The Motorola Razr Fold is not a phone I expected to be writing about with this much enthusiasm. I have reviewed almost every major book-style foldable over the years. But I could never get myself to use one. The reason? Some have screens that are too narrow to type or too wide to hold with one hand. Some weigh so much that I feared dropping them, and durability is always a concern with these devices.
So when the Razr Fold came my way, I approached it with interest but without expectations. It is Motorola's first book-style foldable, and first-generation devices rarely get everything right. But after spending a couple of days with it, I must say that this might be the first foldable I want to daily drive.
It Feels like a Motorola, Not a Foldable
Motorola never misses when it comes to design, and while I didn't have high hopes for this phone, it surprised me with how natural it feels in the hand. That's the first thing I loved about the Motorola Razr Fold's design. It has the same iconic Motorola textured fabric at the back of the phone that gives it a grip and warmth that the glass and metal backs of competing foldables simply do not have.
At the same time, I felt like I had used this phone before. I could not tell why, but then it clicked. The back of this phone is almost identical to the Motorola Signature, whose design I also praised during its review. I don't mind the company recycling their own design, especially when the ergonomics are so good.
The phone is also remarkably thin at 4.6mm when unfolded, which is just a hair thicker than the Vivo X Fold 5's 4.3mm. And it weighs just 240 grams, which is pretty light in the context of a foldable phone. Despite the camera bump on the back protruding slightly, the overall feel in the hand is closer to a conventional smartphone than any book-style foldable I have held before. I don't need to adjust to it; it just fits perfectly.
Motorola has also sorted out durability, as the Razr Fold is the world's first phone to use Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 on the display. This offers better drop and scratch resistance than competing devices. It also carries both IP48 and IP49 ratings, assuring that it can survive a water drop, and the hinge is built with an aircraft-grade steel structure reinforced with a titanium plate, and it feels pretty stiff and solid.
Finally, a Foldable Display That's Actually Comfortable to Type On
During this Motorola Razr Fold hands-on, I have also come to appreciate its cover display that isn't too narrow or too wide. It hits a balance which feels more comfortable to type on than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. That's because the inner and the outer screens are just 0.1mm larger, but that tiny difference made a big impact when I actually held the phone and started using it.
Both panels are excellent. The inner screen is a 2K 120Hz AMOLED, and the outer is a 1080p 165Hz LTPO AMOLED, with the screen hitting up to 6,200 nits peak brightness, making them easily readable in direct sunlight.
But I must confess that the stereo speaker setup on the Razr Fold is a real treat. When I started playing a couple of songs as I usually do for my smartphone testing, I couldn't keep myself from playing next, and by the time I knew it, I had already finished an entire playlist. The sound output is just fuller and not as flat as the Galaxy Z Fold 7. I will expand on the speaker quality in the full review.
No Corners Cut on the Hardware Front
Under the hood, the Motorola Razr Fold comes with Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, the same chipset used in the best gaming phones like iQOO 15R. Seeing the spec sheet, I ran AnTuTu, and as you can see from the screenshot, the results are pretty outstanding.
Of course, seeing the numbers, I couldn't hold off from jumping into a ranked match in Call of Duty: Mobile, which ran buttery smooth at 120 FPS on low graphics settings. Then I hopped on Genshin Impact, and even that didn't show any issues, running at 60 FPS on the highest graphics. In my excitement, I forgot to check the temperatures, but it didn't get that warm, even after an hour of gaming.
Motorola Didn't Water down the Cameras and It Shows
As far as the camera is concerned, the setup is directly recycled from its latest flagship, which I already rated highly in my Motorola Signature review. Honestly, it is good to see that at least Motorola didn't include a watered-down camera setup just because it is a foldable phone, like most other brands do.
While I haven't had much time to test the setup, in the few pictures that I have taken so far, the results look promising. But the post-processing can be better, especially for low light, and the colours appear saturated.
It also supports 8K Dolby Vision recording and 4K @ 60fps from all lenses. That said, I still need more time with the cameras before giving a full verdict.
A Battery That Makes the Razr Fold a Real Daily Driver
Besides the design, another reason I have put off a folding phone is the battery life. Brands complain that there isn't much room for a larger battery, shipping a device that barely lasts a day if you are a heavy user, which I am.
Thankfully, the people at Motorola understood this and shipped the Razr Ultra with a 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery. It is more than enough to get me through a whole day and still have some juice left. Typically phones don't last long when I am setting up the device for review, but this phone somehow managed to provide 8 hours of screen-on time, which is quite respectable.
Plus, it also comes with an 80W wired charger in the box which topped off the phone from 10–100% in around 55 minutes. Other brands, please take notice.
Razr Fold Is the First Foldable That Made Me Forget It Was One
While the Motorola Razr Fold seems to be the perfect book-style fold for me, it won't be the case for many others. For Rs 1,39,999 after bank discounts, it is competing with already established brands. And it would be hard to say people's opinion to invest in this phone instead of the iPhone 17 Pro Max or the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, regardless of how good the hardware is.
But here is where I land. Of all the book-style foldable phones I have spent time with, the Razr Fold is the first one I genuinely do not want to put down. It fits in my hand the way a phone should; it does not feel like extra weight in my pocket, and it does not make me nervous every time I use it near water. Plus, I don't have to put it to charge before leaving the office, and the cameras do seem solid in first impressions.
Of course, it is only the first couple of days, and I will continue to test the Motorola Razr Fold to build my opinions further and talk about them in the detailed review.
