The Motorola Razr is back for 2022

After a few years of quiet, one of the biggest names in clamshell phones is back with another folding handset: the Motorola Razr 2022. Unlike its 2019 predecessor, the Razr 2022 moves away from the iconic design, replacing it with a more round-edged build that veers closer to a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 than the old-school Motorola Razr V3.

While the nostalgic design has been jettisoned, the Razr 2022 is still looking good, with a matte finish and a fairly petite frame, measuring 80 x 86 x 17mm when folded and 80 x 167 x 7.62mm unfolded. This comes in a smidge bigger than both the 2019 Razr and its 5G-enabled 2020 follow-up, but is still compact enough to be pocketable and it only weighs 8g more at 200g.

The 2.7in Quick View display returns, once again allowing you to use the phone without unfolding it, by performing actions including checking notifications, reading and sending messages, making payments and taking pictures.

The announcement also highlighted the Razr 2022’s redesigned hinge, which allows you to prop the phone open in ‘Flex View’, using it at multiple angles. With this, you can set it up beside your bed to use the Quick View display as an alarm clock, or sit it in tripod mode and have it serve as a webcam for video chats. On that note, this is apparently the first folding phone to include a triple array mic, which should result in better speech clarity on calls.

Unfold the phone and you’re met with the 6.7in pOLED display, which now has an improved FHD+ resolution and a slippery smooth 144Hz refresh rate. In tandem with the top-end Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage, this should result in more fluid performance overall. HDR10+ certification is also present here, along with dual stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos support.

Alongside the Quick View display, you’ve got a double camera module, comprising a 50MP main lens, which features optical image stabilisation and can capture video up to 8K, alongside a 13MP secondary for 120-degree ultrawide and macro shots.

While you can use both of these cameras for selfies with the Quick View display, the Razr 2022 also features a 32MP selfie camera, which Motorola claims is the highest-resolution front-facing camera on a folding phone yet.

Battery life is also said to have seen improvements over the previous generation, with 1.25x the capacity helping to improve overall stamina. It supports charging speeds up to 30W, too, which is twice as fast as the previous model.

Given the exorbitant price of the 2019 Razr, perhaps the most important part of the announcement is that the Razr 2022 will retail starting at £950, which puts it at the bottom end of the folding phone price spectrum, and brings it closer in line with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4. There’s no word yet on availability, but we have been told that it will be sold by Amazon and John Lewis in the UK.