Not many companies were ready to jump in the foldable smartphone bandwagon last year. While Samsung and Huawei were courageous enough to push forward their concept phones, other companies decided to skip a year until the technology gets mature enough. Besides, the South-Korean company and Huawei, we also need to praise Motorola which also launched a foldable smartphone last year. Perhaps, one of the most exciting ones if you’re into nostalgic feelings. The Motorola RAZR takes inspiration in the old RAZR flip phone, with a clamshell foldable display the handset is a perfect reinvention of the old hit. The specs aren’t really exciting as the ones in Huawei Mate X or Galaxy Fold, but Motorola had to cut some corners to not launch it with a screaming price.
The new Motorola’s RAZR will be available in the US on February 6. The device is already up for pre-order through Verizon. The handset will be the first foldable clamshell smartphone to hit the market. For that reason, it has been gathering a lot of attention in the past months. Now, Motorola wants to keep RAZR’s name in the headlines by releasing a series of new ads detailing the phone’s features. However, they also come to remind users that foldable screens require more caution.
How to take care of the foldable display
The ad campaign starts with the “caring for Razr” video where Motorola explains the importance of keeping the 6.2-inch foldable panel out of potential risks. You’ll want to avoid sharp objects and liquids. Moreover, it explains that Razr is water repellent and while “bumps and lumps” may appear on the screen it’s okay since the display is meant to bend. For now, everything about foldable smartphones is just too new to evaluate. The Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X are still several months to complete a year of availability. So we’ll need to see how the screen and plastic overlay in the foldable phones will hold up over time.
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Motorola also states that screen protectors are a no-go for the RAZR. We believe that this is due to the adhesives on the protectors which may harm the screen. The Lenovo-based firm also states that users need to completely fold the smartphone before putting it in a pocket or bag. This is something that every user needs to remember. After all, the plastic overlay should be a scratch-magnet.
Moto Actions are back with the new foldable phone
The company took the opportunity to share some of the cool features that are coming with the smartphone. The company teases some of the Moto Actions such as the well-known chop motion. In addition, it shows the good old three-finger screenshot gesture and the twist to turn on the camera. Through the external display, users can get a sneak peek and answer with the voice option.
The camera features are part of the second teaser. The company wants to show the capabilities of the portrait mode with stage lighting effects. Moreover, there’s a night vision mode that enhances low-light shots. Motorola is also implementing a clever camera cartoon feature. With this feature, you can attract kids’ attention via the external display while you’re trying to capture a shot. Last but not least, there’s cinemagraph. This feature allows for creative edits combining still photos with moving objects.
The new RAZR will go official on February 6. That’s just a few days before Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip which will be the second foldable smartphone to feature a vertical-folding display.
Motorola RAZR specifications
- 6.2-inch clamshell foldable display with 876×2142 pixels of resolution
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC
- 6GB of RAM
- 128GB of Storage
- Dual 16MP rear camera
- Single 5MP selfie shooter
- 2510mAh battery
- Android 10 OS
