Motorola Razr Plus: Big Camera and Cover Screen Upgrades, Moto AI and Moto Tag

The Motorola Razr Plus and Razr are back for 2024 packed with upgrades and fun features. The Chicago-based company (owned by Lenovo) on Tuesday announced the new foldable phones with new colors, finishes, upgraded cameras, larger cover screens, Moto AI and Google Gemini. I got to see and use the new Motorola Razr Plus and Razr for about 30 minutes at a press event in Brooklyn, and what stood out to me was how much fun is packed into these new flip phones.

I feel that was the biggest part of Motorola’s announcement: These Razrs are meant to strike a balance between being fashionable, fun and innovative. In a world of phones with drab titanium colors, blacks and grays, each Razr comes in a rainbow of color options that are as fun to look at as they are to hold. The big news on that front, is that the Razr Plus now comes in pink which is a direct call back to the original 2004 Razr V3 flip phone that was available in pink — y’know, the one Paris Hilton had!

But are fashionable phones enough to woo customers into buying their first foldable phone? In a time where foldable phone shipments account for a sliver of all phones sold, what seems to have worked for Motorola is offering both a premium Razr Plus at $1,000 and a more affordable Razr at $700 like the company did last year. No other phone-maker has taken this approach.

Motorola shipped 1,473% more Razrs in the first three months of 2024 than it did during the same period in 2023, according to research data firm Counterpoint. Clearly something about Motorola’s strategy is working, even if it’s outperforming a pretty low base. So it makes sense for the company to build on that momentum by launching two new versions of the Razr at the same price points as last year with major upgrades.

Whether Motorola has found the right mix of fun, fashion and technology to get people to take a chance on a foldable phone in 2024 remains to be seen. But I look forward to reviewing and testing both Razrs soon.

Watch this: First Look: The 2024 Motorola Razr and Razr Plus Come With Colorful Upgrades

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Patrick Holland/CNET

The Razr and Razr Plus have a lot of similarities. The phones forgo the glass back slabs we expect on other devices and have similar vegan leather backs that we saw last year, but this time in a variety of faux leather textures and even a faux suede. In the short time I had with each phone, holding them was a joy. Both Razrs feel like they’re fitted with a sleek and plush case that’s built right into the phone. And the faux leather stripe on the back of the two-tone midnight navy Razr Plus really caught my eye.

Motorola is pushing this fashionable look and feel, but the design is also innovative. Both phones have a new hinge that’s 30% smaller than last year’s models. A smaller hinge has fewer moving parts, which should be good for long-term durability. The smaller hinge also means that there are fewer places for dust to get in. What’s curious is that last year’s Razrs had a modest rating for water resistance but were the only foldables to be rated for dust resistance.

The 2024 Razr and Razr Plus are rated IPX8 for water resistance, meaning it can survive being submerged under water for 30 minutes — putting it on par with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip. The “X” in the rating means that there isn’t an official dust rating this year.

Another benefit of the smaller hinge is that the screen crease is reduced. Oh, it’s still there, but it’s much less visible. I also noticed that the phone is easier to open and close than previous models.

The internal screen on both phones is brighter (up to 3,000 nits), which should be helpful when outdoors. Both the internal and cover screens on both phones now have Motorola’s new water touch technology that allows the phone to respond to taps, touches and swipes even when using the phone in the rain — like we saw on the OnePlus 12.

One area where the differences between the two phones start to show up is in the main 6.9-inch display’s refresh rate. The Razr Plus’ internal screen has a refresh rate that tops out at 165Hz, whereas the regular Razr’s display can go up to 120Hz, which is still impressive. In the half an hour I used the phones, it was hard to tell any noticeable change in refresh rates from one phone to the other. But I know gamer friends who will be excited to have that extra 45Hz that the Razr Plus offers.

Perhaps the biggest changes on each phone are the cover screens. The Razr Plus has a new 4-inch cover screen. That’s the same size as the Honor Magic V Flip’s cover display that launched in China earlier this month.

The regular Razr inherits the 2023 Razr Plus’ 3.6-inch screen. At the briefing I attended, it’s hard to tell the difference between the two phones just from the cover screen, but one clue is that the regular Razr has a tiny strip of vegan leather across the top of the cover screen.

The cover screen software and interface have been updated. You can open any Android app on it and there are improved software panels that are easier to navigate including a new “all panels view” that you trigger by pinching and swiping outward.

Motorola Razr and Razr Plus cameras

It wouldn’t be a 2024 phone launch without a mention of AI. The Razr Plus runs Moto AI which is done both on device and in the cloud and will offer camera features such as improved portraits, autofocus in videos, and long exposure images. I am particularly excited to try out the Razr Plus’ new cameras to see how and if the new hardware, Snapdragon chip and Moto AI improve things.

There will also be features like “Pay Attention” where the Razr Plus will record and transcribe a conversation, when requested, and a feature called “Style Sync” that generates original wallpaper for your phone that matches or compliments the clothes that you’re wearing which just seems fun — again that word.

The Razr Plus will come with Google Gemini built-in and can be accessed entirely by the cover screen if needed. You’ll also get three months free of Gemini Advanced with the purchase of the Razr Plus.

Moto AI won’t be coming to older models and is limited to just the Razr Plus. Motorola says that more Moto AI features will be added in the coming months and years.

This is a good time to mention that both the Motorola Razr and Razr Plus run on Android 14 and that the company promises major OS software support for three years and bi-monthly security updates for four years. This is a decent commitment on Motorola’s behalf but falls short by a year of Samsung’s four years of major Android software updates and five years of security updates on the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

The Moto Tag got gasps

The new Motorola Razr Plus will be available for pre-order at T-Mobile, AT&T, Motorola’s website, Amazon and Best Buy on July 10 for $1,000. The regular Motorola Razr is available to pre-order at T-Mobile also on July 10 for $700, and then will be available unlocked on Amazon, Best Buy and Motorola on July 24.

I’ve got to hand it to Motorola, the company certainly made a splash with what it added and improved on the Razr and Razr Plus. I look forward to testing each soon to see how these new additions and features actually perform and whether Motorola was able to top last year’s excellent Motorola Razr Plus. But something tells me I’ll have a lot of fun during the process.

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