Motorola Razr 2022 – fab flip (smartphone first look)

The Motorola Razr 2022 flip-phone is back, and by George, I think they have got it (apologies to George Bernard Shaw). The third attempt makes this the serious flip contender.

I don’t want to dwell on past mistakes, but the Razr 2019 was a dog – so much so that few reviews were ever done. Razr 5G followed – good but underpowered and still not the class-leader.

From our first look (a review takes weeks of testing), the Razr 2022 looks great, improved 6.7” 144Hz screen, better hinge, excellent external mini-screen, flagship Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 processor, 8/256GB, fast 30W charge (inbox) and a decent 50MP/OIS +13MP rear camera and 32MP selfie.

And the best feature is that it is a very reasonable $1599, including free delivery.

The worst features are – It comes with Android 12 with two upgrades to Android 14 (maybe more) and three years of bi-monthly security updates – not class-leading.

Note: We won’t be comparing this to its sole competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 5G (smartphone review), as this is the first look. Note that the firmware revision is pre-sale and August 2022, security patch.

Australian First Look: Motorola Razr 2022 Flip Model XT2251-1 8/256GB Retapac firmware

Website	Product Page
Price:	$1599
Colours	Satin Black
From*	JB Hi-Fi or Lenovo Online
Warranty	24-months ACL
Country of Manufacture:	China
Company	Owned by Lenovo (Est 1984) – a multinational technology company with its primary operational headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina. It is the world’s largest PC maker, and it purchased Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014. Most of Lenovo’s smartphone business is now under the Motorola brand, with grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
More	Other CyberShack Motorola news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – big and black at the same time, small and sexy – Pass+

A Flip’s sole purpose is to give you a larger screen in a smaller, more pocketable format. It does this very well.

It is big at 79.79 x 166.99 x 7.62mm and small at 79.79 x 86.45 x 16.99mm x 200g. The screen is 20:9, so it is a little wider than the Samsung Flip. It is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, as is the two-piece, snap-on protective case (use recommended).

The flip is still a two-handed move, which is a good thing – you don’t want to throw a $1600 phone on the floor accidentally. The hinge seems far smoother than previous versions and is almost infinitely adjustable, which is great for video conferencing.

It still lacks waterproofing, but IP52 should be fine in light rain.

Screen – Pass+

The internal screen is 6.7”, 2400 x 1800, 394ppi, 10-bit/1.07 billion colours, touch pOLED with 144Hz for certain games mode only. Otherwise, it is 60Hz or Auto (up 48 to 120Hz). We have not tested brightness yet, but it supports HDR10+, which generally means 1000 nits on a small screen segment. It is good in direct sunlight and has a better 10-bit screen than the 8-bit Flip.

This year the fold is nowhere near as noticeable. It is nice to use and scroll with. And the big chin at the bottom of the screen is gone.

The external screen is 2.7” 573 x 800, 372ppi, 60Hz touch, AMOLED. It is more for notifications, camera preview (primary camera) and pinning some apps – not an extension of the inner screen. It only operates when the phone is closed.

Processor – Pass+ (not for gaming)

The Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 is a 2022 flagship processor with tons of power and graphics prowess. 8/256GB RAM is fine.

The phone throttles quite severely. A 15-minute, 100% load test starts at 382,145 GIPs and drops 40% to 220,879 GIPS after a minute. That, and the pOLED screen (you need to be careful with this), makes it unsuitable for games use.

This excels because the USB-C connector is full 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) implementation and allows for mountable external SSDs at up to 1000/300MBps (Seq read/write). It also supports alt DP for audio/video/charge meaning it can use a USB-C to HDMI cable for a screen mirror and an Android Desktop.

Motorola has jumped to the top of the class with its full USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 implementation – perfect for vloggers and creators.

Comms – Exceed

Wi-Fi 6E
BT 5.12
NFC
USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps
Dual Band GPS
Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, eCompass, Hall sensor
Fingerprint sensor on the power key

Phone – Pass+

Single Sim plus eSIM band dual ring tones.

The bands have not been disclosed, but we are assured that it is a 4G world phone with VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling and supports all Australian 5G and low bands. Given our experience with the Qualcomm modem and its eight antennae, it should be fine in city/suburbs and regional areas.

Battery – Charge daily – Pass

It has a 3500mAh battery and a 30W USB-C fast charger inbox. We have yet to run the suite of battery tests, but it appears to have around 12 hours of typical use and five hours at 100% load. Our first 0-100% charge took about 90 minutes (this will improve after AI kicks in).

Sound – Pass+

Dual speakers – the earpiece has two forward-firing slots, and the bottom speaker has a down-firing slot. This is important for use in video conference mode. It has three mics – top, right side and bottom – ditto.

It supports Dolby Atmos decoding downmixed to its 2.0 speakers.

Build – Pass+

Where previous Razrs felt a little fragile, this feels quite solid. The screen is firmer, the fold is way less noticeable, and it is covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 5 with a 7000 series aluminium (frame) and Stainless steel (hinge).

it has a two-year warranty – as good as it gets.

Android 12 with 14 to come – Pass

It will get an OS upgrade to Android 13 and 14 and three years of security patches. This is not class-leading.

Camera – Pass+

Primary: 50MP (binned to 12.5MP) is an Omnivision OV50a, and it has been successfully used in other Motorola Edge phones. It has f/1.8 (good low light), 1um (binned to 2um) and OIS (not sure of the number of axis, but I assume three).

Ultra-wide: 13MP Hynix HI1336, AF, f.2.2 and 1.12um. This is fit for purpose and adds macro capabilities as well.

The key to this setup is the terrific AI post-professing capabilities of the Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 processor. A few quick shots show it can produce above-average results day or night.

The selfie is a 32MP (binned to 8MP) Omnivision OV32C that seems capable of decent shots in daytime use. It is fixed focus f/2.4, 0.7um (binned to 1.4).

CyberShack’s view – Motorola Razr 2022 flip-phone is back, and by George, I think they have got it

This is an excellent flip at a reasonable price. There are no deal breakers. It leads in almost every class over the Samsung Flip (except water resistance and Android OS upgrade policy), and the full implementation of the USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port puts it way ahead.

And what’s more, the Moto Razr 2022 is desirable in a kind of traditional way that the edgy Flip is not.

We will assign a full rating when we complete the review in a couple of weeks.