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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
This review may be lengthy....
I have been itching to go back to a flip phone for many years. I even bought a flip basic phone years back and went back and forth between that and a smart phone. I ended up ditching the basic flip phone because I needed all the perks a smartphone gives you. I finally decided to pull the trigger on getting a smart flip phone now that you can get one for well under $1,000.
I have been using a Pixel 5 for the last couple years and I may use comparisons with this review. Sometimes you can use it one-handed but overall it is a two hand operation. I can open and close it one handed and I don't have very big hands. It's easier to close than to open. Not everyone will be able to open and close it one-handed. The phone without a case is quite slim and light, but I always have a case with a kickstand because I don't pay all the monies for insurance. Most of these types of cases add some bulk and weight but it's worth the protection and convenience of the kickstand.
The camera gets the job done. Takes a bit of time sometimes to process but the pics look just fine.
A downside with going back to Motorola from Google is Motorola users are one of the last to get software updates. Years ago that was a big deal to me, now not so much.
The main screen is fantastic. On the Pixel 5 there wasn't much option to change the overall color variation. On the Razr you can change the color variation quite a bit which I really like. I'm even impressed with the clarity and sharpness of the small external screen. I was wondering if I would like the Razr + better with the bigger external screen but this small screen is just fine for me and the phone gets a better battery life than the Razr +. I was considering a Samsung flip but I had a Samsung before and I wasn't a big fan how much the colors popped so much they looked too unnatural.
Dolby Atmos is so nice. I use multiple bluetooth audio devices and with Atmos you can tweak the settings for each one and it saves the settings for future uses.
The finger print sensor works great and is fast. The fact that it's on the side works well in the car when I have my phone in the dash holder as opposed to the Pixel which has the fingerprint sensor on the back. You can store multiple finger's prints to unlock it which is great because this kind of phone you could be holding it multiple ways (one-handed, two-handed, closed, in the dash holder).
The crease in the middle of the screen is so minimal you seriously barely notice it. I feel it more than I see it and it's not a big deal at all. The big ugly creases on other prior phones is a big reason why I never pulled the trigger on getting a smart flip (other than the expensive prices).
A minor detail....the closing of the flip. I remember years back the gratifying feeling of closing the old flip phones. These smart flip phones don't close like they used to. And they can't. They're just built so differently. They don't have the same snap feeling and sound, which to me is a bit of a disappointment. But the trade-off is worth it with all the other benefits today's smart phones gives us. To a tech lover like me it's still very cool and old school to be able to open and close it. I'm giving myself a few weeks to try out this beautiful and very cool piece of tech before I decide to go with it or go back to a one dimensional flat phone that gets updates much quicker. Being able to hold this phone folded up and see and use the small external screen is a very cool feeling in itself.
I will probably give an updated review later on. As of right now I'm leaning towards keeping this cool piece of tech that is available for only $500 compared to other flips and folds that are near or over the $1,000 mark.
Update 1:
Using Maps on this thing is fantastic! I love how the colors pop a little more than on the Pixel 5 and the bigger screen makes Maps that much better!
I tried using the video camera at a kid's basketball game and now I don't understand why all the review videos I watched said that the video camera makes things real choppy. My videos came out just fine! Maybe they had other apps running in the background while they were shooting. I will say maybe there is a slight difference in quality between the Razr 2023 and the Pixel 5 but if there is you can BARELY see a difference. And that goes for the speaker as well. The Razr's speaker is not as full as the Pixel's, but again the difference is minimal.
I will give another update at a later date.
Update 5 months after purchase: Well the honeymoon is over. I was using the phone and all the sudden the main screen stopped responding to my touch. The phone was still running, but not really. The external screen responded to touch but the weather nor my contacts were syncing with the phone. I didn't drop the phone or subdued it to water. The phone is well within the one year manufacturer's warranty so I have to send the phone in and get a renewed one as a replacement, which I'm not happy about. I should get a new one. For the moment I'm using my old Pixel 2 XL. If the replacement is dinged up at all I may trade it in for a Pixel 8 Pro as those are on discount with my service provider. I love the flip, but five months in and the phone failing me is ridiculous.
I have been itching to go back to a flip phone for many years. I even bought a flip basic phone years back and went back and forth between that and a smart phone. I ended up ditching the basic flip phone because I needed all the perks a smartphone gives you. I finally decided to pull the trigger on getting a smart flip phone now that you can get one for well under $1,000.
I have been using a Pixel 5 for the last couple years and I may use comparisons with this review. Sometimes you can use it one-handed but overall it is a two hand operation. I can open and close it one handed and I don't have very big hands. It's easier to close than to open. Not everyone will be able to open and close it one-handed. The phone without a case is quite slim and light, but I always have a case with a kickstand because I don't pay all the monies for insurance. Most of these types of cases add some bulk and weight but it's worth the protection and convenience of the kickstand.
The camera gets the job done. Takes a bit of time sometimes to process but the pics look just fine.
A downside with going back to Motorola from Google is Motorola users are one of the last to get software updates. Years ago that was a big deal to me, now not so much.
The main screen is fantastic. On the Pixel 5 there wasn't much option to change the overall color variation. On the Razr you can change the color variation quite a bit which I really like. I'm even impressed with the clarity and sharpness of the small external screen. I was wondering if I would like the Razr + better with the bigger external screen but this small screen is just fine for me and the phone gets a better battery life than the Razr +. I was considering a Samsung flip but I had a Samsung before and I wasn't a big fan how much the colors popped so much they looked too unnatural.
Dolby Atmos is so nice. I use multiple bluetooth audio devices and with Atmos you can tweak the settings for each one and it saves the settings for future uses.
The finger print sensor works great and is fast. The fact that it's on the side works well in the car when I have my phone in the dash holder as opposed to the Pixel which has the fingerprint sensor on the back. You can store multiple finger's prints to unlock it which is great because this kind of phone you could be holding it multiple ways (one-handed, two-handed, closed, in the dash holder).
The crease in the middle of the screen is so minimal you seriously barely notice it. I feel it more than I see it and it's not a big deal at all. The big ugly creases on other prior phones is a big reason why I never pulled the trigger on getting a smart flip (other than the expensive prices).
A minor detail....the closing of the flip. I remember years back the gratifying feeling of closing the old flip phones. These smart flip phones don't close like they used to. And they can't. They're just built so differently. They don't have the same snap feeling and sound, which to me is a bit of a disappointment. But the trade-off is worth it with all the other benefits today's smart phones gives us. To a tech lover like me it's still very cool and old school to be able to open and close it. I'm giving myself a few weeks to try out this beautiful and very cool piece of tech before I decide to go with it or go back to a one dimensional flat phone that gets updates much quicker. Being able to hold this phone folded up and see and use the small external screen is a very cool feeling in itself.
I will probably give an updated review later on. As of right now I'm leaning towards keeping this cool piece of tech that is available for only $500 compared to other flips and folds that are near or over the $1,000 mark.
Update 1:
Using Maps on this thing is fantastic! I love how the colors pop a little more than on the Pixel 5 and the bigger screen makes Maps that much better!
I tried using the video camera at a kid's basketball game and now I don't understand why all the review videos I watched said that the video camera makes things real choppy. My videos came out just fine! Maybe they had other apps running in the background while they were shooting. I will say maybe there is a slight difference in quality between the Razr 2023 and the Pixel 5 but if there is you can BARELY see a difference. And that goes for the speaker as well. The Razr's speaker is not as full as the Pixel's, but again the difference is minimal.
I will give another update at a later date.
Update 5 months after purchase: Well the honeymoon is over. I was using the phone and all the sudden the main screen stopped responding to my touch. The phone was still running, but not really. The external screen responded to touch but the weather nor my contacts were syncing with the phone. I didn't drop the phone or subdued it to water. The phone is well within the one year manufacturer's warranty so I have to send the phone in and get a renewed one as a replacement, which I'm not happy about. I should get a new one. For the moment I'm using my old Pixel 2 XL. If the replacement is dinged up at all I may trade it in for a Pixel 8 Pro as those are on discount with my service provider. I love the flip, but five months in and the phone failing me is ridiculous.
