Motorola Razr 2023 arrives this month for $699 — the cheapest foldable phone you can buy

For a while now, we've been waiting for the price of foldable phones to come down so that a wider audience would be able to afford these cutting edge devices. It sounds like Motorola is taking the first big step to making that happen with a new version of the Motorola Razr coming out later this month.

The Motorola Razr 2023 is a stripped-down version of the Motorla Razr+ that debuted earlier this year. This new phone uses a less powerful processor and seriously shrinks down the size of the external display. But the trade-off for that is a lower price — the Motorola Razr costs $699, compared to the $999 starting price for the Motorola Razr+ and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.

The new foldable isn't the only device Motorola announced today (October 10). The phone maker also revealed a new version of its midrange Motorola Edge for 2023, with the new version looking to tackle one of our biggest complaints about the Motorola Edge 2022.

Here's what we know about both the Motorola Razr 2023 and Motorola Edge 2023, include price, release dates and features for these two new phones.

Motorola Razr 2023 — what you need to know

Put the new Motorola Razr next to the Motorola Razr+, and at first you may have a hard time telling the devices apart. The two phones are essentially the same size and weight — the new Razr's a little thicker and weighs slightly more — and both open to reveal a 6.9-inch display. The vegan leather casing and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the displays even makes a return on the Motorola Razr 2023.

But a big difference becomes apparent right away. The 3.6-inch external display on the Motorola Razr+ which made that phone such a pleasure to use is gone. Instead, there's a 1.5-inch OLED strip that can alert you to incoming notifications and pass on info like the weather and upcoming appointments you have. That's a sharp contrast to the exterior panel on the Razr+, which is capable of running full apps, and for some people, it may be a sacrifice too far.

There are other differences as well. The Motorola Razr 2023 features scaled back refresh rates, with the main panel capable of refreshing at 144Hz to the 165Hz maximum of the Razr+. More significantly, the new phone runs on a lesser processor — the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 to be exact — and there's only 128GB of on-device storage compared to twice that amount on the Razr+. 

Not every change is worrisome. Motorola upped the megapixel rating on the standard Razr's main camera to 64MP up from 12MP on the Razr+. The move should mean clear photos, even in low light, and we'd imagine that Razr owners will have the option of either shooting at the full 64MP resolution or using pixel binning to capture 16MP photos for enhanced brightness. At any rate, it gives a clue as to who Motorola sees as the target audience for this phone — people on a budget who want the portability of a foldable phone and the ability to take a lot of photos regardless of the lighting situation.

The ultrawide lens on the back of the phone and the selfie cam on the interior screen are unchanged from what the Motorola Razr+ offers. And while the exterior screen may have shrunk, it still doubles as a viewfinder, meaning you can use the more powerful exterior lenses to take a selfie.

The scaled-back features on the Motorola Razr 2023 translate to a $300 price difference from the Motorola Razr+. Even better, if you order the phone unlocked from Motorola, Amazon or Best Buy when the phone goes on sale October 19, you can get an additional $100 discount bringing the price of the Motorola Razr+ down to $599. 

T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, AT&T, Xfinity Mobile, USCellular, Boost Infinite, Boost Mobile and Consumer Cellular will also offer the phone on October 19. Cricket joins the mix a day later.

Motorola Razr's Unplugged mode

Along with the Motorola Razr, Motorola is introducing a new software feature called Motorola Unplugged. Think of it as Motorola's take on the Focus Mode that iPhone users enjoy through Apple's iOS softare. With Unplugged, you'll be able to launch a mode where only permitted apps and notifications are available to you.

The idea behind Motorola Unplugged is that when you're at work, you can choose to only allow work-related apps like your mail client to be available. If you're looking to detox digitally, you can program Unplugged to prevent you from launching any social media apps for a set time.

Motorola Unplugged debuts on the new Motorola Razr, though the phone maker says it will come to the Motorola Razr+ in the coming weeks. Additional Motorola devices are set to receive Unplugged, though Motorola didn't specify which ones.

Motorola Edge 2023 — what you need to know

As a more conventional midrange phone, the Motorola Edge 2023 may not excite like the Motorola Razr does. But it sounds like this phone tackles the biggest problem we ran into when testing out last year's predecessor.

The Motorola Edge 2022 was a fine phone, though it didn't really stand out from the filed of midrange phones that offered much the same feature set but at a lower price. The phone's cameras were a big reason why — the Motorola Edge 2022 just didn't take good pictures consistently, with colors that were all over the map.

The 2023 edition of the Edge figures to change that. The 50MP main camera on the latest Edge features an f/1.4 aperture to let in more light. In fact, Motorola says the new lens can capture 64% more light than a camera with an f/1.8 lens, which just happens to describe the main shooter on the Motorola Edge 2022.

The 13MP ultrawide camera on the back of the Motorola Edge 2023 pulls double duty. Yes, it can take wide-angle photos, but it also doubles as a macro camera, saving the 2023 phone from having to carry around a superfluous sensor.

The new version of the Edge ups charging speeds from 30W on the new model to 68W, which Motorola thinks will provide enough power after 10 minutes to get you through your day. A MediaTek Dimensity 7030 chipset rounds out the major changes for the Motorola Edge 2023.

The new phone faces the same dilemma as its predecessor – how do you stand out in the very competitive market for midrange phones. Both Google and Samsung came out with new midrange offerings this year — the Pixel 7a and Galaxy A54, respectively — and iPhone fans continue to turn to the iPhone SE if the flagship iPHone price is too off-putting. And that's before the $599 Galaxy S23 FE enters the picture.

Like the S23 FE, the new Motorola Edge will cost $599 when it goes on sale today. In addition to Motorola, Amazon and Best Buy will sell the phone. 

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs. Motorola Razr+
• Apple can’t make a foldable phone until it fixes iOS’ multitasking problem
• I cancelled my Google Pixel 8 pre-order — here's why