It has been many years since a mobile phone has truly wow-ed me, and I am delighted to say the clock has been reset following my time with the Motorola Razr 50 smartphone.
Android smartphones have been around a long time now, but what sets this one apart is that it’s a folding phone.
While that’s not super-new technology (Samsung have had folding smartphones for a couple of years now), it’s certainly been a premium offering that’s only now becoming more mainstream.
The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra measures 74mmx171mmx7.1mm open and 74mmx8.1mmx15.3mm when closed, weighs 189g and features two screens – a 6.9in main screen, and a 4in “front” screen.
It runs Android 14, has an IPX8 ingress rating (although I wasn’t about to drop it in the Logan River to test that!) and a 4000mAh battery, which ran for about a day and a half under regular use including a combination of gaming, video streaming watching, photography, and general internet use.
I have been deeply impressed by the versatility of the Razr 50 Ultra unit which Motorola provided me for this review – most Android smartphones are pretty much of a muchness these days, but the Razr goes beyond that and manages to be something unique yet practical too.
While folding the phone in half makes it easier to carry, if you fold it into an L shape or triangle shape, it becomes a desktop companion – part clock, part notification centre, part media player, and more.
I was worried the display might lack the tension to remain upright, but have not had any issues with this. When closed, you can shake your hand twice to activate the camera, and easily take selfies. The front screen can also access apps, email, and notifications too – it’s surprisingly effective.
The cameras on the phone are excellent too. It’s equipped with a 50MP f/1.7 “Main” camera, a 50MP f/2.0 telephoto lens, and a 32MP Selfie camera.
I tried the photography capabilities out at Forest Lake’s eponymous lake, and was deeply impressed by the quality and clarity of the pictures the Razr 50 Ultra took – whether it was panoramic views of the lake, photos of the dragon sculpture on the water, or close-up portraits of the wildlife, they all came out beautifully. The same was true when photographing Logan West’s historic Mango Grove in Park Ridge – as you can see in the images above.
This was almost certainly helped by the onboard AI,which does an excellent job with image stabilisation, contrast, and some image enhancement, including capturing moving objects (like wildlife) quite well.
It also has Google Gemini AI as a separate app on the phone, which can help with some productivity and creative endeavours as well.
The Razr 50 Ultra performed extremely well for gaming, too. I had worried the fold area on the screen might interfere with controls in games like World of Warships or The Simpsons: Tapped Out, but there were no issues at all – either from the touchscreen, or from the phone folding in inadvertently while gaming.
The review phone also came with a set of Moto Buds earbuds (available as a pre-order bonus until July 16), which offered very good sound quality, along with active noise cancellation features too – they are made by Bose, who have a well deserved reputation for quality headsets and earbuds.
Being a flip phone, you can absolutely answer phone calls simply by opening the phone – something that will be appreciated by the muscle memory of anyone who grew up with mobile phones in the early 2000s!
Like I said at the beginning: It has been a long time since I’ve been wow-ed by a smartphone, but the Razr 50 Ultra has managed that admirably and it’s been a delight to use as part of this review.
With an RRP of $1,699 this isn’t a cheap phone, but it’s unique, practical, and packs a lot in – so if you’re looking for an upgrade to your current phone and want something a bit different, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra is definitely worth looking into further.
