Motorola Razr display peels in just one week (Update: Motorola responds)

Update 5:35 pm ET: Motorola has provided a statement to Tom's Guide, which we've included below.

The Motorola Razr was supposed to represent the rebirth of an icon, but so far the launch has been one big mess with lackluster reviews and complaints about durability. Now comes word that the display on one reviewer’s Razr is peeling after a single week — on a $1,500 phone.

According to Input’s Raymond Wong, the plastic OLED display on his Razr is peeling apart where the screen folds. It's not a good look.

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He says that “a giant horizontal air bubble” appeared out of nowhere and that there is separation between the top lamination layer and the display panel.

What’s odd is that Wong says that the Razr’s display peeled apart at the fold sometime during a 45-minute train ride and that the phone was closed the entire time. 

The damage has essentially made the touchscreen unresponsive, especially in the middle portion of the display. 

Motorola provided the following statement in response to this report:

We have full confidence in Razr’s display, and do not expect consumers to experience display peeling as a result of normal use. As part of its development process, Razr underwent extreme temperature testing. As with any mobile phone, Motorola recommends not storing (e.g., in a car) your phone in temperatures below -4 degrees Fahrenheit and above 140 degrees Fahrenheit. If consumers experience device failure related to weather during normal use, and not as a result of abuse or misuse, it will be covered under our standard warranty. 

Wong's theory is that the phone’s display could have been damaged by a change in temperature between the outside and indoors, but you would think that Motorola would have tested temperature swings on a phone like this.

This isn’t the first report of durability issues with the Motorola Razr. Some early users and reviewers have complained about the display creaking when opening and closing the device.

And the Razr failed CNET’s Foldbot test after just 27,000 folds, which means that it wouldn’t even last a year. However, Motorola claims that this test was not fair and did not simulate real-world usage.

But Mototrola is not alone here. There are already reports of the Galaxy Z Flip breaking, possibly due to cold weather. One Twitter user says that he merely opened the box, removed the protective film and flipped the phone and heard a crack. Not good. 

Maybe the foldable fold revolution was simply not meant to be. Could we interest you in the non-folding Galaxy S20 Ultra or futuristic TCL slider phone instead?