Hands On with the 2025 Moto razr Lineup
Apr 24, 2025, 11:00 AM by Rich Brome @rbrome.bsky.social
updated Apr 24, 2025, 11:08 AM
Motorola has new razr flip foldable phones for 2025, and this year there are three — including, perhaps for the first time — a truly flagship-class model. They have a whole lot in common with last year's models, and in fact are difficult to tell apart from the old models, and even from each other. But they have interesting new colors, materials, and textures, and some updates to both the hardware and software. The most important part — the hinge — is a an all-new design in all three. Of course, they're loaded up with more AI features than ever. What else should you know? What are they like in person? Read on for our hands-on report.
If these phones look familiar, it's because Motorola is using the same exact exterior design from last year. All three have a new titanium hinge inside that's supposedly 4x stronger. And the display crease is supposedly reduced 30%. (I can confirm it's still there.) But outside? Everything on the razr and razr+ is identical to last year, aside from colors and textures. I don't mind it; it is a good design. (Apple does basically the same thing with iPhones; re-using the same design for a couple of years.)
Motorola is really leaning into bold colors, new textures, and whole new materials this year. This is refreshing in an industry where most phones use the same handful of materials, in the same handful of colors.
The hinge works well on all three, snapping open with a satisfying click, and staying shut well, while allowing positions in-between. The buttons are on the small side for my taste, but they work well enough. I do wish the camera lenses didn't stick out as much as they do.
razr ultra
The new razr ultra brings the razr family into full flagship-spec territory for the first time. And it brings some exciting new material options, like real wood and Italian Alcantara. But it's very much based on the razr+; the only difference I could spot was the new, dedicated AI button on the left side.
The Ultra doesn't just come in four colors; the dark "Scarab" (a real Pantone color name) has Alcantara — a high-end synthetic suede found found in fashion and cars — on the back. And the "Mountain Trail" color has real (sustainably-grown) wood on the back. The red and pink are more traditional synthetic leather. The Alcantara feels truly luxurious, but note that's it's a flat patch of the material surrounded by a rubber bumper at the edges. The wood option covers more of the back. You can feel the texture of real wood, but whatever coating has been applied does give it a somewhat plastic feel. It's probably necessary for durability, but it feels slightly less wood-like than I had hoped for.
I like the brushed finish on the metal frame, which looks and feels great.
The razr Ultra is powered by a top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, one of the key specs making it a true flagship phone. It also comes with tons of RAM (16 GB) and storage (512 GB or 1TB). They also managed to cram in a larger battery (4,700 mAh) and crazy-fast charging (68W wired and 30W wireless). All three cameras are 50 megapixel (even the inside one). The main camera uses a top-tier Sony sensor. The second outer lens is a wide-angle shooter. They also gave it a sharper inner display (beyond FHD+) and Corning "Gorilla Glass Ceramic" on the outer display.
Those top-end specs are put to use powering unique AI features found only in this model, such as Group Shot, which automatically combines everyone's best face from a series of group photos. (Similar to Google's Best Take feature.)
razr+
This year's razr+ is last year's razr+. I struggled to find any major differences, either in person or on the spec sheet.
They even kept the second camera as telephoto, making this the only model in the lineup without a wide-angle camera. It was a weird choice last year, and it's even weirder that they kept it this year. Yes, a 50 megapixel tele camera is nice, but wide-angle can also be quite useful.
What you do get is the new titanium hinge.
I will say that the razr+ also has the least interesting textures. The colors are nice enough, but they all have the same standard "vegan leather" texture on the back. It's nice, but Moto is doing more interesting things with texture on the other models.
razr
This model also sees very few changes compared to last year. The design is the same. They did update the processor from a MediaTek Dimensity 7300X to a Dimensity 7400X. That's about it on the spec side.
The textures on the back are varied and interesting. The green and blue feel like variations of very fine woven nylon. The cream color is hard plastic but with a shell-like diagonal pattern. It's very plastic-feeling, but the satin finish keeps it from feeling too cheap. I like the variety.
Software
You won't be surprised when I tell you that Motorola is really excited about how much AI they put into their latest software. You can access Moto AI from its own app, or on-demand from anywhere, even on the outer display. Motorola's own on-device AI features seem to be powered by Meta's open-source Llama. "Catch Me Up" sounds like the most useful, which does what it says, basically summarizing your notifications. There's also "Pay Attention" which starts recording audio and transcribing what's said using AI, including labeling different speakers. Of course there's an image generator, but also a "Playlist Studio", which I'm not sure I need AI for, but why not?
Of course it also does the more common AI chatbot stuff; ask it questions, etc. On this, Motorola has partnered with multiple companies so you can use your preferred chatbot. Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity are all available. It also comes with three free months of the more advanced paid versions of Perplexity and Gemini.
On the razr Ultra, there's a special AI feature where you can set it down in "tent" position, leave it there, and when you want to ask AI something, just look at the phone and start talking, including asking follow-up questions.
There's not too much new in the camera app. I like that Motorola lets you customize the camera modes, and optionally remember the last mode you used when you re-open the camera. It's a very full-featured camera app.
Summary
The big news is that the high-end razr Ultra finally brings a true flagship model to the lineup, to better compete with Samsung's Flip series (although Motorola is charging more.) Previously, if you dwell in the world of top-end smartphones with cutting-edge specs, choosing a razr meant making compromises. That's not necessarily the case anymore. That's a big deal.
But this year's razr and razr+ are surprisingly (shockingly?) minor updates. They're barely new phones at all. At least the razr remains affordable for a foldable phone, and has some interesting color/texture options. I would have liked to see updates to the cameras on both these models, and perhaps larger batteries, but otherwise they do remain good foldable phones.
About the author, Rich Brome:Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
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Motorola razr ultra
Comments
Motorola's software updates suck
