It's hard to imagine anyone can topple the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 ($1,999.99) from its spot at the top of the book-style foldable smartphone charts, but the Motorola Razr Fold ($1,899.99) certainly tries. For nearly two grand, the Razr Fold features a tablet-sized 8.1-inch inner display, support for the Moto Pen Ultra stylus, and the longest battery life of any foldable currently available. It's a promising start right out of the gate for Motorola, which has had success with its flip-style Razr. However, this is definitely a first-generation foldable that could use some iteration before it's a true contender, so the Galaxy Z Fold 7 holds its place as our Editors' Choice for folding phones.

Design: Foldable Baby Got Back

(Credit: Florence Ion )

I want to like the Moto Razr Fold. Its rounded edges and the inviting texture of the Pantone-branded Lily White version I received make it expressively more playful than its main rival, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, with its sharper edges and cold aluminum casing. But it's sometimes frustrating to use, especially when all you want to do is lay it down. In an effort to show off some camera prowess, Motorola bundled the backside with three camera lenses. The physical result is a square, bulbous mound that makes the phone wobbly when laid flat. What's worse is that the cover display is so slippery that I can't prop the Razr Fold up on a smooth surface without it slipping off. And it has! It almost slipped off the couch while leaning against a pillow, and again off a notebook as I was typing out this review. It even slid around as it lay on the waterlogged wooden benches at a park.

(Credit: Florence Ion )

The Razr Fold's front screen is covered in Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, a newer technology than the Z Fold 7's Gorilla Glass. Samsung slightly mattifies its display, which helps prevent the Z Fold from slipping on smooth surfaces, though its camera bump also makes it wobbly when it's laid out. Maybe the better question is: Do we need honking camera lenses on foldable phones that are supposed to be thin multitaskers?

(Credit: Florence Ion )

At least the Moto Razr sticks close to the Z Fold 7's dimensions. When it's open, the phone is 6.30 by 5.60 by 0.18 inches (HWD), making it a bit taller than the Z Fold 7 (6.24 by 2.87 by 0.35 inches). Closed, the Razr measures 2.90 by 0.39 inches (WD), so it's a tiny bit wider. Meanwhile, the Z Fold 7 measures 6.24 by 5.64 by 0.17 inches when opened. The Razr weighs about 8.5 ounces, compared with the Z Fold's 7.5 ounces. This is particularly noticeable when I'm walking around in a pair of sweats with it in my pocket. Folded up, the Razr Fold feels like carrying around a small, dense notebook. I had to hoist up my sweats a few times to keep them from falling. There's a definite difference in comfort with it on your person.

(Credit: Florence Ion )

Moto made a big to-do about its double-axis stainless steel teardrop hinge. Basically, the folding display curves from inside the hinge into a water-drop shape, which helps achieve a "zero-gap fold" for the first-generation foldable. It's technology that builds on what Moto's already using in its regular Razr flip-phone lineup. It's different from what Samsung and Google have going on—they have a dual-rail "Flex Hinge" and a gearless CAM hinge, respectively—and it's the key differentiator between foldables to look for if you're considering the feel.

It's also what makes the Razr Fold feel creaky at first. There are titanium support plates directly beneath the folding area of the internal display, which help reinforce the screen when you're pushing with the Moto Pen Ultra, for example. But it's that part that makes the Fold feel formidable. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a softer, more fluid open and close.

If you're buying a book-style foldable device, you're not buying it for its robustness. The Razr Fold is rated IP49, which means it's dust- and water-resistant and can withstand "powerful high-temperature water jets," as indicated in the specification sheet. The Razr Fold can technically withstand more intense water exposure than the Z Fold 7, which has a slightly lower IP48 rating. But Motorola states in the fine print that water resistance will decrease over time due to "normal wear and tear."

Display: Bigger Isn't Always Better

(Credit: Florence Ion )

The Razr Fold has an 8.1-inch 2K LTPO pOLED display with a 2,484-by-2,232-pixel resolution. Compare this with the 8-inch OLED on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 with a 2,184-by-1,968-pixel screen resolution, and the 8-inch Super Actua Flex display on Google's latest foldable, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold ($1,899) at 2,076 by 2,152 pixels. The plastic OLED is thinner than Samsung's display technology, allowing more space to accommodate the Razr Fold's massive battery.

The Razr's 8:7.2 aspect ratio is optimized for multitasking across multiple windows, unlike the Z Fold 7's, which is nearly square, making it better suited for viewing content. Because of differences in screen ratios, some apps treat the Fold's large inner display as a desktop site and default to the expanded layout. I get an extra side panel in the browser on Reddit, for instance. You can reverse this by adjusting the zoom in the Android settings panel, but by default, apps treat the Razr Fold as a tablet device.

The Fold's inside display is superior in that it's the brightest of the three current foldable darlings, at 6,200 nits in direct sunlight—that's more than twice the Z Fold 7's 2,600 nits and Pixel 10 Pro Fold's 3,000 nits. That kind of aggressive brightness makes the Fold adaptable for outdoor use, like reading at the park or sharing a vacation slideshow out in the backyard sun.

(Credit: Florence Ion)

The Razr Fold has the largest outer display among Samsung and Google's foldables, too. It's a 6.6-inch pOLED with a 2,520-by-1,080-pixel screen resolution, compared with Samsung's 6.5-inch OLED at 2,520 by 1,080 pixels and Google's 6.4-inch Actua Display at 1,080 x 2,364. It also has a faster 165Hz refresh rate on the front, though most phones are perfectly fine with 120Hz. Motorola's justification is that it's better for scrolling apps and playing video games. But it feels more like the foldable equivalent of adding a leather finish; it makes things look smooth on the outside.

Performance: Ideal for Getting Work Done

Motorola opted for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 rather than the Elite variant found in the latest Galaxy S26 series. Moto likely chose the chip for better thermal stability in the Razr Fold. It's paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage as the standard configuration, which is a nice offering at its high starting price of $1,899.99. For comparison, the Z Fold 7 starts with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $100 more.

The 8 Gen 5 is capable of the kind of work and play you'd expect from a book-style foldable. But you will get better numbers in synthetic benchmark tests with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. In Geekbench 6, the Razr Fold clocks in at 2,642 in the single-core test, trailing the Z Fold 7's 3,024 from last summer by about 5%. You won't feel it at all when using the device, but it explains the architectural difference between chips. Samsung is about the immediate burst of power, while Motorola is tuned toward efficiency, so single-core numbers are typically higher on the Z Fold. Multi-core numbers weren't too disparate between the two; the Fold tested 9,074, while the Z Fold 7 tested 9,468.

(Credit: Florence Ion)

Make no mistake: The Razr Fold is a workhorse. On the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which gauges how the foldable performs basic general tasks, the Fold scores 20,367—higher than the Z Fold 7's 18,015, which can be attributed to the additional RAM.

You can also play demanding games on the Razr Fold. In 3DMark's Wild Life Extreme tests, the Fold maintains 30 frames per second (fps) throughout the benchmark. Even folded up, it stays thermally consistent while playing a graphically intense game, though you'll feel most of the heat dissipate through the rear camera housing. I played a ten-minute session of Asphalt Legends. It looked smooth, helped in part by that speedy refresh rate, and the gaming continuity between the inside and outside screen was instantaneous.

Battery: It Just Won't Die

The Razr Fold's strongest promise is that its battery can withstand any day you throw at it. At 6,000mAh, this is the biggest battery pack you can get in a book-style foldable at the moment. The Z Fold 7 is equipped with a 4,400mAh battery, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is slightly larger at 5,015mAh.

It took me a long time to completely deplete the Razr Fold. At about 35 hours off the charger, with roughly 9 hours of screen time and Bluetooth broadcasting to a set of headphones for about six of those hours, the Razr Fold held on strong at 42%. I took it to the park, bumped the screen brightness to really high, and streamed a Coachella set via YouTube over 5G, but the percentage still wouldn't budge. That same Coachella set barely ate 5% of the battery after an hour of playtime over cellular. Later, at 23% and nearly 40 hours off the charger, the Razr Fold held on strong. We will add the results of our standard battery test once the phone completes it successfully.

The Razr Fold's charging speeds are significantly faster than those of its main competitors. It supports up to 80W TurboPower charging through its proprietary Moto charging technology. It also supports 50W wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging, in case your earbuds run out of battery. Motorola claims 12 minutes of 80W charging will provide up to 12 hours of power. It's convenient when you can only charge with your 90W laptop charger, for instance. I charged it with a 65W charger over USB-C, and it took about 67 minutes to charge 68%. That's exactly what it sounds like: 1% per minute. The numbers outpace Samsung and Google, but to achieve the ultimate charging speed, you need the right Motorola power brick.

Connectivity: Future-Proofed

The Razr Fold is future-proofed for what's to come. The phone has Wi-Fi 7, even though your router is probably on an older specification, and offers access to 26 different global 5G bands (including sub-6GHz and C-band), which should make it easier to travel from country to country. There is also dual-SIM support for a physical SIM and an eSIM.

I tested the Razr Fold on a Google Fi eSIM in the northernmost part of the San Francisco Bay Area. I already live in a sort of dead zone, though it was able to eke out about 400 Mbps down in an Ookla Speedtest. Download speeds were slightly faster with the same SIM in the Z Fold 7, which reached 486Mbps. Upload speeds were more consistent, with the Razr Fold managing 11Mbps up compared with the Z Fold 7's maxing out at a single-digit 3.2 Mbps. I mentioned being in a dead zone, but you wouldn't think so with the Fold's upload numbers. Moto's spectrum of band offerings gives it a major advantage here. It supports rare sub-6 bands like n70 and n14, which the Z Fold 7 does not, and are historically used out here in the hills where I live.

Moto Pen Ultra: A Nice Companion

(Credit: Florence Ion)

Just as Samsung effectively retires the S Pen from its foldable lineup, Motorola doubles down on it. The Moto Pen Ultra works on both the inside and outside displays of the Razr Fold. It's about 1.5mm thicker than the S Pen that comes embedded inside Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra. The Moto Pen Ultra doesn't come with the Razr Fold, however. It's sold separately for $99.99 and comes with its own fabric-covered charging case. The case offers about 24-27 hours of backup when charged via USB-C, and the stylus lasts about 3 hours. That's more than enough time. The Razr Fold is big, but it's not the kind of tablet device that inspires an hours-long sketching session.

The Moto Pen Ultra delivers 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Were I an artist, I would offer a sense of what it feels like to make digital art with it in hand. Instead, I am just a writer who enjoys marking up a screenshot, particularly when circling bands I want to see on a festival roster. The Moto Pen Ultra offers a smoother drag than the S Pen on the Galaxy S26 Ultra and doesn't suffer from the same AI-led wonkiness. The only drawback is that the edges of the inside display are slightly sunken, and when scrawling, the pen's tip can get stuck around the display border. I discovered this while attempting to draw, like an artist.

Audio: Big, But Not Bassy

(Credit: Florence Ion)

The audio setup on the Razr Fold is another souped-up component branded with the help of Sound by Bose and Dolby Atmos. You'll see the Dolby Atmos bit pop up the first time you pair a compatible set of Bluetooth headphones. Moto offers a specialized EQ-tuning engine that bypasses Android's default offerings with the premise that it'll make things sound better. In practice, the Dolby tuning is hardly noticeable when you're listening through high-end Bluetooth headphones.

The tuning magic happens through the phone's built-in symmetrical stereo speakers, which are concentrated at the top and bottom of the Fold's cover screen. You can play music loudly on the Razr Fold—I got up to 90dB playing Horsegiirl at maximum volume—but it lacks some of the presence of Samsung's Z Fold 7. The Razr Fold's bass is noticeably slimmer. Samsung also uses Dolby Atmos tuning in its hardware, though it benefits from the DNA of its longtime acquisition, AKG. Regardless, you're not hosting a dance party with the Razr Fold as the sole audio source.

Camera: 'Triple 50' Is Fun to Say

(Credit: Florence Ion)

The Razr Fold uses a triple-50 camera system, meaning it's got three 50MP sensors doing the work. The first is the 50MP Sony Lytia 828, or the main sensor, followed by the 50MP Lytia 600, which serves as the periscope lens and enables up to 3x optical zoom. There's also a 50MP ultrawide camera. Despite all the fanfare around its camera system, the Razr Fold offers little evidence that its algorithms outpace Google's on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. I don't have a Pixel Fold for testing, but I do have a regular Pixel 10 Pro as my daily driver. And just as I thought, this triple-camera system is as much of a hard sell as the Galaxy Z Fold 7's 200MP main camera. I would prefer to have two perfectly consistent cameras—an ultrawide and a standard angle—than whatever magic the Razr Fold is purporting to deliver.

(Credit: Florence Ion )

The Razr Fold is good at punching up color on the dullest of days, and its heavy contrasts and shadows add depth to pictures that would otherwise look flat under the Pixel 10 Pro's more neutral post-processing algorithm. But Motorola's Photo Enhancement Engine is aggressive and enabled by default. You can ask it to train AI to tune pictures as you would with Signature Style, but I opted for the instant Vivid option instead. The result is why you see such dramatic photography with exaggerated details.

(Credit: Florence Ion )

Here's my issue with the Razr Fold having all these lenses: I can't figure out when to use what, and Motorola's software doesn't do a good job of guiding me. Sure, there's a 100x Super Zoom available, but if you try to snap a macro with the periscope lens, it'll be blurry. Samsung's camera interface is easier to navigate when using multiple lenses, and its Focus Enhancer automatically switches lenses when needed.

(Credit: Florence Ion)

The Razr Fold's other major claim is that it has the best night camera of any foldable. My backyard testing tells a different story. Although the Razr Fold can capture the essence of a night sky, I much prefer the Pixel 10 Pro's Night Sight algorithms, which are more detailed. The Razr Fold's night shots are comparatively muddy. I could switch to the Razr Fold's pro mode in the camera app and manually adjust the ISO and shutter speed to achieve different results, but that would defeat the purpose of all the AI-forward marketing surrounding this device.

(Credit: Florence Ion)

Selfies are thankfully better on the Razr Fold than I've experienced with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Motorola didn't skimp on the inside camera. The 20MP sensor managed a little depth and even let me use its handy camera tools to slim my face and brighten my eyes—yeah, I do use those features. Note that if you have the AI-facilitated Photo Enhancement Engine on, it will also apply to your selfies on both cameras.

(Credit: Florence Ion)

The cover screen's front camera is a 32MP sensor. It definitely offers more sharpness than the selfie camera on the inside can manage. It's also less sensitive to movement than the inside camera, which often produced blur even when I moved the phone by a smidge.

Software: Where There's a Way, There's AI

(Credit: Motorola/PCMag)

Motorola still has some work to do to differentiate itself from other Android players. Namely, its version of Android 16, called Hello UX, can be confusing to navigate, even though it looks closest to what's offered on Google's Pixels. At least it lets you change your icons.

Moto finally joined the rest of the industry's biggest players in offering seven years of Android OS upgrades and security updates. It's a massive jump from the three to four years offered previously, though we'll have to see if Moto sticks to its promise.

The Razr Fold ships with Google Gemini and Perplexity. Motorola also has its own AI suite, Moto AI 2.0, which focuses primarily on contextual intelligence. You'll have to sign in with your Google account to get full use out of features like Remember This, where you can literally input a tidbit for the AI to remember next time you address it. I'm still figuring out how to make the most use of that, and I hope to follow up with a more in-depth look into this capability once I've accumulated more usage data.

If you don't care for any of the AI stuff, the good news is that you have to consent and toggle all this on manually—it's not on by default.