Motorola has just announced that its next clamshell foldable phone, the Motorola Razr 2022, will make its highly anticipated debut on August 2 in China. It will be joined on the launch stage by the flagship Moto X30 Pro, which is rumored to pack a massive 200-megapixel primary camera.
The company has already given us an official preview of its next foldable phone, teasing a refined device with a curvy profile, dual rear cameras, a larger cover display, and a chinless modern design. So far, Motorola has only shared release plans in China, but given the market availability status of its predecessors, the Razr 2022 should soon be making its way to the U. S. and European markets as well.
However, there might be a slight delay in its overseas availability. Reliable leaker DigitalChatStation posted on Weibo that the Motorola Razr 2022 might be delayed. So far, we haven’t heard any plans for the foldable phone’s international launch from Motorola’s smartphone marketing teams outside of China.
Leveling the playing field with Samsung
To date, Motorola’s foldable phones have offered a midrange processor, despite commanding a sky-high price. Samsung, on the other hand, has been arming its Z Flip clamshell foldable with a top-tier Qualcomm chip for the past three generations. That disparity really stood out, as the Motorola Razr 5G commanded $1,200 for all its folding tricks, while the Galaxy Z Flip 3 was up for grabs at $999.
With the Razr 2022, Motorola is trying to close that firepower gap with its archrival, the Galaxy Z Flip 4, which is slated to debut at Samsung’s Unpacked event on August 10. If leaks are to be believed, Motorola’s next foldable offering will go with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which is also touted to be the same silicon that Samsung is eyeing for the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
The inner foldable display will reportedly be a larger 6.7-inch FHD+ pOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. There will reportedly be upgrades in the camera department as well, thanks to a new 50-megapixel main snapper that is joined by a 13MP ultrawide camera. Motorola is also going big on the selfie camera, putting a 32MP sensor behind it.
Official teaser for the next-gen Motorola RAZR foldable phone. pic.twitter.com/bhchRD7A7B
— Nadeemonics (@nsnadeemsarwar) July 13, 2022
More importantly, Motorola is finally moving past a divisive design element – that thick physical chin at the bottom of previous Razr foldables. This time around, Motorola is going with a cleaner look that ditches the physical chin in favor of thinner bezels on all sides, akin to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip clamshell foldable phones.
Another area where Motorola appears to be catching up with Samsung in the innovation department is that darn crease. Or, to put it more accurately, the lack of it. From the leaked renders that we’ve seen so far, it appears that Motorola has finally cracked the code to get rid of the crease.
Samsung, on the other hand, also appears to be making steady progress with its in-house Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) solution for foldable panels. Motorola’s next foldable phone will reportedly be priced at a rather competitive 1,149 euros. Given the current conversion rates, the same figures might also be applicable for its retail price in the U.S. as well.
With solid hardware updates on its side, combined with an attractive price point, it appears that the Motorola Razr 2022 will finally be competitive enough against the Galaxy Z Fold 4. It’s not going to be easy, as Samsung’s phone has seen roughly 10 million units of its foldable siblings shipped so far.
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