Motorola Razr 2024
MSRP $700.00
“The Motorola Razr 2024 is a big improvement over its predecessor and offers a lot of great new features while keeping the same reasonable price.”
Pros
- Super-compact design
- Large cover screen with always-on display
- Improved hinge design
- Good cameras
- Long battery life
- Crease is very minimal
- Fun colors
Cons
- Ultrawide camera isn’t the best
- Only three years of OS upgrades
- No reverse wireless charging
Before smartphones became as popular and ubiquitous as they are now, we had clamshell flip phones. One of the most popular ones back then was the Motorola Razr. I remember my first Razr fondly. It was a pink one, and it made me feel so cool whenever I flipped it open to smash out a text message to a friend on the T9 keyboard.
The clamshell flip phone has evolved and is now part of the foldable category — and it’s better than ever. This year, we got two Motorola Razr phones: the Razr Plus 2024 and the regular Razr 2024. Though the Razr Plus is great, it’s still quite expensive, starting at $1,000.
But the standard Razr looks like the better buy, especially if you want to stay under a thousand dollars for a clamshell flip phone. It’s a huge improvement over last year’s Razr and definitely one to consider.
Motorola Razr 2024: design
While last year’s Razr 2023 was about ditching the nostalgia factor completely and modernizing the Razr’s identity, the new Razr 2024 is about improving things even more.
The biggest change of the Razr 2024 compared to its predecessor is the cover display. It now has a 3.6-inch pOLED display instead of the tiny 1.5-inch display panel from last year. It’s basically the same cover display as the Razr Plus 2023, though the refresh rate isn’t quite as high. To set the Razr 2024 apart from the Razr Plus 2024’s 4-inch cover display, Motorola added a strip above the color display to match the color of the phone body itself. The dual camera setup still takes up part of the cover display, though.
Speaking of the phone body, the rounded chassis is a mix of 6000 series aluminum for the frame, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the front, and a vegan leather back. The aluminum frame has a nice matte finish, so it’s not prone to fingerprints and smudges like glossy variants. The volume and power buttons are located on the right side of the frame. The power button is also a fingerprint sensor and works well enough. However, the buttons are a little thinner than I’d like but they do have decent tactility when pressed.
The vegan leather back is one of my favorite things about the Razr 2024.
The vegan leather back is one of my favorite things about the Razr 2024. It has a fine, subtle texture to it that helps give you some grip on the phone. It’s also pretty resistant to fingerprints and smudges, so you won’t be wiping it down all day. I especially like how the Spritz Orange leather looks, which is the one I received for this review. But it also comes in Koala Gray and Beach Sand colors.
The Razr 2024 has the same hinge design as its higher-end sibling, the Razr Plus 2024, which has proven to be a big improvement over the hinge of its predecessor. It may not be easy to see visually, but the hinge is a bit smaller, smoother, and much quieter. It feels good to open up the Razr 2024, and it’s firm enough to stay in place for a partial fold.
The crease on the inner display is also very minimal and often not noticeable at all. Yes, you’ll still see that it’s there in certain lighting conditions, but it’s much better than some of the competition.
Overall, Motorola really did a great job with the Razr 2024’s design, not only with the much improved larger cover display but also with the overall aesthetics and feel. The orange color is also bright, fun, and bold – something I desperately want to see more of in phones.
And a big benefit of a clamshell flip phone? It’s super compact. I had no issue sliding this little phone into the pockets of my leggings or my small crossbody bag. It’s definitely a big advantage of the form factor, as many phones barely fit in pockets these days.
Motorola Razr 2024: screens
The Motorola Razr 2024 has a 3.6-inch pOLED cover display on the front with a 1056 by 1066 pixel resolution at 413 pixels per inch (ppi). It also has a 90Hz refresh rate and up to 1,700 nits of peak brightness. And this time, Motorola made it so that it’s an always-on display (AOD).
The main screen is a 6.9-inch FHD+ pOLED display with 2640 by 1080 resolution at 413 ppi. It has a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness.
For a $700 clamshell phone, the cover display is really impressive. Though I wish it could be a tad brighter, it’s still usable outdoors in sunlight. The 90Hz refresh rate is quite nice for the small screen, as it’s fairly smooth when scrolling through panels, widgets, and even apps.
The cover display is really impressive.
Speaking of apps, you can choose to run them on the cover display in either full screen (though the cameras will cut off part of it) or the default, which is a smaller window so the cameras don’t get in the way. Adding an always-on display mode is also quite handy, allowing you to always see the date and time, temperature, battery level, and notification icons even when the Razr 2024 is not in use.
The inner display also looks gorgeous. It’s definitely more usable when you’re out in bright sunlight due to its 3,000 nits instead of 1,700 nits peak brightness. But colors really pop on the screen, as everything looks bright and colorful, and blacks are rich and deep. Text is crisp and sharp, and scrolling is smooth with the 120Hz refresh rate.
The crease is still there, but once the screen is on and you’re actually using the phone, it practically disappears. There is also a preinstalled screen protector on the inner display, and Motorola says not to remove this. So far, it’s holding up well, and there’s no peeling or any other marks. As you use it, though, fingerprint smudges will show up, but they’re easy enough to wipe away without damaging the protector.
Motorola Razr 2024: cameras
The cameras on the Razr 2024 are decent for what it’s worth. You get a dual camera system with a 50-megapixel main shooter (the same one found on the Razr Plus 2024) and a 13MP ultrawide camera. The selfie camera is 32MP. This is basically the same camera setup as last year’s Razr 2023, except for the slight megapixel downgrade to a 50MP main camera from a 64MP one.
The photos I’ve taken with the Razr 2024 so far are pretty decent quality, all things considered. Typically, clamshell phones make compromises with the cameras due to the form factor, but the Razr 2024 is giving me good photos.
Pictures taken with the main camera have turned out quite nicely, with good clarity, accurate colors that tend to pop, and it gets skin tones well. Lowlight images were a mixed bag, as I got some shots that turned out nicely and others that were a little muddy with the details and had a bit too much noise.
The results of ultrawide shots are fine for sharing online, but if you look closely, the details may be a bit softer than you’d like. The ultrawide lens also works for macro shots, but it is hard to get the focus right for those.
Selfies taken with the 32MP front-facing camera came out a bit dull with the colors and contrast, which surprised me. The selfies I took with the rear cameras instead (using the cover display as a viewfinder) came out much better, so if you are going to take selfies, the rear cameras are the way to go.
Overall, the cameras on the Razr 2024 are pretty good, especially considering the price. They won’t blow you away, but for a foldable this cheap, it’s a very decent showing.
Motorola Razr 2024: performance and battery life
Motorola did give the new Razr 2024 a bit of a spec bump from its predecessor, which had a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. The Razr 2024 now uses a MediaTek 7300X processor, which is a new 4nm chip that launched in May 2024. You also get 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage.
While that should be sufficient for most people, there is also a virtual RAM boost feature. When there’s enough remaining storage, this feature converts part of that storage into RAM, so it offers a boost in performance. You can boost the RAM anywhere from 2GB to 8GB additional RAM. An AI auto setting uses AI learning to give you the optimal RAM extension as well, which is the default setting.
This isn’t a flagship processor, so I wasn’t expecting top-tier performance. For the most part, the Razr 2024 performs pretty well, all things considered.
The Razr 2024 performs pretty well.
My daily use consists of checking social media throughout the day, as well as work and personal email, messages, a lot of photo taking, and video streaming. As I did all these things on the Razr 2024, I did not notice any major issues, but there is some occasional stutter here and there when launching apps and switching between them.
I did have an issue initially after getting the phone set up. It seemed to drop the Wi-Fi connection frequently and wouldn’t stay connected. This was frustrating, to say the least, but it seemed to resolve itself eventually after a reboot. I haven’t had the issue since.
Battery life is a high point for the Razr 2024, though. Motorola kept the battery capacity at 4,200mAh, which is the same as its predecessor. I typically end the day with less than 50% with moderate use. If you use the phone more heavily, then you’d likely get closer to depleting it.
But still, this is the kind of battery that can easily last a full day and then some for the average person. I’m not sure if you can get two full days of use out of it, but it definitely has stamina.
The Razr 2024 has rapid charging at 30W wired speeds and 15W wireless charging. A full charge from zero to 100 will take a little over an hour. There is no reverse wireless charging, however.
Motorola Razr 2024: software and updates
The Razr 2024 comes with Android 14 out of the box, and Motorola has guaranteed three years of Android OS upgrades, as well as four years of security patches. This means that the Razr 2024 should last through Android 17. It’s a bit lacking when Samsung and Google offer seven years of support, but hey, it’s better than just one or two years like some other Motorola phones.
Besides that, the Razr 2024 basically has the same Motorola software experience that you may already be familiar with from other Motorola phones. It’s a mostly clean stock Android experience without much clutter.
A feature that sets Motorola phones apart from the competition is the gestures, which you can find the settings for in the Moto app. The gestures include chopping the phone to turn the flashlight on, twisting your hand to quickly launch the camera, flipping the phone screen down to enter Do Not Disturb, and more. They’re all small but great additions.
Next, let’s talk about the software on the cover screen, as that’s a big part of the Razr 2024 experience. You can swipe left and right to navigate between all of the different “panels,” which are just cover screen widgets. Here are all of the panels available on the Razr 2024:
- Home
- Apps
- Calendar
- Weather
- Timer
- Stopwatch
- Contacts
- Games
- Google Stock
- Moto Buds
- Spotify
I love the cover display panels. With the new 3.6-inch cover display, the panels will give you the information you want in a compact form factor that’s easy to read and digest.
I also love the fact that you can add whatever apps you want to run on the cover display without having to jump through a bunch of hoops to do so. When you run apps on the cover display, you can choose to have them run in full-screen mode with the cameras cutting off part of it or in the default view, which is smaller but doesn’t have anything blocked by the cameras. This setting can also be enabled on an app-by-app basis in the Settings.
Moo also makes a comeback on the Razr 2024 as a lock screen that you can pick. What’s a Moo? It’s Motorola’s adorable little mascot that will keep you company throughout the day by doing different activities on the cover display. It’s a cute and whimsical take on Motorola’s classic “M” logo, and it has a ton of personality. It’s so fun to glance over and see what Moo is doing with me.
Motorola Razr 2024: price and availability
The Razr 2024 is available to purchase as of July 24. You can buy one from Motorola’s website, retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, and carriers.
It only comes in one storage capacity, however, and that’s 256GB. That’s still a decent size for most people, though, and it’s a good deal at $700. There are three colors to choose from: Spritz Orange, Beach Sand, and Koala Gray.
Motorola Razr 2024: verdict
For the price, the Motorola Razr 2024 is an excellent value for anyone who wants a foldable phone without breaking the bank.
Motorola made some big changes with the cheaper Razr 2024 this year, and it is a very comparable alternative to its sibling, the Razr Plus 2024. For $700, you get a 3.6-inch cover display that is equivalent to last year’s Razr Plus 2023, a solid camera system, and outstanding battery life.
Of course, some compromises had to be made. That’s evident with the MediaTek processor and RAM, lack of reverse wireless charging and slower charging speed, and the decision to keep a 13MP ultrawide camera instead of going with a telephoto like the Razr Plus. But otherwise, the phones are almost the same.
The Motorola Razr 2024 is an excellent value.
If you really want the 4-inch cover display, 165Hz refresh rate screens, extra horsepower, faster charging and reverse wireless, and a 50MP telephoto lens instead of a measly ultrawide sensor, then the Razr Plus 2024 is worth the $300 price difference. But for $700, the Razr 2024 is still a very good phone.
Another alternative is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, which just came out. This is more expensive than even the Razr Plus, starting at $1,100 this year. However, it also has a large 3.4-inch cover display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a comparable dual-lens camera system, the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 12GB RAM, and up to 512GB storage.
But if getting a good deal is your number one priority, the Motorola Razr 2024 is easily your best option. It isn’t the very best flip phone you can buy in 2024, but it is the best value one — and that’s a big accomplishment.
