Review of the smartphone Motorola RAZR 2019 – advantages and disadvantages

In this article, let's talk about the smartphone that everyone has been waiting for. Motorola RAZR 2019 has finally been officially shown. Motorola is the 3rd manufacturer to launch flexible (folding) smartphones in the lineup. The South Korean corporation Samsung, which introduced the Galaxy Fold to the world, as well as the Huawei brand with its Mate X, won the palm in this direction.

The RAZR 2019 is inspired by the legendary RAZR V3 flip phone released in 2004. The 2019 model was developed from scratch, redesigning the device and changing 26 prototypes over 4 years of design.

A bit of history

The RAZR V3 was released in 2004, when Nokia reigned and experimented with form factors, design and button placement. Siemens then presented pear phones, and Nokia provided lipstick-shaped mobile gadgets to fans.Motorola, for its part, set trends and was considered an innovative manufacturer of such devices.

Fans of the brand liked the V3 phone with a display with a resolution of 220x176px, 7 MB of memory, a 0.3-megapixel camera (640x480px) and a cost of 43,800 rubles. The sky-high price tag and brought the phone to a new level.

Model V3 differed from competitors in subtlety. Among other things, the phone was dressed in a metal case, and the buttons were made from a single metal plate. This is truly a legendary phone.

All further devices of the company did not deserve the success of the RAZR V3 phone.

In 2006, Motorola released the V3i, which supported micro SD flash drives (the Trans Flash standard popular at the time). Among other things, the developers improved the camera to 1.3 MP and "taught" the phone to work in 2.5G (EDGE) networks.

After a while, Motorola released a pumped V3x, however, the model did not collect many positive reviews. The company lost its chance and gradually began to yield the palm in sales to the South Korean corporation Samsung.

In 2008, the company wanted to shoot again, putting “everything” on the RAZR2 V8 and V9 phone with gold in the case. It turned out not entirely successful, because most users in 2008 began to look closely at Apple and its iPhone. Among other things, successful attempts to repeat the successful "apple" release were made by competing brands: Nokia with the 5800, and Samsung with the i8910 model.

But Motorola did not lose heart and in 2011 again tried to regain a name in the mobile electronics market with the release of the RAZR Droid Maxx model, running on the Android OS.A large display, chopped ends and lack of demand in the US market - all the success of this model. As of 2011, the RAZR name was no longer used. Until this year...

Specifications

Equipment

The RAZR 2019 comes in an attractive box in a triangle form factor that the designers have been working on. In addition to the device, the package includes: a fast charging adapter, a USB cable and headphones with a Type-C connector.

There is no case included and probably never will be.

Appearance and ergonomics

The body of the smartphone is made of stainless steel, and the developers covered the upper part with a matte coating. When unfolded, the smartphone is small, the dimensions are 172x72x6.9 mm, and when folded - 94x72x14 mm. The weight of the device is 205 g.

The case is splash and dust resistant, which is important for 2019-2020 models. So far, it is known that the RAZR 2019 will be sold in classic black, which the developers have nicknamed Noir Black.

The model is folded due to a hinged mechanism, which is not similar to the design of the developers of the South Korean corporation Samsung, used in the Galaxy Fold model.

In the middle is an LED-type flexible film that Motorola says will withstand 100,000 folds for three years. Joints were not observed.

The flex strip is noticeable, but inconspicuous, which can not be attributed to the shortcomings, as in the Galaxy Fold model. The display is solid. There are no additional layers on top of the display in places of bending.

RAZR 2019 bends 180 degrees. In other words, there are no corners between the parts of the smartphone when unfolded, so you can enjoy watching videos or playing games.

According to the execution, in the unfolded form, the experts immediately critically singled out the unibrow, which is visible from above. There, the developers of Motorola installed a speaker for conversations and a front camera.

The frames of the model are large and noticeable. They are clearly visible even if you constantly use the dark design of the OLED panel. The chin is large, like the RAZR V3. The volume keys are placed on the right, next to it is a button to expand the device.

Display

The screen is protected by 3D Corning Gorilla Glass and is made using P-OLED technology, manufactured by LG. The unfolded screen resolution is 876x2142px, the diagonal is 6.2 inches, and the pixel saturation is 373 PPI.

When unfolded, the display covers 71% of the front panel.

What I liked was the aspect ratio of 21:9.This is what Sony did with its flagship smartphone Xperia 1. It turned out to be the best resolution for watching video content and enjoying the gameplay.

An additional screen - external - is made using G-OLED technology. The resolution is 600x800px, the diagonal is 2.7 inches. Using it to make a call or send a message is quite convenient. Among other things, using this miniature external screen, selfies are taken, display settings are adjusted.

There is Always on Display, but it only works on an external small display.

Performance and memory

The novelty was the SDM710 Snapdragon 710 processor from Qualcomm. The 8-core chip is made using a 10nm process. Two of its cores operate at a frequency of 2.2 GHz (Kryo 360 Gold), the other six - at 1.7 GHz (Kryo 360 Silver). Adreno 616 is responsible for the graphics.

The chip is not characterized by increased performance, but for such a smartphone it is a good option. The fact is that usually, folding smartphones are not purchased in order to play, although here the RAZR 2019 will cope with everything.

There are no memory modifications, only 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of ROM. There is no flash drive tray.

cameras

The novelty has 2 rear cameras:

1. 16-megapixel sensor with 1.22 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF.
2. TOF 3D module to get high-quality "portraits".

The smartphone records videos in 2 160p format at 30 frames per second or in 1 080p format with a frame rate of 30 FPS. There is electronic image stabilization.

The photographic potential is obviously not the strong point of the new RAZR from Motorola.Its highlight lies in its small size and mobility. Among other things, the smartphone can easily cope with the daily tasks of the user.

The front camera is presented in the form of a 5-megapixel sensor with an aperture of 2.0 and a pixel size of 1.12 microns. The front camera, like the rear camera, records videos in 1080p format and supports HDR.

Another feature of the smartphone is the interesting ability to take selfies. In order to take a picture, you just need to shake your smartphone.

Communications and sound

In terms of communication capabilities, everything is enough:

• NFC
• Bluetooth 5.0;
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, operating in two frequency bands;
• Navigation GLONASS, A-GPS and GPS;
• USB 3.0

As for the sound, it is worth highlighting 2 nuances:

1. The phone does not have a 3.5mm jack, as does the radio.
2. It makes no sense to expect the purest sound, since stereo and Dolby Atmos are also absent. The volume, of course, the smartphone is good, but there are errors in quality.

There is a fingerprint sensor, but it is made in an old version - a physical sensor installed in the lower frame under the screen.

From the factory, the novelty runs on OS Android 9.0, where the developers have integrated their own Retro mode - it imitates the legendary RAZR V3.

Battery

Given the dimensions of the novelty, there was no point in waiting for a capacitive battery. The smartphone has a 2510 mAh battery. The model supports 15-watt fast charging (Turbo Power). Wireless charging, as you might guess, is missing.

• the forgotten form of a folding bed is a classic;
• high-quality, bendable 6.2-inch screen made using OLED technology;
• Retro mode for users who miss the legendary V3 clamshell;
• in the package there are high-quality headphones;
• design box, attractive.

• 2510 mAh battery;
• mediocre "stuffing";
• there is no tray for a traditional SIM card;
• no micro SD slot;
• overpriced, at the start, cost.

How much does it cost and when will it be released

The smartphone was shown on 11/14/2019 in America. Pre-order will start on 12/26/2019, and sales will start on 01/09/2020. At first, the novelty will be exclusive to Verizon. In the US market, the smartphone will cost users 1.5 thousand dollars (95,800 rubles).

There is no information about sales in Russia yet.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that in Russia, due to the fact that the model does not support traditional SIM cards, it is unlikely that anyone will buy the Motorola RAZR 2019. Only fans of the brand, I guess. Otherwise, the device deserves your attention and even, in some way, intriguing.