The rumored Motorola Razr 2 seems to be approaching release, with a new big spec leak showing us how Motorola plans to turn around its trouble-ridden first attempt at a foldable phone. There are signs of improvement according to the specs, but it may not be a big enough boost to overcome the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G.
The information comes from veteran smartphone leaker Evan Blass, who has time and again proven himself to be a reliable source. His post mentions the name 'Motorola Odyssey', which is likely an internal codename for this revamped Razr.
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The Motorola Razr 5G, as this new model appears to be known, comes in a new color, Cosmic Silver. There was little wrong with the black and gold options on the first Razr, but this new option at least sounds attractive.
Storage has been doubled to 256GB, which should be more than enough for most users. Although there's no sign of what the RAM will be, although a previous leak claims there will be 8GB RAM, the original having a paltry 6GB. Also AWOL is the battery capacity, which really needs a boost from the tiny 2,510 mAh cell we saw in the first Razr foldable. The same previous leak says the new battery will be 2,845 mAh instead, which would be more, but not necessarily enough to cure the phone's short battery life problem.
Compare this to the current Galaxy Z Flip, the template for the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5G that will be the Razr 5G's main rival. It already has a 8GB RAM/256GB storage memory combination, but we're not expecting that to change with its 5G overhaul - a good thing for Motorola. However, it will still have more battery capacity - using two separate cells which combined offer 3,300 mAh. We might see this drop to 3,204 mAh according to a recent leak, but that will still be more than even the upgraded Razr.
Android 10 will once again be the pre-installed operating system, no surprises there. Hopefully it'll get an update to Android 11 once that launches, which will likely have more foldable-focused optimizations as flexible smartphones are set to become more common in the coming years.
While SIM card slots aren't often interesting, we're curious to see that this specs list has nano SIM and eSIM options. The original Razr only had an eSIM, which worked exclusively with Verizon in the US and EE in the UK. If Motorola has figured out how to squeeze a physical SIM tray into the new Razr, then this would in theory mean you can use the phone with any carrier you liked, assuming Motorola offers an unlocked handset.
The main display remains a 6.2-inch panel, which hopefully will have an upgraded folding mechanism. Not only did folding the phone leave a huge gap between the display and the body of the phone for debris to enter, it also emitted a cheap-sounding persistent squeak after only a few days of usage. This is something Motorola really needs to fix, particularly given the price of this phone will likely be around the $1,500 mark like the original.
The Z Flip's display is larger than this at 6.7-inches, which is better or worse depending on who you ask. What's undoubtedly better is its build quality, that does a good job of keeping the delicate hinge mechanism protected, and its base price of $1,380. Assuming that doesn't rise with the addition of 5G, it's hard to justify spending more money on a foldable phone with worse specs like the Razr.
The 5G compatibility is perhaps the biggest new feature. This will likely require a new 5G-compatible chipset, likely the Snapdragon 765G, considering the original used a Snapdragon 710. The Z Flip uses a Snapdragon 855 Plus, and will be getting a Snapdragon 865 Plus - meaning it will still be ahead in performance benchmarks if absolute computing power is a priority for you.
Given Motorola's close relationship with Verizon, you'd think that the Razr 5G will have mmWave-compatible antennas. However the earlier leaks for the Razr 5G suggested it would be compatible with the more common sub-6GHz standard instead, which is what the Z Flip 5G is also believed to be using.
We also see here the camera upgrades that had previously been rumored. The first Razr had a 5MP front camera and a 16MP rear camera, but now it'll be equipped with a much stronger pair of 20MP and 48MP sensors, which compared to the Z Flip's dual 12MP exterior sensors and internal 10MP sensor look like the only area where the Razr might surpass the Samsung foldable.
The photo abilities of the original Razr were disappointing, even if it had some neat usability features such as using the exterior display when taking selfies with the main camera. Let's hope these higher-res sensors are the solution to these problems.
Blass' leak has no mention of a release date, but we've been primed from previous rumors to expect the Razr 5G to appear in September. That's around the same time that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G should be appearing too. The original Z Flip was a far superior phone to the Razr, and our favorite foldable phone so far. Motorola's definitely taking steps in the right direction with these leaked upgrades to the Razr, but we'll have to wait and see if it's enough to get us to declare it better than the Z Flip.
