Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022: Which foldable phone could win?

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 is the first generation of this duel that may actually be a genuine contest.

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 comes from an existing line of excellent folding phones, but has only had modest upgrades from the original Z Flip. Meanwhile Motorola's done a lot to upgrade the Razr 2022 from its lackluster predecessors, but is the one that has to prove it has what it takes to beat Samsung, the current king of the best foldable phones.

A full Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 breakdown will have to wait until the latter device arrives in the U.S., and we can test the Razr as thoroughly as we've looked at the latest Flip. Until then, here's what separates the two phones, based on our time with the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and what we know so far about the Motorola Razr 2022.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 specs

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 price 

One of the breakthrough features with the Galaxy Z Flip 3 a year ago was that Samsung managed to drop the starting price below the $1,000 threshold. While that's still not cheap — for the same $999, you can get an iPhone 13 Pro or Galaxy S22 Plus — it's quite a ways off the lofty heights of other foldable phones.

Motorola may follow Samsung's pricing lead. The last version of the foldable Razr debuted at $1,400 two years ago. But the Razr 2022 costs £949 in the U.K., slightly less than the Galaxy Z Flip's £999. The Razr's not available in the U.S. yet but we hope that when it does appear, it'll cost around $900 to thoroughly undercut the Samsung.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 design 

Both the Flip and the Razr revolve around the same idea — take the flip phone of old, add a foldable screen, and you've got a handset with an expansive display that can fold up into something more portable. That same concept continues with the latest versions, though Samsung and Motorola are making their own distinct tweaks.

In the case of the Galaxy Z Flip 4, the phone sports a redesigned hinge that's slimmer than before. Samsung has also adopted flatter edges that make the Z Flip 4 easier to grip. Alas, even with the changed hinge, there's still a gap between the two halves of the phone when the Flip is folded shut.

The Motorola Razr 2022 is set to make more substantive changes to its design. The new phone is sleeker than before, as Motorola has gotten rid of the chin at the bottom of previous Razr models. That chin was consistent with the look of the classic Razr, but the redesigned phone looks less chunky, so we'd call that a fair trade.

We'll need to get the phones side by side for a true comparison, but based on the specs, the Razr is both taller and wider than the Galaxy Z Flip 4, even though both phones have the same 6.7-inch screen size when fully open. Motorola's foldable weighs half-an-ounce more, too.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 display

As noted, both phones open up to reveal a 6.7-inch main screen, with resolution a little bit sharper on the Galaxy Z Flip 4. You'll get an external display on both phones as well, which lets you see notifications without having to flip the device open. The cover display is larger on the Motorola Razr 2022 — 2.7 inches compared to the 1.9-inch panel on the outside of the Z Flip 4.

Both phones support fast refresh rates for their interior displays, though the Motorola Razr can hit 144Hz. The refresh rate on the Galaxy Z Flip 4 tops out at 120Hz, though it can also scale down to 1Hz when the on-screen action is more static to preserve battery life. It's unclear from Motorola's Razr announcement if that foldable can also dynamically slow down its refresh rate.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 cameras

A true Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 camera comparison will have to wait, but on paper, the Razr boasts the more impressive hardware specs. Motorola's phone has a 50MP main camera augmented by a 13MP ultrawide angle lens. That compares to the 12MP wide and ultrawide cameras on the exterior of the Galaxy Z Flip 4.

The selfie cam comparison is similarly tilted in the Razr's favor, with a 32MP front camera compared to 10MP shooter on the Galaxy Z Flip 4's display.

Still, numbers don't always tell the story. When reviewing the Galaxy Z Flip 4, we took many pictures with that device's cameras, and the results were solid, particularly in low-light settings. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 cameras do tend to overly saturate the colors on photos, so there's an area where the Razr 2022 could challenge Samsung's device.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 performance

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Motorola Razr 2022 both run on the same silicon — and that's great news for Motorola. Previous versions of the Razr used more modest chipsets, but with the 2022 edition, Motorola has opted for the best system-on-chip Qualcomm has to offer.

Right now, that's the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, a chipset you'll find powering many of the best Android phones as well as the best gaming phones. It's certainly more powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 silicon that debuted in phones earlier this year.

We haven't had a chance to test the Motorola Razr 2022 yet, but we'd expect strong performance given our experience using the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1-powered Galaxy Z Flip 4. Samsung's phone outperformed devices like the Galaxy S22 Plus when we ran our suite of benchmarks.

And while the A15 Bionic powering Apple's iPhone 13 lineup remains the fastest mobile processor we've tested, the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 inside the Galaxy Z Flip 4 manages to bite into that lead a little.

You'd expect the Motorola Razr 2022 to match the Z Flip 4's performance — it is the same chipset, after all — though there's a chance of seeing some better results with multitasking. While both the Flip and the Razr feature 8GB of RAM in their base models, there's also a version of the Motorola Razr 2022 that features 12GB of memory for an added bit of oomph.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 battery life

Foldable phones have never blown us away with their battery life, so we're eager to see how the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Motorola Razr 2022 compare, especially since efficient power management has been one of the marquee features for the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset in both devices.

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 improves upon its predecessor, at least. While the Galaxy Z Flip 3 couldn't even last 6 hours on our battery test, Samsung's new model held out for 8 hours and 33 minutes. That's still more than an hour less than the average smartphone, but it's nearly 3 hours better than what the Z Flip 3 managed. Credit a bigger, 3,700 mAh battery and those power management features we mentioned.

The Motorola Razr 2022 may have its work cut out for it here. At 3,500 mAh, the power pack inside the Razr is smaller than the Galaxy Z Flip 4's battery. The Razr should charge faster than the Galaxy Z Flip 4, though, as it can support 33W charging compared to 25W for Samsung's phone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Razr 2022 outlook

Previous face-offs between the foldable flip phones of Samsung and Motorola haven't been much of a contest, as older Razrs came with less powerful processors and less impressive specs. That's changing with the Motorola Razr 2022, which finally looks like a worthy competitor to the Galaxy Z Flip. We'll find out a true winner soon enough.