Motorola is finally beating Samsung at its own game

When you buy a smartphone in 2025, it’s often rare that you pay the full MSRP of the phone you’re looking at. Between trade-in deals, price discounts, store credits, and more, virtually every smartphone brand is always running some kind of promotion on its Android handsets.

For years, Samsung has been one of the best at this game. Even for phones that are still in the pre-order phase or have just recently launched, it’s not uncommon to find Samsung throwing in free storage upgrades, discounts on a smartwatch if you buy it with your new phone, etc., etc.

But Motorola has quietly been catching up to Samsung in this regard for a while, and with its latest Razr Ultra promotion, Motorola has finally beat Samsung at its own game.

If you’ve shopped for a Motorola phone in recent years, you’ve probably come across similar such deals on the company’s website. Motorola is no stranger to quickly slashing price on its phones, and it hasn’t been for some time. But while its discounts are often good, they never seem to be quite on the same level as Samsung’s.

Right now on Motorola’s website, you can buy a 1TB Razr Ultra for the same price as the base 512GB storage model plus get a free Moto Watch Fit smartwatch with your order. That’s a total value of $400 in savings, and that’s without trading in your old phone — where Motorola is currently offering an extra $200 on top of your phone’s normal trade-in value. So, if you traded in a 128GB iPhone 15 Pro, you could get a 1TB Razr Ultra (plus the Moto Watch Fit) for just $650 — a combo that would normally cost $1,700.

How’s that compare to Samsung? At the time of writing (currently during Z Flip 7 pre-orders), Samsung is also offering a free storage upgrade (from 256GB to 512GB) along with enhanced trade-in values. Using the iPhone 15 Pro as an example once again, trading that into Samsung would net you a 512GB Galaxy Z Flip 7 for $700. That’s $50 more than the Motorola deal, and you’re getting half the storage and no free smartwatch.

While this is just one example, I think it’s an important one to call out. It’s easy to point at Samsung as the value king for smartphone deals and promos, and while the company is certainly still doing well here, Motorola beating Samsung in this department — even in just one scenario — is significant.

It’s especially noteworthy in this example considering the stark similarities between the Razr Ultra and Z Flip 7. These are the two best flip-phone foldables available in the US today, and for Motorola to edge out Samsung like this is impressive. If I were in the market for a new flip-phone and had these two deals to choose from, I know which one I’d pick, and it wouldn’t be Samsung.

Aggressive smartphone deals like this are important. Not only are are they good ways to save you a few bucks on your next purchase, but they also put pressure on competitors to follow suit.

It’s widely known that Samsung traditionally has among the best smartphone promos, but a deal as good as this Razr Ultra one can shift that narrative. It can put Motorola on people’s radar in a way that the company wasn’t previously, and in turn, Samsung may up its game with its next Z Flip 7 promotion. Whether you’re a Moto or a Samsung fan, everyone wins.

Beyond that big picture view, it’s also just nice to see Motorola make a phone like the Razr Ultra so accessible. The Razr Ultra is one of our best-reviewed phones of the year, with one of our only complaints being its steep price. For that to no longer be an issue is pretty commendable.

Now, is this something we’ll see more of from Motorola? While we can’t say for sure, I certainly hope so — and I think we will. To out-value one of the best Android brands in the business is no small feat, and this Razr Ultra deal is clear Motorola knows how to do it.