Verdict
The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra represents the pinnacle of grapple foldables in 2023 with a agio design , biz - change exterior display , great television camera carrying into action and solid routine exercise . The battery might leave some require more , but for most people , this wo n’t be too much of a problem .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Motorola ’s top - remainder Razr 40 Ultra boast a number of firsts for foldables admit the biggest , truehearted external display to date at 3.6 inches and 144Hz , but is there more to it than a big outside exhibit ?
While it might not look all that different from its predecessor , the Razr 40 Ultra represents the bill of Motorola ’s pattern prowess with an graceful innovation , premium materials and one of the least noticeable creases I ’ve seen to date . It ’s also able of deliver performance , both in terms of everyday use and when click exposure .
For those wondering , the Razr 40 Ultra is the same as the Razr 40 Plus in the US , with both offering the same design and spec – it ’s just branded differently in the States .
The interrogative is , with clamshell foldaway prices dropping in 2023 , can Motorola justify the £ 1,049/$999 price tag ? After a workweek with the Razr 40 Ultra , I ’m very confident that it can .
Design & displays
The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra certainly has the same Razr spirit as the 2022 simulation , but it ’s much more refined , insurance premium and jackanapes this meter around — and not just because of that huge external presentation .
There ’s a new hinge system at play here that Motorola lay claim is doing a identification number of things ; it allows the sound to close up without a interruption , dramatically reducing the look of the crease and getting rid of the sensation you get when running your finger over it . Those are bold claims , but I must admit , the company has done something telling here .
I will say that while it ’s almost entirely gapless , you do still see a slither of Christ Within glint through when holding it up against lustrous lighting , but it ’s a monolithic gradation forth from the rather large gap witness in the2022 Razr , and I ’ve found that it ’s enough to earnestly reduce the amount of dust and rubble that builds up on that interior foldaway display compared to other foldables I ’ve used .
The crease , on the other hand , is somewhat of a chef-d’oeuvre . It’sjustabout there if you calculate at it off - slant and try and catch it in the lightness but , see straight on , you ’d barely tell that the display could fold in half . It ’s a exchangeable taradiddle with the flexible joint — you could point out something when running your finger over the crease but it does n’t feel obtrusive or intrusive .
It also allows the Razr 40 Ultra to have the title of the thin grapple smartphone when full folded , according to Motorola , measuring in at 15 mm thick , and a sparse 7 millimetre when blossom . It does palpate skillful and pocketable despite the gargantuan 6.9 - inch display found within , one of the biggest benefit of clamshell foldables .
Rather than storing a whopping smashing big phone in your sac , it folds down to a compact grade that ’s nice and gentle to hold . It ’s also ideally befit to one - manus use when using that outer presentation , with my quarter round easily able to reach all corners of the extraneous display .
It ’s also just a well - built , soundly - looking smartphone with the choice of either vegan leather or chalk on the derriere , and it ’s uncommitted in some stunning color pick including Viva Magenta , Pantone ’s color of the year in 2023 . The pinky - red destination is utterly stunning , with a shiny Al frame in a completing tincture .
It ’s also available in a prissy shade of Amytal with the same vegan leather rear , as well as a shimmering dim glass stopping point for those look for something more understated .
Of of course , it is all about the displays with foldables , so let ’s start with that kayoed venire . It ’s the largest of any clamshell foldable now appraise in at a whopping 3.6 inches , and it ’s not only a big silver screen either .
jactitation pOLED technical school and an incredible144Hz refresh ratenot seen on any other clamshell , the exterior showing sits in a league of its own . It has a treble camera cutout in the bottom - right hand or top - leave alone depending on your orientation , which can sometimes get in the way , but it ’s something I think most people will blithely live with .
The external display also has a unexampled layout with fresh thingamajig design for the extraneous display and the ability to melt down any Android app you ’d like , making it much easier to reply to a WhatsApp message and chop-chop like a tweet without unfolding the telephone .
It ’s this power to run any app on the external show that ’s truly a biz - changer for the clamshell folding shape gene . I was able to do much more with the Razr 40 Ultra than any other clamshell include the fairly usefulOppo Find N2 Flip , making it much well-to-do to respond to incoming messages and check emails , curb YouTube playback via my TV and even play Call of Duty Mobile .
The latter is n’t idealistic , of course , but it ’s still possible , and that ’s what I have it off so much about the form constituent .
It does n’t load all apps perfectly , with portrait - oriented apps like Instagram struggling with the 16:9 expression proportion of the extraneous display , but it worked cleanly with more apps than I initially anticipate .
It ’s a similar story with the internal display ; it ’s not just expectant for bigs - sake .
It ’s a mellow - ending 6.9 - inch pOLED display with flagship features including a 165Hz refresh pace withLTPO supportandHDR10+that has so far fork out a bright , crisp visual experience , disregardless of whether I ’m messaging on WhatsApp , scrolling through Instagram or binging TikTok videos .
There is a catch to that 165Hz refresh rate though ; you ca n’t set it at a invariant 165Hz refresh pace , alternatively only allow for a fixed 60Hz refresh rate or a dynamic refresh rate that is capable of survive up to 165Hz when need . The trouble ? It ’s very rarely take .
It ’s also noticeably taller than other phones , even 6.8 - column inch panel like theSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra , thanks to a tall - and - narrow 22:9 expression proportion . I did n’t have any complaints about actually using the showing , though it did feel a bit long – like I was holding a distant control – at times .
The only literal downside compare to the competition is the weewee resistance , or should I say lack of , come in atIP52compared to the IPX8 of theSamsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 .
It is an advance over the Razr 2022 which had no form of protection , and it does admittedly do an admirable task at protecting from dust ingress , but it still makes me a little worried about get water on / near the phone – something I ’ve not had to worry about with candybar smartphones for a while now .
Cameras
The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra ’s dual 12MP rearward camera offer may not be able to take on the likes of the Oppo uncovering N2 Flip on paper , but there ’s much more to cameras than megapixel count . Interestingly , the highest resolution sensor seems to be the intragroup selfie camera — aka the one multitude will expend least — clocking in at 32MP .
The primary 12MP center does an admirable job in well - fire up scenario like the below shots of the street of Madrid , with great reverberance and plenty of Light Within thanks to that wide f/1.5 aperture and OIS capability . It ’s also easy for the television camera to pick up on smaller details in image like the item-by-item stand of my dog Luna ’s haircloth .
Colours are generally quite vivacious without beingtoomuch , though that does calculate on the shot in query . Some prototype , like those of my flower basket , as well as the Green of grass and the blue of the sky , can look a littletoocolourful , but that ’s something common among smartphone snapper . vivacious colour make for right social media shots , obviously …
The f/1.5 aperture also add a more natural bokeh to close - up photograph than much of the competition , give for a more subtle effect than the OTT fuzz on fling from the telephone ’s dedicated Portrait mode .
I was n’t expecting much in the way of humbled - light execution give the phone ’s slim dimensions and relatively low megapixel reckoning that stops it from using pixel - binning tech to better the overall level of light and point , but I was pleasantly surprised . Even in areas with next to no Christ Within , like my garden with a smattering of low - luminousness lead lights , there ’s decent detail on crack .
My one ill is focusing in blue light ; despite sport PDAF focusing technology , I ground that it ’d sometimes whole lack the mark in broken light , resulting in rather indulgent image . That does n’t lean to encounter with tech like Laser Autofocus in my experience , which is interestingly uncommitted on the cheaper standardRazr 40 .
It ’s grueling to tell whether Motorola has done any meaningful employment with the accompanying 13MP ultrawide lens , sporting the same solution and wide slant as the Razr ( 2022 ) . There are at least some new software smarts , with the phone able-bodied to use the ultrawide lens to snap macro photography for uttermost close - up military action .
As expect , though , macro photography persist hard to shoot on a fixed - centering camera , and it was ruffianly to get upright secretive - ups of field like bee in the flower or a ladybird that bring down on a table in front of me . I just about managed it eventually , but there were plenty of give out scene before I got ‘ the one ’ .
Ultrawide shot are fine in well - lit environments , though there are areas of shots that bet a little too subdued with noteworthy randomness reduction tech on display . Take the below scene of Luna as an example ; it ’s a fine - looking epitome broadly , but there ’s a noteworthy blur in area of her fur where the camera could n’t quite discern enough detail .
Do n’t ask much in terminus of low lighter though , with the f/2.2 aperture extradite much darker , muddier and mostly flaccid ikon than those from the primary sensor .
The dependable matter about the foldable bod broker is that you may use the stern - face camera as selfie cameras , complete with a digital view finder on the 3.6 - inch international display , permit for high - end selfies on both the main and ultrawide lense . It can also be placed on a table and opened midway for a makeshift tripod , making it a versatile option for snapping on the go .
If you do n’t like the idea of using the rear - face tv camera to take selfies — or you like to chat a lot via picture call — then the 32MP internal selfie camera should suffice . My selfies are loosely quite crisp and lack the washed - out color pallet sometimes present on Motorola selfie cameras .
Performance
astonishingly think the smartphone ’s ‘ Ultra ’ moniker that usually suggests the best of the adept , the chipset set up within the Razr 40 Ultra is n’t the most powerful one that money can grease one’s palms .
No , rather , the smartphone lark about the ( nearly one - yr - old)Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset — the same as that found in the old - gen Razr ( 2022 ) and other 2022 foldables like Samsung ’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 .
Now , that ’s not to say that functioning is n’t satisfying — the smartphone has n’t show a steer of stutter or lag during received purpose — but it does feel like an country where Motorola could ’ve score an well-situated profits , especially as I expect Samsung’supcoming omega Flip 5to use the same exclusiveSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxychipset as the flagship S23 range .
So , while it ’s very much a bounty experience for now , we expect the competition to surpass the processing business leader of Motorola ’s top - end foldable in the coming calendar month . Not big for one of the most expensive snotty-nosed - expressive style foldables around right now …
Regardless , that Snapdragon chipset is paired with a rather healthy ( but not conduct ) 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage for those that take it . Probably a salutary matter too , deal the lack of a microSD posting to expand memory board further down the road .
Where the Razr 40 Ultra really falls over is in terminal figure of gambling . While it can do by short gaming with proportional ease – believe games like Candy Crush and Survivor.io – it does begin to fight with high - specced games like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile . The phone gets hot fairly quickly and with that come a serious reduction in performance , resulting in frame rate drops after just 20 minutes of swordplay .
That ’s back up by benchmarks too , with the Razr 40 Ultra marking well in worldwide CPU and GPU tests but demonstrate a pronounced decrease in carrying out when run 3DMark ’s Wildlife Extreme Stress Test . That particular test play a high - ending plot simulator 20 time to equate public presentation – and it started to dip after just three cycles .
Audio performance is also rather inviolable with decent amounts of volume delivered from the clamshell ’s stereo verbalizer setup , and Dolby Atmos support on offer when hear to euphony via headphones further raise the experience .
Motorola is famed for its near - stock approach path to Android , equal only by the likes of Nokia and Google itself , and that ’s just as true with the Razr 40 Ultra as otherAndroid 13devices like theMotorola Edge 40 .
Everything I read there is just as true here ; the approaching to Android 13 is so close to stock that you ’ll find very little to quetch about , and where there are tweak , these are normally for the benefit of the remainder user .
This include feature of speech like Moto Gestures that allow flying approach to the flannel mullein and camera toReadyFor , Motorola ’s Windows companion software that admit you to run your favourite Android apps , reply to messages and even utilize the sound ’s camera as a webcam when connected to Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine .
Battery life
electric battery life is one country where the Razr 40 Ultra could do with a fleck of improvement . Sure , it ’s a slimly larger 3800mAh cell than the 3500mAh Razr 2022 , but the Razr 40 Ultra has both a larger internal and external display to business leader . It ’s deserving noting that it ’s also smaller than the cheaper Razr 40 , which boasts the same 4300mAh cell as the Oppo Find N2 Flip .
That said , bombardment biography is fine most of the time , with the phone able to handle a full sidereal day ’s employment without needing a top - up . That includes light browsing , watching TikToks , replying to messages and email and snapping pictures every now and again , correspond to an average of 4 hour of sieve meter separate between the two show before it ’ll tally the 20 % admonition .
There was one especially busy solar day in Madrid where I charge the earphone fully at 5 post-mortem examination , only for it to drop back down to 30 % by 1 am , but I ’m putting that down to excessive use anda lotof incoming WhatsApp messages from a in particular talkative group Old World chat .
In footing of benchmarks , the Razr 40 Ultra debilitate 9 % of its battery over an hr of Netflix HDR playback which , while decent , is a little on the high side compared to thecandybar competition . It ’s a similar story with light gaming , drain 6 % over 30 minutes of idle gameplay .
The Razr 40 Ultra has n’t improved on charge speed , charging at the same 30W as its herald . reckon the Find N2 Flip ’s 44W charging provides a 50 % bearing in 24 proceedings , it would ’ve been nice to see a protrusion in tutelage speed here — especially deliberate theMotorola Edge 40 Proboasts rapid 125W point technical school .
However , it should still charge relatively quick given the smaller - than - average cell , offer 36 % in 15 minute , 60 % in 30 minutes and a full bang in just under an time of day .
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Should you buy it?
the 3.6 - inch outside presentation allow you to do more without extend the earpiece , from replying to messages to running full Android apps .
The 3800mAh battery may be larger than its predecessor but it also has to power large inner and international presentation . As a result , the Razr 40 Ultra just about last all sidereal day but not much longer .
Final Thoughts
The Razr 40 Ultra sets a new bar in the clamshell foldaway market with not only significant improvements to the hinge , and thus the crinkle , but with one of the most subject external displays around .
It guide the exterior display from an afterthought for notifications to a show that you may practicably run apps on , allow you to quickly perform tasks like bout on a Philips Hue bulb or response to a WhatsApp without bear to unfold the phone as often .
The main 12MP camera is also of short letter , with OIS and an f/1.5 aperture not only delivering crisp images during the day but in low - light conditions too , though the latter can stick out from a slenderly misjudged focal point without any kind of laser autofocus tech . Still , it ’s a equal to snapper that you may practice to take selfies thanks to the close down frame component of the phone .
It ’s also a solid everyday performing artist with the inclusion body of a Snapdragon 8 + Gen 1 , though the year - old chipset does n’t look great on paper , and while the 3800mAh cellphone is an increase on theRazr 2022 , it has to power larger internal and external showing . As a result , it ’s a headphone that ’ll just about get you through a daylight ’s use , but it ’s certainly not a two - Clarence Day sound .
Overall , though , the Razr 40 Ultra is one of thebest foldable phonesand the most open grapple smartphone on the food market right now , offering an exquisite blend of great design and heavy hardware at a toll that ’s nottoohard to swallow .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try out every roving telephone we look back thoroughly . We apply industry - standard mental test to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main gadget over the follow-up menstruum . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , take money to review a product .
witness out more about how we test in ourethics insurance policy .
FAQs
No , but it does a decent job at repel detritus with an IP52 military rank .
Yes , but at a rather dull 5W.
Test Data
Full Specs
