{"id":799289,"date":"2026-07-14T08:01:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/799289\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T08:01:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:01:20","slug":"motorola-razr-fold-review-motorolas-first-book-style-foldable-crushes-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/799289\/","title":{"rendered":"motorola razr fold Review: Motorola\u2019s First Book-Style Foldable Crushes It"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After announcing the phone during CES<\/a>, the motorola razr fold is finally heading to Australia, arriving in stores from July 15.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As their first book-style foldable, motorola has taken notes from both their flip phones as well as other foldable manufacturers, using a precision-engineered stainless steel hinge and including a generous 6.6\u2033 external display that transforms into a spacious 8.1\u2033 2K resolution inner display.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and comes with a massive 6,000mAh battery \u2013 one of the largest batteries we\u2019ve seen in a foldable to date.<\/p>\n

The phone includes a triple 50MP rear camera system, which camera ranking site DXOMARK has given a nod to as the \u2018#1 foldable camera system on the site\u2019. There\u2019s dual selfie cameras for the inner and outer displays, for a total of five cameras on board.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Running Android 16 with Moto AI, the razr fold comes with the option to use multiple AI Agents. It\u2019s also covered for up to seven Android OS upgrades and up to seven years of security updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Priced at $2,799 ($2,399 currently on pre-order until July 15), the razr fold joins a stable of motorola\u2019s successful razr flip-style phones, and a well established, and growing foldable. So the big question is how does the razr fold stack up?<\/p>\n

Hardware<\/p>\n

Taking a leaf out of the book of other foldables on the market, the razr fold is a svelte device. Each panel is just 4.55mm thin when the phone is open and 9.89 mm when closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The camera continent \u2013 island seems far too small a description \u2013 on the rear adds some bulk to the overall design \u2013 blowing it out to over 17mm. It sits flat on the desk when closed, but if you want to open the display and use it it will rock fairly significantly. <\/p>\n

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The phone comes in one of two PANTONE colourways: Lilly White or Blackened Blue \u2013 with Motorola sending over the Lily White unit for review.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The colour choice is personal, and while I\u2019m more a fan of darker colours, the Lily White has a charm about it and even looks good under the slightly misted clear case that is included in the box.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s two pieces for the case \u2013 a frame that surrounds the front display, which includes sticky tabs to make sure it stays on, and the second part that covers the rear \u2013 with cut outs for camera and the buttons on the side.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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It feels good in the hand, with or without the case \u2013 and with a $2,400 phone in hand, I\u2019m definitely using a case.<\/p>\n

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The razr fold has the usual volume rocker and power button on the right, but there\u2019s also the Moto AI button on the left when you have the phone unfolded. Of course closed it sits right over the other buttons, which can be a little confusing.<\/p>\n

The Moto AI button can be used to summon Moto AI, or jump straight into the Update Me or Take Notes feature depending on your key presses. It can also be disabled in settings if you don\u2019t want to keep accidentally hitting it when aiming for the volume rocker.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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For their first book-style foldable, it\u2019s pleasing to see Motorola using a sturdy precision-engineered stainless steel teardrop hinge.\u00a0It opens and closes easily, though it has some resistance so you can position it half-open so you can work in \u2018laptop mode\u2019 or prop it up to take photos.<\/p>\n

The sturdy hinge is also bolstered by an IP49 ingress protection rating against dust and water. The rating means the phone can last up to 30 minutes in fresh water at 1.5m depth, as well as withstanding high-pressure water jets for 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

The hinge is connected to titanium support plates mounted underneath the folding area under the inner display. These plates re-inforce the screen and help it maintain rigidity and the overall form when opening and closing.<\/p>\n

Display and Audio<\/p>\n

The razr fold includes two displays, the 6.6\u2033 \u2018Cover\u2019 display, and 8.1\u201d \u2018Main\u2019 display.<\/p>\n

Both displays are LTPO (Low-Temp Polycrystalline Oxide) supporting refresh rates from 1-120Hz (165Hz for the cover display). The option to scale down to 1hz saves on power, with the 120Hz looking super smooth when scrolling \u2013 or in games.<\/p>\n

The displays are colour accurate with 10-bit colour support capable of reproducing over a billion colours. Both displays offer over 6,000 nits peak brightness, with a 500nit default brightness \u2013 so they\u2019re plenty bright enough to view outdoors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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In short \u2013 both displays look good, and are bright enough to use outdoors, though there is still reflections.<\/p>\n

Motorola has included stereo audio on the razr fold. The audio is \u2018tuned by Sound by Bose\u2019, and also includes Dolby Atmos support for \u2018multi-dimensional\u2019 audio.<\/p>\n

The speakers are built-in to either end of the phone. The positioning works well, with a slightly off-set, diagonal placement giving you balanced sound no matter if the phone is open or closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The audio quality is good for the mids and high-end sound, however while the bass is ok, it certainly could be better. But volume is good, until you reach the top end where it tends to get a little staticy.<\/p>\n

Performance and Connectivity<\/p>\n

The razr fold comes powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Mobile platform, with 12GB DDR5 RAM (with RAM Boost) and 256GB of UFS 4.1 storage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The SD8 Gen 5 platform offers a lot of raw power which the phone utilises well. There are no issues with performance. It\u2019s snappy, loads apps and games fast and multitasks well.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s see how it handles 3DMark and Geekbench.<\/p>\n

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On the connectivity side, the razr fold includes a 5G NR (New Radio) capable of covering multiple 5G bands from sub-6GHz through mmWave \u2013 essentially covering you for all 5G services, with a solid 4G LTE radio to back it up. Locally you get Wifi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 and Ultra-Wideband built-in with NFC and all the GNSS services including GPS, GLONASS,\u00a0 Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and Navi.<\/p>\n

Camera<\/p>\n

There\u2019s five cameras in total on the razr fold, with a triple 50MP rear camera system paired with 20MP and 32MP selfie cameras embedded in the displays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The triple 50MP rear camera system includes a 50MP Sony LYTIA 828 as the main sensor. This high-end sensor is designed to capture details in any lighting condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s joined by a 50MP ultra-wide sensor capable of capturing up to\u00a0 122\u00b0 field of view, while also doubling as a MacroVision camera for close up fine-detail. Lastly you get the 50MP Telephoto sensor capable of 3x optical, and 100x AI powered digital zoom.<\/p>\n

The rear camera setup is essentially the same as we saw on the motorola signature<\/a> which Scott reviewed earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As far as the main sensor goes, it takes a decent shot. The LYTIA 828 sensor is quite large, capturing a large amount of light, even when there\u2019s not a lot visible.\u00a0The camera takes decent shots at night, with pretty decent processing without over-doing it.<\/p>\n

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The ultra-wide offers a good shot when you need it, adding in the extra width without adding too much distortion. The Telephoto is good up to 3x through the Optical zoom, but starts to lose quality with cropping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"0.5x \u2013 50MP Ultra-Wide Sensor<\/p>\n

\"\"1x \u2013 50MP Sony Lytia 828 Sensor<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>3x Optical Zoom \u2013 50MP Telephoto Sensor<\/p>\n

\"\"50MP \u2013 50x Digital Zoom<\/p>\n

\"\"50MP Telephoto \u2013 100x Digital Zoom<\/p>\n

The selfie cameras offer good shots no matter which you use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>20MP Selfie Camera \u2013 Cover Display<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>32MP Selfie Camera \u2013 Inner Display<\/p>\n

Battery and Charging<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a 6000 mAh silicon-carbon battery inside the razr fold, which Motorola says will deliver \u2018all-day power\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a large battery, one of the largest we\u2019ve seen on a foldable, and also supports fast charging with motorola listing support for 50W fast wireless and 80W wired TurboPower charging \u2013 though there\u2019s no chargers included in the box.<\/p>\n

Motorola supplies three wired chargers<\/a> in Australia: 33W, 68W and 125W. To get the most from your phone, you\u2019ll need the 125W to get the 80W support \u2013 which will cost you $89<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately I can\u2019t find an official \u2018Motorola\u2019 branded 50W wireless chargers \u2013 or indeed any wireless chargers on the Motorola website at the moment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Motorola says you can get over 12 hours of power in under 10 minutes with their 80W TurboPower charger. I have a 140W PD charger I use for testing. The charger was able to and it gave around 15% charge in just 5 minutes, before taking just over an hour and a half to fully charge.<\/p>\n

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Software<\/p>\n

Android and Hello UI\u00a0<\/p>\n

The phone runs Android 16 with Motorola\u2019s Hello UI customisations including gestures and personalisation baked in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Out of the box, the phone has the March security update installed, and there\u2019s no updates at this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The good news is that Motorola committed to up to seven Android OS upgrades and up to seven years of security updates, putting the razr fold on par with foldables from both Samsung and Google who also offer the same software update cycle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In terms of pre-installed there\u2019s the usual Google apps, and Motorola includes their Moto Security, Moto Unplugged and Smart Connect apps, as well as a Notes app and of course their Moto app which will take you through the features and options on your new Motorola phone.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a few \u2018bonuses\u2019 apps installed as part of the set up process, where you\u2019re told Google Home and Health, as well as Adobe Scan AI, Perplexity, FIFA Heroes, LinkedIn and My Script Notes are being installed \u2013 no option to opt out during the installation process, however you can uninstall them once you\u2019re set up if you don\u2019t want them.<\/p>\n

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The inclusion of Perplexity leads into AI, with the razr fold offering users the option to use multiple smart assistants including both Gemini, Perplexity and Moto AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moto AI can of course be used to ask questions as well as generate images, and their Playlist Studio is a fairly nifty feature which uses Amazon Music to quickly generate a 10-song playlist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other features include Remember This for saving pics, text, screenshots and more, Update Me for summaries from your chats and Take Notes to record a meeting, including the option to generate transcripts and summaries and save to the Notes app.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/p>\n

Motorola waited to launch their first book-style foldable \u2013 and it\u2019s worked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The phone looks good, the Stainless Steel hinge is reliable and feels smooth when opening and closing with no \u2018crunch\u2019. It also offers stop points along the way for laptop mode, or to position the camera.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty of grunt under the hood to run anything you want, with excellent connectivity and the battery easily lasts a full day.<\/p>\n

The main downside is the enormous camera island overbalancing the phone \u2013 there\u2019s just no \u2018good\u2019 way to set it down on a desk without it rocking. But that\u2019s a minor point for an excellent foldable phone straight out of the gate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It also comes with a clean Android implementation that adds in touches of Motorola\u2019s personalisation options through Hello UI \u2013 and it comes with seven years of updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can find the razr fold available for pre-order for $2,399 through JB Hifi<\/a> and Harvey Norman<\/a> \u2013 or through Telstra<\/a> on a plan \u2013 it will go up to the full price of $2,799 RRP from July 15th. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Daniel has been talking about, learning about and using tech since he was able to toggle switches and push buttons. If it flashes, turns on or off or connects he wants to use it, talk about it and learn more about it. Like this article? Buy me a coffee!<\/a><\/p>\n

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