Motorola Razr 50 Ultra review: Familiar yet different

Motorola Razr 50 Ultra price in India (as reviewed): Rs 99,999

Stylish and pocketable, too

I love using the Razr 50 Ultra as an old-school handycam.(Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Motorola has heavily emphasised style and chicness with the new Razr, and I’m not surprised. The new design looks slick. I was a big fan of the original Razr when it came out in the 2000s, and the device still surprises me with the way it feels and looks. The new Razr is an extension of the OG Razr, adapted to modern settings. I like the edges, how it feels in the hand, the softness of the vegan back cover, and the colours it is available in. There’s something special about the Razr 50 Ultra, and I highly encourage you to try the device before forming any impression of the Razr.

On the surface, though very much like last year’s model, the new Razr is a flip-style foldable phone that you and I are familiar with. When unfolded flat, there’s a nominal crease in the display in the middle that I didn’t notice when looking at it or running my finger over the screen, but it’s there for sure. The phone closes with a snap, and when unfolded, the two halves come together and seamlessly blend over the hinge cover. I won’t say the phone can be opened with one hand, but this time I felt more confident handling the device. The fact that the phone folds in half is still in the background, but it never bothered me. Motorola says it adopted a new hinge design that minimises the crease when the phone is fully unfolded, and there is an IPX8 rating as well, though there’s no official dust resistance.

The device is hardly noticeable in my pocket and always stays firmly in my grip. Maybe that’s where I can see where a foldable phone shines, at least for me who likes using compact smartphones. The fact that the Razr has become a super compact phone and also offers a traditional big screen at the same time makes me cheer for folding phones.

My favourite way of using the Razr is like an old-school Sony Handycam. There is a Camcorder mode, which automatically enables when launching the camera and putting the phone at a 90-degree angle. All you need to do is hold it sideways, and a countdown will automatically start before recording the video. It’s so much fun, and it makes me wonder how a change in the design of a phone brings about new experiences.

The grown-up cover screen

The 4-inch cover display is sharp and has a 165Hz refresh rate. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

I loved the outer screen on last year’s Motorola Razr as it almost acts as a second phone for basic tasks like checking notifications, seeing the time, and responding to texts. The new Razr, however, has a bigger external display, extending to 4 inches, but it still comes integrated with external camera lenses. The larger cover screen is useful, has more widgets and customisation, and hence there is also more scope to use the external screen beyond basic tasks. In fact, I found myself using the cover screen as much as the internal screen, proving the applicability of a cover screen if the software is done right. And, of course, it has an always-on display, so it’s great for checking the time.

I can see how Motorola is improving the cover screen every year. Now, I can pick up a handful of app shortcuts right on the cover screen, and even the flow of opening apps on the cover screen feels better in my testing. The good thing is that I can still run full apps natively on the cover screen. And of course, the added real estate also makes typing a bit easier; plus, you can see more content. You can do a lot more with the cover screen when the phone is folded up, like taking calls in speaker mode, talking to Google’s Gemini chatbot, controlling music playback, and even playing games.

Nice screen, if not top-of-the-line

A compact phone when folded, and a big 6.9-inch device when unfolded. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

As for the inner display, it’s lovely. It’s fast (supports a 165Hz refresh rate), bright, and draws you in. It’s a 6.9-inch 1080p OLED, and is a bit narrow compared to a standard smartphone. The display is not quite on par with what the Samsung Galaxy S24 offers, but it’s sharp and great for consuming media. I would love to see an in-display fingerprint scanner on the inner screen. Right now, the fingerprint sensor is embedded into the power button, but this isn’t as intuitive as an in-display fingerprint scanner found on most Android smartphones.

Terrific performance and battery life

The Razr 50 Ultra’s internal screen is massive at 6.9 inches. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

The new Razr uses a Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 chipset, which is a souped-up version of Qualcomm’s flagship processor. Some may get confused with the name of the chip, but it’s the best mobile processor for premium Android smartphones in the market today. Loaded with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage, the Razr 50 Ultra sits at the top of the hardware spectrum. I’m not a gamer and I don’t push my smartphones to the limit (because no one can). However, when it comes to general usage, the Razr feels fast, and I rarely notice the phone slowing down or stuttering. The performance of the Razr 50 Ultra is aided by Motorola’s stock-like user interface, which is clean and makes everything zippy. The phone comes pre-installed with Android 14, and Motorola promises three years of OS upgrades and four years of security updates, though not the best as per industry standards, I’d say.

A huge part of the Razr is the built-in AI features, including Style Sync and Image Canvas. The former lets you snap a picture of your outfit, and it’ll generate four images using that pattern that you can then use as wallpaper. Magic Canvas lets you generate images via a text prompt. However, features like “Catch me up,” which summarises a clutter of notifications, or “Remember this,” which can save on-screen information that you can ask the device for later, will launch later this year. Although no word on the Indian launch, hopefully, they will launch via a software update.

As for battery life, the 4000 mAh battery cell provided a full day of juice. I did not expect the Razr’s battery life to surprise me but it did hold up fine.

Average camera

The cameras on the Razr 50 Ultra are average at best. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Motorola phones haven’t had great cameras, and sadly, things haven’t changed with the new Razr. The phone uses a 50 MP main camera and a 50 MP telephoto, and both seem very average. There clearly are compromises with the camera system on the Razr. Although the company says it uses AI to fix images, in reality, the pictures turned out to be more processed and struggled with colours and clarity. There were many misses, and only a few times did I get the right shot.

I decided to take the Razr 50 Ultra’s camera for a spin in Los Angeles. You can see for yourself and rate the phone based on the pictures. As always, this is the most subjective part of any smartphone review, but I’d welcome your comments on these photos.

Motorola Razr 50 Ultra camera sample. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Motorola Razr 50 Ultra camera sample. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Motorola Razr 50 Ultra camera sample. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Motorola Razr 50 Ultra camera sample. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Motorola Razr 50 Ultra camera sample. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Motorola Razr 50 Ultra camera sample. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Motorola Razr 50 Ultra camera sample. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

The conclusion

A fun flip-style foldable. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

The Razr 50 Ultra continues to push for more faith in foldable phones, aiming to make them as widely accepted as traditional smartphones. It’s a long journey, and Motorola seems to be aware of that. Overall, if you ask me, I’d say the Razr 50 Ultra is a pretty solid upgrade, even if it’s not a surprising one. The improvements in battery life, performance, and the cover screen will be immediately noticeable, but I’d like to see how Motorola improves the camera game, where the Razr is currently lagging.

Priced at Rs 99,999, the Razr 50 Ultra isn’t cheap and doesn’t have to appeal to everyone. With Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 as its main competition, the Razr 50 Ultra remains one of the best foldable phones to buy on the market despite its flaws.

The good

• Great performance, amazing battery life
• Cover screen is fantastic
• Fashionable design

The bad

• Cameras aren’t what one should expect on a premium phone
• No in-display fingerprint scanner