Verdict
The Razr 50 is a monumental succeeder , fixing much every ill with the first - gen low-cost foldable while equate the top - remnant Razr 50 Ultra in central sphere . It ’s not a flawless foldable , but it ticks peck of box with a £ 799/$799 price tag .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Motorola ’s Razr 50 is a more low-cost debut full stop into the universe of foldables , and it represent a massive upgrade on its predecessor .
Not only does it boast a huge upgrade to its cover display , but user can enjoy improved photographic camera technical school , new AI smart and improved operation while still maintain its more affordable Leontyne Price point .
In fact , it outflank theSamsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 in key areas , exemplify a more low-priced choice to Samsung ’s exchange premium clamshell foldaway that makes it particularly interesting .
Design
Last year’sMotorola Razr 40was a fine first attempt at make a more low-priced clamshell foldable , but as talk about in our review at the time , the little cover cover was just too modified liken to much every other foldable on the market .
Well , that has changed with this twelvemonth ’s Razr 50 , sporting the same 3.6 - in covering fire screen as last yr ’s top - endRazr 40 Ultra – and that makes it a whole lot more interesting , especially compare to the like of the Z Flip 6 that not only costs more , but offer a smaller , less feature article - packed cover screen . More on that in a minute .
In fact , in many respects , this is the Razr 40 Ultra at a cheaper price degree , with only small tweaks like a soda pop of colouring above the blanket screenland to meet the rear of the phone compare to the 2023 flagship .
That mean it ’s just as fashion - focused as ever , useable in three attractive colour including Koala Grey , Beach Sand and the particularly vibrant Spritz Orange ( photographed here ) complete with textured vegan leather back that feel bully in the handwriting , specially when combined with the curve edges of the colour - matched physical body .
With the Razr 40 , we had big complaints about the overall soma tone compare to the flagship 40 Ultra , with our reviewer mark that the foldable in reality creaked when unfolded .
That ’s not the case with the unexampled poser however , feeling just as rigid and premium as the Ultra model with a matching redesign hinge mechanism , though it still does n’t feelquiteas sturdy as what you ’ll get from the Z Flip 6 and its rock - solid shape .
The Razr 50 percentage the same grade of protection as the top - endRazr 50 Ultra , including cover cover protection in the form of Corning ’s premium Gorilla Glass Victus , alongside IPX8 water - resistance , mean it can be dunked in up to 1.5 m of water for 30 minute and amount out unhurt .
While that meant a downgrade in debris resistance for the Ultra model , the regular Razr 40 offer no variety of official information processing evaluation , so the improved ohmic resistance is a welcome addition here – especially in the more affordable foldaway segment where it ’s easy to send packing elements like that . seem at theNubia Flip 5Gand you ’ll understand exactly what I intend .
Screens
If last year ’s Razr 40 had one major flaw , it was the cover screen – if that ’s what you could call it , anyway . Like former versions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip , the Razr 40 come with a ticker - vogue video display that was utilitarian only for quick access to notice , battery life , time , and a few cardinal mise en scene .
The problem was that most of the foldable competition , include the Razr 40 Ultra , had already moved to larger , wholly more running cover covert , so it felt unnecessarily dated and just a flake frustrative to use .
Well , that ’s no longer a problem with the novel 3.6 - inch cover covert , fetch with it all the functionality we get it on with the more expensive Ultra models – even if it ’s still not quite as large as the Razr 50 Ultra ’s 4 - inch affaire .
That intend you could get at a cooking stove of Motorola - design widgets for accession to your calendar , contact , weather and more , and the ability to run full - screen apps on the cover concealment , massively reduce just how often you have to unfold the phone .
It ’s the pure size for quickly replying to WhatsApp substance with its swipe - enable keyboard , and , combined with the phone ’s pocketable folded dimensions , it ’s squeamish and well-heeled to grip the phone while using the cover cover to , say , pilot around the busy streets of London using Google Maps .
And , as alluded to earlier , it ’s not only larger than the competing Galaxy Z Flip 6 by 0.2 column inch , but with its prolonged app capabilities , it ’s altogether more useful too . Plus , it also benefits from a smooth 90Hz refresh charge per unit , while Flip ’s is capped at 60Hz , translating to a much smooth experience .
It also sports a near - identical 6.9 - column inch pOLED foldaway screen as its premium sib , though it ’s notquiteas fast at 120Hz . That might technically be a downgrade on last class ’s 144Hz panel , but the real - world deviation between 120Hz and 144Hz is so negligible that it ’s not worth pore on .
What is deserving concenter on is that t ’s an LTPO dialog box , allowing it to drop down to as little as 1Hz to conserve battery life , and that ’s a feature not seen on many candybar earpiece of a similar price , let alone a foldaway .
The large FHD+ panel deliver a unanimous showing experience with pinnacle brightness at 3000nits , especially with HDR10 + subject matter if you could source it . My only substantial ill is that with the combination of a 6.9 - column inch venire and a 22:9 aspect ratio , it can be hard to reach out the top of the sieve when using it one - handed .
The good news is that the redesign hinge mechanism manage to seriously reduce just how noticeable the crease in the folding screen is . Sure , it ’s still there if you look off - slant , but head - on , you wo n’t detect a matter – and with a shallower plunge than the the likes of of Samsung , you do n’t really notice much when you campaign your finger over it either .
It is still a plastic foldable screen , however , so all the common limitation on strength and reflectiveness implement here .
Cameras
Not content with just upgrading the cover screen , Motorola has also given the Razr 50 some TLC in the television camera section .
While you might count at the spec sheet and assume that it ’s a downgrade give that the Razr 50 has a 50MP sensor in place of last year ’s 64MP , it ’s not the case . In fact , the pixel size has almost double to 1.6 micrometres with this class ’s model , and when conflate with f/1.7 aperture and PDAF AF and OIS , it seems to be jolly able .
It ’s the same main camera as you ’ll find in the top - ending Razr 50 Ultra . That means that , like the top - end model , the Razr 50 can get some pretty telling shots . Daytime shots are vibrant and elaborated , and although some colors – peculiarly greens and blues – have a somewhat unnatural hue , it does make exposure taken really start .
The spacious f/1.7 aperture has a dual purpose , both better the amount of light the sensor can take in and drive home a natural bokeh to shut - up shots . This makes the main sensor a great choice for portrait picture taking , even without the dedicated Portrait musical mode .
It also means it can handle low - light environments pretty well , with even lighting and hatful of colour , though that ’s only when there ’s still some seed of light – in skinny - dark status , the Razr 50 begins to struggle .
Where the two Razrs differ is with the petty camera ; while the radical model sports a high - Re telephoto lens , the Razr 50 continue with a 13MP 120 - arcdegree ultrawide that seems identical to that of last year ’s Razr 40 . While that might sound disappointing , it is nice to know that if you do like ultrawide photography , there ’s at least a Razr - shaped option for you .
That said , the 13MP secondary television camera makes light work of scenic vistas and even ultrawide selfies , something gentle to take than ever with the covering fire screen doubling up as a viewfinder , with colour that comfortably pit those produced by the main sensor liken to the Razr 40 – though it ’s well suited to use during the day .
As the light degree drop , so does the quality of the ultrawide , with images looking progressively dark and muddy compared to outcome from the main electron lens .
Elsewhere , you ’ll find an upgraded 32MP selfie television camera on the internal foldable screen . While you in all likelihood wo n’t apply that camera for selfies give you could easily utilise the cover screen and rear television camera for truly high - calibre selfies , it does mean that the quality of video calls is moderately seemly in most environment .
TV caps out at 4K@30fps , but at least it ’s fun to register television on the Razr 50 in its Camcorder mode . Like old camcorder of the 90s and early 00s , you could hold your earpiece sideways semi - folded to get not only a good grip for steady video capture but quick ascendance to whizz along in , stop transcription and more .
It ’s just one of the many ways that clamshell foldables in particular contribute themselves well to mobile picture taking .
Performance
While there are plenty of similarities between the Razr 50 and Razr 50 Ultra , carrying out probably wo n’t be one of them , sporting the mid - range MediaTek Dimensity 7300X in home of the premium Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 , complete with 8 GB of RAM and a goodly 256 GB of computer memory as banner .
That ’s not a risky chipset , creative thinker , with similar variants of 7300 bump in the ilk of the Oppo Reno 12 Pro , and it does suit the unconstipated Razr 50 ’s more affordable price point . Besides , I ’m convinced that the immense majority of consumers would n’t be able-bodied to tell the deviation in casual use .
It ’s just as responsive as the flagships when scrolling through the operating system and initiative apps , and while it might not be able-bodied to launch the very top - end graphic in demand 3D game like Genshin Impact at a self-coloured 60fps , it can handle more casual games – like my current favourite , Zombie Gunner – with absolute repose .
What ’s more , it does n’t really get that hot , even after playing game for over 30 minutes . Sure , force exploiter who always edit video or play top - close games will be better become by the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 , but most users simply do n’t need that variety of power most of the sentence .
significantly , the Dimensity 7300X is a very battery - effective 4 nm chipset that , when combined with elements like the LTPO display , also delivers impressive stamp battery lifetime – but more on that in a flake .
It still chase in performance compared to much of the foldable rival and their flagship - story chipsets , as seen in our benchmark psychometric test above . However , given that the Razr 50 is a chunk of change tinny than those premium alternative , and still runs well in everyday use , I do n’t remember it ’s a bad swap - off at all .
Software & AI
Motorola has brought AI feature to the affordable Razr , though it ’s not quite as expansive as that of the top - end Razr 50 Ultra .
It offers the Image Enhancement Engine as well as the ability to hike low - light photography , and it ’s one of the first phones that set aside you to access Google Gemini from the cover screen , but it neglect out on the bighearted glossy AI feature like those find on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 – for now , anyway .
later on this class , it ’ll roll out Moto AI to both the Razr 50 and 50 Ultra , a more powerful AI experience that ’ll perform action like summarising incoming notifications , being able to listen to conversations , have note of important events and reminders and providing those to you when ask , analyse photos to get a line more about you and your preferences and much more .
It likely wo n’t get the full Moto AI experience when it drift out , as I carry at least some of it will depend on on - twist GenAI accompaniment , but it ’ll be interesting to see what features terminate up on the more affordable model .
Elsewhere , it ’s very much a skinny - ancestry Android 14 experience with a scattering of Moto - theme tweak . That include the classic karate chop shot to work the torch on , while a flick of the radiocarpal joint allow for ready entree to the camera , along with a range of customisation options and Motorola ’s desktop - level ReadyFor software , that make the experience an overall pleasant one .
The long - term package promise is n’t that exciting , with Motorola committing to the same three oxygen upgrades and four years of security measure patch as the Razr 50 Ultra , falling way behind the seven years that Samsung offer with its foldables , but at least it ’s an well-to-do birth control pill to swallow with the more affordable cost tag .
Battery Life
The compounding of a 4200mAh battery – 200mAh big than the Razr 40 Ultra , by the way – alongside an LTPO display and a power - efficient chipset allows the Razr 50 to easily last all daylight , especially with a more convenient screening display that means you do n’t always need to use the more mightiness - hungry 6.9 - in panel .
It about gibe the experience I see with the top - destruction Razr 50 Ultra , which is to say that it can handle a full day ’s use – around four to five hours of screenland on time , cleave between the cover and inner panels – and still have a bit left in the tank car . allot , it commonly ends the day with 20 - 30 % , stand for it does n’t have the potential for two - day stamina like candybar alternatives , but it ’s middling solid for a clamshell foldable .
Though the inclusion of 30W may not sound all that telling , specially when premium foldables like the OnePlus Open offer 67W fast charging , do n’t let that fool you ; using the 33W electric charge in the box , you ’ll see 50 % bearing in 25 minute , while a full kick filaria in at just shy of an hour .
There ’s also 15W wireless charging – a commodious surprisal devote the cheaper stress of the foldable , but a welcome one nonetheless .
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Should you buy it?
The Razr 50 offer up the core experience of a foldable without being quite as expensive as much of the competition .
While the use of the Dimensity 7300X will go unnoticed by many , it miss the power of the flagship Snapdragon chipset offer by other foldables that exponent users may want .
Final Thoughts
TheRazr 40had proficient intentions behind it , but its murder was blemished compared to the much more capablefoldable flagship competition . The Razr 50 does n’t have this same problem .
Motorola has fixed practically every major complaint we had with its predecessor , with a sturdier build , larger and more useful cover cover , better tv camera performance and improved shelling life-time , while still fare in comfortably cheaper than practically every other foldable around .
Yes , there are sacrifices to be had ; the MediaTek chipset is n’t as performant as the flagship chipsets found in the more premium foldables , and it forego feature like a 165Hz refresh rate , but for the most part , this is the core Razr experience at a pretty big price reduction .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try out every peregrine headphone we retrospect thoroughly . We habituate industry - standard trial to equate features in good order and we apply the phone as our main gadget over the review catamenia . We ’ll always secernate you what we find and we never , ever , take on money to review a intersection .
FAQs
Yes , like the Razr 50 Ultra , it offers IPX8 water resistance .
Yes , you ’ll get hold a battery charger in the boxwood to deliver debauched 30W charging .
Motorola has committed to three O upgrades and four years of security dapple .