Online exclusive
Yet another year goes by with dozens of new phones hitting the market but with little to distinguish them from last year’s models in terms of fundamental design.
The smartphone has long suffered format fatigue as designers squeeze all the improvements they can out of a 6 to 7-inch rectangular screen. Such is the lack of room for improvement, the mere addition of a new button on certain models of Apple’s latest iPhone 16 - to aid in taking photos - sparked interest.
But it’s easy to forget there is a category of the smartphone market that has broken new ground in design and which is proliferating: The foldable smartphone screen. Samsung led the charge in 2019, and foldables on the market in New Zealand now include the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra, and the Oppo Find N2 Flip and Find N3.
As you’d expect, five years of refinement has led to foldables becoming thinner, more durable and comparable in functionality to standard phones. According to IDC Research, 25 million phones with foldable screens will be sold this year, a tiny fraction of the billions of smartphones that ship each year, but up 40% on last year.
The Razr’s edge
I’ve spent a few weeks using Motorola’s Razr 50 Ultra flip phone and am finally convinced that the format is a viable alternative to a bog-standard smartphone. It takes a while to get used to after 15 years of reaching for my big rectangular phone, but it has changed how I use my phone for the better. Here are the pros and cons of the Razr 50 Ultra and opting for a phone with a flexible screen:
Pros
Compact and portable
They’re much easier to fit into a bag or pocket and can be accessorised with a case and lanyard. When closed, the Razr 50 Ultra’s dimensions are around 74m x 88m and 15.3mm thick. Weighing 189g, it has similar heft to a regular smartphone, but is easier to carry and would be ideal if you run with a phone in your pocket or in a sleeve on your arm.
The Razr 50 Ultra has an underrated aesthetic but clearly built of quality materials. It has a “vegan leather” surface on the case. The phone closes with a satisfying snap. People notice when you flip it open; it still has the novelty factor that has long since worn off, even high-end smartphones.
Its big selling point is its large external screen, which makes it incredibly useful when the phone is folded closed. Previous flip phones had external displays, but the expansive display on the Razr 50 Ultra is particularly large - a 4-inch cover display.
It shows notifications, allows you to make and receive calls, and has a number of apps available so you can glance through photos, pull up a website or take a photo from the cover display. Google’s Gemini AI assistant is available by default from the cover screen, so is handy for asking quick questions.
While it’s not particularly comfortable navigating around such a small screen, the point is that you can get things done, like firing off a text message or taking a quick selfie, without having to flip open the phone. This saves on device wear and tear.
But I also found I used the phone less. I unlock my phone dozens of times every day, which isn’t uncommon for the average smartphone user. With that cover display, I was more inclined to simply check notifications and respond to messages rather than disappearing down the rabbit hole of switching to other apps and surfing the web. Less screen time is good.
A viewing advantage
I’m on the move a lot and regularly take Zoom and Teams video calls on my phone. That involves me either holding the phone up so people can see me or propping it up against something to get the right camera angle.
With the Razr 50 Ultra, you simply tilt the screen to the desired angle and the other half of the phone gives you a stable base. I found this is an excellent way to conduct video calls and to watch videos in portrait mode. You can, of course, still fold the screen out to its full extent for viewing video.
The Razr allows two apps to be snapped in place on the screen at once, so you could have a website open on the top half of the screen and a note-taking app to jot down notes while doing web research. Sounds good, but I didn’t find it particularly useful and it would be easier to do on a larger foldable device like the Oppo Find N3.
The main display is a good one (6.9-inch FHD+ pOLED - 2640 x 1080), bright, with a high refresh rate, ideal for watching videos and playing games. The cover screen is lower resolution but very much up to the job of delivering quick access to apps and the camera.
Few big sacrifices
As the design of flexible screens has improved, we’ve got to the point where, for the average user, there aren’t many big omissions or things you have to go without when you opt for a foldable phone.
The Razr 50 Ultra has a high-end processor, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, which did everything I needed it to, with snappy and responsive performance. You’ve got a decent, 4000mAh (milliamp hour) battery which should get you through a day of regular use. The Razr 50 Ultra has a IP68 waterproof rating so will survive a rain shower, coffee splashes or quick dunk in a pool. The hinge on a foldable is no longer vulnerable to dust and moisture.
You get wireless charging, reverse charging (allowing you to charge another compatible device from the Razr 50 Ultra’s battery), Wi-fi 7, near field communication (NFC), 5G mobile coverage and eSIM capability. That covers pretty much everything you need, with a generous 512GB (gigabytes) of storage.
Cons
Fragility
Whatever way to look at a flexible phone, opening and closing a screen repeatedly puts more stress on it than a regular screen. I know people who have had foldable phones but after a couple of years’ use, the screen has failed. They’re expensive to replace. It’s rare that a regular smartphone screen fails unless it has been damaged in some way.
Flexible phones are just more fragile. I’d hate to drop the Razr 50 Ultra. It has tough Gorilla glass but nevertheless, the big glass cover screen and the hinge make it more vulnerable to damage if you drop or knock it. The Razr 50 Ultra includes a pre-installed screen protector film that Motorola urges you not to remove as it will preserve the life of the phone.
The crease
It’s less noticeable than it used to be, but you can’t fold a high-resolution screen in half without some discernible fold mark. When the light catches the crease in the Razr 50 Ultra’s screen, it instantly reminds you of its one visible flaw. Still, when you’ve got a vibrant image on the screen and hold it at the right angle, any sign of the crease disappears. It’s not a deal-breaker.
Usability
The Razr 50 Ultra has a snug closure so it’s difficult to flip open single-handed. For people who spend a lot of time on their phone, navigating with one hand, that will be a problem. There is some gesture recognition built into the Razr, such as twisting your wrist twice quickly to open the camera from any screen and making a chopping motion to turn the torch on or off.
So-so cameras
On paper, the Razr 50 Ultra has some decent cameras: A 50MP (mega pixel) main rear camera, a 50MP telephoto lens on secondary rear camera and a 32MP front camera with 2x optical zoom. But the images aren’t as impressive as those taken on high-end cameras in smartphones from the likes of Apple and Samsung that sell for the same price, but don’t have flexible screens.
How much??
Which leads me to the last and potentially most significant downside - the high premium you pay for a foldable. At $1999 the Razr 50 Ultra is a premium phone, up there with the iPhone 16 Pro (from $1999) and the S24+ (from $2490).
But compared to its main foldable rival - the Galaxy Z Flip6 is $2099 - the Razr 50 Ultra is good value.
When will Apple enter the fold?
Claiming around 36% of the New Zealand smartphone market, iPhone users won’t pay any attention to foldables until Apple joins the party.
That might be on the horizon, with rumours circulating that Apple has a foldable device in the works, with a potential release in 2026 or 2027. The company has filed numerous patents for foldable screen designs, so its engineers have clearly been turning their minds to what they can do with a flexible display.
It’s unclear whether Apple will debut a foldable version of its iPad first or launch with a flip version of the iPhone. It could opt for a foldable device that has two separate screens to avoid compromising screen quality.
After all, Apple is obsessed with build quality and clearly has decided that the current flexible screen technology doesn’t meet its rigorous standards. That said, many Apple fans lament the demise of the iPhone Mini, so maybe a flip phone will be positioned to appeal to lovers of the more compact iPhone format.
One thing is for sure; if Apple does launch a flexible display it won’t come cheap.
