Motorola Has A RAZR-Sharp Plan To Spoil Samsung's 2022 Foldable Phone Launch
It's been almost two years since Motorola launched its foldable clamshell smartphone: the Motorola RAZR. Its launch coincided with the announcement of another foldable clamshell smartphone from Samsung: the first generation Galaxy Z Flip. While the foldable Motorola RAZR had an eye-catching design, it lagged behind the Galaxy Z Flip in terms of hardware specs and overall performance.
While the Samsung device used Qualcomm's flagship grade Snapdragon 855 chipset, Motorola RAZR users were stuck with a mid-range Snapdragon 710 SoC on the 4G version, which was upgraded to a Snapdragon 765 in the 5G variant. If this was not all, Motorola wanted consumers to pay $1500 for what was essentially a mid-range clamshell phone. In comparison, Samsung's $1300 Galaxy Flip almost sounded like a bargain.
Since the launch of the 5G variant of the Motorola RAZR in September 2020, Motorola seemed to have largely abandoned the foldable space. The company did not release a RAZR smartphone in 2021. That, however, is set to change this year, with Motorola just confirming that it will announce the next Motorola RAZR on August 2, 2022. There is a big catch this time around, though. Like in the case of the OnePlus 10 series, it looks like the Motorola RAZR (2022) — at least in the initial days — will only be available in China.
Motorola RAZR (2022) launch: All the juicy details
On Friday, July 22, 2022, the official Weibo handle of Motorola China confirmed that they would hold a launch event for the Moto RAZR on August 2. From the translated text from the invite, it seems Motorola will use the venue to launch two flagship-grade devices — one of them being the Motorola RAZR (2022). Motorola seems to have carefully chosen August 2 as the launch date for a phone that will almost certainly compete against the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Samsung has already confirmed that it will announce the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 at its August 2022 Unpacked event scheduled for August 10. This means that the Moto RAZR (2022) will launch eight days before the world officially witnesses the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4. It almost seems as if Motorola was waiting for Samsung to announce the launch dates for its next-generation foldables so that they could beat them to the launch.
While it's one thing to try and steal Samsung's thunder, it will be an entirely different ball game if Motorola wants to challenge Samsung's absolute domination in the foldables space. The Korean company accounts for most of the sales of foldable smartphones — and no other smartphone brand has even come close to challenging Samsung when it comes to foldables phones.
What is undeniable, however, is the fact that Motorola has had enough time to go back to the drawing board to create a much better RAZR product this time around. In fact, if we are to go by leaked specifications of the Motorola RAZR (2022), the device — at least on paper — has what it takes to take the fight to the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Motorola RAZR (2022): Expected specifications
Rumor has it that the Motorola RAZR (2022) is likely to come powered by a true flagship-grade chipset this time around — the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The phone is also expected to feature a larger cover display than the one the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is likely to get. The main foldable display is rumored to measure 6.7-inches when unfolded and will be an AMOLED panel.
While we do not have confirmed information about the expected RAM and storage options that would be offered, there have been reports that talk about a top-end variant that will offer 512GB storage and 12GB of RAM. The Motorola RAZR (2022) is also rumored to feature a 50MP primary camera, a 13MP camera for ultra-wide and macro shots, and a 32MP selfie camera.
While we know that the Motorola RAZR (2022) will be unveiled on August 2, there is still no word from Motorola about the international availability of the phone.