What we know about Motorola's next foldable smartphone, the Razr 2022

The Motorola foldable phone isn't just an iterative upgrade. Motorola Razr launched alongside Motorola X30 and X30 Pro, the candy bar flagships. A new Motorola foldable phone isn't an iterative upgrade. X30 Pro and Motorola Razr were the company's candy bar flagships for 2014.

The first two Motorola Razr foldable phones were too nostalgic, with an elevated chin that was lifted from classic Razr clamshell phones. It had a fingerprint sensor on the chin as well as a clever way to slide into the flexible screen, but it still divided opinions.

The chin will disappear in 2022. In a stage presentation before the phone's launch, a Lenovo executive revealed a design with no chin and symmetrical bottom and top bezels. A selfie camera notch is not present at the top of the device.

As part of Motorola's folding design improvement, the inner radius of the teardrop-shaped hinge has been increased to 3.3mm. The device can be used as a tripod or half-open. It allows you to watch videos and chat simultaneously on the top and lower halves of the phone.

While Motorola's design makeover is clean, the top and bottom edges of the device are slightly curved, continuing the Razr design legacy. As well as being noticeably bigger and more functional than Samsung's Galaxy Galaxy Z Flip 3, the Razr 2022's outer cover display also grows a few millimeters.

A 6.7-inch OLED screen surrounds the foldable panel, and a 3-inch display with 800 x 573 resolution displays nine widgets for at-a-glance info. It will feature DC dimming, a 10-bit panel, and HDR10+. One of the few smartphones with a 144Hz OLED display.

The dual-lens rear camera setup is another notable change, but there is no word on whether there will be more color options this year. By far, Motorola's Razr 2022 is the most technically capable foldable with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.

The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 might not provide a huge performance boost over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but Motorola makes a huge leap. Moto Razr foldable phones have relied on midrange chips like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, which makes the Moto Razr 2022 a significant update. 

Apart from the enhanced raw performance, the device comes in three variants: 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage, 8GB and 256GB, and 12GB and 512GB. In addition to unlocking new camera capabilities, a flagship chip ensures that software updates are prioritized.

The Motorola Razr has also been plagued by a weak chip and a poor camera output. All Motorola's foldable phones so far have a single rear camera. Its 48-megapixel camera didn't match the Razr 5G's original asking price of nearly $1,400 - either in terms of raw quality or lens versatility.

As well as in this area, Motorola is making positive progress. It has a 50MP camera with OIS measuring 1/1.55-inches. The camera supports 4-in-1 pixel binning, so you get 12.5MP images. 

There is also a 13MP ultrawide camera with a 121-degree field of view and macro support. A 32MP sensor is on the front. If phones like the iPhone 13, Galaxy S22, and Pixel 6 are any indication, those are enough pixels for decent photos.

A folding smartphone's battery life is often a concern - and this was especially true for the previous Razr foldable. Thanks to the Razr 2022, some progress is being made. As part of the Razr 2022's full announcement, Motorola confirmed a 3,500mAh battery.

The small size of flipping smartphones means that batteries have always been smaller than average compared to non-folding phones. Combined with the improved power efficiency of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the Razr 2022 should perform better in this department.

The pricing this time around is more aggressive. China is offering the Razr 2022 for between 6,000 and 7,300 Chinese Yuan for the cheapest model. In simple terms, $890 to $1,083. Despite the price drop, the Razr could undercut even the Z Flip 4's $1,000 price.

The company has only confirmed plans to launch the Razr 2022 in China, but it often launches its mobile technology in China first, then expands to Europe and the United States. If and when an announcement is made, we'll update this post.