Motorola Razr 2025 Smartphone Review
I have been in the foldable game for a long time, but the Motorola Razr 2025 smartphone is my first 'flip'—at least in this decade. CGM had the opportunity to compare the Motorola Razr Ultra and base model side by side, and I thought it would be an excellent idea for real-world testing if I took one on, and CGM EIC Brendan Frye took the other, as we traveled to Taiwan and Japan. What better camera test, right?
First impressions of the Motorola Razr 2025 were mixed. I love the vibrant colour I received, the PANTONE Spring Bud. It also comes in PANTONE Gibraltar Sea, PANTONE Parfait Pink, and PANTONE Lightest Sky. Personally, the material the back of the device is made of is slightly rubbery, which means any small piece of fluff, lint, or dust sticks to it and drives me insane. I purchased a clear case separately to show off the vibrant colour and keep out the dirt.
The device also comes with a screen protector pre-installed, and comes with warnings that if it is removed or tampered with, or a different protector is used, the warranty is void. Personally, I don't love the protector on it. I find it is very susceptible to fingerprints and lint catches around the edges. That being said, with a folding screen, I can understand the need to be extra diligent, and I trust that Motorola knows what's best for their device.
The inner display on the Motorola Razr 2025 is a 6.9' foldable AMOLED FHD screen. It features 413 ppi, an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz, and a peak brightness of 3000 nits. This puts it just above the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6, but below the Razr Ultra, which makes sense given its $699 price range. The screen was never an issue for me, though I can't say it blew me away. There were never issues seeing it in various conditions. I never witnessed any stuttering in movies or games. It was all around pleasant, and I have zero complaints.
Onto what everyone always wonders about a foldable, the crease. Yes, the crease is visible on the Motorola Razr 2025, and no, it doesn't affect anything in any way. You can feel it when you run your finger over it, and you can see it on white or black screens. When watching media or playing a game, it doesn't affect you in any way, and anyone who complains is just looking for issues. We have foldable screens, how can we be complaining about that?
The outer screen is a 3.6' pOLED display, with 413ppi, a 90Hz adaptive refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 1700 nits. My issue with this screen was more with its functions than its performance. Changing the various screens was easy, but switching to other hotkeys on the front wasn't something I could ever figure out. Gemini was able to hold a place there permanently, even though I never use it.
I actually did use this screen for texting, which I was shocked that I didn't hate, considering the thinner main screen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 made me crazy. I didn't think I could adapt to this, but it was shockingly easy. You need to approve each app to open here, and I was even able to get TikTok to work, though it was slightly cut off. My biggest issue was Spotify constantly showing, even if I haven't used it in days. It always defaulted to showing me what I was listening to, whenever that happened to be.
I love that when you flip the Motorola Razr 2025 open or closed, the buttons on the right know which mode you are in. I assumed that the volume buttons would be backwards, but they flip when you close the device, so they are in the right spot. It's small quality of life things that I really appreciate! They also allow you to switch the button order, so I wasn't frustrated because my past phone was different. I was able to set up the Motorola Razr 2025 like any device I use, making the switch so easy. I even thought I was going to dread losing an on-screen fingerprint reader, but this one on the power button is extremely responsive.
Some nitpicks in terms of quality of life, though, include that when you go to search for something in your apps, it holds whatever you searched last instead of starting with a clear search box. Also, though wireless charging works, if you want to use any magnetic charging with a case, the device usually sticks out dramatically, though that is the cost of a phone that sits 73.99 x 88.08 x 15.85mm when closed.
And here is my most shallow note about the smartphone. Something about snapping the Motorola Razr 2025 shut after a phone call is just so satisfying. I came from the days of the original Razr, and even had the weirdest mini flip phone I can't even find the name of today. So I come from a world where we loved our flip phones. The nostalgia alone makes the Razr worth having. I honestly like the form factor when closed in my bag or pocket as well, but that pop closed when you're done just can't be beat. Also, you can do this:
As for the insides, this is where you start to lose me on the Motorola Razr 2025. During testing, my editor and I were convinced I was going crazy. I found the Razr constantly stuttering when switching apps. If I wanted to snap a quick photo, I usually missed it because it took too long to open, and even when I did get the pic, if I opened an app to send it, I would have to close it and open it again before the picture appeared. We thought the Razr Ultra had similar specs, much like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra he reviewed and the 15 I reviewed; we were very wrong.
The Motorola Razr 2025 features a MediaTek Dimensity 7400X chipset, a Mali-G615 MC2 GPU, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage. This differs from the Razr Ultra, which uses the Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite, paired with an Adreno 830 GPU and 16 GB of RAM, or the Razr+, which includes the Qualcomm SM8635 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, Adreno 735, and 12 GB of RAM. This explains the performance difference between the Razr and the Ultra. However, with the Ultra priced at $1,299 and the Razr coming in at nearly half that, it's easy to recommend the Razr as a budget-friendly option. For someone used to flagship-tier performance, though, it may fall short.
The Motorola Razr 2025 runs Android 15 and includes three years of software updates. Personally, I'd like to see longer support. Motorola also leans heavily into Moto AI on this device, but I'll be honest—I wasn't a fan. That said, I'm not sure whether my frustration stemmed from Moto AI itself or the Razr's hardware. My biggest complaint was the delay in answering simple queries, like checking the weather. Often, it would fail to respond at all. By contrast, Google Assistant delivered an answer in under three seconds. For me, Moto AI just didn't land.
The camera array on the Motorola Razr 2025 sits slightly above average, which is impressive for a budget-friendly device. Its front-facing camera outperforms Samsung's selfie cameras and matches the OnePlus 13 at 32 megapixels. On the back, it features a 50 MP main sensor and a 13 MP ultrawide. I rarely use the ultrawide, and while 200 MP lenses in flagships are impressive, a 50 MP sensor at $699 is more than respectable.
Photo colour reproduction is outstanding. Taking pictures at my son's soccer game, I don't think I've ever seen a field look so green. That said, capturing fast-moving subjects on the go lacked the sharpness I'd hoped for. Even when I didn't rush the shot, images sometimes appeared overly digitized—likely due to Moto AI's Photo Enhancement Engine. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.
Low-light photos were surprisingly bright and clear. Even at 10x zoom, image quality was decent—unless you were photographing people, in which case they often turned into unrecognizable blobs. I also noticed prominent lens flares, especially during sunrise in Taiwan. Ultimately, I just needed the device to keep up with how quickly I wanted to shoot. If it had, I'd have had some great shots to share.
The last thing I want to touch on is the battery. Battery life on the Motorola Razr 2025 is much better than I would have expected. Running two screens and sitting sub $700, I didn't have a lot of hope. The Razr 2025 features a 4500mAh battery and offers 30W TurboPower charging and 15W wireless charging. That's about 500 mAh lower than the S25 Ultra, and 200 mAh lower than the Razr Ultra, and only 185 mAh lower than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
No, it's not the fastest charging in the world, nor is it the biggest battery. It did, however, last me from 7 am to 11 pm, with plenty of photo-taking and heavy scrolling. This phone won't last you days on end, but it will make it to bedtime when it's time to plug it in or pop it on your wireless charger without issue.
I know I've raised some strong criticisms. The device stutters between apps, the camera lags, and you can—gasp—see the crease. But that's coming from someone who regularly tests flagship devices in premium price ranges. At $699 US, this phone is a bargain—and at that price for a foldable, it's almost unheard of. For context, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 launched in July 2024 at $1,099 US. The reality is, the Motorola Razr 2025 is making flip phones and foldables accessible at a more digestible price point. While there are compromises, it's still a surprisingly capable smartphone all around.
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