After using the 2024 Moto Razr for over two months, I’m happy to say it’s been solid, reliable, and fun. This is my first smart-flip-phone, and it’s the first Android phone I’ve used in the last four years. I was all-Apple for a long while. But my main daily gadget has become the dazzling orange Razr. If the flip feature leads to a premature demise (screen issues), then I’ll likely revert to a slab phone — but it will remain an Android. So “Hello, Moto.” And “Okay, Google.”
Specs
Here’s an overview:
- CPU — MediaTek Dimensity 7300X
- RAM — 8GB (plus RAM boost option)
- Storage — 256GB
Displays —
- 6.9” 120Hz LTPO AMOLED inside
- 3.6” 90Hz AMOLED outside (cover)
- Battery — 4,200mAh
Cameras —
50MP wide lens (with 2x zoom)- 13MP ultrawide lens
- 32MP selfie lens
- IPX8 water resistant
Those numbers “on paper” seem great. But how does it work day-to-day?
Performance
The Razr came with Android 14 out-of-the-box. This thing zips; apps and animations fly fluid and fast. I was going to say it feels faster than my iPhone 12 Pro but after a few months of use, I believe it actually is faster. It hasn’t been laggy or glitchy in general. One exception is when waking the device, it sometimes takes a moment or two before it shows the latest content or notifications on the cover display.
Build Design
The materials are glass, aluminum, steel, vegan leather, and plastic. Overall, it feels solid, not too dense, light, and has good weight balance across the unfolded halves. It does not feel as premium as my iPhone 12 Pro though, which is all glass and steel. The fit and finish overall are great — not quite on par with a Pro iPhone — but the differences are negligible.
There’s one minor yet disconcerting thing: when opening the Razr, sometimes there’s a sticky “unsticking” sound, like pulling glue or tape apart or stretching something. It’s inconsistent. While I’ve relied on the Razr enough over two months to feel comfortable with it overall, the sticky sound isn’t pleasant or encouraging. A quick Google search suggested that it may be the display unfolding and is normal. Still, that’s suboptimal and doesn’t help the phone feel less delicate.
Buttons
The fingerprint sensor is built into the power button and is consistently and reliably fast. It can be customized to register with either a light touch or a full-press of the button; I use the former and love it. I don’t even miss FaceID from my iPhone. All buttons are clicky and responsive. Sometimes, though, I accidentally click the power button or just its touch-sensor. The location and sensitivity seem good enough overall.
Moto Gestures
Though a software feature, I mention it here because it’s directly related to hardware. I love the ease and speed of shaking/twisting my Moto phone to wake the camera – super convenient. Likewise the chopping motion to toggle the flashlight on/off.
Connectivity
I’ve tethered my iPhone 12 Pro and different laptops to the Razr’s hotspot a lot in the past couple months without issue. There were a few times early on when it didn’t connect immediately or automatically, so I’d toggle the wifi or hotspot switch on the Razr or my other device. Lately, it has worked better. Once connected, it never drops or flakes out. Connectivity is as reliable as on my Apple devices.
At home on wi-fi, on 5G cellular, using bluetooth for speakers and headphones, and relying on NFC for tap-to-pay (G Pay) at stores has been consistently reliable. The MediaTek chipset is surprisingly capable and robust – Apple isn’t the only one that can design good chips (Apple Silicon went from 5nm to 3nm recently. The Razr’s MediaTek 7300X is 4nm).
NFC Tap To Pay / G-Pay
I set this up with Google, using two cards to pay for things both online and at physical terminals in stores. Both work totally great and are as functional as my iPhone with Apple Pay. Auto-fill online works as you might expect. To pay at a cashier, I don’t even need to open the Razr; tap-to-pay works from just the cover display!
Phone
I saw in a review on YouTube that the Razr, thanks to Motorola’s experience, has outstanding call quality, sounding more like a land-line than a digitally-compressed audio stream. I agree; it’s exceptional. In a call to my wife’s iPhone while we were driving separate vehicles, I heard her voice clearly without background noise, no joke (hanging up by flipping it closed with my index finger was a great feeling). Also, it can make speakerphone calls while closed/folded.
All-Day Battery
I can easily go a full-day with moderate usage on a single charge — love it! This seems true even with some mild gaming or much camera shooting thrown in the mix. I have the Android settings to automatically adjust charging and app performance to balance battery drain. The all-day battery is one of my most favorite features of the Razr.
Charging
The USB-C port by itself is a huge win! No more Lightning port (Apple) for me. Finally. When I use the USB-C plug from my MacBook Air, the Razr goes into Turbocharge. The Razr can also charge with Qi wireless (slowly). It has some magnetic ability, sticking to my iPhone’s MagSafe charging puck, but I think that’s a happy accident. My typical charging routine is simply overnight when in Nightstand mode (which I love).
Software
The Razr unboxed with Android 14. I can’t compare it to recent versions as it’s been years since I last used an Android phone; I’m coming from iPhone 12 Pro. So Android, to me, is kind of all-new again. Overall, it’s great.
If nothing else, I can finally see the price of a Kindle book in the Kindle and Amazon app and buy it directly. Seriously. Love it.
What strikes me most, despite iPhone gaining much customizability in recent releases, is that Android still allows more. You can change not just how the phone looks (user interface), but how it works. The 2024 Razr in particular, I think, offers more variety and options than most typical Android phones because it works in different modes given its clamshell form factor with two different displays.
Also impressive is how nicely integrated third-party apps or functions are. I think it’s because Android is more open and flexible, allowing third-parties more API access or system-level stuff. So my JBL headphones and Sony speaker show more detailed info and icons on my Razr than they did on my iPhone. It’s a small yet meaningful thing, for example, that my iPhone didn’t show the battery percentage of my JBL buds or case individually. But my Razr shows battery level for all.
Notifications (from any source) get more interactive controls within them. For example, I can reply or favorite Mastodon posts from within a notification. All this makes Android feel more efficient, like I can just get things done better or more easily.
I prefer the Android status bar at top because it shows more icons and info at a glance than the iPhone does, which helps productivity or efficiency. The Google Play Store has feature parity with the iPhone’s App Store. And Google’s suite of software (Drive, Maps, Gmail, etc.) is front and center on Android, getting first-class treatment.
Wrap-Up
Those are my general thoughts about the 2024 Moto Razr. It’s impressive and capable. How long the flip design will be reliable is a question only time can answer. I’m very thankful to have been gifted the Razr — it’s a blessing from God. In upcoming posts, I’ll talk about the Razr’s cameras and its two-in-one design in particular.
No comments:
Post a Comment