The next generation Motorola Razr is coming, but this one doesn’t have the bland “Motorola Razr 3” moniker. Instead, it looks like we’re getting the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra, a phone that looks like the foldable Motorola Razrs of the past, but with a whole new naming system and bigger cover display.
Motorola used to be one of two companies that sold foldables in the United States, but that won’t be the case for long. The Google Pixel Fold is expected to arrive this summer, while OnePlus is launching its own foldable before the end of the year. Not to mention the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5.
Competition is going to be stiff, and that means an uphill battle for the Razr 40 Ultra — no matter what it has to offer. But what exactly does Motorola have in store for us? Here’s everything we know about the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra so far.
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra release date speculation
There’s a lot we still don’t know about when the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra will arrive or how much it will cost. However, with rumors heating up and parent company Lenovo teasing a launch "very soon" in March to CNBC, we're inclined to expect an early summer launch.
Motorola is also said to have two foldables in the works, with a report pointing towards there being “Lite” and “Plus” Razr models on the way. We can only assume that the Razr 40 Ultra is the “Plus” model, given the use of the world Ultra.
As per a leak obtained by SamInsider, the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra's price in Europe is said to be €1,200 for the 8GB+256GB variant. For comparison, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 costs €1,159 for the same configuration. We have not heard about U.S. pricing yet.
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra design and displays
Leaked renders show off the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra with a much bigger external display than before. You still get a flip design, with the phone unfolding into a traditionally-shaped smartphone rather than a larger tablet-style display.
According to a pretty-extensive Motorola Razr 40 Ultra specs leak, the device will come with a 2640 x 1080 AMOLED display with support for HDR and refresh rate of either 120Hz or a Motor Razr 2022-matching 144Hz. The extra refresh rate is still seemingly up for debate.
It’s not clear how big the screen will be, but judging from XDA’s imagery, the general design of the phone will be similar to the Motorola Razr 2022 — which had a 6.7-inch interior display. The fact that the resolution is 2640, rather than 2400, suggests the display itself may be incrementally taller. But if that is the case we’re not likely to see a major increase to screen real estate.
The cover display should see a much larger change, however. Rumors point towards the screen measuring 3.5-inches, with leaked imagery showing the cover display taking up almost half of the Razr 40 Ultra’s exterior. It’s so much larger than last year, in fact, that the screen seems to be enveloping the two rear cameras. According to XDA, it’ll offer 1056 x 1066 resolution, but the site didn’t divulge any other details.
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra cameras
According to XDA’s specs leak, the Razr 40 Ultra will have two rear cameras and a single selfie camera — which is no huge surprise. The main camera sensor is a 12MP Sony IMX563, while the secondary lens is said to be a 13MP wide-angle SK Hynix Hi 1336. Unfortunately, that appears to be a downgrade from the Motorola Razr 2022, which has a 50MP main camera and a 13 MP ultrawide angle lens.
The selfie camera is said to offer 32MP resolution, which is the same as last year. While we haven’t had confirmation, we assume that this will utilize the hole-punch design that’s ubiquitous to modern smartphones.
There’s no telling how good these cameras will be until we can actually test them for ourselves. However a resolution downgrade on the main camera lens isn’t likely to do the Razr 40 Ultra any favors. Here’s hoping that’s either a mistake, or Motorola has made serious headway with computational photography to try and make up for the lost resolution.
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra performance
Sadly the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra seems to be falling down in the performance department, certainly compared to current flagship Android phones. XDA’s specs leak claims that the phone will run on the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, which is not the latest and best model. It’s also the same chipset that came with the 2022 Razr.
It’s not that the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 is bad, far from it, just that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has proven itself to be far superior in every way. That includes both raw performance and power efficiency, with the chip getting some of the credit for Samsung Galaxy S23’s astronomical leap in battery life compared to the Galaxy S22.
Since the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is likely to use the Gen 2, or potentially even the custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, opting for a Gen 1 chipset is going to put the Razr 40 Ultra as a serious disadvantage.
The phone is also said to be coming with “up to” 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. No word on what lesser variants might offer, but if it’s anything like the 2022 Razr we could also be looking at models with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage space.
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra battery and charging
A leak from MySmartPrice in March said that the Motorola Razr Plus (presumably the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra) will feature a 3,640 mAh battery. That would be a welcome upgrade over the Motorola Razr 2022's 3,500 mAh battery.
The site also says the new Razr will offer 33W fast charging, which would be a bump up from the previous 30W charging.
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra outlook
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra right now, but what we’ve heard doesn’t really paint a wholly positive picture. The larger cover display is certainly a boon, especially since Samsung appears to be doing something similar with the Galaxy Z Flip 5. But we're worried about the Razr 40 Ultra's older Snapdragon chipset.
We're also concerned about the lower-resolution 12MP rumored main camera for the Razr 40 Ultra, although as our testing has shown megapixels aren't everything. Motorola will likely have to compete with a lower price if it wants to take on Samsung.
