Foldable telephones could also be area of interest, however Motorola’s Razr lineup stands out as a pacesetter within the class. With enjoyable colours, various textures and that satisfying flip-phone snap, clamshell telephones are a preferred alternative for folks trying to get away from extra predictable cellular designs. It is doubtless we’ll see the subsequent era of Razr telephones later this month, hopefully with some key upgrades that might assist the units stand out much more.
The Razr Extremely is Motorola’s most premium clamshell providing. Final 12 months’s mannequin had a 4-inch cowl show and a 7-inch inner show, two 50-megapixel rear cameras (in addition to a 50-megapixel selfie digicam) and a beneficiant 4,700-mAh battery. As CNET’s Patrick Holland put it, the 2025 Extremely was additionally “flipping costly,” at $1,300. However these first-rate options make it a worthy rival to Samsung’s $1,100 Galaxy Z Flip 7, one other common alternative within the foldable telephones house.
Motorola is doubling down on foldables with the upcoming launch of its first book-style telephone, the Razr Fold. With a modern design and a powerful 6,000-mAh battery, it is doubtless to offer Samsung a run for its cash in one other foldable sector as comparisons with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 inevitably pour in. The Razr Fold is slated to launch in North America this summer time.
Within the meantime, we’ll doubtless study extra in regards to the 2026 Razr Extremely because the anticipated springtime launch date looms. That provides me a while to dream up what I might wish to see Motorola add to its premium flip telephone to make it an excellent stronger contender in an more and more aggressive house.
A cheaper price can be nice
Telephones are costly, and foldable telephones are much more so — which is why many individuals keep away from getting one within the first place.
The 2025 Razr Extremely’s $1,300 worth is prohibitive, even when it’s a nice telephone that comes with a powerful 512GB of storage. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 is not significantly better at $1,100 for 256GB of storage, however that also shaves off a number of hundred {dollars}. (Motorola has now discounted final 12 months’s Razr Extremely to $800, presumably because it clears inventory forward of upcoming releases.)
It will be nice if Motorola made the Razr Extremely’s pricing just a little extra aggressive not solely in opposition to the Z Flip 7, however in comparison with different premium slab telephones. Which may entice extra folks to dip their toe into foldable waters in the event that they’re on the fence. Sure, there are extra reasonably priced choices such because the 2025 baseline Razr and the Razr Plus, however the Razr Extremely being priced the identical as Samsung’s top-of-the-line S26 Extremely powerhouse is difficult to justify.
As telephones turn out to be extra superior, they’re additionally getting pricier — and that is with out a RAM scarcity that threatens to hike costs as properly. The Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus begin at $100 greater than final 12 months’s, although the baseline mannequin now comes with the next 256GB base storage stage. I hope Motorola steers clear from discovering causes to up the price of its telephones, too.
Extra years of software program and safety updates, please
A part of why the Razr Extremely’s $1,300 price ticket was so onerous to swallow final 12 months is that the telephone solely comes with three years of software program updates and 4 years of safety updates. Evaluate that to the Galaxy Z Flip 7’s seven years of software program and safety updates and it is onerous to not really feel just a little shortchanged with the Razr Extremely.
Most premium Android telephones, foldable or in any other case, include seven years of assist. In actual fact, even Motorola’s upcoming Razr Fold could have that prolonged assist timeline. It is time the clamshell Razr telephones hop on the bandwagon. That is very true for the ultra-pricey Razr Extremely.
Carry again the skinny design of the OG Razr
OK, this one’s a little bit of a pipe dream, however with the skinny telephone craze gripping the cellular business, it is not completely not possible. What made the unique, non-smartphone Razr stand out most was its sleekness, and it could be nice to see the Razr Extremely undertake a equally skinny design.
Samsung solely slimmed down its book-style Galaxy Z Fold 7 final 12 months, however I might wish to assume clamshell telephones such because the Z Flip 7 and Motorola Razr will sometime expertise an identical evolution. It could not occur this 12 months, however I might be thrilled if it did. Notably, Motorola launched the Edge 70 in worldwide markets final 12 months to compete with different skinny telephones together with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and Apple iPhone Air, so it is attainable that common blueprint may present up in future clamshell Razr telephones.
I am not getting my hopes up, although. OnLeaks and XpertPick reportedly received entry to CAD renders of this 12 months’s Razr Extremely, which appears to be like to be barely thicker than final 12 months’s telephone. Whereas the 2025 Razr Extremely was round 15.7mm thick folded and seven.2mm thick unfolded, the renders recommend the upcoming telephone may measure 15.8mm folded and seven.8mm unfolded — a distinction folks would admittedly hardly discover. However that is nonetheless not the course I might ideally wish to see.
The marginally bigger dimensions might be the results of extra digicam {hardware} or a bigger battery. These can be welcome updates, so a thicker telephone is not so dangerous a tradeoff. However it could be nice if we may have all of it: improved battery life, extra highly effective cameras and a thinner telephone. I am going to hold dreaming till it (hopefully) comes true.
