The Motorola Razr+ powered gives you new ways to interact, capture, and create.
It has a 4-inch external screen and retails for $999.
The non-Plus model also has a smaller 3.6-inch external display.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
Do You Flip or Do You Tablet?
Considering buying a folding phone of any kind first requires a little bit of self-reflection.
A small internal debate, if you will.
The Motorola Razr+ powered gives you new ways to interact, capture, and create. Featuring the largest, most intelligent external display of any flip phone, you can do it all without flipping the phone open.
Ive come to appreciate the Razr+’s smaller flip-style size when folded in my pocket.
When I took it out of my pocket, its compact size was still noticeable.
It looked good, and I could grip the closed phone completely.
The Motorola Razr+ powered gives you new ways to interact, capture, and create. Featuring the largest, most intelligent external display of any flip phone, you can do it all without flipping the phone open.
My fingerprint landed on the power button, and I naturally unlocked it instantly.
Some phones fold out wide instead of top-down.
I see those as more tablet replacements.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
It has a 1,272 x 1,080 resolution and 417 pixels per inch for a sharp picture.
It’s big enough to show a meaningful amount of information.
The first iPhone had a 3.5-inch screen!
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
Razr+’s external display means you dont have to launch the phone fully all the time.
The small form factor remains a benefit even while in use.
I found the Razr+ to be extremely palm-able while folded close.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
Its a tad thicker than a traditional smartphone, but not by much.
I could cradle it in the palm of my hand inconspicuously without drawing too much attention.
Email, weather, music, and news categories of apps weren’t a problem.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
I suspect old apps, games, and niche offerings will have issues compared to more modern ones.
Either way, using the front screen to do stuff worked much better than I expected.
The combination of all these elements means you might use the primary, main cameras for selfies.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
Its a win-win-win situation.
I would be happy to use the Razr+ as my primary phone camera to capture important moments.
These image examples are from the main camera with default controls.
Its nice from both sides of the screen.
Theres even a setting to display cartoon faces to get smiles out of young kidsor maybe adults.
In terms of reach, the 2x telephoto lens gets a little closer to subjects without sacrificing quality.
The pictures of the pot are 1x and 2x, respectively, using the two dedicated camera systems.
The yellow rose in this gallery uses the camera’s 4x digital setting.
As strong as the main camera is, the inside camera is a different story.
I thought those selfie photos from it were dull and washed out.
The first photo uses the outside main camera, and the second one uses the inside camera.
The good news is that you dont need to rely on or use the front-facing camera much.
Im not crazy about the tallness or full length, but its not a deal breaker.
You get used to it.
I did notice that one-handed operation (with default options) is nearly impossible.
Some people may hate that aspect in the long run.
Maybe one-handed use is for the outside screen, and two-handed use is for the inside one?
My thumb almost never ran across the screen’s fold through daily use.
Its too early to say how durable it will be, but nothing I saw indicates initial concern.
The Moto Secret Sauce
Each manufacturer uses special gestures and software to differentiate itself from the pack.
After spending some time with the Razr+, I think there is plenty on each side of that coin.
Similarly, you’ve got the option to flick it twice to activate the flashlight.
That is a huge benefit of having a front screen, after all.
There are a lot of Apple-like features that are possible between the Razr+ and a Windows PC.
it’s possible for you to even use Gemini from the front, external screen, which was neat.
Plus, I was going through every inch of the phones interface and parameters.
Dont be worried if you see something similar in the first few days.
Once my curiosity was mostly placated, I saw the battery level balance out more and last much longer.
Keeping the external display from being always on helped my experience the most.
But Android has plenty of battery-saver options as well.
The phone supports 45W charging and can be powered up quickly.
Should You Buy the Motorola Razr+ (2024)?
Its this feature that makes me wish Apple would bring folding flexibility to an iPhone model.
