Motorola Razr foldable phone does something the Galaxy Fold can't -- it snaps flat

Motorola shows off a 6.2-inch foldable screen you can flip up, and an innovative hinge design.

As I fold the Motorola Razr in half for the first time, the most amazing thing happens: It softly snaps shut from top to bottom, one side laying flat on top of the other, without a visible gap between the two halves of the screen. With this simple act, Motorola has solved one of the biggest design conundrums that the Galaxy Fold and other foldable phones have yet to figure out. Over the course of the crisp fall day I spent at Motorola's Chicago headquarters, it becomes clear that the Razr -- with its foldable 6.2-inch screen, 16-megapixel double-duty camera and $1,500 price tag -- is the best designed, most completely thought-out foldable phone to date. 

Streamlined. Utterly pocketable. Nostalgic, with a sharp futuristic edge. 

If the $2,000 Samsung Galaxy Fold is the foldable phone for early adopters who want to show off their wealth and sophistication, the Motorola Razr could be a foldable phone best suited for the rest of us -- or at least for those of us comfortable with spending $1,500 on a phone. (For reference, the 512GB iPhone 11 Pro Max costs roughly the same price. It converts to about £1,170 or AU$2,200.) 

In setting out to create a foldable phone that doubles the screen size while keeping the body small enough to pocket, Motorola has faithfully updated its original Razr flip phone from 2004, the brand's most iconic, best-selling phone ever. This new Razr is wider, heavier and fully stocked with features fit for 2019. And it succeeds in sparking my emotional attachment to the clamshell designs of yore. Resistance is futile: The Razr must be flipped.

More than that, as CNET Editor Roger Cheng says, the foldable Razr gives Motorola a chance to stage its comeback in a flashy way that's impossible to ignore.

The Motorola Razr comes at a crucial time when foldable phones are at a crossroads between hype and reality. A year ago, foldable phones were pegged as the next revolution in phone design, bringing to life the dream of making a large-screen device more portable. But crippling screen problems and massive delays from the biggest player, Samsung, placed the future of foldable phones in doubt. The late arrival of  Huawei's Mate X hasn't helped either. Now it's Motorola's turn to step into the spotlight. If successful, the struggling brand -- now profitable for the first time in years -- could give foldable phones renewed hope. 

I'll need to fully test the Motorola Razr from top to bottom, keeping a close eye on any damage its plastic OLED (known as P-OLED) screen might incur, its real-world battery life, camera quality and everything in between. But so far I love what I see: A foldable phone with real potential for today, not just a curiosity to improve upon tomorrow. 

That's not to say that every foldable phone should or will follow the Razr's model, even if Samsung teased its own foldable flip. This is the Wild West of phone design, and the difference is exciting and necessary as the industry figures out how -- and even if -- foldable devices will become a thing. If you've got an eye on foldable phones, it's time to pay attention.

Keep reading to learn about how the Motorola Razr's foldable screen is designed to contain damage, how noticeable the screen crease is, what comes in the impressive box and the potential trade-offs the phone makes for its design and price. Scroll to the end for a specs comparison with the Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X.

The Motorola Razr goes on sale in the US some time in January for $1,500. Verizon is the exclusive US carrier... forever, but the Razr will also sell in select Walmart stores. We don't have an exact sales date yet. Preorders begin Dec. 26. Canada will get the Razr in "early 2020."

Globally, the Razr will also go on preorder in select European countries as early as December, with a January sales date. Australia, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and select Asian markets will also carry the phone.

What it's like to use the Motorola Razr

We're not at the point yet where using one foldable phone is like using them all. There's still some novelty because so far we've seen so many different designs. But the idea of using the larger, folding screen to do most of your tasks is a constant. Here are some questions I thought you might have.

How's the screen? I'll give you the short answer here and a longer answer in the section just below: It's made of plastic and I haven't had a chance to test its durability yet, but it looks the way I'd expect it to. There's a fingernail-thin channel that runs around the perimeter between the display and the bezel, which concerns me in light of the Fold's former issues with the top layer separating from the P-OLED below. At the very least, this channel collects dust.

How does it fold flat? The Motorola Razr's proprietary hinge design has an open cavity that houses the looped portion of the screen. In other words, plastic screens don't fold totally flat or you'd crease them down the middle. There's still an air gap inside the phone, you just don't see it, so the design appears mostly flat. Technically, there's a 0.2mm gap between the display and hinge.