I went hands-on with the Motorola Razr Fold, and it feels like Moto's excellent flip phone formula finally scaled up | Tech Radar

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I went hands-on with the Motorola Razr Fold, and it feels like Moto's excellent flip phone formula finally scaled up

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While Samsung is still the established leader of folding phones — you know, the ones that go from a regular candy bar-style phone to a tablet-sized screen when you open them — the category has slowly gotten more crowded.

In the US, it’s mostly been a battle between Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line and Google’s Pixel Fold, but internationally, there have been plenty more contenders. Now, Motorola is ready to seriously enter that space with the Razr Fold.

First teased back at CES 2026 in January, Motorola’s first book-style foldable is finally nearing release. The Razr Fold goes up for preorder on May 14, 2026, and starts shipping on May 21 for $1,899.99 / £1,799.99 unlocked (we're awaiting confirmation of the phone's availability in Australia).

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Under the hood, the Razr Fold is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, paired with flagship-level performance built for heavy multitasking, gaming, and everything else you’d expect from a modern foldable.

You also get a choice between Pantone Blackened Blue and Pantone Lily White, with the latter offering a textured satin finish that feels especially premium. There are no fun Pantone shades as we’ve seen on Motorola’s Razr flip phones, but the overall design feels much more serious — clearly aimed at buyers considering a Galaxy Z Fold or Pixel Fold instead. I won’t lie, though — I do miss some of the personality from its flip-phone siblings.

After spending some brief hands-on time with the Razr Fold at Motorola’s villa in the Hollywood Hills, the biggest takeaway was just how thin and ergonomic it feels in an undeniably premium package.

Foldables can sometimes feel heavy or awkwardly balanced, but Motorola seems to have nailed the weight distribution here. Whether folded shut or fully opened, the Razr Fold never felt too heavy on either side. It's just 4.55 mm when folded open — the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is 4.2mm when open — and 9.98 mm when closed. It also weighs in at 243g.

The 6.6-inch external display is big enough to handle most everyday tasks without needing to unfold the device, while the 8.1-inch internal 2K LTPO display feels genuinely massive for watching content, multitasking, or even using the rear cameras as a high-end selfie setup with the outer screen acting as a viewfinder.

Both displays were impressively bright — even under direct sunlight — and opening and closing the device felt smooth and easy. More importantly, the crease was minimal. It’s still there, of course, but it didn’t immediately pull focus during use, which is exactly what you want from a premium foldable at this price.

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One thing that stood out, though, is that the Razr Fold doesn’t feel like a first attempt so much as a calculated next step. Motorola has spent the past few years refining its Razr flip phones, and that work clearly feeds into this. Those devices proved there’s real demand for a stylish, compact foldable that feels normal to use day-to-day — not experimental or fragile.

The Razr Fold feels like Motorola taking those lessons and scaling them up, while also learning from competitors. The same design focus is here — thinness, balance, and a more polished take on folding hardware — but now stretched into a full-size, productivity-focused device that has to stand alongside Samsung and Google at the very top of the market.

That’s where things get interesting. Because while the flip phones proved Motorola can make foldables people actually want to live with, the Razr Fold is asking a bigger question: does that same formula still work when everything gets bigger, heavier, and significantly more expensive?

Battery could also end up being one of the Razr Fold’s biggest differentiators for the US market. Motorola is using a silicon-carbon battery here, allowing for a large 6,000m Ah cell while still keeping the phone impressively thin. It also supports up to 80W fast charging (with the right charger), which should make topping up noticeably quicker than many rivals. Motorola is promising all-day battery life, and this new battery tech is a big part of that pitch.

The Moto Pen Ultra is another notable addition. Stylus support has long been a favorite feature for Galaxy Fold users that disappeared with the latest generation, the Fold 7, and Motorola's offering the same flexibility helps position the Razr Fold as a true productivity-first device. Writing with it felt smooth and natural; however, like Samsung’s stylus, it’s still an extra purchase rather than included in the box.

The cameras, though, will likely be Motorola’s biggest test.

This is where Samsung and Google have built strong reputations, and Motorola still has something to prove. On paper, the setup looks promising: a 50MP Sony LYTIA main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide and macro combo lens, and a 50MP 3x periscope telephoto. There’s also a Super Zoom mode that pushes to 100x with backend processing to add clarity — and in my brief testing, shots were quick to capture and looked impressive.

Motorola is also adding some genuinely useful features beyond raw specs. Frame Match, which is also available on the forthcoming Razr Ultra, Razr Plus, and Razr, stood out as one of the smarter camera tools — especially for solo travelers. You take a reference photo of the background first, which creates an overlay guide for the next person taking your shot and helps them match the framing almost perfectly. It’s simple, but exactly the kind of practical feature that feels more useful than flashy AI for the sake of AI.

And yes, of course, there’s AI here too — because there has to be in 2026 — with deep Google integrations alongside Motorola’s own Moto AI suite. But software will likely be the second major test after cameras. Great hardware is one thing; long-term support and genuinely useful features are what will determine whether people actually switch from Samsung or Google.

Still, after a first look, the Razr Fold feels like Motorola’s most serious attempt yet at a true premium foldable — and a strong showing for a first-generation device. The hardware is absolutely there: it’s thin, polished, powerful, and packed with flagship-level specs.

Now, Motorola just has to prove that the cameras — and the software — can keep up. We’ll be putting it to the test soon enough and offering our full verdict on how it stacks up against the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and other foldables.

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Jacob Krol is the US Managing Editor, News for Tech Radar. He’s been writing about technology since he was 14 when he started his own tech blog. Since then Jacob has worked for a plethora of publications including CNN Underscored, The Street, Parade, Men’s Journal, Mashable, CNET, and CNBC among others.

He specializes in covering companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google and going hands-on with mobile devices, smart home gadgets, TVs, and wearables. In his spare time, you can find Jacob listening to Bruce Springsteen, building a Lego set, or binge-watching the latest from Disney, Marvel, or Star Wars.

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