The Motorola Razr 70 Ultra is Motorola’s most premium flip phone. While some prior models have felt like cut-down versions of flagship slate devices, the Razr 70 Ultra pulls no punches when it comes to hardware specs.
It features the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset that comfortably handles gaming and multitasking and packs a solid camera array into the form factor. It’s also got excellent battery life that comfortably lasts over a day.
Paired with its distinctive colourways and material options, the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra earns its place as one of the best flip-style phones on the market, but it’s let down by a short support tail and an inflated price point.
Overall Rating: 3.5 / 5
Pros
- Impressive still camera performance
- Build quality and hinge feel solid
- Impressive battery life
Cons
- Three years of OS updates is not good enough at this price
- Foldable form factor means disproportionate pricing
- Rear material feels like it will get grimy over time
$1999 RRP | For flip-phone loyalists looking for better performance
Setup & First Impressions
The Razr 70 Ultra’s build quality is immediately obvious. The hinge closes smoothly but stays solid in position. The rear finish on our Orient Blue model is Alcantara, which feels a bit like suede. It’s made of a microfibre material that makes me wonder what it will look like after a year of daily use, but out of the box it feels nice and grippy.
Setup is easy and straightforward; just sign in with your Google account, choose whether you want to pull your old apps and data across, and the phone will run you through its gestures before showing you the home screen.
Motorola’s flavour of Android is reasonably clean. There are a few preinstalled apps, but they can be easily removed or ignored, and the default widgets feel unintrusive.
Design & Aesthetics
The phone features a 4-inch external display that’s fully functional. Some apps may stretch oddly to fit the squareish aspect ratio, but the features you would actually want to use like messaging and the notification drawer work well.
The internal display height is noticeably taller than standard slab devices, which can become a usability problem if you have smaller hands. Its aspect ratio also means that many apps and most videos don’t fit neatly onto it.
Motorola only offers the Razr 70 Ultra in PANTONE Orient Blue locally. The brand’s recent colourways really stand out against a lot of competitors who play it safe with black and silver phones.
Life With the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra
Day to day, the Razr 70 Ultra fits in with ease. I found myself using the cover screen more for triaging notifications, and opening the device for more important tasks.
Positives
The flip form factor means the Razr 70 Ultra takes up less space in your pocket or bag, and enables some unique use cases; the external display allows you to use the high-res rear cameras for taking selfies or as a pocket mirror. The twist-for-camera gesture makes this even snappier.
In landscape mode, the speakers’ stereo separation is pleasantly surprising. If you have to watch content on the phone without headphones, it’s a decent experience. I wouldn’t pick the inbuilt speakers as my first choice, but many foldables skimp out on sound quality where this one doesn’t.
The screen is bright enough to see outdoors without an issue, which can be a bit of a problem for other foldables. With the screen on, the crease is not very noticeable, but it’s fairly obvious if there’s any glare overhead.
Negatives
As with other contemporary Motorola devices, the Razr 70 Ultra features an “AI Button” that can’t be remapped to more useful features. That makes it feel like a missed opportunity that you’re constantly reminded of.
I have some concerns about the Alcantara rear and its longevity. As something that will be handled daily and rest in a pocket, this microfibre material is sure to attract skin oil, bacteria, and stains over time, and it seems difficult to keep clean.
Camera
The main 50-megapixel sensor provides a smooth experience when it comes to shooting in all kinds of scenarios. It’s a little soft towards the corners, but for happy snaps you won’t notice.
In daylight, pictures come out with realistic colours and the camera delivers good autofocus performance. At nighttime, the phone prefers to extend shutter speed which introduces blur, but if you manage to keep your hands steady, you’ll get a good shot more often than not.
The main lens provides a digital 2x zoom that produces reliable results. The ultrawide lens offers an extreme viewing angle, close macro focus, and good performance in daylight, but it’s noticeably softer than the main lens.
Video tops out at 8K30 with the main lens, or 4K60 on the ultrawide lens. The phone also supports Dolby Vision HDR recording, making it a decent choice for content creators needing a second camera. “Camcorder Mode” is a neat party trick where you can fold the phone partially and hold it like an old-school camcorder.
Performance & Reliability
The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset isn’t brand new, but it enables great performance in day-to-day usage as well as intensive gaming and multitasking loads. It maxed out the 3DMark tests I tried on it and the games I tried played well.
Battery longevity on the Razr 70 Ultra is a big highlight, and it comfortably lasts all day and into the second day. Motorola claims this 5000 mAh silicon-carbon battery is the current largest battery in a flip phone. It supports 68W cabled fast charging and 30W wireless charging.
Practical Considerations
Motorola rates the Razr 70 Ultra at IP48, meaning good performance against water and spills, but low resistance against dust. Indeed, if a particle gets stuck to the middle screen, the foldable form factor means it could cause screen issues.
It supports Band 28, meaning decent regional coverage, and I noticed it provided strong connectivity throughout my time with it – even in some situations where my iPhone did not receive a signal.
Value & Alternatives
Foldable devices don’t tend to be great value. You can get similar hardware at a lower price, but if you’re sold on a flip phone, there’s no getting around it.
Coming in at $1999, the Razr 70 Ultra is positioned as a luxury flip phone, and the story is backed up by the premium materials and construction. Motorola’s gestures and overall screen experience is mature and considered.
The biggest downfall of the Razr 70 Ultra is its short support tail. For $2000, I expect more than 3 years of updates. Competing models like the Galaxy Z Flip 7 come in cheaper with 7 years of updates.
Would I Buy It With My Own Money?
No, but only because of the short support length. I don’t have any big complaints when it comes to the Razr 70 Ultra’s hardware, but I really wouldn’t want to be searching for another phone in 3 years time after such a big outlay.
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