Motorola Razr+ and Razr (2024) Review: Polished Folding Flips

Folding flip phones are so hot. Not just because Paris Hilton is back repping the new hot pink Motorola Razr+, but because they add some novelty over the flagging glass rectangles we're used to. Flip the phone out to answer a call, and close it shut to hang up. It will never not be satisfying. You also get the perk of stuffing a super tiny phone in your pocket. Who doesn't love that?

The new Razr ($700) and Razr+ ($1,000) are Motorola's third generation of folding flip smartphones, a growing category without much competition in the US save Samsung (which is expected to announce its new folding smartphones on July 10). I’ve been using them for the past two weeks and am happy to report that Motorola has fixed many of the gripes I had with last year's model. I'll delve into the details, but if you're split between the two, my TL;DR is to buy the Razr+. It's the only one of the two that comes in hot pink; need I say more?

Third Time’s the Charm

I've written about the top changes on these phones here. They both have larger front screens than their predecessors, but the Razr+ boasts a slightly larger external display than the Razr.

These cover screens are far more useful, and I find myself spending a lot of time on 'em without having to open the phone. You can scroll through several “panes” of content like the weather or widgets, and even open apps—I love using the Google Home app to toggle on smart home devices quickly, or accessing Google Authenticator when I need to plug in a code. I even like Motorola's built-in mini-games that play well on the tiny screen; it's a great way to kill time. I prefer the larger screen on the Razr+ because you really can see more content at a glance.

On the flip side (heh), the cheaper Razr gets a slightly bigger battery at 4,200 milliampere-hour (mAh) versus 4,000 mAh. It might seem like a small difference, but the Razr+ routinely ended an average day of use with 20 percent battery life left, and when I used the phone a little more—for music streaming and GPS navigation—I had to plug in before the day's end. The standard Razr more often had 30 to 40 percent before bedtime and was able to stretch the battery to the morning of a second day. Battery is nothing to write home about for both, but the cheaper model is longer lasting.