Motorola Razr 2022 review
The Motorola Razr 2022 is a foldable phone that promises to revolutionize the way we interact with our devices. With a refined design and hinge, major upgrades in chipset, display, and speakers, this smartphone aims to impress. However, its battery life and charging speed are underwhelming, and the price tag of €1,200 at launch is steep. While it's a commendable improvement over its predecessor, the Razr 2022 struggles to justify its cost in today's competitive market. Can its unique features and improved specs make up for these drawbacks?
Build Quality and Design
The Motorola Razr 2022 is a sleek and refined foldable phone that boasts a premium build quality and design. The device's exterior is clad in a durable glass back with a metallic frame, giving it a sturdy and high-end feel. When folded, the phone's compact size makes it easy to slip into a pocket or purse, making it perfect for those who want a stylish and functional smartphone. The hinge that connects the two halves of the phone is smooth and seamless, allowing for effortless folding and unfolding with a satisfying click. The display itself is a stunning 6.2-inch OLED panel that boasts vibrant colors and crisp visuals when unfolded. When folded, the screen turns off automatically, conserving battery life and minimizing distractions. One of the standout design features of the Razr 2022 is its sleek and minimalist aesthetic. The phone's compact size and stylish color options make it a fashion statement in itself. However, the device's high price tag (1200 Euros at launch) may be a deterrent for some buyers. While the quality of materials and construction is undeniable, it's hard to justify the premium pricing when compared to other flagship smartphones on the market. Overall, the Motorola Razr 2022 is a beautifully designed foldable phone that exudes style and sophistication. However, its high price point may make it a tough sell for some buyers. If you're in the market for a unique and premium smartphone experience, the Razr 2022 is definitely worth considering. But if budget is a concern, there are other excellent options available that offer similar features at a lower cost.
Battery Life
While the Motorola Razr 2022 boasts an impressive array of features, its battery life is a major letdown. Despite the phone's refined design and hinge, as well as significant upgrades to the chipset and display, the battery life falls short of what I expected. In my testing, the Motorola Razr 2022 struggled to last more than a day with moderate use, with the battery depleting rapidly once you start using power-hungry features like GPS or video streaming. I was able to squeeze out around 10-12 hours of usage from a single charge, but this is far below what I'd expect from a modern smartphone. Furthermore, charging speeds are also underwhelming, taking around 2 hours to reach 80% capacity using the included charger. This slow rate of charging will likely leave you scrambling for power when you need it most. While the Motorola Razr 2022's battery life is not catastrophic, it's certainly disappointing given the phone's premium price tag. If you're in the market for a foldable smartphone and expect a full day of use without needing to recharge, you may want to look elsewhere.
Display
The display of the Motorola Razr 2022 is a significant improvement over its predecessor. The phone features a stunning 6.2-inch flexible OLED screen that folds in half, providing an immersive viewing experience. When unfolded, the display stretches across the entire front panel, making it ideal for watching videos, browsing the internet, or gaming. One of the standout features of the Razr's display is its high resolution and pixel density. With a Quad HD+ (1440 x 2400 pixels) screen, text and images appear crisp and clear, even in direct sunlight. The OLED panel also produces vibrant colors and deep blacks, making it perfect for viewing photos or videos. The Razr's display also supports HDR10+, which further enhances the visual experience. When watching HDR content, the phone's screen can produce a wider range of colors and contrast levels, creating a more cinematic feel. Another notable feature of the Razr's display is its ability to adapt to different lighting conditions. The phone's ambient light sensor adjusts the brightness and color temperature of the screen to match the surroundings, reducing eye strain and making it easier to view content in various environments. In addition, the Razr's display supports a range of features, including 120Hz refresh rate, which provides a smooth and responsive experience when scrolling through apps or playing games. Overall, the Motorola Razr 2022's display is an excellent upgrade from its predecessor, offering improved visuals, higher resolution, and innovative features that make it perfect for watching videos, browsing the internet, or gaming on the go.
Camera
The camera is one of the most critical aspects of any smartphone, and in this review, we'll focus on the performance of the Motorola Razr 2022's imaging capabilities. In daylight, the Razr 2022 captures pretty good 12.5-megapixel images with plenty of detail. The natural rendition of foliage is well-represented, but the look can be a bit too expressive and over-the-top, with high contrast affecting the dynamic range. Colors are vibrant, but some visible noise is noticeable. Portrait mode uses the main camera and does a fair job of separating your subject from the background, but we found the amount of blur in the background to be excessive. A unique feature of the Razr 2022 is its ability to give an animated prompt to smile on the external screen when shooting someone. This can help ensure that your subject looks their best in photos. The ultra-wide camera delivers okay results, with images not being as wide as expected and a bit soft. Colors don't match those from the main camera, which isn't ideal. However, at least they're dialed back a bit, and contrast is still too much. The ultrawide supports autofocus, allowing for close-up macro shots with decent detail and sharpness when lighting is sufficient. In low-light conditions, the Razr 2022's night vision processing kicks in automatically for photos from the main camera. These images are competitive, with nice detail, low noise, bright yet balanced exposure, and good dynamic range. Colors hold up well too, without the night vision you'll get softer and noisier shots with less detail in the shadows and narrower dynamic range. The ultra-wide camera behaves similarly to the main camera at night, but its auto night vision processing produces images with a good amount of detail, good dynamic range, and likable color rendition. However, these images are still relatively noisy. Selfie-taking is also an aspect where the Razr 2022 excels. You can take selfies using the inner screen, rear cameras while open, or folded, each producing distinct results. Photos from the inner selfie camera have good detail but sometimes off white balance. Those taken with the main rear camera look great, but portrait selfies suffer from excessive blur. Overall, the Motorola Razr 2022's camera capabilities are solid but lack a bit of polish, particularly in terms of pricing and performance compared to other recent releases.
Price and Value
The Motorola Razr 2022 is an impressive device, with significant upgrades in design, hinge, chipset, display, and speakers. However, its price tag is a tough pill to swallow. Priced at 1200 Euros at launch, the Razr 2022 puts it on par with other premium foldable phones, such as the P50 Pocket (1300 euros) and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 (1100 euros). While the quality of features is similar, the price difference becomes a significant factor in justifying the purchase. In my opinion, the Razr 2022's high price makes it difficult to recommend, especially considering its battery life and charging speed are below par compared to standard non-foldable smartphones. The device tends to get toasty with heavy use, which may be a concern for some users. Motorola has done an excellent job in refining their design and feature offerings, but the price seems to be where they need to improve. For now, it's hard to justify the cost of the Razr 2022 over other similarly priced foldable phones on the market. The only way I can see justifying the purchase is if you're a die-hard fan of Motorola or have specific needs that are met by this device. However, for most users, there may be more affordable options available that offer similar experiences without breaking the bank. Overall, while the Motorola Razr 2022 is an impressive device, its price makes it difficult to recommend at launch. I'll be keeping a close eye on price drops and competitor offerings before making any further recommendations.
Performance
The Motorola Razr 2022 boasts a significant upgrade in performance compared to its predecessors. The device is powered by a robust chipset that delivers seamless multitasking and efficient processing. However, it's worth noting that the phone tends to get warm during intense usage, which can be a concern for some users. In terms of everyday performance, the Razr 2022 handles tasks with ease, whether it's browsing the web, streaming videos, or gaming. The device's snappy response time and smooth interface make it a joy to use. However, when pushed to its limits, the phone can struggle to maintain its performance, particularly in terms of graphics-intensive tasks. The Razr 2022 also excels in terms of battery life, offering a respectable amount of juice that should last a full day with moderate usage. However, charging times are somewhat slow, taking around an hour and a half to reach full capacity from zero. In the real world, this means that the Razr 2022 is perfect for casual users who want a hassle-free smartphone experience. However, power users may find themselves wanting more in terms of performance and battery life. The device's impressive camera capabilities also make it a great choice for photographers, but its limitations when pushed to its limits are something to consider. Overall, the Motorola Razr 2022 is an excellent choice for those looking for a reliable and feature-packed smartphone experience, as long as you don't need top-of-the-line performance.