Moto Razr 40 Ultra Review: My Expectations From Clamshell Foldable Phone!
Motorola recently made a significant entry into the fiercely competitive foldable smartphone market with the release of its eagerly anticipated Moto Razr 40 Ultra and Moto Razr 40 foldable flip phones in China.
These devices are set to rival other popular foldable phones such as the OPPO Find N2 Flip and the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5. Packed with impressive features, the Moto Razr 40 series aims to capture the attention of tech enthusiasts and foldable phone enthusiasts alike.
Moto Razr 40 Ultra: Video Review
| Specs | Moto Razr 40 Ultra |
| Display | 6.9 inches, 1080 x 2640 pixels, Foldable LTPO AMOLED, 165Hz, HDR10+ |
| 3.6 inches, 1056 x 1066 pixels, external AMOLED, 144Hz, HDR10+ | |
| CPU | Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm) |
| GPU | Adreno 730 |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB |
| ROM | 256GB, 512GB |
| Card slot | No |
| OS | Android 13 |
| Main Camera | 12 MP, f/1.5, (wide), 13 MP, f/2.2, 108˚ (ultrawide) |
| Selfie Camera | 32 MP, f/2.4, (wide), 0.7µm |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| Battery | Li-Po 3800 mAh |
| Charging | 30W wired, 5W wireless |
| Dimensions | Unfolded: 170.8 x 74 x 7 mm |
| Folded: 88.4 x 74 x 15.1 mm | |
| Weight | 184.5 g or 188.5 g (6.53 oz) |
| Colors | Infinite Black, Glacier Blue, Viva Magenta |
Design and Appearance
The design of the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra maintains the iconic Razr feel that was introduced in the 2022 model. However, this time around, it exudes an even greater sense of refinement, premium quality, and lightweight construction. The device embodies an aesthetic that is both familiar and sophisticated.
The smartphone sports a squarish clamshell design, reminiscent of the iconic Razr flip phones. The use of Gorilla Glass Victus for protection on both the back and front of the device ensures durability and resistance to scratches and accidental drops. This appearance not only provides a nostalgic charm but also offers practicality and portability, allowing the device to be easily folded and carried in pockets or bags.
One of the notable design improvements is the introduction of a new hinge system. The hinge plays a critical role in foldable devices, ensuring smooth and seamless folding and unfolding. In the case of the Razr 40 Ultra, the new hinge system offers enhanced durability and reliability, contributing to a more robust overall design.
Another aspect of the design is the crease on the foldable display. While the presence of a crease is an inherent characteristic of foldable smartphones, Motorola has managed to turn it into a masterpiece on the Razr 40 Ultra. The crease is skillfully implemented to blend with the overall design, minimizing its visual impact and ensuring a more seamless viewing experience. This attention to detail showcases Motorola’s commitment to delivering a refined and immersive foldable display.
Furthermore, the lightweight construction of the Razr 40 Ultra adds to its overall appeal. The device feels comfortable and easy to handle, making it convenient for daily use and on-the-go activities. The combination of a sleek design and a lightweight form factor contributes to a premium look and feel.
Displays
The inner display of the Moto Razr 40 Ultra is a 6.9-inch foldable Full HD LTPO AMOLED panel. With a peak brightness of 1400 nits, the display ensures excellent visibility even in bright outdoor conditions. The 165Hz refresh rate contributes to smooth scrolling, fluid animations, and responsive touch interactions, enhancing the overall user experience.
Furthermore, the display supports a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, enabling vibrant and true-to-life colors. The ability to portray 1 billion colors ensures exceptional color accuracy and detail in images and videos. Additionally, the display is HDR10+ certified, allowing for enhanced contrast and a broader range of colors in HDR content.
On the exterior, the Moto Razr 40 Ultra features a 3.6-inch outer AMOLED display. With a peak brightness of 1100 nits and a 144Hz refresh rate, this display offers a crisp and fluid viewing experience for quick interactions and checking notifications without the need to unfold the device.
In the latest iteration of the Moto Razr series, Motorola has made notable improvements to the outer screen, enhancing its usability and customization options. This revamped outer screen provides users with a range of features and functionalities that further enhance the overall user experience.
One of the key enhancements is the increased size of the outer screen. Compared to its predecessors, the outer screen on the Moto Razr 40 Ultra offers a larger display area, making it more practical for various tasks without the need to unfold the device. This larger size contributes to improved readability and ease of use when checking notifications, controlling media playback, or quickly accessing frequently used apps.
The Moto Razr 40 Ultra also introduces the Always-On Display (AOD) feature on the outer screen. With AOD, users can view essential information such as time, date, battery status, and notifications at a glance, even when the device is in its folded state. This feature adds convenience and saves battery life by eliminating the need to constantly unfold the phone to check for updates.
Hardware and OS
The Moto Razr 40 Ultra is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, which ensures high-performance capabilities and efficient operation. This powerful chipset is accompanied by the Adreno 730 GPU, which handles graphics processing, delivering smooth visuals and enhanced gaming experiences.
To support seamless multitasking and smooth app performance, the Moto Razr 40 Ultra offers up to 12GB of RAM. This ample amount of RAM allows users to switch between multiple applications and run resource-intensive tasks without experiencing any lag or slowdown.
In terms of storage capacity, the Moto Razr 40 Ultra provides generous options, with up to 512GB of internal storage available. This sizable storage space allows users to store a large number of apps, photos, videos, and other files without worrying about running out of space. Having ample storage ensures that users can make the most of the device’s capabilities, without the need to constantly manage or delete files to free up storage.
With Dolby Atmos support, users can expect a more immersive and engaging audio experience when using compatible headphones. The technology creates a three-dimensional soundstage, allowing users to feel as if they are surrounded by the music. This enhancement adds an extra layer of depth and richness to the audio, making the listening experience more captivating and enjoyable.
In addition to the audio features, the Moto Razr 40 Ultra runs on Android 13, which provides a user-friendly and intuitive interface. Motorola’s approach to Android is close to stock, meaning that the operating system offers a clean and minimalistic design, similar to the pure Android experience. This simplicity makes navigation and overall usage straightforward, with a focus on delivering a smooth and efficient user experience.
While Android 13 on the Moto Razr 40 Ultra maintains a stock-like experience, Motorola does make certain tweaks and optimizations to enhance the end-user experience. These adjustments are typically made with the user’s benefit in mind, offering added functionalities or improvements to existing features. These optimizations aim to provide a seamless and satisfying experience for users, ensuring that they have little to complain about in terms of software performance and functionality.
Cameras
The Moto Razr 40 Ultra boasts a capable camera system, with twin 12MP rear cameras and a high-resolution 32MP selfie camera. These cameras are equipped with features that enable users to capture impressive photos and videos, ensuring excellent image quality and performance in various shooting conditions.
The twin 12MP rear cameras deliver versatility in capturing different types of shots. With their combined capabilities, users can take advantage of various shooting modes, such as portrait mode, night mode, and panorama. The inclusion of multiple lenses allows for creative flexibility and the ability to capture a wide range of scenes with different perspectives.
The wide F/1.5 aperture is particularly notable, as it allows for excellent performance in low-light conditions. With such a wide aperture, the camera can capture more light, resulting in well-exposed and detailed photos, even in challenging lighting situations. This feature ensures that photos appear crisp and clear, avoiding the washed-out color palette that can sometimes be present in Motorola’s previous main cameras.
The 32MP selfie camera on the Moto Razr 40 Ultra not only delivers outstanding image quality but also serves as an excellent option for video calling. The high resolution allows for detailed video chats, ensuring that users can be seen clearly by their contacts. Whether it’s for personal or professional use, the camera’s capabilities make it more than sufficient for video calls and conferencing.
Battery
The Moto Razr 40 Ultra comes with a slightly larger 3800mAh battery compared to its predecessor, the Razr (2022). While the increase in battery capacity is expected to result in marginally improved battery life, it’s worth noting that it falls short of some other foldable devices and candy bar flagship smartphones on the market.
The Oppo Find N2 Flip, for example, boasts a larger 4300mAh battery, providing potential buyers with a slightly longer usage time before requiring a recharge. Additionally, many candy bar flagship smartphones often offer even larger battery capacities, typically around 5000mAh or higher, to accommodate the demands of high-resolution displays and powerful processors.
While the Moto Razr 40 Ultra may not have the largest battery capacity in its class, Motorola strives to optimize the device’s power consumption through software and hardware optimizations. These optimizations aim to maximize battery efficiency, ensuring that users can make the most of their device throughout the day without constantly worrying about running out of power.
It’s important to consider that the battery life of a smartphone is influenced by various factors, including the display size and resolution, processing power, software optimization, and individual usage patterns. While the 3800mAh battery on the Moto Razr 40 Ultra may not match some of its competitors in terms of sheer capacity, Motorola’s focus on power optimization may still provide users with satisfactory battery performance, allowing them to comfortably use the device throughout the day with moderate usage.
Also Moto Razr 40 Ultra maintains the same 30W charging speed as its predecessor, users can find solace in the fact that the necessary charger and USB-C cable are provided in the box. While it may not be the fastest charging option available, the Moto Razr 40 Ultra compensates with other notable features and enhancements that contribute to an enjoyable and versatile smartphone experience.
Moto Razr 40 Ultra: Conclusions
The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra builds upon the strengths of its predecessor, the Razr (2022), and takes them to the next level, particularly in terms of the outer display. The outer display on the Razr 40 Ultra is not only the largest but also the fastest among all current clamshell foldable smartphones. This improvement offers users a more immersive and convenient experience, as it allows them to access full Android apps, reply to texts, and perform various tasks without the need to unfold the device.
In addition to the enhanced outer display, the overall design of the Moto Razr 40 Ultra showcases improvements, including a new hinge mechanism and an improved display. These refinements contribute to making the device a highly capable flagship clamshell foldable.
The new hinge design ensures durability and smooth folding and unfolding of the device, while the improved display provides better visuals and a more enjoyable user experience.
All these enhancements and features point towards a promising and capable flagship clamshell foldable smartphone.
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