Motorola’s first book-style foldable, the Razr Fold, is slated to launch quickly, positioning itself as a strong challenger to telephones just like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. Whereas the units share some design similarities, there are additionally notable variations throughout the cameras, shows and batteries.
US preorders for the Razr Fold kick off on Might 14 at Greatest Purchase and Motorola’s web site, with availability beginning Might 21. It will even be bought by means of Verizon, T-Cell and Xfinity Cell within the coming months. The Razr Fold begins at $1,900 for 512GB of base storage.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7, which launched final summer season, begins at $2,000 for 256GB of storage. Samsung is anticipated to launch the next generation of its foldables within the coming months, although it hasn’t confirmed any particulars but.
Motorola revived its iconic Razr brand within the type of clamshell-style flip telephones six years in the past. However that is the primary time it is releasing a bigger book-style cellphone that capabilities as a mini pill when opened. Foldable phones make up an increasingly competitive market that is solely anticipated to ramp up with the anticipated launch of a foldable iPhone. The place Motorola can stand out is by touting the premium feel of its devices, which are likely to double as eye-catching vogue statements.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is equally eye-catching, however for a unique purpose: It is wildly thin. At simply 4.2mm when open and eight.9mm when closed, it is one of many thinnest foldable telephones in the marketplace. The Razr Fold is not far behind, measuring round 4.6mm thick when open and 9.9mm when closed. The Z Fold 7 weighs 215g, whereas the Razr Fold is 243g.
Here is how else the 2 high-end foldables examine.
Razr Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 7 shows
The Motorola Razr Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 7 share virtually the identical show dimensions.
The Razr Fold has a 6.6-inch cowl show with a 165Hz variable refresh charge. The within show is 8.1 inches, with a 120Hz variable refresh charge.
In the meantime, the Z Fold 7 has a 6.5-inch 120Hz variable refresh charge, together with an 8-inch principal show with a 120Hz variable refresh charge.
The Razr Fold boasts a 6,000-nit peak brightness for the exterior show, whereas the principle show has a 6,200-nit peak brightness. I have never had the possibility to take the cellphone outdoors to see how the screens look in brilliant daylight, however my expertise with the Z Fold 7 suggests they will be a lot brilliant; Samsung’s foldable has a a lot decrease 2,600-nit peak brightness for each shows, which has held up simply wonderful for me once I’m out and about.
I can spot the crease on the principle show of each telephones, but it surely is not obtrusive or distracting when utilizing them.
A key distinction between the telephones is that the Razr Fold helps the Moto Pen stylus, which sells individually for $100. You will not have the ability to retailer it within the cellphone (like you possibly can with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra), however you possibly can tuck it right into a holster for safekeeping. The Z Fold 7, however, nixed S Pen help in change for a sleeker design.
Razr Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 7 cameras
Foldable cellphone cameras have come a good distance lately, and also you now not need to sacrifice polished pictures for the novelty of a novel design.
The Razr Fold has a triple 50-megapixel rear digital camera system with large, ultrawide and telephoto lenses. There is a 20-megapixel selfie digital camera on the inside display and a 32-megapixel one on the quilt display.
The Z Fold 7 has a 200-megapixel large, 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel telephoto digital camera on the again. There are additionally 10-megapixel selfie cameras on the inside and canopy screens.
Megapixels do not inform the entire story, so I sit up for taking the Razr Fold out into the world and snapping some photographs.
Razr Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 7 batteries
Double the screens means there’s much more want for a strong battery.
The Razr Fold has a large 6,000-mAh battery. It helps 80-watt wired charging and 50-watt wi-fi charging, so it is best to have the ability to shortly high up your cellphone, together with 5-watt reverse wi-fi charging.
The Z Fold 7’s 4,400-mAh battery is considered one of its greatest shortcomings — although it was nonetheless capable of final me all day in my testing. Nonetheless, I hope the subsequent iteration beefs up the battery, particularly now that the Razr Fold is giving Samsung a run for its cash in capability.
Razr Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 7 processor and storage
The Razr Fold is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, whereas the Z Fold 7 has a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. Each can simply energy the various AI options loaded onto these units, in addition to heavier use instances like gaming or taking pictures and modifying video.
The Razr Fold comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The Z Fold 7 comes with 12GB of RAM with both 256GB or 512GB of storage; there’s additionally a 16GB RAM choice with 1TB of storage.
Each telephones arrive with Android 16 out of the field. The Z Fold 7 has Samsung’s One UI 8 overlay and 7 years of software program and safety updates. Motorola additionally guarantees “7 OS updates and as much as 7 years of safety updates ranging from the worldwide launch date.”
Which cellphone must you decide?
The Razr Fold seems to be a promising decide for anybody in the marketplace for a brand new foldable cellphone. We’ve got but to check the machine, however our temporary hands-on experience suggests the Razr Fold’s premium really feel, modern design and beneficiant shows might make it a strong selection.
The Z Fold 7, which gained a CNET Editors’ Selection Award final 12 months, is a good choice if you would like a skinny foldable cellphone that feels remarkably like a typical slab cellphone when closed and has top-notch cameras in addition.
We’ll need to see how these two high-end foldable telephones examine in the actual world.
