Motorola's 2026 update to its Razr folding phone line-up sees minor changes across the three devices it offers – in the Razr 70, Razr 70 Plus (which isn't due for UK launch) and Razr 70 Ultra.
In typical style, in the USA these devices drop the numbering, so will be known as the Razr (2026), Razr Plus (2026) and Razor Ultra (2026). But they're effectively the same devices under different guises.
At first glance, the Razr 70 Ultra looks the same as the Razr 60 Ultra – which I've seen when testing the best folding phones in recent years. It has the same finishes (but different colours) and much of the hardware spec is the same too.
However, there's a clever feature in the camera upgrade that really impressed me. Here's what it's all about.
A new camera sensor, but that's not all
The Motorola Razr 70 Ultra launches with a first for folding phones: it has swapped the main camera sensor to a new LOFIC (Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor) sensor. This is a new type of sensor – as seen in the Xiaomi 17 Ultra – that's claiming to offer 6x the dynamic range of the previous model.
I couldn't really test that in full while using the Razr 70 Ultra during my preview session, but one of the new features really impressed me, because it saves a practical problem. It's called Frame Match and it's similar to the Pixel's Add Me feature.
There have probably been plenty of occasions when you've asked a passerby to take a photo of you and they snap a couple of images that are terrible – because they have no idea what you want in it.
That's where Frame Match comes in, because you can frame the image and take a shot, which creates a guide so that when you hand over your phone and jump into the picture, the passerby knows what you wanted in the frame. They just have to line up the images and hit the button – and you get a great picture.
It's a clever addition to the camera on the Razr 70 Ultra, which apart from the new sensor type otherwise remains much as it was before from a use-case perspective.
That means there's a trio of 50-megapixel cameras: the new LOFIC main; an ultrawide; and the front selfie camera. However, Motorola says it has a new imaging pipeline to make capture faster and increase the camera's power efficiency.
A bigger battery – but no silicon-carbon
Technically the Razr 70 Ultra has a higher capacity battery, moving from 4700mAh on the Razr 60 Ultra up to 5000mAh for this new model.
Impressively, this has been achieved without any weight gain and without the device getting thicker.
This is backed by 68W wired charging and 30W wireless, so you can be back up and running in no time at all.
But that's about as far as the changes go: the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor remains the same as the 2025 model, while the internal and external displays are also the same – apart from an increase of brightness to 5000 nits on the internal display.
Coming in Pantone Orient Blue with an Alcantara design, or Pantone Cocoa with a wood veneer, even these finishes are the same as the 2025 model – granted that the Orient Blue is a new colour.
The experience is much the same
From what I've seen of the Razr 70 Ultra, it's much the same as it was before. It uses Motorola's Hello UI sitting on Google's Android 16, which we've seen across a range of devices recently, integrating Moto AI, but also adding in a lot of bloat, app installs and some distracting elements.
The displays look great, however, especially that external display – which is really useful, able to open full apps so you do more than just glance at notifications. Samsung's best Galaxy foldables don't go all-out in offering this.
But what I really like about the Moto Razr range – not just the Ultra – is the colours and finishes that Motorola is using. That really makes this phone stand out. While Samsung's phone is more compact, Motorola's phone arguably has the more interesting design.
It's now more expensive
It might come as a shock, as the Razr 70 Ultra will cost £1,199.99 in the UK, whereas the previous model was available for £999.
Does a slight increase in the battery, brightness and a new camera sensor justify that? The previous model is also on a great discount at the moment, as you can see in the widget embedded above.
Certainly, the Razr 70 Ultra isn't a phone that those with the 2025 model would consider an upgrade. But with heavy reductions on the 2025 model there is one thing that gets in the way of my recommending you buy the older model.
The Razr 60 Ultra launched with only three OS updates and four years of security updates. Buying it now means you only get two more OS updates. The newer model resets that, giving you three OS updates and five years of security updates.
That's not hugely long for a premium phone at this price – but the buying the new 2026 model means it will have more updates to look forward to.
