New Motorola Razr might finally have the power it deserves

By Peter Hunt Szpytek May 23, 2022

It seems relatively uncontroversial to say that Motorola’s smartphone efforts for the Razr series have been a little lackluster, but that may change with the third phone in the newest Razr line. While nothing’s been officially confirmed yet, it would seem that the Razr 3 will feature a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ processor, putting it miles ahead of the Razr 1 and 2 in terms of power.

An image of the Snapdragon 8 Gen1+ processor illuminated by an open flip phone. Text on the image reads "hellomoto hello Snapdragon 8+." — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The previous two Razr smartphones left a lot to be desired in a few different areas; however, the poor processing power in both devices was something of a dealbreaker for many potential buyers. The new technical information comes from a teaser posted to the Chinese social media site Weibo by Motorola general manager Shen Jin. The image, seen above, showcases the latest Snapdragon processor being illuminated by what looks like a flip phone in the process of being opened.

Although the post doesn’t mention the Razr 3 directly, the imagery of a Motorola flip phone lighting up the Snapdragon processor and the fact that Jin says “the new phone feels really good” imply that the post is referencing the Razr 3. It seems like a safe assumption to make given that several rumors suggest the new flip phone will be coming sometime between June and August of this year. If that’s truly the case, then the teaser image lines up with a possible incoming announcement.

Flip phone fans are hopeful the Motorola Razr 3 will be kitted with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ because of the poor performance that afflicted the previous Razr smartphones. If the new Razr does feature a competent processor, then the device could become a new Motorola icon like the classic Razr once was in the days before touchscreens.

At this point, all fans can do is wait for more concrete information about the Razr 3 to drop, but so far, the signs seem to point to Motorola launching a device of higher quality. Hopefully, when the rest of the specs are revealed, they’ll reflect what fans have come to expect from flagship devices and will put the days of disappointing Razr launches behind us.

Motorola faces a serious challenge in the world of foldables though, with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 both commanding most of the attention.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Peter Hunt Szpytek

Mobile Writer

A podcast host and journalist, Peter covers mobile news with Digital Trends and gaming news, reviews, and guides for sites…

Mobile

It’s official — Motorola’s next Razr is the 2023 phone I can’t wait for

Motorola Razr 40 Ultra rear side.

Motorola keeps churning out phones across all price brackets, from flagships in the Edge series to clamshell foldables in the Razr lineup. But barely any have managed to stand out against established rivals like Samsung.

In 2023, that just might change with the upcoming Razr 40 Ultra/Razr Ultra, a flip folding phone that looks astonishingly good, functionally ahead of the competition, and with impressive hardware inside. This phone looks like Motorola finally decided to go all out and give the best foldable that it can.

Mobile

Samsung is done for if Motorola’s next Razr foldable looks like this

Motorola Razr 40 Ultra leaked image

Foldable phones look primed to take an evolutionary step in 2023. Google, the lord of Android, is now in the game with the Pixel Fold. Samsung leaks suggest that its Galaxy Z Flip 5 will solve nagging woes by embracing a gapless design and finally making the secondary screen more usable. But it looks like Motorola will own the year with its upcoming clamshell-style foldable phone, the Moto Razr 40 Ultra.
Industry insider Evan Blass (aka @evleaks) has shared a fresh batch of high-resolution renders depicting the phone in a trio of shades — including black, a peppy shade of magenta, and an understated teal green shade. Motorola’s next offering looks astoundingly different from the previous clamshell foldable in the Razr series, and we're all for its aesthetic makeover.

But what really stands out about the phone is the large secondary display at the back that also surrounds the camera lenses, plus the visibly gapless design when the two halves are shut closed. Ever since the first-gen Razr foldable arrived on the scene, Motorola has kept refining the design, paying special attention to the secondary display by stretching its screen real estate and making it more functional.
For the Razr 40 Ultra, the company has turned almost the entire top half into a cover display, giving the appearance of two camera lenses floating independently in a sea of pixels. It looks clean and geometrically sound, unlike the approach that Samsung appears to be taking with the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which has the cover display area avoiding the camera island and taking an odd shape.
Blass' older leaks suggest that Motorola will be offering a healthy bunch of home and lock screen customization options for the cover display. Plus, it appears that these customization tricks will play to the tunes of Android’s Material You theming system. We dearly hope that Motorola also lets users run apps, or at least some of them, in their full functional glory, instead of just offering a rudimentary level of interactivity.

Mobile

New Motorola Razr 2023 leaks show the colorful flip phone we need

Four side-by-side shots of the Moto Razr 2023. A new red coloway is visible.

There are only a few major names in the game if you're looking for a foldable smartphone, but the name with the longest pedigree is probably Motorola. Leaks of the new Moto Razr have emerged on Twitter, and while they show relatively little of the phone, it does show off a new outer screen personalization feature – and a new, bold red colorway.

The leaks come courtesy of seasoned tipster Evan Blass (who has a private Twitter account), and he refers to it as the "Motorola Razr 40 Ultra", further fueling speculation that Motorola may release multiple versions of the Razr this year, including a more reasonably priced Razr Lite. As an "Ultra", it would make sense for these leaks to show the more expensive, flagship version of the device and, as such, likely includes features that wouldn't be available on a "Lite" version.