What do you use when you’re glued to a phone? How much do you care about your phone? The Razr Plus and Beyond
Sure, phones are amazing little computers. For $999, which is what the Razr Plus costs, they should be. But they’re mature products — tools rather than objects of delight — and for the most part, they’ve blended into the background noise of our lives. But the Razr Plus is different, and not just because it folds in half.
These cover screens are far more useful, and I find myself spending a lot of time on ’em without having to open the phone. You can scroll through several “panes” of content like the weather or widgets, and even open apps—I love using the Google Home app to toggle on smart home devices quickly, or accessing Google Authenticator when I need to plug in a code. I like the way that Motorola’s mini games play on the tiny screen, it’s a great way to kill time. I prefer the larger screen on the Razr+ because it gives me a better idea of what’s going on.
Folding flip phones are so hot. It’s not just that Paris is wearing the new hot pink cell phone, but that they add a novelty over the flagging glass. To answer a call, open the phone and close it. It’s always going to be satisfying. You also get the perk of stuffing a super tiny phone in your pocket. Who doesn’t love that?
What have we learned about Android with respect to the agreement between a smart device and its user, and why do we care about it? A survey of the Razr Plus
Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.
I would not recommend it to someone who is more interested in a flip phone than in nostalgia. You can get a much better camera in a slab-style phone that costs a lot less, and a good camera matters when it’s the one you carry every day. Motorola’s track record for timely software updates remains spotty, too. And the inner screen just isn’t up to the standards of a modern flagship phone.
The 2x-telephoto lens of the Razr Plus gives a nice zoom for portraits. The quality is decent as long as there is plenty of light. Without the ultrawide on the rear panel, you aren’t able to get everyone in the picture, but the main camera is wide enough to get a few people in the picture.
The system knows what to do with bright, abundant light — I got some great photos from the summit of a hike. Medium light continues to be a challenge with flat over-brightened images and reds saturated to the point of clipping.
Motorola seems like it’s trying to address the issue with a new feature called photo enhancement engine, which it says uses AI to improve noise reduction in low light, improve bokeh on portrait mode photos, and boost dynamic range. That just sounds like a list of everything phone makers have been using AI for over the past decade. Portrait mode subjects are bad isolated, background blur is not convincing, and color reproduction isn’t even close to perfect.
But I am once again asking Motorola to work on its software support. The Razr Plus comes with three years of OS upgrades and four years of security updates. That’s fine; four years is probably as long as most people will want to hang onto this phone. Even the lowest-price phones now come with seven years of support. I can’t help but want more from a $999 phone. When it comes to timeliness, the record of the company is not good; for example, only a few 2023 Razr Plus owners have gotten their update just yet.
Source: Motorola’s 2024 Razr Plus is a damn fun flip phone with the same old flaws
The Galaxy Z Flip 6: Is this a notch better than a slab of the Galaxy? A review of the Razr Plus models, and an upgraded IPX8 rating
The soft touch on the back panel is a nice touch as always, but the hot pink model I tested comes with a new “vegan suede” material, and I don’t think it’s a change for the better. It feels more papery, and I don’t think it’s going to wear well over time; my review unit has a couple of faint scratches that don’t budge when I try to buff them out with my finger. Considering this isn’t some bougie case — it’s the actual phone — that seems pretty bad. The other colors — peach fuzz, midnight blue, and spring green — come with a vegan leather finish like last year’s pink model, and for what it’s worth, that seems to have held up fine.
The good news is that Motorola adopted a new hinge design this year that minimizes the appearance of the crease when the phone is fully unfolded. There is no official dust resistance, but there is an upgraded IPX8 rating. The Razr Plus is certified to withstand full immersion in fresh water, a big improvement over the previous gen’s “splashproof” rating. The IPX8 rating puts the Z Flip 6 in position to be launched soon, as the Razr Plus is currently on level ground with it.
The cover screen is a delight, but the inner screen is much more pedestrian. It’s a 6.9-inch 1080p OLED, and while the resolution didn’t bother me much in my testing, this screen is big enough to benefit from a higher pixel count. It does not get quite as bright outside as I would like. It’s fine, but you can definitely get a better display on a slab-style phone for the same amount of money — or even a bit less.
The cover screen experience is better than before and less like a testing program. I’d take this every time over the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, and yes I know about Good Lock. The display shows the amount of thought that was put into it. Before we get to the whole phone attached to this phone, I would like to make a shout out to the two other screen additions, including the one for the Google Assistant. and an always-on display. All of my dreams are coming true.
The flow for opening apps on the cover screen is better than it was before. On last year’s model, you had to open the phone to approve an app for the cover screen — just once per app, but for every single app. Now, you can approve and open the app right from the cover screen notification. You have three options actually: allow, not allow, or — my favorite — “not right now,” which allows me to just slowly back away without making a commitment when I mindlessly tap on a Threads notification. Not right now, Satan.
There are also a lot more ways to customize the cover screen this time around. You can use a selection of app shortcuts to get to the main page from the cover screen. Previously, you could not use any apps on the cover screen. The calendar panel has been improved by a few more viewing configurations.
One of the background options for the media controls is a turntable, and I can give you an example. The record spins when the music is playing because it has a cutout at the center. Press pause and the needle will lift off the record and stop. Are you saying that’s true? That’s adorable.