Nov 19, 2019 update: The foldable Motorola Razr will be launching in multiple markets around the globe in the coming months. While we already had release dates and pricing details for the U.S., we now have information on prices and release dates for other markets.
In Europe, the foldable Motorola Razr will reportedly be priced at €1,600, which is a little less than previously rumored. Preorders are scheduled to start in Italy on Dec. 4, according to GSMArena. The phone will not begin shipping until January, however. There’s no word on any possible carrier exclusivities in continental Europe. It’s also unclear exactly which European markets will get the phone as management said it will only be available in “select markets.” It’s expected that Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany will also receive the phone. Sweden’s launch is believed to be scheduled for Jan. 24.
Preorders in the U.K. are also expected to be held next month, although once again, the phone won’t start shipping until January. The price for the SIM-free foldable Motorola Razr in the U.K. has not been officially decided, although it will likely be around £1,400. EE says it will be the exclusive carrier for the phone in the U.K. when it launches.
In Australia, the phone will go on sale in January, management told 2GB’s Life and Technology show (via Gizmodo). The price for the Australian market is still unavailable, and it’s unclear which carriers will offer the phone. However, since it is eSIM only, that will likely limit the number of Australian carriers that will offer it.
Previously:
Motorola Razr: display and camera
The foldable Motorola Razr is made of stainless steel and features damage-resistant Gorilla Glass. Unlike Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, which features a large screen, the Razr focuses on portability
“The razr uses advanced flexible OLED screen technology and a groundbreaking hinge mechanism that allows the phone to close with both sides perfectly flush,” Motorola said in a statement.
The phone has a 16-megapixel primary lens with f/1.7 aperture that works as a selfie camera when the phone is folded and as the primary camera when unfolded. The camera features Night Vision mode for perfect shots even in low-light conditions. The phone also has a 5-megapixel camera in the main display via a notch. It can be used to take selfies.
Other specs and features
Motorola’s new phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 710 processor and will run on Android 9 Pie. When it comes to software, the company has made sure that when you flip open the phone, the screen transitions seamlessly to the main display. The bottom chin features a USB Type-C port and fingerprint sensor.
The phone’s battery capacity is just 2,510 mAh, and it supports 15 W fast charging. However, Motorola claims it will be enough to get you through the day. This might be true as users are expected to use the smaller secondary display for most tasks and switch to the primary display only when they need a bigger screen.
Moreover, the handset features 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of onboard storage and will be available in Noir Black. The phone does not have a SIM card slot, but it does support eSIM cards. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, GPS, NFC support, Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11ac. The Motorola Razr measures 72 x 94 x 14 mm when folded and 72 x 172 x 6.9 mm when unfolded. It weighs just 205 grams.
There are a few shortcomings of the device. The first is that it will be available in just one color. Its second shortcoming is its audio quality as the speakers are at the bottom of the device. The phone’s 128 GB of onboard storage is also less than the 512 GB offered by competing phones. Hopefully, Motorola will take care of these issues with the next version.
How was the design finalized?
During the launch event, Motorola talked about the development process for the phone. The company said it had 26 different prototypes, including some that were tall, some like an iPhone and some like other Android devices.
“We asked customers, and they’d say, as much as they loved the size of their screens, if there was a way to really somehow shrink the device just to fit in their shirt pocket again, that would be great,” said Paul Pierce, Motorola’s executive director of consumer experience design, according to Fortune.
Pierce worked on the original RAZR V3 as well.
Further, the executive said the company tested various screen sizes and ratios. It also tested how the device felt in users’ hands. At one time, the company even experimented with a small tablet-like design.
Eventually, the company decided to go with the design that closely resembled the original Razr flip phone form factor, including the curved bottom chin. The only major difference is that the physical buttons were replaced by the large, folding touchscreen display. The phone is also now water-repellent.
Following the initial display failure of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, Motorola delayed its folding phone and put it through rigorous testing. Motorola claims the display of its foldable phone will last as long as that of any other device.
foldable Motorola Razr price and how to buy it
If you want to buy a foldable Motorola Razr, you will have to shell out $1,500. Although that is not expensive price tag for a foldable phone, as Samsung sells its Galaxy Fold for a price tag of $1,980, the price seems like a lot once you consider that the phone’s hardware specs are mid-range.
As far as where to buy the foldable Motorola Razr, the handset will initially be exclusive to Verizon in the U.S. You can buy it by paying the full amount or on a 24-month payment plan costing $62.49/month. Pre-orders for the handset will start on Dec. 26. Thereafter, the handset will have a release date sometime in January.
For those in the U.K., the foldable phone will be exclusively available on EE, while preorders will start in December. The handset will also be available in Asia, Australia, the EU and Latin America. Motorola has yet to announce the prices and release dates for these markets. In Canada, the phone will be available in “early 2020.”
You will also be able to order the foldable phone directly from Motorola in December. As of now, there is no information on if Walmart will sell the new Razr phone or not, but Motorola has said that a few Walmart locations will stock the handset.
https://youtu.be/FC5FcfZf7xw
