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Motorola Razr 50 Review: Mostly Excellent

DA Gadgets September 28, 2024 mobiles

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The
Motorola
Razr
series
has
been
one
of
the
most
recognisable
phones
in
human
history.
It
also
sold
well
and
made
much
money
for
the
now
Lenovo-owned
Motorola.
The
flip
phones
took
the
foldable
flip
route
in
late
2020
and
are
currently
in
their
5th
generation.
We
got
two
phones
this
year,
the
Razr
50
Ultra
and
Razr
50.
While
the
latter
looks
similar
to
last
year’s
model,
the
new
Razr
50
is
a
big
upgrade
in
terms
of
design
when
compared
to
the
Razr
40.

Motorola’s
Razr
50
is
like
the
Razr
40
Ultra
in
many
ways,
but
cheaper.
The
phone
is
priced
at
Rs.
64,999
in
India
and
is
only
available
with
8GB
RAM
and
256GB
storage.
Is
this
a
phone
you
should
consider
instead
of
the
more
expensive
Ultra
or
something
from
Samsung?
Should
you
upgrade
from
the
Razr
40?
I
answer
all
that
and
more
in
the
review.

Motorola
Razr
50
Design:
Really
good
and
functional

• Dimensions
  (Closed)
  –
  73.99
  x
  88.08
  x
  15.85mm
• Dimensions
  (Open)
  –
  73.99
  x
  171.30
  x
  7.25mm
• Weight
  –
  189g
• Colours
  –
  Beach
  Sand,
  Koala
  Grey,
  Spritz
  Orange

The
new
Motorola
Razr
50
looks
very
different
compared
to
the
Razr
40
from
the
front.
You
still
get
the
rounded
corners,
curved
sides,
the
flat
hinge
design
at
the
back,
and
the
vegan
leather
finish
on
the
lower
part
of
the
phone.
There’s
a
vegan
leather
finish
on
the
lower
half
of
the
back
panel
and
a
thin
strip
of
vegan
leather
on
the
top
part.
The
vegan
leather
finish
offers
a
good
grip.
We
received
the
Spritz
Orange
unit
for
review,
and
it
is
a
unique
colour
option
that
will
grab
attention.

The
bottom
half
of
the
phone
looks
similar
to
last
year’s
Razr
40

Button
placements
are
similar
to
last
year’s
model.
The
right
edge
of
the
top
half
houses
the
volume
and
the
power
keys.
The
power
button
also
doubles
as
a
fingerprint
scanner
and
works
well.
You’ll
find
the
SIM
tray
tool
on
the
left
side
of
the
top
half.
The
top
edge
houses
a
microphone.
Finally,
the
USB
Type-C
port,
speaker,
and
microphone
are
placed
on
the
bottom
edge
of
the
lower
half.

One
of
the
most
important
aspects
of
the
Razr
50
design
is
obviously
the
hinge
and
its
mechanism.
Motorola
claims
that
it
has
redesigned
the
hinge
to
be
more
durable,
all
while
reducing
its
volume
by
about
30
percent
compared
to
the
previous
model.
The
hinge
is
also
said
to
offer
better
dust
protection
with
an
IPX8
rating,
and
I
found
it
very
effective.
However,
you
also
need
to
be
careful
not
to
leave
any
dust
on
the
inner
panel
when
closing
it
shut,
as
it
may
damage
the
display.
The
hinge
cover
is
made
from
stainless
steel,
whereas
the
phone’s
frame
is
made
using
6000
series
aluminium.
All
surfaces
get
a
smooth
satin
finish
that
makes
the
phone
feel
premium.

The
vegan
leather
finish
and
the
curved
frame
make
the
phone
easy
to
hold

The
hinge
also
has
a
short
range,
which
means
that
you
can
keep
the
display
open
only
at
certain
angles.
Cross
this
angle,
and
the
phone
will
automatically
close
or
open,
which
is
excellent
as
the
hinge
makes
it
easier
to
open
the
phone
with
one
hand.
However,
opening
the
phone
in
one
hand
is
still
a
task.
The
hinge
allows
for
certain
use
cases,
such
as
a
tent,
camcorder,
and
table
stand
modes.

A
new
floating
plate
in
the
hinge
is
claimed
to
be
less
stressful
on
the
folding
panel
and
helps
reduce
the
crease.
Although
Motorola
advertises
the
Razr
50
as
nearly
creaseless,
it’s
not
the
case.
There’s
a
visible
crease,
but
you
don’t
really
notice
it
when
viewing
videos
of
scrolling
through
Instagram.
You’ll
only
feel
its
presence
when
sliding
your
finger
over
the
inner
display
or
when
looking
at
the
screen
at
certain
angles.

Motorola
Razr
50
Display:
Big
upgrade

• Outer
  screen
  –
  3.63-inch
  OLED,
  1056
  x
  1066
  pixels,
  90Hz
• Internal
  flex
  screen
  –
  6.9-inch
  pOLED
  LTPO,
  full-HD+,
  120Hz,
  HDR10+
• Protection
  –
  Gorilla
  Glass
  Victus
  (Outer)

The
Motorola
Razr
50
gets
a
massive
upgrade
in
the
display
department,
but
only
on
the
outside.
Instead
of
the
smaller,
not
very
useful
display
that
was
present
in
the
Razr
40,
you
now
get
a
3.63-inch
10-bit
OLED
panel
that
offers
a
90
Hz
refresh
rate,
up
to
1,700
nits
of
peak
brightness,
and
HDR
10
support.
The
panel
features
cutouts
for
the
cameras
and
the
LED
flash.
You
can
watch
videos
on
this
screen,
but
I’d
not
recommend
it.
It’s
suitable
for
playing
some
of
the
pre-installed
cover
screen
games,
though.
The
screen
also
gets
plenty
of
bright
outdoors
and
is
easy
to
read.

The
Razr
50’s
outer
display
is
super
useful

Opening
the
phone
reveals
a
taller-than-usual
flexible
plastic
10-bit
OLED
display
that
offers
a
120Hz
refresh
rate,
up
to
3,000
nits
of
peak
brightness,
and
HDR
10+
support.
You
get
three
colour
modes
on
the
panel
–
Natural,
Radiant,
and
Vivid.
Sticking
to
the
Natural
option
is
best,
as
the
other
modes
tend
to
boost
the
colours
a
bit
too
much.
The
inner
display
offers
a
22:9
aspect
ratio,
which
is
excellent
for
watching
movies
but
isn’t
the
best
when
watching
16:9
content
on
YouTube.
The
panel
is
easy
to
read
under
direct
sunlight
but
is
a
bit
more.

Both
displays
offer
Widevine
L1
support,
so
you
can
enjoy
viewing
content
in
full
HD
across
Netflix
and
other
streaming
apps.

Motorola
Razr
50
Software:
There’s
plenty
to
keep
you
flipping

• OS
  –
  Android
  14
• UI
  –
  Hello
  UI
• Latest
  security
  patch
  –
  August
  1st

Software
is
another
crucial
part
of
foldable
phones,
and
Motorola
has
done
a
great
job
with
its
Hello
UI.
While
it
still
looks
close
to
stock
Android,
some
design
elements
and
added
Moto
features
set
it
apart.
You
get
a
couple
of
preinstalled
apps,
but
these
are
not
really
bloatware
and
can
be
uninstalled.
There
are
also
several
Moto
apps
and
features,
such
as
Moto
Secure,
Family
Space,
Moto
Unplugged,
Smart
Connect,
and
a
few
others.

There’s
no
bloatware
on
the
phone

Motorola
has
also
included
a
couple
of
AI
tools
to
help
you
create
wallpapers.
There’s
Style
Sync
and
Magic
Canvas,
but
the
latter
requires
you
to
have
a
Moto
account.
Style
sync
lets
you
create
wallpapers
from
captured
photos,
whereas
Magic
Canvas
lets
you
create
images
using
text
prompts.

You
can
run
pretty
much
any
app
on
the
outer
screen.
There
are
several
pre-installed
games
that
run
great
on
the
cover
display
and
can
be
fun
to
use.
Apart
from
using
apps
and
playing
games,
Motorola
also
supports
the
use
of
Google
Gemini
on
the
cover
display,
and
you
get
three
months
of
free
Gemini
Advanced
when
you
purchase
the
Razr
50
phones.
The
interface
has
been
optimised
for
the
outer
screen,
and
it’s
easy
to
have
conversations
with
Gemini.

The
cover
display
offers
various
modes
and
supports
most
apps

As
for
software
support,
Motorola
has
promised
3
years
of
Android
OS
and
4
years
of
security
updates
for
the
Razr
50.

Motorola
Razr
50
Performance:
Could’ve
been
better

• Processor
  –
  MediaTek
  Dimensity
  7300X
• RAM
  –
  8GB
  LPDDR4X
• Storage
  –
  256GB
  UFS
  2.2

I
feel
like
the
only
downside
of
the
Motorola
Razr
50
is
the
chipset
and,
consequently,
the
performance
it
offers.
It’s
very
strange
that
the
company
decided
to
go
with
a
MediaTek
chipset
for
the
Razr
50,
whereas
the
Ultra
option
gets
a
Snapdragon
SoC.
The
Dimensity
7300X
on
the
phone
is
coupled
with
8GB
LPDDR4X
RAM.
I
ran
a
couple
of
synthetic
benchmarks
on
the
phone,
and
it
delivered
okayish
results.
Older
phones,
such
as
the
Tecno
Phantom
V
Flip,
scored
better
in
the
tests.

The
performance
offered
by
the
Dimensity
7300X,
an
octa-core
4nm
processor,
is
enough
for
daily
tasks
like
messaging,
calls,
using
the
browser,
watching
videos,
and
so
on,
but
you
will
notice
some
leg
when
launching
apps
or
multitasking
on
both
the
outer
as
well
as
the
inner
screen.
App
transitions
from
cover
to
primary
to
main
and
vice
versa
were
also
primarily
smooth.
You
can
play
games
on
the
phone.
I
tried
titles
such
as
BGMI
and
Asphalt
9,
and
both
worked
well.
There
are
plenty
of
games
available
for
the
front
display
as
well,
and
they
work
quite
well
without
any
lag.
The
phone
didn’t
run
very
hot
while
gaming,
either.

The
display
is
readable
under
direct
sunlight

The
phone
did
lag
at
times
when
using
the
Camera
app
to
take
photos
or
even
switching
between
the
cameras.
In
some
cases,
the
camera
viewfinder
would
go
blank
for
several
seconds.

Motorola
has
offered
a
hybrid
dual
speaker
setup
with
Dolby
Atmos
on
the
Razr
50,
and
they
work
well.
There’s
some
bass
here,
and
the
speakers
can
get
loud.
They’re
good
for
indoor
use,
but
it’s
best
to
carry
a
pair
of
earphones
for
outdoor
use.
Call
quality
and
connectivity
on
the
phone
are
pretty
good
and
I
didn’t
encounter
any
dropped
calls.
I
did,
however,
notice
some
WiFi
connectivity
issues
while
playing
games,
but
it
only
happened
once
to
call
it
a
problem.

Motorola
Razr
50
Cameras:
Good
enough

• Main
  –
  50-megapixel,
  f/1.7,
  OIS
• Secondary
  Ultrawide
  –
  13-megapixel,
  f/2.2,
  120
  degree
  FoV
• Inner
  selfie
  –
  32-megapixel,
  f/2.4

The
main
camera
is
shared
with
the
Ultra,
along
with
the
inner
32-megapixel
unit.
However,
unlike
the
Ultra’s
telephoto,
the
standard
Razr
50
gets
a
13-megapixel
ultrawide
with
autofocus.
The
cover
screen
lets
you
use
the
primary
and
ultrawide
to
take
selfies,
and
there’s
also
a
split
screen
interface
that
lets
you
shoot
with
ease.
As
if
the
nostalgia
of
the
flip
form
factor
wasn’t
enough,
Motorola
has
gone
ahead
and
included
a
camcorder
mode
that’s
more
form
than
function.

Photos
from
the
main
camera
are
pretty
good

Photos
coming
out
of
the
main
camera
in
daylight
conditions
have
good
detail
and
dynamic
range
with
very
little
to
no
noise,
but
there’s
plenty
of
sharpening
and
over-saturation.
The
greens
look
greener,
and
the
sky
looks
bluer.

Samples
from
the
primary
50-megapixel
camera
[Tap
to
expand]

Switching
to
the
ultrawide
camera,
the
results
look
very
different,
with
less
detail,
darker
shadows,
and
colour
inconsistency.
The
ultrawide
also
doesn’t
do
dynamic
range
and
white
balance
well.
Photos
are
usable,
but
nothing
great.

Samples
from
the
Ultrawide
camera
[Tap
to
Expand]

There’s
also
a
2x
digital
zoom
option
and
a
Macro
mode
available.
The
2x
zoom
produces
good
photos
in
daylight,
but
you
will
find
plenty
of
noise
if
you
zoom
in.
Meanwhile,
the
macro
photo
can
produce
good
results.

Macro
photos
come
out
good
when
there’s
plenty
of
light
[Tap
to
Expand]

In
low
light
conditions,
the
main
camera
still
does
a
good
job
of
preserving
details
and
shadows,
but
the
white
balance
can
be
off.
Saturation
and
exposures
are
handled
well,
though.
The
ultrawide
doesn’t
really
do
well
in
low
light
conditions
unless
you
give
it
a
lot
of
light.
A
Night
mode
is
available,
but
that
works
better
with
the
main
camera.

Lowlight
samples:
Top
–
Main
camera;
Bottom
–
Ultrawide
[Tap
to
Expand]

The
selfie
camera
on
the
inner
display
produces
good
results
in
daylight
conditions
with
pretty
realistic
skin
tones,
good
colours,
and
a
wide
dynamic
range.
There’s
a
good
amount
of
detail
as
well.
However,
it’s
just
better
to
use
the
main
external
camera
for
selfies,
which
produces
better
details.

Coming
to
video
performance,
the
Razr
50
can
shoot
4k
30fps
on
all
cameras
with
stabilisation.
The
primary
camera
takes
good
daylight
videos
with
lots
of
detail
and
slightly
saturated
colours.
Stabilisation
is
decent,
but
you’ll
notice
the
shakes
if
you’re
walking
or
running.
Motorola
claims
it
uses
AI
to
reduce
the
shakiness,
but
it
doesn’t
really
work
that
well
most
of
the
time.
The
ultrawide
camera
doesn’t
do
that
well
in
videos.

Motorola
Razr
50
Battery:
You
can
flip
it
all
day

• Capacity
  –
  4,200mAh
• Charging
  –
  30W
• Charger
  –
  33W
  included
  in-box

The
Motorola
Razr
50
offers
impressive
battery
life
for
a
flip
phone
even
though
it
receives
the
same
battery
capacity
as
last
year.
I
constantly
got
over
7
hours
of
screen
time
on
the
phone,
and
this
is
probably
because
I
did
most
of
the
messaging
on
the
outer
display.
Thanks
to
this,
the
phone
easily
lasted
over
a
day
of
usage.
I’d
flip
open
the
screen
only
for
using
the
camera,
some
gaming,
checking
emails,
watching
videos,
and
scrolling
Instagram.
Gaming
continuously
drains
the
battery
a
lot,
though.

The
battery
life
on
the
phone
is
impressive

In
our
battery
test,
the
phone
lasted
over
25
hours
on
a
single
charge.
Talking
about
charging,
the
Razr
50
supports
30W
fast
charging
and
takes
about
1
hour
and
10
minutes
to
go
from
10
percent
to
full.
There’s
also
support
for
wireless
charging
at
15W.

Motorola
Razr
50
Verdict

At
Rs.
64,999,
there
are
not
a
lot
of
other
options
in
the
market.
You
can
check
out
the

Oppo
Find
N3
Flip
(Review),
which
offers
much
better
performance
and
a
better
pair
of
cameras.
Unfortunately,
it
does
have
a
less
usable
outer
screen.
You
also
have
the

Tecno
Phantom
V
Flip
(Review)
from
last
year,
but
that’s
not
really
better
in
any
way.
It’s
also
an
excellent
alternative
to
the
Samsung
Galaxy
Z
Flip
6
if
performance
isn’t
your
main
concern.

The
Motorola
Razr
50
is
a
great-looking
phone
with
a
lot
of
nostalgia
and
features
that
are
somewhat
let
down
by
its
processor.
The
outer
display
is
great,
you
get
a
nice
camera
setup,
excellent
battery
life
for
a
phone
with
two
screens,
fast
charging,
an
IPX8
rating,
a
super
compact
form
factor,
AI
features,
good
software,
and
9,999
style
points.
If
you
don’t
want
to
spend
much
money
but
want
a
flip-style
foldable,
the
Motorola
Razr
50
is
mostly
excellent.
It’s
also
a
worthy
upgrade
from
the
Razr
40.