- Large external display
- Proper water resistance
- Barely any crease on internal display
- Undpowered processor for the price
- Shorter software lifespan than the competition
- More expensive than last year
The Razr 50 Ultra cements Motorola as a leading manufacturer of foldable phones.
Last year's Razr 40 Ultra proved the brand had both the engineering prowess and innovative ideas to stand out. This year's device sands off some rough edges, making the Razr 50 Ultra easier to recommend.
But as tends to be the case with foldable phones, there are still some caveats worth considering. These were easier to rationalise as foldable phones came down in price, but the value equation isn't as clear-cut now that the trend's reversed.
Motorola's charging $1,699 for the Razr 50 Ultra this year, which is a $200 increase on last year. That puts it into the same ballpark as flagship devices from Apple and Google, which simply offer more for the money in terms of conventional specs.
While paying a premium for foldable technology isn't unreasonable, it begs the question: how much do you want a folding phone?
The Razr 50 Ultra's 4-inch external display makes it the standout flip phone foldable. While it's only a little bit larger than last year's model, the extra bit of real estate makes it that little bit more comfortable.
A key part of the Razr 50 Ultra pitch is has the same capabilities whether it's open or shut. You can run any app you've got installed on the phone on either display, and while they typically aren't optimised for the smaller screen, most are fine.
Navigating with Google Maps, changing music with Spotify, writing back to a message, checking my calendar, and even playing a quick game of Marvel Snap all worked surprisingly well. None of them were experiences I felt like I had to unfold the phone for.
Conversely, social media and other feed-based apps didn't fare as well. While the small display may be larger this year, a lot of image-based content simply won't fit on the screen. And given you've got the cameras poking out of the front screen, scrolling can feel a bit weird.
One neat trick is you can expand and contract apps by touching the navigation bar on the front screen. This will make them fill the space next to the cameras, which is left blank by default. This can obstruct elements or buttons in some apps, but it's a useful option to have for others. Such as Google Maps, after you've put in your address.
That being said, the external display can feel underutilised at times. I'd like to be able to customise the home screen just that little bit more, for example. As it stands, you get the time, weather, battery life, and four apps of your choice. That's all well and good, but there's still a lot of unused space. I would have liked a widget that shows my next appointment, for example.
Sure, I can swipe across to the calendar I've got set up on the next pane, but why add the extra step? Adding just a little bit more utility would make the Razr 50 Ultra's external display experience all but perfect.
One of the Razr 50 Ultra's most important improvements is proper water resistance. While last year's model was splash-proof, the Razr 50 Ultra has an IPX8 rating. It can survive an accidental dunk, which is par for the course for any modern flagship phone.
Other than the larger external display, the Razr 50 Ultra's design is largely unchanged from last year's model. None of that's a bad thing; it folds entirely flat, the bezels are as slim as you'll get from a foldable, and there's almost no crease. It's all but invisible unless you're looking at the Razr 50 Ultra at certain angles, and you can barely notice it when you're running your finger over it.
One difference worth noting is the finish. The Razr 50 Ultra is only available in a vegan leather finish. I'm a fan, but it's one of those design choices that some love and others don't. Last year Motorola had a choice between vegan leather and more traditional glass, but that's not the case this time. And while the Razr 50 Ultra is available in the classic hot pink colourway in international markets, Motorola isn't selling it in Australia.
When it comes to performance, the Razr 50 Ultra is more than snappy enough for most use cases, but will be outperformed in some.
Rather than using a flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, Motorola has opted for a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 8s is effectively a "mid-tier" take on the higher-end chip, and look, it's very capable. I didn't experience a single issue in day-to-day usage.
But on paper, benchmarks suggest the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip can be between a third and twice as fast in some situations. Mobile gaming is the key one.
Motorola's biggest rival in the space - the Galaxy Z Flip 6 - uses the faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. While the processor won't be the deciding factor for most tossing up between the phones, it doesn't feel great that Motorola is charging $1,699 for a phone where the performance on offer doesn't live up to the price tag.
The other area where Samsung has an advantage is software support. Samsung has come out swinging with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, offering seven years of major operating system upgrades and security updates. This matches Google's promise with its latest Pixels.
Motorola promises three major operating system upgrades and four years of security updates for the Razr 50 Ultra. That's not bad, but looks lacking in comparison. While many of us might not keep a phone that long, a longer software life can keep resale value higher, and make the phone better for anyone you might pass it down to.
Motorola does however beat out Samsung when it comes to storage, with 512GB as the default configuration. A 512GB Galaxy Z Flip 6 will cost you $1,999 - a $300 premium over the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra.
The Razr 50 Ultra has a rejigged camera setup, featuring two 50MP lenses: a primary lens and a 2x optical zoom lens. Both are solid, with the primary lens performing just that little bit better.
In general, you can get lovely photos with the Razr 50 Ultra, but there are a few quirks worth pointing out. It can be a little slow to shoot, which can hurt with motion - especially in darker environments. This can result in blurry images, especially if you happen to have rambunctious pets. That's not an uncommon issue on handsets in the $1,000ish space, but not really a problem on phones like the iPhone 15 and Pixel 8.
The Razr 50 Ultra can also struggle with strong backlights, which ends up exposing images in an unintuitive way. The phone seems to prevent the backlight from blowing out, which can make the rest of the image very dark.
Stepping back, the Razr 50 Ultra's camera configuration is a bit weird. When it comes to phones with two rear cameras, you tend to get a primary lens and an ultra-wide. This year, The Razr 50 Ultra swapped the ultra-wide for a zoom.
While this comes down to a matter of personal preference, an ultra-wide tends to make for a more versatile camera configuration. It's easy enough to get a solid 2x zoom shot from a 50MP primary lens, but there are no software tricks for ultra-wide. An ultra-wide lens also allows for macro photography. Of course, at $1,699, I'd argue that three camera lenses wouldn't be an unreasonable expectation.
Motorola Razr 50 Ultra camera samples
Check out these camera samples taken on the Razr 50 Ultra. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.
In terms of battery life, expect around five hours of screen time per charge. That's around a full day of moderate usage with a comfortable buffer, and a small improvement on last year. Unlike most other phones, you'll still get a charger in the Razr 50 Ultra box.
Motorola Razr 50 Ultra - Final Thoughts
The Razr 50 Ultra is my favourite implementation of a flip phone foldable to date. The even larger external display means you can do more without unfolding the phone, and there aren't any major red flags. Camera, performance, and battery life are all pretty solid, and Motorola's addressed last year's durability concern by adding IPX8 water resistance.
But given this year's $200 price bump, the question of whether you should buy a foldable phone becomes trickier to answer. The Razr 50 Ultra is the best flip phone you can buy - and the improved external display makes a strong case for the form factor - but you can buy a better phone for the money. Other phones in the price bracket offer more reliable cameras, longer battery life, and faster processors.
The trade-offs the Razr 50 Ultra makes in these areas aren't significant enough to damper the overall experience. It's not like earlier generation foldables where a purchase was, at best, following your heart over your head, or at worst, somewhat irrational. But those compromises are still there, and it's worth considering why you want a foldable device when you're deciding how to spend your money.
That being said, if you're set on a flip phone, the Razr 50 Ultra won't disappoint.
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