- Puts fun back into phones
- Better external display
- Good battery life
- Okay cameras
- External display still on the smaller side
- Not that zippy
Love them or hate them foldables are here to stay. Like most things, with time we're bound to see improvement and the Motorola Razr 50 is an example of that.
Like its Ultra sibling, the Motorola Razr 50 is one of a few flip-style foldables in the market that actually has a useful (imperfect but useful) external display, but this model comes at a more affordable price point. The latter has been achieved by making a few concessions in terms of performance but the Razr 50 is still solid enough overall that it should be attractive enough to the foldable-curious and foldable-converts both.
Things we like about the Motorola Razr 50
For a $1,200 foldable, there's thankfully more to like about the Motorola Razr 50 than there is to dislike. There are some improvements over the Razr 40 but it is $200 more expensive than its predecessor. It's worth noting that most of what I did like about the handset comes with a compromise, albeit mostly fair compromises for the price point and in comparison to its fancier sibling, the Razr 50 Ultra.
Good photos but not impressive. Interestingly Motorola dropped the main camera down from 64MP to 50Mp from the Razr 40 while maintaining the 13 MP ultra-wide lens and then the 32MP selfie camera on the front. This doesn’t necessarily mean the camera will perform worse than last year's model but it does mean the main camera specs are very similar to this year's non-folding Motorola Edge 50 Pro or Motorola Edge 50 which have much cheaper recommended RRP of $999 and $799 respectively.
The Razr 50 and Razr 50 Ultra both have a 50MP primary lens – with a 50MP telephoto lens substituted for the 13MP ultra-wide on the base model. However, the difference in processor between the two would bring the Ultra ahead. The resulting photos are perfectly fine if not slightly more saturated than standard, especially those taken under well-lit conditions. I did find the Razr 50 struggles a little more with low-light photos or anywhere there’s a motion to capture clear detailed shots.
Motorola Razr 50 camera samples
Check out these camera samples taken on the Motorola Razr 50. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.
Not a powerhouse, but it gets the job done. In general, the device feels slightly underpowered, while the Mediatek Dimensity 7300X performs well enough, it's a variant of a processor that's available in much cheaper devices like the Nothing Phone 2a. You can always count on a second or two to pass before the Motorola Razr 50 comes to life when you flip it open and the transition between using the same app on the external display and the internal display isn't always seamless. It gets the job done and handles games like Genshin Impact, Balatro, and Marvel Snap just fine. However, I did notice some heating in the top half of the screen when the former would download its long updates although this would dissipate during gameplay.
Decent battery life. The battery life on the Motorola Razr 50 is decent at about five to six hours of screen time per full charge. You can expect to get a full day's worth of usage with some juice left over. I estimate two days would be possible if you’re conservative and sinking fewer hours into Balatro than I was. I regularly ended the day with around 20 to 30% battery left. I found one of the benefits of the external display was being able to quickly access my texts or choose a playlist on Spotify without getting drawn into distractions, the side effect being you use less battery. Also, handily, unlike most new phones, you get a charger in the box.
Using the Motorola Razr 50 is fun. There’s a handful of features that simply make using the Motorola Razr 50 special. Opening the camera app, folding the phone to a 90-degree angle and turning it on its side automatically activates camcorder mode. You can then easily use the bottom half of the display to zoom by swiping or tapping to pause the recording. This ended up being a lot of fun when going out (no footage provided) and I can see it being really useful for concerts and other live events where you want a steady grip on your phone.
Moto Gestures are a returning feature but some of them really shine on the Razr 50 adding to the amount of things you can do without opening the full display. My two favourites were two quick shakes to turn on the torch – a lifesaver when getting home late and managing your phone and keys. Quick capture, a wrist twist to open the camera and three-finger screenshot. The latter is pretty self-explanatory, but all of these gesture features work just as well with the display closed or open. While it takes a little bit of time to remember all of the different gestures the process of learning them is in itself a fun exercise in what feels like uncovering easter eggs Motorola has built in.
Where there's room for the Motorola Razr 50 to improve
Most of what I didn't like about the Motorola Razr 50 could be summarised as "awkward at times" and hey that label could be applied to the best of us.
More screen real estate than you can work with. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the design of the Motorola Razr 50 is that its 6.9-inch internal display was too tall and not wide enough. I never quite got used to texting on the narrower screen and accessing any controls at the top of the screen often required two hands or some awkward juggling. It was never so obvious as when I was playing my beloved Balatro (which is played horizontally) and had to constantly adjust my grip to find the optimal, most comfortable way to play. The game involves mostly tapping and selecting cards and options in the middle of the screen and when held horizontally the Razr 50 is just too big to comfortably reach. This was far less pronounced in other games where the controls were at the bottom or at either end of the phone.
An external display that's not quite big enough. The 3.6-inch external display is a big step up from last year’s Motorola Razr 40 which was just 1.5-inch. The 3.6-inch display opens up a world of possibilities as you can now open more apps on the front without flipping open your phone just like on the Razr 50 Ultra. Anything you can do on the external display you can very nearly do on the internal display. This did prove at times to be hit and miss. Texting works fine, Google Maps… starts fine but then a quarter of the screen gets taken up by your time to destination, and voice controls - if you’re driving. If you’re walking then it’s not bad at all. Games on the external display, Marvel Snap? Forget about it, too small to read half of the text. This all goes to say the external display is great for a handful of purposes but not all purposes. If this is the feature that most draws you to the phone then forking out the extra $500 or so for the Ultra might be justified.
Still chasing that classic flip phone feel. The Razr 50 has a new hinge, thinner hinge than last year's model but I didn’t find this helped much to be able to flip the device open with one hand. Closing is slightly easier to do one-handed but most of the time I found it was safer and easier to access the internal display with two hands. This won’t be the foldable to bring back the satisfying *thwap* to match its flip form factor.
Motorola Razr 50 - Final Thoughts
The Motorola Razr 50 provides a pretty generous on-ramp into the world of foldable handsets for the uninitiated while also providing enough value for money for those familiar with the form factor who don't want to shell out close to $2,000 for a premium device. After all, for $1,200 you can find better phones that don't fold.
Motorola's sense of playfulness shines through with its gestures and easter egg-like features that are surprisingly useful as well. Its core specs might not dazzle but they do manage to score above a passing grade. If you're more after the lifestyle that having a flip-style foldable provides then the Motorola Razr 50 is a great option. However, if you're seeking more juice, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra which we'd argue is the best flip phone of the year is a great alternative.
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