Motorola’s New Razr Folding Phone Might Be Cheaper

The Motorola Razr name has been around for many years, but in 2019 the company revived its classic flip phone to incorporate a folding display.

The initial model was followed in 2020 with a Razr 5G version, but since then we’ve not heard much about a potential successor. Now it seems that one is on its way, so what should we expect from the Motorola Razr 2022? Here are all the news and rumours we’ve found so far about the Razr 3, or Razr 2022.

When will the next Motorola Razr be released?

• Late July or early August
• Starting in China

There was some suspicion that Motorola had retired the Razr models after muted response to the first two generations. But a post on
Weibo by the Lenovo General Manager Chen Jin, who is responsible for Motorola’s smartphones, stated the following (translation from Chinese via Google Translate):

“Back in time on November 14, 2019, Motorola’s new Razr was launched. As the industry’s first vertical folding screen smartphone, it once again led the industry’s innovation.

The star orbit hinge technology independently developed by Lenovo Research Institute was the only seamless and crease-free hinge technology that was put into mass production in the world at that time. I think innovation is always the driving force of the industry.

I hope we are not drooling, but take more actions, including silently preparing for the third-generation Razr folding screen phone: more advanced chip computing power, better human-machine interface, and of course, a more atmospheric appearance. This product, we do our part, will be the first to be listed in the Chinese market!”

While we do know that Motorola is now working on the next generation Razr, there’s no official release date at the time of writing. So, we need to look back to the previous models to give us some clues. Here’s when they made their debuts:

Obviously, we didn’t see a new Razr in the autumn of 2021, so either Motorola will use a new release window, or it just means that the new Razr will come around the same time as its predecessors but with a two-year gap – by which time it will likely be up against the expected
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.

We now have a solid leak for the Razr 2022 from Evan Blass on
91mobiles who says the upcoming phone, codenamed Maven, is scheduled for a “summer release”.

He adds that it will ship first in China in late July or early August in two colours – Quartz Black and Tranquil Blue – followed later by a global rollout. However, the price leak from CompareDial states that the only launch colour will be Quartz Black.

How much will the Motorola Razr 2022 cost?

According to an exclusive report by CompareDial, the Razr 3 will be priced at €1,149 making it €150 cheaper than its predecessor.

• Motorola Razr – £1,499/US$1499/€1599
• Motorola Razr 5G – £1,399/$1,399/€1499

The Motorola Razr was one of the first devices with a foldable display, and this can be seen in the eye-watering prices of the first two generations. These were comparable to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, which itself started off at those kinds of prices, but has since dropped to the more acceptable £949/$999/€1,049/₹84,999 for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.

So the Razr still won’t be as affordable as its closest rival, although it remains to be seen if Samsung sticks to the same price for the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 4.

What about the 2022 Motorola Razr specs and design?

• Updated square design with no chin
• 50Mp main camera
• 6.7in AMOLED 120Hz screen
• 3in front screen
• Snapdragon Gen 1
• Up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage

Until the 91mobiles leak mentioned above, little was known about the next Razr beyond a patent (above) Motorola filed and spotted by MySmartPrice. The patented design is for a flip phone that folds outward so that the screen is on the outside when the phone is closed – like the
Huawei Mate X.

However, leaked photos that appear to show the Razr 2022 thankfully show a traditional clamshell-style with the main screen inside like previous models.

As you can see in the photo, particularly of the phone in its closed state, it looks more akin to the Galaxy Z Flip 3 this time around with a squarer design and the iconic chin is gone. This means the fingerprint scanner has been repositioned in the power button.

Blass also has some specs for the phone including the dual cameras. These will be a 50Mp, f/1.8 main camera alongside a “combination wide-angle and macro sensor with native resolution of 13Mp”.

Inside, the selfie camera is supposedly 32Mp and will sit in the display via a punch hole cut out. Blass says the display is Full HD+ in resolution and
XDA Developers says it will be 6.7in is size with AMOLED tech and a 120Hz refresh rate.

The larger screen (up from 6.5in) is backed up by a tweet from
Ross Young, the CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, who says that it will indeed be 6.7in and be made by China Star. Young adds that the front cover display will increase from 2.7- to 3in.

Blass has now shown off the new design, side-mounted fingerprint scanner and both screens in the following gif giving us a real-life look at the next Razr – aka Maven.

As expected – and hinted by Chen Jin’s comments – an upgraded processor is on the way for the Razr 2022. It seems there will at least be a model with the flagship
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

Another SKU with the unannounced Gen 1 Plus was also in the works according to Blass but delays on that chip means it’s unclear whether this more powerful model will see the light of day or not.

Various combinations of memory and storage will be available with either 8- or 12GB or RAM and 256- or 512GB of storage. However, XDA Developers previously reported possible 6GB and 128GB options.

Finally, you can expect some sort of external display to return, though details are unclear as of yet, and support for both NFC and UWB – a.k.a. ultra-wideband, the positioning tech that drives the likes of the
Apple AirTag tracker and also has smart home applications.

Another element mentioned in the Weibo post is “better human-machine interface,” which could mean the software experience. The Razr 5G shipped with Android 10, using Motorola’s typically clean and simple Android skin, so it was pretty good to begin with.

Whether Jin is referring to the potential use of
Android 12 or a new Lenovo/Motorola version of that OS remains to be seen. Of course, we’re at the mercy of translations here, so it could also refer to the physical design of the device itself.

As more news becomes available, we’ll update this article. So be sure to check back periodically. In the meantime, check out our guide to the
best phones coming in 2022 and
best phones to see which models are worthy of your attention.