BARCELONA—Motorola announced its Razr Fold at CES before showing it off more closely at Mobile World Congress, and I was seriously impressed. The release date and pricing for the book-style foldable are still unknown. But given what I’ve seen so far, it’s going to compete fiercely with Samsung and Google’s foldable phones. I spent some time checking out the Razr Fold, and here’s what I found out.
Design: Thin and Sturdy
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)
The Moto Razr Fold measures 5.7 by 6.3 by 0.4 inches (HWD) when closed and 6.3 by 2.9 by 0.2 inches when opened, and it weighs 8.6 ounces. These numbers put the Razr Fold in line with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, which measures 6.2 by 2.9 by 0.4 inches when folded and 6.2 by 2.9 by 0.2 inches when open. The Z Fold 7 is also lighter at just 7.6 ounces. I held both devices, and they felt relatively similar in weight, even though they are separated by a full ounce.
Motorola covered the front screen with Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, and the Razr Fold is IP48 and IP49 rated, meaning it is resistant to debris larger than 1mm, submersion, and water jets. The Z Fold 7 is IP48 rated.
The Razr Fold comes in Blackened Blue or Lily White. The Blackened Blue model features a textured rubber-like back for a good grip, while the Lily White has a smooth, satin-like finish. The Blackened Blue model features a dark frame, while the Lily White one has a silver frame. They both look very smart.
Displays: Super Bright
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)
The Fold’s front screen is a 6.6-inch pOLED display with a resolution of 2,520 by 1,080 pixels, a refresh rate up to 165Hz, and a peak brightness of 6,000 nits. Inside is an 8.1-inch LTPO screen with a resolution of 2,484 by 2,232 pixels, a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and a peak brightness of 6,200 nits.
I would have liked the refresh rates to match, but this is a small nitpick. These screens are mighty bright. In a sun-soaked room, I had no problem viewing either screen.
When the inner screen’s brightness is set to 100%, it is nearly impossible to see the screen’s crease straight on. Turn the brightness down to zero, and you will see a small ripple.
I like writing on my phone, so I was wowed by the Razr Fold, which supports the Motorola Pen Ultra (sold separately for an unknown price) on both screens. Writing on the inner screen of a Galaxy Z Fold 6 always irked me, as I felt like I was digging into the softer screen with the S Pen. (The Z Fold 7 dropped stylus support.)
With the Razr Fold, I could choose whether to write on the front glass or the inner screen. The Moto Pen Ultra supports up to 4,096 pressure levels, but I was unable to test that stat during my brief time with the device. The Pen Ultra writes smoothly with low latency.
Cameras: I Couldn’t Believe My Eyes
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)
When people talk about which phones have the best cameras, Motorola rarely comes up; the big players are Apple, Google, and Samsung. That could soon change, as Moto decked out the Razr Fold with high-quality glass.
The rear panel features a 50MP Sony Lytia camera with a f/1.6 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS), a 50MP ultra-wide camera (manufacturer unnamed), and a 50MP Sony Lytia 600 telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. Motorola includes a 100x super zoom mode, which leverages AI to pull details out of objects extremely far away.
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For front-facing cameras, you get two—a 32MP front-facing camera on the outer screen, and a 20MP front-facing camera in the inner screen tucked in a corner. Video capture tops out at 8K resolution at 30 frames per second.
I cannot share the photos I took with the Razr Fold, but I was astonished at the quality. Images were crisp, details were preserved, and colors looked natural. I took some comparison photos with a Galaxy Z Fold 7, and the Moto captured details that the Z Fold didn’t.
Motorola crowed about its cameras, saying that DXOMark rated the Razr Fold the #1 foldable camera system and the #2 smartphone camera system in North America. I can see what DXOMark is talking about. We’ll conduct thorough testing when we get a review unit in to see if it’s as good as the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, but it’s already clear that the Razr Fold produces shockingly good images.
Performance: Not ‘Elite,’ but Will It Matter?
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)
The Razr Fold uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 along with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, instead of an Elite chip like the Galaxy S26 lineup Samsung unveiled at Unpacked last week. There is no expandable storage, but that’s an increasingly rare feature.
In my brief tests, the Razr Fold ran smoothly and switched between screens without a hiccup. I can’t speak to how the device will handle heavier tasks just yet.
Battery: Moto’s Not Messing Around
With a huge 6,000mAh battery, the Razr Fold should last a long time—but we’ll have to see in testing, since those bright screens may be a drain on the battery. The Razr Fold is capable of charging at up to 80W wired, 50W wirelessly, and reverse charges at 5W.
For comparison, the Z Fold 7 uses a 4,400mAh cell that charges at up to 25W wired, 15W wirelessly, and 5W reverse. That’s a huge point of differentiation for the Moto Razr Fold—a large battery with wired charging rates more than three times faster than the Z Fold 7.
The Unknowns
Right now, Motorola has not provided pricing or availability details. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 costs $1,999.99 for a 256GB model, $2,119.99 for 512GB, and $2,419.99 for 1TB.
Speaking of which, Samsung should take note of Moto’s stylus support on foldables, since neither the Z Fold 7 nor the Z TriFold supports it.
The Razr Fold’s pricing is the biggest unknown, but Motorola certainly has our attention.
About Our Expert
Iyaz Akhtar
Mobile Writer
Experience
I’ve been into technology for as long as I can remember. As a PCMag mobile writer, I get to test the newest phones and tablets. Since you rely on our buying advice, I make sure you get everything a manufacturer claims, which means lots of testing. This is your phone we’re talking about; it’s like a part of you. I’ve covered technology as a career for around two decades (yikes, I had to think about that). You’ve seen my work at The Apple Blog, PCMag (from my first go around), This Week in Tech, and . I also occasionally produce independent video projects, including This Old Nerd, a how-to series that shows practical ways to get the most from your tech.
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