Motorola Razr+ (2023) hands-on review: This is big

The Motorola Razr revival has had a bumpy road, with the company skipping the U.S. for the Razr 2022, but the Motorola Razr+ 2023 (Motorola Razr 40 Ultra in Europe) hopes to win over foldable phone skeptics with a new design and much smarter software than previous versions.

The 3.6-inch front display on the Razr+ is the largest yet for a flip-style foldable, and you get a huge 6.9-inch panel when the internal display is all the way open. I could tell during my hands-on time that Motorola has really focused on improving the user experience on foldable phones. The Flex View mode makes it easy to do all sorts of things hands-free, and I love the fun Photo Booth mode for snapping pics with friends and family.

The last-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip isn't exactly cutting edge, and the improved 3,800 mAh battery is still on the small side compared to other flagships. But the Razr+ certainly has what it takes to potentially make our best foldable phones list. Here are the pros and cons for the Razr+ based on my initial impressions.

Motorola Razr+ specs

Motorola Razr+ release date and price

The Motorola Razr+ will be available for pre-order June 16 and the release date is June 23. The Razr+ costs $999 and will be available through AT&T, T-Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, Google Fi Wireless and Optimum Mobile, but not Verizon.

You can also buy the Razr+ unlocked through Best Buy, Amazon and Motorola.com.

Motorola Razr+ design

The Razr+ is compact as you'd expect, but I especially like how there's no gap when this clamshell is closed. The other good news is that there's no chin, so the top and bottom half of the phone align. This device is pretty svelte, too, measuring just 0.59 inches thick when closes and 0.27 inches when open.

So what about durability? There's Gorilla Glass on the front and back, and while the crease is still noticeable on the internal Ultra Thin Glass display, it's not distracting like the Google Pixel Fold. Just don't expect to dunk or submerge this foldable; it's IP52 rating means it can handle only a bit of rain or a quick spray of water. In general, I found folding and unfolding the Razr+ pretty fluid via the teardrop hinge, but it appears that this handset isn't fully flat when open.

You get three color options with the Razr+, including Infinite Black, Glacier Blue and Viva Magenta, the latter of which happens to be the Pantone color of the year. The magenta model also happens to feature a vegan leather back as opposed to glass, which has a grippier feel and a more stylish and premium vibe. Just note that this hue is exclusive to T-Mobile and Motorola.com.

The whole device weighs 6.63 ounces, which is way lighter than the 6.8-inch Galaxy S23 Ultra, though that flagship phone packs more cameras.

Motorola Razr+ displays

The Motorola Razr+ stands out with its 3.6-inch front display, which has a refresh rate of 144Hz and gives you a fair amount of room to interact with not just widgets but full apps. Some are better optimized than others. But I like that I could watch TikTok videos on the front panel, as well as get turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps.

If you press and hold towards the bottom of the front screen, you can expand the app to take up the entire panel, including the area around the rear cameras. Doing this can result in some content being blocked, but overall I didn't find it that awkward or distracting. This is definitely the most immersive experience on a flip foldable yet.

The 6.9-inch internal display is a FHD+ pOLED panel with a rated peak brightness of 1,400 nits and a max refresh rate of 165Hz. And this is a dynamic panel, so it should scale down when you need it to save battery life. During my hands-on time I found the panel to be a bit tall for comfy one-handed use, but I'll need to spend more time testing it.

Motorola Razr+ Flex View, modes and software

If you're like many people you're probably saying to yourself, "it's nice that the Razr+ can fold in half, but what else can it do?" Actually, quite a lot, as Motorola has added a lot of handy software features to help make the most of both displays.

With the front display you can create custom panels and swipe sideways to view them. Options include news, weather, contacts, Spotify and more. And you can choose from several live wallpaper designs and clock styles to personalize this device. You can also play games on the exterior screen, such as Marble Mayhem, which lets you direct a ball through a maze by just tilting the handset.

With Motorola's Flex View mode (similar to the Flex mode on the Galaxy Z Flip 4), you can place the phone down on a desk or anywhere half folded in order to take photos hands-free, watch workout or recipe videos or hold video calls. That Flex View also enables you to activate a fun Photo booth mode, which captures four photos with a small delay between each pic.

Another plus for the Razr+ is the fact you can quickly resume what you were doing on the big screen on the smaller display. With continuity, for example, you can keep getting turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps with the main panel closed. And you can decide in settings which apps you want to continue to run on the outer display versus those you want to close when you shut the phone.

Motorola Razr+ cameras

The Motorola Razr+ offers two rear cameras along with a selfie shooter on the main display. The main camera is a 12MP sensor with a f /1.5 aperture and there's a 13MP ultra wide camera (f/2.2) that can also take macro shots. What's missing? An optical zoom, which is fairly standard for phones that are $999 and up. But this is just one of the trade-offs for owning a foldable phone.

Last but not least is a 32MP selfie camera with support for Auto Smile capture, as well as dual capture via the front and rear lenses. The main camera can record video at up to 4K at 60 fps and the ultra wide does up to 30 fps. I took a couple of test photos, including a selfie, and the results looked fairly colorful outdoors with lots of ambient lighting. The pic was just a bit soft in terms of focus.

The Razr+ has plenty of camera features that let you take advantage of its foldable design. You can take quick selfies using the external display to frame your shots, as well as let friends and family see themselves through the front display while you look at the larger screen. Plus, you can snap pics in Flex View mode, with the controls on the bottom part of the main display and the viewfinder up top.

If you're into retro tech, you can fold the display in half and hold the Razr+ as you would an old-school camcorder, which I'm sure will be all the rage on TikTok. In this mode the controls are right by your thumb. Video features include Night Vision for brighter footage and Horizon Lock for steadier looking clips.

Motorola Razr+ performance

I don't think most people are going to notice a huge performance gap on a day-to-day basis versus the best phones, but it's still a bummer that the Razr+ is powered by a year-old Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. Other flagships use the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, such as the Galaxy S23 series.

Still, the Razr+ packs a fairly robust 8GB of RAM along with 256GB of storage, and I didn't notice any lag when switching between multiple apps and various usage modes. I will be curious to see how well this phone handles demanding games though once we get it in for review.

Motorola Razr+ battery and charging

The good news is that the Motorola Razr+ offers a larger battery than its predecessor with a 3,800 mAh capacity battery versus 3,500 mAh for the Razer 2022. The bad news is that this is still lower than the Galaxy S23 (3,900 mAh) and way behind the Galaxy S23 Plus (4,700mAh). So I'm a bit worried that this foldable phone won't have a ton of staying power.

We'll be testing the Razr+ on our web surfing battery test to see if it can earn a spot on our best phone battery life list, but I'm not hopeful.

At least it shouldn't take that long to charge the Razr+. It offers 30W TurboPower charging (though you have to supply your own charger), as well as 5W wireless charging. That's slower than the 15W wireless charging available on the Galaxy S23 series.

Motorola Razr+ vs Motorola Razr 2023

Motorola has another flip phone foldable coming out later this year called the Razr 2023, and it promises to be significantly more affordable than the Razr Plus+. So what are the trade-offs between the Motorola Razr+ and Motorola Razr (2023)? The regular Razr has a much smaller display at 1.5 inches vs 3.6 inches for the Razr+, so the former will be better for at-a-glance info like notifications instead of running full apps.

The Razr 2023 also packs a sharper 64MP main camera (on paper), but it's not as good in low light as the Razr+'s 12MP shooter. The lower-cost Razr does have a bigger battery though at 4,200 mAh vs. 3800 mAh, owning to the fact that it has a smaller front display. Lastly, the Razer 2023 has a less powerful Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip and less storage at 128GB.

Motorola Razr+ outlook

The Razr+ makes a pretty strong statement in a foldable phone field that really needs more competition for Samsung's utter dominance. The front display is a real head-turner, and Motorola has done a nice job with the software to ensure that the foldable experience is fun without being too complicated.

Of course, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is rumored to launch this summer, so Motorola will have strong competition to battle. But for now I'm pretty impressed with the Motorola Razr+'s design, multiple modes and (most) of its specs. Stay tuned for our full rated Razr+ review.