The rumored Motorola Razr 2 appears to be coming to launch, with a new big-spec leak showing us how Motorola plans to turn around its troublesome first attempt at a foldable phone. There are signs of improvement according to the specs, but it might not be a boost big enough to outpace the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G.
The information comes from veteran smartphone expert Evan Blass, who has proven time and time again to be a trusted source. Your post mentions the name ‘Motorola Odyssey’, which is probably an internal codename for this revamped Razr.
The Motorola Razr 5G, as this new model is known, comes in a new color, Cosmic Silver. There was a slight bug with the black and gold options on the first Razr, but this new option at least sounds appealing.
Storage has doubled to 256GB, which should be more than enough for most users. Although there are no signs of what the RAM will be, although a previous leak claims that there will be 8 GB of RAM, the original has a measly 6 GB. Also AWOL is the battery capacity, which really needs a boost from the tiny 2,510 mAh cell we saw in the first foldable Razr. The same leak above says the new battery will be 2,845 mAh, which would be more, but not necessarily enough to cure the battery problem.
Compare this to the current Galaxy Z Flip, the template for the next Galaxy Z Flip 5G that will be the main rival to the Razr 5G. It already has a combination of 8GB RAM / 256GB storage memory, but we don’t expect that to change with its 5G revision, a good thing for Motorola. However, it will still have more battery capacity, using two separate cells that combined offer 3,300 mAh. We could see this drop to 3,204 mAh based on a recent leak, but it will be even more than even the updated Razr.
Android 10 will be the pre-installed operating system again, without surprises. Hopefully it’ll get an Android 11 update once it launches, which will likely have more foldable-focused optimizations as flexible smartphones become more common in the coming years.
While SIM card slots are often not interesting, we are curious to see that this spec list has nano SIM and eSIM options. The original Razr only had one eSIM, which worked exclusively with Verizon in the US and EE in the UK. If Motorola has figured out how to squeeze a physical SIM tray on the new Razr, this in theory means that you can use the phone with any provider you like, assuming Motorola offers an unlocked phone.
The main display remains a 6.2-inch panel, which hopefully will have an improved folding mechanism. Folding the phone not only left a large gap between the screen and the body of the phone for debris to enter, it also emitted a persistent screeching that sounds cheap after just a few days of use. This is something that Motorola really needs to fix, particularly since the price of this phone will probably be around $ 1,500 like the original.
The Z Flip’s screen is bigger than this at 6.7 inches, which is better or worse depending on who you ask. What’s definitely better is its build quality, which does a good job of keeping the delicate hinge mechanism protected, and its base price of $ 1,380. Assuming that doesn’t increase with the addition of 5G, it’s hard to justify spending more money on a foldable phone with worse specs like the Razr.
5G compatibility is perhaps the biggest new feature. This will likely require a new 5G-compatible chipset, probably the Snapdragon 765G, considering the original used a Snapdragon 710. The Z Flip uses a Snapdragon 855 Plus, and you get a Snapdragon 865 Plus, which means it will still have superior performance. benchmarks if absolute computing power is a priority for you.
Given Motorola’s close relationship with Verizon, you’d think the Razr 5G will have mmWave-compatible antennas. However, previous leaks for the Razr 5G suggested that it would be compatible with the more common sub-6GHz standard, which is what the Z Flip 5G is also believed to use.
We also see here the camera updates that had previously been rumored. The first Razr had a 5MP front camera and 16MP rear camera, but will now be equipped with a much stronger pair of 20MP and 48MP sensors, compared to the Z Flip’s dual 12MP exterior sensors and internal sensor. 10MP cameras look like the only ones. area where the Razr could outperform the foldable Samsung.
The photographic abilities of the original Razr were disappointing, even if it had some usability features like using the external display when taking selfies with the main camera. Hopefully these high resolution sensors are the solution to these problems.
The Blass leak does not mention a release date, but we have braced ourselves from previous rumors to expect the Razr 5G to appear in September. That is around the same time that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G should also appear. The original Z Flip was a far superior phone to the Razr, and our favorite flip phone so far. Motorola is definitely taking steps in the right direction with these leaked updates to the Razr, but we’ll have to wait and see if it’s enough for us to declare it better than the Z Flip.
