Motorola Razr 50 Ultra/razr+ (2024) review

Android 14, augmented by Hello UI

The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra runs Android 14 with Motorola's in-house customizations on top, now called Hello UI (the "Hello, Moto!" slogan lives on). On the Edge 50 Ultra, Motorola promised 3 OS updates and 4 years of security patches and we expect the same treatment on the Razr.

We've repeatedly said that Motorola's software looks a lot like AOSP with some added in-house features and finishing touches, and that remains true to a large extent.

Something as simple as a font can add a lot of personality though, and Motorola has been doing that expertly. An AI-generated wallpaper option is also on the table if you're after personalization, because AI everything - Motorola calls it Style sync and the idea is to have a wallpaper tailor-made to your outfit for the day.

The customizations live in the usual Moto app 'hub', which has been restyled for the Android 14/Hello UI combo. Things are now more neatly organized, with the categories that have a lot of entries, like Gestures, fitting things on a single page, no scrolling required.

Homescreen • Moto app

Smart Connect is the new combined name for the features that involve connecting the phone to a PC, tablet, or standalone displays, be it wired or wirelessly. Streaming, mobile desktop, phone to PC, smart sharing, smart clipboard, cross control and more - all features are here under one roof.

Smart Connect

Razrs have consistently been on the cutting edge of cover screen functionality, offering a lot more ways to use a clamshell foldable without opening it than any of the competitors, and the 50 Ultra continues along that path.

You get a fully functional quick settings panel and notifications tiles, as well as a large number of apps. Google Maps and Gmail were already available on the previous generation, and now Google Photos joins them too, letting you share and edit photos without unflipping the phone.

Another new addition is the Google Gemini app, accessible right there on the cover display - AI everywhere. Motorola is also throwing in 2 months of complimentary subscription to Google's One AI Premium plan and all the perks that go with it, including 2TB of cloud storage and access to Gemini Advanced (Google’s most capable AI models) and Gemini integration in Gmail and Docs.

Cover screen

Benchmarks

Much like the non-bendy Edge 50 Ultra, the Razr 50 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset. It's got a 1+4+3 CPU configuration with a Cortex-X4 prime core (up to 3.0GHz), a cluster of 4 Cortex-A720 cores (2.8GHz), and 3x Cortex-A520 cores (2.0GHz). The GPU on board is the Adreno 735, and the model's name implies it sits lower than the Adreno 740 found in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC.

The global variant of the Razr 50 Ultra will only be available in a single memory configuration - 12GB/512GB, while China also gets 8GB/256GB and 12GB/256GB versions.

In our benchmarks, the Razr 50 Ultra showed a modest improvement over the Razr 40 Ultra, though it couldn't reach the Edge 50 Ultra's numbers. The Galaxy Z Flip5 is faster throughout.

We've discontinued GFXBench graphics benchmarking as the app is often banned/blacklisted on the phones we receive for review. The graphics performance ranking in 3D Mark is just as meaningful, so we suggest you refer to that one instead.

Thermal design is never easy in the particularly space-constrained foldables, and under sustained load, the Razr 50 Ultra doesn't exactly shine - we got 51% ratings in both the CPU Throttling test and the 3DMark Wild Life stress test. The Edge 50 Ultra that has the same chipset inside is slightly better, but clamshells rarely score higher than this Razr, in our experience.

CPU Throttling test • 3DMark Wild Life stress test