a Samsung or OnePlus

However that is hardly been the case, with the OnePlus Open being priced at $1,699 (solely $100 lower than Samsung and Google’s phone-to-tablet foldables) and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 now beginning at $1,099.

That is why Motorola’s humble Razr (2023) is such a giant deal. It is the primary foldable cellphone to retail for lower than $700, not solely undercutting the following “most cost-effective” foldable by $300 but in addition the bottom fashions of extra conventional telephones just like the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Apple iPhone 15. If Motorola can nail down the necessities at this worth level, the Razr might be the foldable I like to recommend to most individuals.

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For starters, it is easy to mistake the Motorola Razr for the Motorola Razr Plus that was launched final June. The 2 telephones are very comparable, together with the folding mechanism, normal kind issue, software program options, and charging know-how (30W wired, 5W wi-fi). 

Assessment: Motorola Razr Plus (2023): One of the best flipping foldable proper now

However seeing the 2 bodily collectively paints a clearer image. The 1.5-inch OLED panel on the Motorola Razr is considered one of its large compromises, because it’s merely not as purposeful or glamorous because the one on the Razr Plus. That may be a great factor or a nasty factor relying in your smartphone values.

For instance, having a smaller exterior show limits the data you’ll be able to see at a look. Most often, incoming notifications and textual content messages are simply too lengthy to be learn utterly, and a great chunk of duties require you to make use of the internal display screen to get them finished. 

You can also’t freely open apps and browse the net from the outer display screen — that was one thing I recommended the Razr Plus for — as Motorola limits you to fundamental widgets just like the climate, contacts, and voice recorder.

Additionally: Motorola desires you to put on its new bendable cellphone like a watch – however do not get too excited

Alternatively, a smaller display screen means you are much less more likely to get distracted when the Razr will not be in use — or does not must be used. Motorola even has a “Unplugged” characteristic that limits your entry to extra distracting apps like TikTok and Instagram, so that is as near a characteristic cellphone as a smartphone will get.

Flip the display screen open and also you’re met with what’s mainly a typical mid-range Android cellphone from 2023. The processor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, will not be the most recent and best, nevertheless it’s adequate to get me by means of a day of Slack messages, emailing, capturing the occasional picture and video, and navigating across the metropolis, with some lag and slower load occasions right here and there.

Assessment: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: Three options I like (and two that I nonetheless want for)

I’ve additionally been testing the Razr’s efficiency with a Nintendo DS emulator (DraStic) — as a result of why would not you simulate a foldable gaming console on a foldable cellphone — and the system has stored issues working pretty properly. Most often, the Razr solely will get hotter to the contact after about quarter-hour of gameplay at 60fps.

On paper, the Razr’s 64MP twin digicam system ought to yield extra flattering photographs than it does, however Motorola’s picture processing is its greatest Achilles heel.

Most often, colours seem extra washed out and never as saturated (or lifelike) as I might choose, and the 13MP ultrawide lens, whereas able to capturing a wider discipline of view than the primary sensor, lacks element in pictures.

Additionally: I modified this Android setting to immediately double my cellphone pace

However the Razr being foldable signifies that it beats even the costliest iPhone 15 Professional Max in a single regard: hands-free footage. Motorola put the identical sturdy hinge on the Razr because it did on the Razr Plus, so you’ll be able to set the cellphone down — one thing you’d sometimes want a counterweight or tripod for — and seize photographs and movies from a distance. 

Having the exterior show additionally means that you would be able to take fantastic-looking selfies by leveraging the rear cameras as a substitute of the front-facing one. Once more, one thing solely a foldable cellphone can do.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Buying within the mid-range market might be troublesome as a result of it is all about how producers steadiness specs and options, and the way these values align along with your private wants. Within the case of the Motorola Razr, its foldable kind issue alone makes it stand out from a sea of glass slabs, and the $699 (at the moment $399) worth makes it essentially the most accessible choice of its variety.

In fact, you will should be okay with its compromises, together with the just-average digicam system, smaller exterior show, and 128GB storage restrict. In any other case, that is pretty much as good as a foldable will get at this worth level, and I totally anticipate rivals to match Motorola’s supply as quickly as subsequent 12 months.