Flip phones aren’t the most powerful phones going around but, damn, they’re fun to use. Thanks to some meaningful changes from last year, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra might be the best example of the current foldable trend.
In a change from last year’s strategy, Moto has so far only brought its premium model to local shores. I reviewed the entry-level Razr 40 model last year – using the phrase “entry-level” loosely, considering it retailed for $999. While it was great for fitting a huge screen into tight pants pockets, I lamented the comparatively smaller external screen.
It makes perfect sense for Moto to double down on the premium end of the scale; go hard or go home, as the old saying goes. If you’re going to have a phone that folds in half, you may as well get a sizable outer screen to go with it.
This year’s Razr brandishes the largest external screen of any phone in Australia. Last year’s Razr 40 Ultra already demonstrated more utility than most out of this additional screen, which the 50 Ultra expands upon cleverly. Perhaps surprisingly, its closest competitor – the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 – didn’t go bigger, instead focusing on more Galaxy AI features.
In actual use, it’s nice being able to quickly look at your phone in a compressed form factor, quickly reply to a message and put it away without unfolding the device. It’s a phone that appeals to creatives more than anyone, making it easy to snap photos of you and your friends while using the best camera available.
On a sheer power scale, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra doesn’t push boundaries. But it doesn’t need to, fostering a versatile handset that’s both fun and functional.
First impressions
This is one of the most stylish bits of tech I’ve laid hands upon. Its metallic chassis is quite eye-grabbing, with the Peach Fuzz variant sporting a classy brass-like finish. A case comes included in the box, accentuating the phone’s bold colouring. Look closely and you’ll even see speckles adorning the case, just like an actual peach. I’m obsessed, in case you couldn’t tell.
There are a couple of things about the case I’m not as peachy keen on though. For one, it’s not made from super sturdy materials. Considering that it comes with the phone, it’s better than nothing, but don’t expect tank-level durability.
Another odd quirk is that the case – comprised of two parts, one for each half of the handset – is lined with inner adhesives. In isolation, it makes sense, helping keep the protective layer attached. But good luck if you want to remove the case to clean the phone or change up your aesthetic – it ain’t easy.
The unanimous star of the show is the Razr 50 Ultra’s outer screen. When folded in half, you still get the benefit of a four-inch screen – expanded from last year’s 3.6-inch display. It looks great, supports plenty of apps, and acts as the ultimate selfie companion.
Durability is one of the main concerns relating to flip phones. In my time with the Razr 50 Ultra, such fears were unfounded. Thankfully, I avoided dropping it, but I did notice it sat flusher when folded. I swear that even the satisfying ‘snap’ of folding the phone is better.
Motorola Razr 50 Ultra specifications
| Display | Main display: Main display: 6.9-inch FHD+ pOLED display (2640 x 1080), LTPO 165Hz refresh rate External display: 4.0-inch pOLED display (1272 x 1080), LTPO 165Hz refresh rate |
| Dimensions | Open: 73.99 x 171.42 x 7.09 mm Closed: 73.99 x 88.09 x 15.32 mm Weight: 189g |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Mobile Platform |
| Storage and memory | 512GB storage 12GB LPDDR5X memory |
| Cameras | Main rear camera: 50 MP (f/1.7, 0.8 µm) Secondary rear camera: 50 MP telephoto lens (f/2.0, 0.64 µm) 2x optical zoom Front camera: 32 MP (f/2.4, 0.7 µm) |
| Battery and charging | 4,000mAh 45W wired charging 15W wireless Qi1 charging 5W reverse charging |
| Connectivity | USB-C Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 NFC eSIM + physical SIM |
| Network bands | 3G: GSM850/900/1800/1900; BC0; W1/2/4/5/8 4G: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/32/34/38/39/40/41/42/43/48/66/71 5G sub-6: N1/2/3/5/7/8/20/26/28/38/40/41/66/71/75/77/78 |
| Software | Android 14 |
| Durability | IPX8 (waterproof) |
| Price (RRP) | $1,699 |
| Warranty | Two years |
| Official website | Motorola Australia |
Performance
An older processor was one of the Razr 40 Ultra’s rare shortcomings. It ran on a Gen 1 Snapdragon 8+ chip, which wasn’t the newest processor on the block at the time. This year, Motorola went with the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip.
Now, pay close attention to the stray “s” there – it means that this isn’t Qualcomm’s flagship mobile processor. Without a doubt, it’s a substantial year-on-year improvement, but it’s not as powerful as the non-“s”.
Run through the gauntlet of Geekbench 6, a synthetic benchmarking tool that measures processing power, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra delivers slightly lower performance than last year’s Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. There’s a decent gap between the Razr 50 Ultra and the new Flip 6, the latter uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip (sans the “s”) as the Galaxy S24 phones.
More importantly, in real-world usage for most people, the difference is negligible. Using apps and scrolling social feeds is a smooth, seamless experience free of lag. Samsung’s latest Flip is also $100 more in exchange for half the onboard storage, or $300 more for the same 512GB storage as the Razr.
| Phone | Geekbench CPU (single-core) |
Geekbench CPU (multi-core) |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 | 2289 | 6985 |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 | 2094 | 5443 |
| Motorola Razr 50 Ultra | 1947 | 4918 |
| Motorola Razr 40 Ultra | 1801 | 4658 |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 | 1825 | 4494 |
| Motorola Razr 2022 | 1312 | 4171 |
| Oppo Find N2 Flip | 1191 | 3389 |
| Motorola Razr 40 | 1019 | 2808 |
It’s also a tidy handset for gaming and graphically intensive applications, like video editing. Too powerful for the baseline 3DMark gaming test, the Razr 50 Ultra requires the Wild Life Extreme benchmark to reach its limits. Again, it’s slightly weaker in raw power than Samsung’s previous-generation Flip 5, but Moto’s latest flip phone is no slouch when it comes to gaming.
| Phone | 3DMark Wild Life Extreme |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 | 4465 |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 | 3366 |
| Motorola Razr 50 Ultra | 2946 |
Realistically, if you want the most powerful phone available, you’re not in the market for a flip phone. The form factor has progressed rapidly, packing more than enough power for the majority of the population. For the absolute top echelon of users, the likes of the iPhone 15 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra are the ticket. Or, if you want to save a bit of coin, Motorola’s Edge 50 Pro pack’s last year’s speedy Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip.
You choose a foldable flip phone primarily for the form factor. Which, in the case of the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra, is fabulous. Both pOLED displays are stunning, with the main 6.9-inch screen supporting an incredibly smooth 165Hz refresh rate.
But what about the crease? Anything that folds in half for hours at a time is going to show some sort of marking, regardless of how impressive the technology is. Despite that, the crease is nearly imperceptible. Most of the time, you’re facing the screen head-on, and any fold lines won’t even register. It’s only at an angle when the light catches the screen that you’ll notice a slight line.
Another nice improvement is a larger battery. Last year’s Razr 40 Ultra came with a 3,800mAh capacity, which the 50 bumps up to 4,000mAh. I typically got a day and a half out of the battery before needing to charge. Bear in mind, however, that I’m not a heavy phone user.
When charging time rolls around, you don’t have to wait long. The Razr 50 Ultra supports a speedy 45W wired charging output, or 15W wireless charging. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support the magnetic Qi2 technology, which is an Android-wide omission at this early stage. Making up for it is the inclusion of a 68W charger with the phone, which is fast enough to top up your tablets, laptops, and just about any other USB-C device.
Photography
Other than a bigger outer screen, an improved camera array is the Razr 50 Ultra’s most exciting development. This year’s model replaced the ultra-wide lens with a 2x optical telephoto zoom. It’s one advantage it has over the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, letting you zoom in without encountering digital distortion.
Combined with the intuitive foldable design, the 2024 Razr is a practical and enjoyable pocket camera. Gesture-based controls return, so you can raise a hand to start a countdown and snap a selfie without pressing a button. I always find it tricky to press the shutter button, no matter which shortcut it’s assigned to, so it’s a great help in composing shots.
Two things stood out when taking photos with the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra; one was how happy I was with the results, and the other was how much fun I had taking them. Without wanting to turn this into a travel blog, I snapped a bunch of photos while overseas on a recent work trip, with each picture coming through vibrantly and with clarity.
What surprised me the most was how strong the Razr held up in low-light conditions. Compared to my iPhone 15 Pro, it took equally clean photos, favouring a pleasantly warm colour saturation.
If there’s a slight criticism to be made, is that some photos were a little too saturated for my liking. That’s an entirely personal preference, though. I did notice that the telephoto lens was slightly more muted in its colour profile, which gives you more flexibility in post-production.
To fixate on my favourite thing about this phone, I love how easy it is to access the main rear camera for every type of photo. Thanks to the foldable design, it’s easy to take selfies with an outstretched hand, and similarly effortless to unfold the phone to point it at other subjects.
I stress this point because I barely touched the actual interior front-facing camera. It’s there in case you want to make video calls or snap front-and-back photos at the same time, but is easily forgotten about.
Although it’s tricky to pick up details due to web compression, the below selfies tell a story. The one taken via the main camera, using the external display as my viewfinder, is more detailed and warmer. I still rate the front-facing camera as a reasonable shooter, but it smooths over my features and you get more distortion when zooming in.
Who is the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra for?
Once considered a novelty, foldable flip phones are a totally viable alternative to the conventional form factor of yore. The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra is a prime example, proving itself a worthy premium phone that brings the fun back to technology.
Sure, for the same amount of money or less, you could get a more powerful phone. High-end gaming enthusiasts and productivity obsessives are still best served by traditional non-folding handsets. But for everyone else, the Razr 50 Ultra covers all bases.
With its beautiful displays and a high-quality camera array, this isn’t just a great flip phone; this is a great phone, no qualifiers required.
The post Motorola Razr 50 Ultra review: bringing the fun back to phones appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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