Motorola Razr 2023: what we want to see and what we know so far
>
Most years, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip line doesn’t have much competition, but that all changed in 2022, when the Motorola Razr 2022 became a serious competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
This wasn’t Motorola’s first folding clamshell, but it was the company’s first really great one, and it left us with high hopes for the Motorola Razr 2023.
We’ve been hearing a bit about this upcoming phone too, so below are all the leaks and rumors we’ve heard so far, and we’ll add this article as soon as we hear more.
Below that you’ll also find a list of the things we want from the Motorola Razr 2023, to make it an even better foldable phone than the Razr 2022.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Motorola’s next foldable phone
- When is it out? Probably around August 2023
- How much is it? Possibly around £949.99 / AU$1,599 (about $1,155)
Motorola Razr 2023: release date and price
We’ll probably be waiting a bit longer for the Motorola Razr 2023, as the Razr 2022 didn’t land until August 2022, so August 2023 is the most likely release month for the next model.
Motorola doesn’t stick to August every year, but these phones are always announced at least towards the end of the year, so August is probably the earliest we’ll see.
There’s also the question of which countries it will actually be made available in, because while the 2022 model is available in the UK and Australia, you can’t currently buy it in the US – although previous models have launched there.
There are no price rumors yet, but the Motorola Razr 2022 starts at £949.99 / AU$1,599 (around $1,155), so a similar price for the next model is very possible.
The Razr 2022 marked the best price-performance ratio Motorola’s foldable series had achieved to date, ultimately making them cost-competitive with Samsung’s equivalent Galaxy Flip. Of course, it would be great if prices continued to fall, but that feels like a step too far.
Motorola Razr 2023: news and leaks
There aren’t many Motorola Razr 2023 leaks so far, but we’ve heard a few things, including a claim coming from Evan Blass (opens in new tab) – a renowned leaker – who tweeted that there will be two new Razr models in 2023. These will apparently be codenamed Juno and Venus, but no additional details were provided.
Of those, Juno is likely to be a successor to the Razr 2022, as a previous leak on 91 mobiles (opens in new tab) said the successor to the Motorola Razr 2022 would be codenamed Juno and would have a 144Hz screen again.
What about Venus then? There’s no news about that. The source above actually also mentioned another phone codenamed Felix, which is apparently the company’s first rollable phone, but that’s probably further out.
Venus may then be a phone more in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, but that’s just speculation for now.
Evan recently came through again with an apparent render of the upcoming Razr phone with a much larger cover screen. With the new design, the cover screen wraps around the camera lenses and takes up significantly more of the front when closed. We’d like to see a more useful external screen, so hopefully this rumor comes true.
What we want to see
There are a number of things we’d like to see Motorola work on with the next Razr model, with the next five at the top of our list.
1. Better cameras
The Motorola Razr 2022 has significantly better cameras than the previous models, but there is still room for improvement over the Razr 2023.
We’d like to see improvements in post-processing, a better ultra-wide camera – as the Razr 2022 disappoints – and ideally even the addition of a telephoto lens; although the latter may be too much to hope for.
2. Long-term update support
Motorola is only promising two years of Android version updates and three years of security patches with the Razr 2022, which just isn’t enough, especially for such an expensive phone, and even more so considering Samsung and OnePlus offer four years of Android updates and five years of security patches for select phones.
So we want Motorola to commit to much longer software support with the Razr 2023, otherwise it would be hard to recommend.
3. Water resistance
It seems like it would be hard to make a foldable phone water resistant, but somehow Samsung has managed it with recent handsets, so we’d like to see Motorola do the same with the next Razr.
Technically, you do get some on the Razr 2022, but the IP52 rating falls far short of what Samsung offers.
Decent water resistance is a standard feature on premium phones and for good reason – because the last thing you want is a little rain turning your purchase into an expensive paperweight.
4. Wireless charging
While the Motorola Razr 2022 has decent battery life and charges quite quickly, it only supports wired charging, which is a shame for such a pricey handset, especially as its main rival – the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 – offers wireless charging. So we’d like the Motorola Razr 2023 to offer it too.
5. Smoother performance
There’s no shortage of power in the Motorola Razr 2022, but in our review we found that actual performance wasn’t always great, with noticeable jumps and stutters at times.
Given the hardware and price, that’s not really acceptable, so we’d like to see the Razr 2023 optimized to offer smooth performance, as that will help it rank among the best foldable phones out there.