Motorola Razr Plus Review - My Favorite Foldable So Far

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is the new Razer plus Motorola's latest attempt to bring back the flip phone and I have to say I think it worked this time when it comes to foldable phones I've usually been a bigger fan of book style devices like the Galaxy Z fold 4. but with the Razer plus Motorola may have made me a flip phone believer and there's a simple reason why it's a giant cover screen that might not sound like a big deal since you're probably going to open the racer plus most of the time anyway but having a massive screen on the front makes the Razer plus more useful in surprising ways it gives the Razer plus a big advantage over the Galaxy Z flip 4 although Samsung is expected to announce a new version of that phone in Late July the Razer plus isn't perfect you'll still get a better camera on non-folding phones like the pixel 7 Pro and Motorola doesn't provide as many software updates as Samsung but the Razer plus is still one of the best foldable phones I've used yet first let's take a closer look at that cover screen it measures 3.6 inches making it larger than the older razer's 2.7 inch cover screen and much bigger than the Galaxy Z flip 4's 1.9 inch screen there are six panels on the cover screen which essentially are like tailored home screens that accompany the main clock face you can run full apps on this thing too whether that's a game Tick Tock or the messages app one of my favorite uses for the front screen is playing Spotify when I'm cleaning or putting dishes away I'll prop the razor open like a tent so that the front screen is facing outward showing which song I'm listening to it almost feels like a mini smart display I also really liked typing on the Razer Plus's front screen it feels surprisingly comfortable and makes it easy to respond to a text quickly without unfolding the device but the camera is probably the biggest app that takes advantage of the razer's front screen you can use it as a viewfinder for selfies if you want to snap a photo with the rear cameras instead of the inner camera this works well but I actually preferred using the inner selfie camera because it felt more familiar and was therefore easier to position at a flattering angle I usually had to hold the phone upside down when closed to capture a properly angled selfie with the rear cameras still for those who do want to take selfies with the main cameras you'll have a lot more space to preview your shot than on the Galaxy Z flip 4's tiny screen a better use for the razer's front screen in my opinion is previewing photos before you take them whenever I snapped a photo of friends using the Razer plus they were pleasantly surprised to see a preview of themselves on the front screen before I hit the shutter button of the camera the Razer plus takes solid photos that are colorful and crisp but you'll still get better color detail and zoom on a non-folding phone like the pixel 7 Pro which is 100 cheaper however the Razer Plus's camera is comparable to the Galaxy Z flip 4S both phones have two rear cameras with the Razer plus including a 12 megapixel main camera and a 13 megapixel Ultra wide and macro camera the z-flip 4 has a 12 megapixel main camera too along with a 12 megapixel Ultra wide camera there were some areas in which Motorola's camera performed better than Samsung's and vice versa I thought Motorola's phone did a better job of capturing a reasonably bright and sharp photo of my cat in a very dark room for example but Samsung's photos sometimes had more Vivid colors either way with the phone like the Razer plus the real appeal is about the flexibility you get thanks to its foldable design like the z-flip 4 you can prop it open halfway to take photos without holding the device it's like having a built-in tripod I used the Razer Plus in this way to snap this photo of me and my friend's dog at the park for example Motorola clearly designed this phone with selfies in mind the 32 megapixel camera on the inside of the device takes clear and detailed photos there's also a photo booth mode that makes more use of that selfie camera in this mode just hit the shutter button and you'll see a three second countdown the phone snaps four pictures in a row each with their own countdown timer just like a real photo booth it's a fun little trick but I wish there were more photo effects or filters to go with it we've talked a lot about that outer display so let's take a look at the interior one the Razer plus has a 6.9 inch screen making it technically larger than the Galaxy s23 Ultra screen although Motorola's phone is skinnier and longer of course you can definitely see the crease on the Razer plus but it's surprisingly subtle I really only noticed it when tilting the phone at certain angles or when using an app with a dark background but even then it's not very intrusive to the sight or the touch especially compared to the Galaxy z-flip 4. it's the most discreet crease on any foldable I've used including the Galaxy Z fold and flip and Google's upcoming pixel fold which I've only tried for a few minutes that said other foldables from companies like Oppo and Huawei have also done a great job at hiding the crease the Razer plus also has a Mode called Flex View which is similar to Samsung's Flex mode this view shifts apps like the camera to the top portion of the screen when the device is folded halfway however in my experience it doesn't seem to work with many apps other than the camera the Razer pluses screen can also boost its refresh rate up to 165 Hertz which is impressive considering premium phones from Apple Google and Samsung usually reach 120 hertz a higher refresh rate usually results in smoother scrolling and faster animations and you don't have to worry about that large screen impacting battery life the Razer plus can get you through a full day on a single charge and perhaps even a little bit longer depending on how you're using it I still had 24 of my battery left after roughly 17 hours of use after cnet's battery endurance test which consists of making video calls playing games scrolling through social media and streaming video over the course of 45 minutes to see how much those tasks drain the battery the Razer plus went from 100 to 93 that's about on par with the Google pixel 7A and Galaxy s23 Ultra the Razer plus runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 plus gen 1 processor which isn't qualcomm's newest chip but it is powerful enough for everything you'll probably be doing on the Razer Plus apps run smoothly the camera launches quickly and apps easily transition between the two displays overall I'm impressed with the Razer plus the front screen makes a huge difference proving that flip phones do have more to offer than just portability alone it makes me expect more from Samsung which is likely to unveil its next foldable phones in Late July however there is room for the Razer plus to improve especially when it comes to software so what do you think of the Razer plus let me know in the comments and don't forget to keep following CNET for more smartphone coveragethis is the new Razer plus Motorola's latest attempt to bring back the flip phone and I have to say I think it worked this time when it comes to foldable phones I've usually been a bigger fan of book style devices like the Galaxy Z fold 4. but with the Razer plus Motorola may have made me a flip phone believer and there's a simple reason why it's a giant cover screen that might not sound like a big deal since you're probably going to open the racer plus most of the time anyway but having a massive screen on the front makes the Razer plus more useful in surprising ways it gives the Razer plus a big advantage over the Galaxy Z flip 4 although Samsung is expected to announce a new version of that phone in Late July the Razer plus isn't perfect you'll still get a better camera on non-folding phones like the pixel 7 Pro and Motorola doesn't provide as many software updates as Samsung but the Razer plus is still one of the best foldable phones I've used yet first let's take a closer look at that cover screen it measures 3.6 inches making it larger than the older razer's 2.7 inch cover screen and much bigger than the Galaxy Z flip 4's 1.9 inch screen there are six panels on the cover screen which essentially are like tailored home screens that accompany the main clock face you can run full apps on this thing too whether that's a game Tick Tock or the messages app one of my favorite uses for the front screen is playing Spotify when I'm cleaning or putting dishes away I'll prop the razor open like a tent so that the front screen is facing outward showing which song I'm listening to it almost feels like a mini smart display I also really liked typing on the Razer Plus's front screen it feels surprisingly comfortable and makes it easy to respond to a text quickly without unfolding the device but the camera is probably the biggest app that takes advantage of the razer's front screen you can use it as a viewfinder for selfies if you want to snap a photo with the rear cameras instead of the inner camera this works well but I actually preferred using the inner selfie camera because it felt more familiar and was therefore easier to position at a flattering angle I usually had to hold the phone upside down when closed to capture a properly angled selfie with the rear cameras still for those who do want to take selfies with the main cameras you'll have a lot more space to preview your shot than on the Galaxy Z flip 4's tiny screen a better use for the razer's front screen in my opinion is previewing photos before you take them whenever I snapped a photo of friends using the Razer plus they were pleasantly surprised to see a preview of themselves on the front screen before I hit the shutter button of the camera the Razer plus takes solid photos that are colorful and crisp but you'll still get better color detail and zoom on a non-folding phone like the pixel 7 Pro which is 100 cheaper however the Razer Plus's camera is comparable to the Galaxy Z flip 4S both phones have two rear cameras with the Razer plus including a 12 megapixel main camera and a 13 megapixel Ultra wide and macro camera the z-flip 4 has a 12 megapixel main camera too along with a 12 megapixel Ultra wide camera there were some areas in which Motorola's camera performed better than Samsung's and vice versa I thought Motorola's phone did a better job of capturing a reasonably bright and sharp photo of my cat in a very dark room for example but Samsung's photos sometimes had more Vivid colors either way with the phone like the Razer plus the real appeal is about the flexibility you get thanks to its foldable design like the z-flip 4 you can prop it open halfway to take photos without holding the device it's like having a built-in tripod I used the Razer Plus in this way to snap this photo of me and my friend's dog at the park for example Motorola clearly designed this phone with selfies in mind the 32 megapixel camera on the inside of the device takes clear and detailed photos there's also a photo booth mode that makes more use of that selfie camera in this mode just hit the shutter button and you'll see a three second countdown the phone snaps four pictures in a row each with their own countdown timer just like a real photo booth it's a fun little trick but I wish there were more photo effects or filters to go with it we've talked a lot about that outer display so let's take a look at the interior one the Razer plus has a 6.9 inch screen making it technically larger than the Galaxy s23 Ultra screen although Motorola's phone is skinnier and longer of course you can definitely see the crease on the Razer plus but it's surprisingly subtle I really only noticed it when tilting the phone at certain angles or when using an app with a dark background but even then it's not very intrusive to the sight or the touch especially compared to the Galaxy z-flip 4. it's the most discreet crease on any foldable I've used including the Galaxy Z fold and flip and Google's upcoming pixel fold which I've only tried for a few minutes that said other foldables from companies like Oppo and Huawei have also done a great job at hiding the crease the Razer plus also has a Mode called Flex View which is similar to Samsung's Flex mode this view shifts apps like the camera to the top portion of the screen when the device is folded halfway however in my experience it doesn't seem to work with many apps other than the camera the Razer pluses screen can also boost its refresh rate up to 165 Hertz which is impressive considering premium phones from Apple Google and Samsung usually reach 120 hertz a higher refresh rate usually results in smoother scrolling and faster animations and you don't have to worry about that large screen impacting battery life the Razer plus can get you through a full day on a single charge and perhaps even a little bit longer depending on how you're using it I still had 24 of my battery left after roughly 17 hours of use after cnet's battery endurance test which consists of making video calls playing games scrolling through social media and streaming video over the course of 45 minutes to see how much those tasks drain the battery the Razer plus went from 100 to 93 that's about on par with the Google pixel 7A and Galaxy s23 Ultra the Razer plus runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 plus gen 1 processor which isn't qualcomm's newest chip but it is powerful enough for everything you'll probably be doing on the Razer Plus apps run smoothly the camera launches quickly and apps easily transition between the two displays overall I'm impressed with the Razer plus the front screen makes a huge difference proving that flip phones do have more to offer than just portability alone it makes me expect more from Samsung which is likely to unveil its next foldable phones in Late July however there is room for the Razer plus to improve especially when it comes to software so what do you think of the Razer plus let me know in the comments and don't forget to keep following CNET for more smartphone coverage\n"