Foldable phones have taken another step on the path to becoming mainstream products, with Motorola announcing the most affordable yet: the razr 40.
Sure, at £799, that may not have reached your definition of “affordable” just yet. However, it undercuts the Oppo Find N2 by £50, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 by a massive £200.
It’s also £250 cheaper than its sibling, also announced today: the razr 40 Ultra, which comes in at £1,049. Both Android foldables are in the flip phone style, where a handset folds in two to become instantly more pocketable.
So why pay an extra £250? Well, the more expensive handset comes with the faster Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset (not quite cutting-edge but pretty close). More importantly, it also has a large 3.6-inch, 144Hz pOLED external display so you can use the phone when it’s closed.
That makes things a whole lot more usable when closed, and the screen size is significantly larger than the strip found on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Motorola says that the external screen “gives you access to almost any app”, provides a dedicated Spotify panel, and even includes a bunch of games that “work perfectly on the external display.” We can’t vouch for the quality of Golf Adventure, Tiger Run or Marble Mayhem yet, but it’s a nice idea.
The dual-screen nature of flip phones also remains a gift for selfie fanatics, too. Because there’s a screen on both sides of the handset, owners can use either camera to comfortably take photos, given there’s always a visible large screen to preview the shot. Here, main photography duties are handled by a 32MP lens, with a 13MP ultrawide and macros sensor backing it up.
Curiously, the cheaper razr 40’s camera actually has a higher megapixel count, clocking in at 64MP. And while Motorola is cagey about revealing the full specs, it claims the phone “features the same incredibly smooth and vivid internal display” and that it “maintains all the features expected from a high-end smartphone”.
We’ve asked Motorola for full specs, and will update this piece with more details when we hear back. What we know right now is that the shell features “premium vegan leather” and that it will come in “trendy colours” such as lilac, vanilla and sage green. While the razr 40 Ultra is available today, its cheaper sibling will go on sale “in the coming weeks”.
