Motorola Razr 5G hands-on review

Introduction

We're fascinated by foldables as much as the next guy - it's one of few truly game-changing advancements in present-day smartphones. There's also more than a few nostalgic folks around here, reminiscing of the good old days of clamshell phones. Well, isn't the Motorola Razr 5G just the right blend of the two!

We got to spend a few brief moments with Motorola's updated Razr for 2020 to see what's changed compared to last year's iteration. Key bits include the improved outer display that has gotten more useful now, the relocation of the fingerprint sensor to the back, a more powerful and 5G-capable chipset, and a revamped camera system.

The outer display maintains its 2.7-inch diagonal and 800x600px resolution but can be used for more stuff now - it even lets you type on an on-screen keyboard though you may still prefer the voice-to-text approach. The fingerprint sensor is no longer in the chin, but is on the back keeping company to the M bat logo - feels like a more natural position.

While not strictly 'flagship-grade', the Snapdragon 765G chip is much better suited to the Razr 5G's price tag of €1500 than the 710 was on the Razr (2019). It brings next-gen connectivity alongside a leap in number-crunching potential. The doubling of storage to 256GB and the RAM bump to 8GB round off a much nicer package when it comes to the fundamentals.

The basic 16MP main camera of last year's phone has been swapped out for a 48MP Quad Bayer type, and a 20MP selfie shooter of the same variety replaces the 5MP unit on the inside.

Here's a quick rundown of the other internals before we move on to the hands-on area.

Motorola Razr 5G specs

• Body: Unfolded: 169.2x72.6x7.9mm; Folded: 91.7x72.6x16 mm; 192g; Plastic front (opened), glass front (closed, Gorilla Glass 5), glass back (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame (7000 series), hinge (stainless steel); Water-repellent coating; Colors: Polished Graphite, Blush Gold, Liquid Mercury.
• Display: 6.20" Foldable P-OLED, 876x2142px resolution, 22:9 aspect ratio, 373ppi; Second external G-OLED display, 2.7", 600x800px.
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (7 nm): Octa-core (1x2.4 GHz Kryo 475 Prime & 1x2.2 GHz Kryo 475 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 475 Silver); Adreno 620.
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM.
• OS/Software: Android 10.
• Rear camera: 48 MP, f/1.7, 26mm, 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS; Dual-LED dual-tone flash, auto HDR, panorama.
• Front camera: 20 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 0.8µm; Auto HDR.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 2800mAh; Fast charging 15W.
• Misc: Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer; NFC.