In 2020, a new category of smartphones emerged into the mainstream: the foldable. The first wave was largely shaped by Samsung and Huawei, both of which approached the concept through book-style designs that transformed from a smartphone into a tablet-sized device.
Amid the excitement surrounding the Samsung Fold and Huawei Mate X, another player quietly entered the foldable conversation. Motorola, owned by Lenovo, took a different route by reviving the Razr brand as a flip-style foldable inspired by its iconic clamshell phones.
Being late to the category is often viewed as a disadvantage. In the case of foldables, however, it may have worked in Motorola’s favour. The company has had years to observe the limitations of the category: battery life, camera compromises, software optimisation, durability concerns, and the ever-present display crease.
The question is whether the Razr Fold merely joins the competition or genuinely improves upon it.
A design that refuses to blend in
Design remains one of the defining aspects of any foldable, and Motorola has clearly attempted to create a distinct identity for the Razr Fold.
The cover display is wrapped in curved glass on all four sides, giving the device a softer appearance compared to the flatter designs adopted by rivals. The rear panel features a diamond piqué textured finish inspired by luxury fabrics and is offered in a Pantone-curated Blackened Blue colourway.
Motorola has also addressed durability. The device carries ingress protection certifications covering both dust and water resistance, an area where foldables have historically struggled.
These details help the Razr Fold stand apart in a segment where many devices increasingly resemble one another.
That said, the design is not without drawbacks.
The Razr Fold is neither the thinnest nor the lightest book-style foldable available today. More noticeably, the large rear camera module significantly affects usability. The phone not only wobbles when placed on a table but tilts noticeably to one side, making interaction on flat surfaces less comfortable than it should be.
The crease is still there, but it rarely matters
The display crease remains one of the most discussed aspects of foldable smartphones.
Motorola has not eliminated it entirely. The crease remains visible under certain lighting conditions and can still be felt when running a finger across the display.
However, unlike earlier foldables where the crease constantly reminded users of the underlying compromise, the Razr Fold reduces its prominence to the point where it largely disappears during everyday use.
It is not a crease-free display in the way OPPO’s Find N6 attempts to be, but it is refined enough that it stops being a distraction after a short period of use.
For many users, that may be sufficient.
A foldable experience that finally feels purposeful
The display hardware itself meets expectations for a flagship foldable. The cover screen is tall and practical, while the inner display adopts the familiar squarish format seen on devices from Samsung and Google. Both panels are bright, smooth, and sufficiently sharp to justify the premium positioning.
Where Motorola deserves particular credit, however, is software optimisation.
Too often, foldables offer larger screens without providing compelling reasons to use them. The Razr Fold avoids this trap.
The interface has been designed around multitasking. Multiple applications can run side-by-side on the main display, while additional apps can be opened in floating windows that are resizable and easy to reposition.
Rather than treating multitasking as a feature buried within settings, Motorola has integrated it into the core experience. The larger display feels useful rather than merely larger.
Cameras that prioritise reliability over experimentation
Camera performance has traditionally been one of the compromises associated with foldable smartphones. Manufacturers often focus on hinges and displays, leaving imaging systems a step behind their flagship bar-shaped devices.
Motorola has attempted to narrow that gap.
The Razr Fold features a total of five cameras: a triple-camera setup on the rear, one camera integrated into the cover display, and another embedded within the inner folding screen.
The overall photography experience represents a notable improvement over Motorola’s previous efforts. Point-and-shoot photography is where the system performs best, delivering reliable and consistent results across varied lighting conditions.
Images exhibit good detail, balanced colours, and predictable exposure, making the camera system dependable for everyday use.
Video recording is less convincing.
The most noticeable issue is sensor shifting during recording, which can appear abrupt and disrupt otherwise smooth footage. While image quality itself remains respectable, the video experience falls short of what buyers may expect from a premium foldable device.
The battery life other foldables should aspire to
Performance is strong throughout the system, but the standout feature is battery life. Foldable smartphones have historically forced users into compromises. The larger display encourages increased usage, yet battery limitations often lead users to rely more heavily on the cover screen.
The Razr Fold changes that equation.
Its 6,000mAh battery is among the largest in the category and is paired with fast charging support. The result is a foldable that can comfortably last through a full day of mixed usage without requiring users to constantly monitor battery levels.
More importantly, the endurance encourages use of the larger display rather than discouraging it. That alone makes the foldable experience feel more complete.
Verdict
The Motorola Razr Fold may be a newcomer to the book-style foldable segment, but it arrives as a mature product rather than an experimental one. It does not have the thinnest profile. It does not eliminate the display crease entirely. Nor does it offer the best video recording experience in its class.
What it does deliver is a balanced foldable experience that addresses several of the category’s long-standing weaknesses. The displays are excellent, multitasking feels purposeful, battery life is among the best in the segment, and the camera system performs reliably for photography.
Most importantly, the Razr Fold feels like a device designed around everyday usability rather than engineering demonstrations.
Motorola may have entered the book-style foldable market later than its rivals, but the Razr Fold shows that arriving late is not necessarily a disadvantage when the lessons of the past six years are applied correctly.
Price: Starts at Rs 149,999
