Motorola Razr (2020) Review

 Motorola Razr (2020) Review

I've been reviewing Razr phones since 2004, when they were arguably the first high-fashion handsets. Flash forward to 2020, and the new Razr is the coolest phone I've seen in years. Motorola took the Razr legacy seriously here, delivering a similarly slim, beautiful, fashionable device. But to get it so thin, and for it to be able to work without overheating, the company made too many compromises on performance. The Razr has startlingly short battery life, a poor camera, and actually makes creaking noises when you open and close it. Everything here is subordinate to the design, resulting in a phone that looks and feels like a $1,500 statement piece, but sure doesn't perform like one.

A Serious Design Statement

The Razr experience starts with a really cool box. The box is actually a stand, displaying the folded-open phone like a futuristic monolith. It isn't a charging stand, though, as there's no way to route a power cable through the bottom. So like most product boxes, you'll probably just throw this one away.

Moto RAZR Tall

Take the phone out, and it feels heavy, solid, and beautiful. It feels like $1,500. The Razr weighs 7.2 ounces and is 2.83 inches wide—just barely the maximum width to be comfortable in most hands. The back has a nice texture to it.