The foldable smartphone scene is in such an odd place right now. Samsung has a virtual monopoly on the global foldable scene, except for one important, but somewhat insular country: China. Within China, there are a half dozen foldable alternatives to Samsung's foldables, and they all have sleeker and better-looking hardware.

The latest such device to hit the market is the third-generation Motorola Razr. Compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 4, the Razr folds completely flat, has a crease-free display, and has a larger outside cover screen that can show and do more. In my opinion, it simply looks better.

But two factors keep the new Razr from being a real competitor: First, it's only selling in China, for now, so the Galaxy Z Flip 4 still has no competition everywhere else. Second, Motorola's software, particularly when it comes to the cameras, is not good.

There is a good chance the 2022 Razr will eventually make it stateside because previous Razrs have sold internationally. But unless Motorola can improve its software by then, it won't be a serious challenger to Samsung's foldable, which is a shame.

Moto Razr 2022: Specifications

About this review: I purchased the Motorola Razr (2022) for personal use. This review was written after using the retail unit for over two weeks.

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Motorola Razr 2022: Hardware and Design

The first two Razr foldables were clear homages to the original "dumb phone" era Razr, with a design that, when unfolded, keeps a similar shape to their ancestor. That meant, however, a thick chin bezel that protruded from the face of the device, and an overall wedge-like shape that felt wider than modern phones.

This new Razr ditches that form factor, going with a design that looks just like a modern slab phone when unfolded. Instead of the bulky chin, we now have uniform bezels. The screen size has increased significantly, from the 6.2-inches before to 6.7-inches now. But because this is a clamshell foldable, the new Razr still feels very pocketable and compact, measuring just 91.6mm x 72.6mm x 16mm.

The device is noticeably wider than the Z Flip 4, however, because the Razr's 21:9 aspect ratio is not as elongated as the Flip 4's 22:9.

The wider width doesn't bother me, as the Razr in folded form can still fit into my dress shirt pocket or small jacket pockets. At 200g, the weight is not bothersome. In fact, I prefer Motorola's wider aspect ratio, because I find the Z Flip 4's main screen a bit narrow for two-thumb typers such as myself.

Displays

The Razr's 6.7-inch foldable plastic OLED display has a refresh rate of up to 144Hz, and it's very pleasing to the eyes. Colors are vibrant, animations are ultra-fluid, and unlike Samsung's Flip 4, there's no harsh crease halfway down the screen. Motorola is actually the first company to solve the creasing issue by designing a hinge that has a small cavity into which the folding screen can tuck. The small cavity gives the display room for a softer fold, instead of a harsh flat fold.

The secondary panel on the outside is a traditional glass OLED, measuring 2.7-inches diagonally, with a resolution of 573 x 800. It's noticeably taller than the Flip 4's cover screen, which shows more information.

Unlike the Flip 4, which by default only shows widgets, Motorola is giving the Razr's outside screen free reign to show whatever it wants -- meaning you can open any app on it. However, most apps look absurd on such a cramped, landscape screen. But some apps do work, like YouTube, and basic navigation in Google Maps.

I suppose there aren't many situations where one would want to use the outside screen for YouTube -- you might as well just unfold and watch on the larger screen -- but I can see being able to access Google Maps and even Slack on the outside screen as quite useful. Sometimes I only need just a tiny bit of information and I don't want to unfold the device. This is actually my biggest gripe with Samsung's Flip series -- ultimately, it's just a normal phone that requires an extra step before you can really use it.

Hinge: Can stay in place but not as sturdy

The Razr 2022's hinge can stay mid-way folded, which opens up hands-free use cases, but the hinge here is nowhere near as sturdy as the Flip 4's. If I leave the Razr in L-shape like the photo above on a table, and I tap on the bottom screen with some force, the top half wobbles, like a budget laptop. There is no such movement in the Flip 4, whose hinge is rock steady.

Like the Flip 4, the Razr's camera apps and YouTube app will adapt to Flex Mode by pushing the main content to the top half while the bottom half display slightly less important information.

Silicon, memory, battery, and other bits

Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 with 12GB of RAM is the combo here, and both pack more than enough power for a device of this type. The usage of Qualcomm's latest silicon is good news because the battery here isn't large at 3,500 mAh (though it's still a big step up from the 2,800 mAh of the previous Razr). Haptics are mushy and soft, but there is a solid set of stereo speakers.

Cameras: Slow shutter, bad processing

The Motorola Razr 2022's camera hardware is much improved over the previous generation. The main camera is a 50MP, f/1.9 sensor with a relatively large 1/1.55-inch image sensor, a big step up from the small sensored 48MP main shooter from before. There's also the addition of a 13MP ultra-wide camera which was a notable omission in previous Razrs. Wrapping up the camera package is a 32MP front-facing camera. You can also, of course, use the screen as a viewfinder so you can shoot selfies with the main camera system.

These camera hardware look impressive on paper, but unfortunately Motorola needs to improve its camera software. The processing right now can be hit and miss, with images sometimes blowing out lights abruptly even. There's also a really bad phantom shutter bug that sees the camera snapping photos on its own. If I look at Razr's photo gallery now, for every three photos I snapped myself, there's one or two shots I did not snap, and it's usually pointing at the ground, or a blurry mess because I was moving my arms as the camera was snapping away.

When the stars align -- if I'm holding perfectly still, the lighting is good, the camera shutter button isn't wonking out, I can get some impressive shots. But it's a very hit-and-miss experience with more misses than hits, lending to some frustration.

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Motorola Razr 2022: Software, Performance and Battery Life

The Razr runs Android 12, with Motorola's MyUI Android skin on top, and I quite like the UI in terms of aesthetics and features. It looks close to Pixel's version of Android, but it has more customization options. Perhaps too much. Virtually every shortcut gesture I can think of, from double tap to wake/lock screen, multi-finger swipes for screenshots, double tap buttons to launch apps, are all here. Plus there are these quirky Motorola-specific gestures like making a chop or twist motion with the phone twice to trigger an action.

The Motorola Razr 2022 right now is recommended as an enthusiast-only device for anyone living outside China

Animations are buttery smooth with very few stutters, and overall smartphone usage is fine, except for the camera experience. The aforementioned phantom shutterbug is persistent, and another reviewer who purchased one confirmed his unit has the same problem.

Battery life is okay on this phone. I am a heavy user who's constantly on social media, texting, streaming Spotify, and I shoot a lot of videos, which I usually cut on the spot via the app PowerDirector to upload to Instagram, and the Razr cannot last a full day for me. I'd say for heavy usage like mine, this phone is good for about 10-11 hours of use on a single charge. But lighter users could get a full day out of it. A 30W charger is included with the package, so overall, I am okay with the battery performance.

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Should you buy the Motorola Razr 2022?

You should buy the Motorola Razr 2022 if:

• You like clamshell foldables but don't want to go Samsung for whatever reason
• You really like Motorola phones and don't mind importing or a poor camera experience

You should not buy the Motorola Razr 2022 if:

• You care about camera performance
• You don't want to bother importing

The Motorola Razr 2022 right now is recommended as an enthusiast-only device for anyone living outside China, because it requires importing, which marks up from the roughly $900 price and loses warranty. Since Motorola had released its previous foldables internationally before, there is a chance this third generation Razr will see a global release, but Motorola will have to figure out the camera situation before it becomes a suitable, viable alternative to the highly polished Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.