Motorola’s $399 Razr remains to be the most affordable foldable cellphone deal after Prime Day

What is the deal?

Final yr’s Motorola Razr stays on sale for simply $399 ($300 off) — close to its lowest value but — following the top of Amazon Prime Day.

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Motorola Razr (2023) stays one of the reasonably priced foldable telephones available on the market, with a retail value of $699.
• Some notable compromises embody a smaller exterior show, a lower-end processor, and a weak digital camera system.
• The Motorola Razr handles day-to-day actions pretty properly and might even run extra graphics-intensive duties if wanted.

It has been on my thoughts for the reason that very first foldable: At what level will these shape-shifting telephones be reasonably priced sufficient for everybody to purchase? The primary iterations have been understandably costly due to the R&D and supplies that producers had put in — and in addition due to innovation — so it was solely a matter of time earlier than processes turned extra streamlined and the entry value dropped, proper?

Additionally: The 30+ greatest Prime Day cellphone offers nonetheless accessible for last-minute customers

However that is hardly been the case, with the OnePlus Open being priced at $1,699 (solely $100 lower than Samsung and Google’s phone-to-tablet foldables) and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 now beginning at $1,099.

That is why Motorola’s humble Razr (2023) is such an enormous deal. It is the primary foldable cellphone to retail for lower than $700, not solely undercutting the following “least expensive” foldable by $300 but in addition the bottom fashions of extra conventional telephones just like the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Apple iPhone 15. If Motorola can nail down the necessities at this value level, the Razr could be the foldable I like to recommend to most individuals.

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For starters, it is easy to mistake the Motorola Razr for the Motorola Razr Plus that was launched final June. The 2 telephones are very related, together with the folding mechanism, normal kind issue, software program options, and charging expertise (30W wired, 5W wi-fi). 

Assessment: Motorola Razr Plus (2023): One of the best flipping foldable proper now

However seeing the 2 bodily collectively paints a clearer image. The 1.5-inch OLED panel on the Motorola Razr is one in every of its huge compromises, because it’s merely not as practical or glamorous because the one on the Razr Plus. That may be a superb factor or a nasty factor relying in your smartphone values.

For instance, having a smaller exterior show limits the data you possibly can see at a look. Usually, incoming notifications and textual content messages are simply too lengthy to be learn utterly, and a superb chunk of duties require you to make use of the interior display screen to get them achieved. 

You can also’t freely open apps and browse the online from the outer display screen — that was one thing I recommended the Razr Plus for — as Motorola limits you to primary widgets just like the climate, contacts, and voice recorder.

Additionally: Motorola desires you to put on its new bendable cellphone like a watch – however do not get too excited

Then again, a smaller display screen means you are much less more likely to get distracted when the Razr shouldn’t be in use — or would not have to be used. Motorola even has a “Unplugged” function that limits your entry to extra distracting apps like TikTok and Instagram, so that is as near a function cellphone as a smartphone will get.

Flip the display screen open and also you’re met with what’s mainly an ordinary mid-range Android cellphone from 2023. The processor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, shouldn’t be the newest and biggest, nevertheless it’s ok to get me via a day of Slack messages, emailing, capturing the occasional photograph and video, and navigating across the metropolis, with some lag and slower load instances right here and there.

Assessment: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: Three options I like (and two that I nonetheless want for)

I’ve additionally been testing the Razr’s efficiency with a Nintendo DS emulator (DraStic) — as a result of why would not you simulate a foldable gaming console on a foldable cellphone — and the machine has saved issues working pretty properly. Usually, the Razr solely will get hotter to the contact after about quarter-hour of gameplay at 60fps.

On paper, the Razr’s 64MP twin digital camera system ought to yield extra flattering images than it does, however Motorola’s picture processing is its largest Achilles heel.

Usually, colours seem extra washed out and never as saturated (or lifelike) as I would want, and the 13MP ultrawide lens, whereas able to capturing a wider area of view than the primary sensor, lacks element in photographs.

Additionally: I modified this Android setting to immediately double my cellphone pace

However the Razr being foldable signifies that it beats even the most costly iPhone 15 Professional Max in a single regard: hands-free photos. Motorola put the identical sturdy hinge on the Razr because it did on the Razr Plus, so you possibly can set the cellphone down — one thing you’d sometimes want a counterweight or tripod for — and seize images and movies from a distance. 

Having the exterior show additionally means that you would be able to take fantastic-looking selfies by leveraging the rear cameras as a substitute of the front-facing one. Once more, one thing solely a foldable cellphone can do.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Buying within the mid-range market might be tough as a result of it is all about how producers steadiness specs and options, and the way these values align along with your private wants. Within the case of the Motorola Razr, its foldable kind issue alone makes it stand out from a sea of glass slabs, and the $699 (at present $399) value makes it probably the most accessible choice of its sort.

After all, you will must be OK with its compromises, together with the just-average digital camera system, smaller exterior show, and 128GB storage restrict. In any other case, that is nearly as good as a foldable will get at this value level, and I totally count on opponents to match Motorola’s provide as quickly as subsequent yr.