Who could forget the Motorola StarTAC and the original RAZR? There is a certain amount of carbon dating involved in that question.
Before phones became large touchscreens, their shapes were part of their identity. Opening a flip phone to answer a call felt purposeful. Snapping it shut afterwards was satisfying in a way that tapping a red icon has never quite managed.
Motorola’s 98th anniversary on 25 September prompted the company to revisit that history: the StarTAC in 1996, the RAZR V3 in 2004, the flexible-display razr announced in 2019, and now its move into book-style devices with the razr fold.
It is a good nostalgia trip. But having used a modern razr myself, I think the more interesting story is how its shape can change your relationship with the phone.
The smaller screen changed my habits
When I reviewed the razr 40 ultra in 2023, I swapped my Pixel 5 for it before travelling to Sydney for Integrate. No backup handset. In for a penny, in for a pound.
What won me over was the outer screen. I could check a notification, send a brief response and put the phone down again. Navigation and Spotify were useful there too. My usual games did not suit the smaller display, and doomscrolling lost much of its appeal.
I could stay connected without being drawn into everything else on the phone.
The razr became the first handset that seriously tempted me away from my Pixel. Camera performance was the sticking point, but the change in how I used it stayed with me.
Winning over a flip-phone sceptic
Wes was another reluctant convert. In his razr 50 ultra review, he described himself as a long-standing cynic of modern flip phones.
Then he started finding uses for the shape. It was more comfortable in his pocket, and partially folding it provided a handy stand for posed photographs.
The outer-screen camera preview was a particular highlight. Subjects could see how they looked before the shot, giving opinionated friends and family a chance to get themselves ready.
His enthusiasm came with practical reservations: portrait processing sometimes blurred details incorrectly, and unreliable screen deactivation during calls caused accidental inputs.
That experience adds another consideration. A folding design can introduce useful possibilities, but the everyday phone functions still need to work reliably.
Even our Apple fanboi saw the appeal
Lee approached the same razr 50 ultra from a different direction. He is sufficiently embedded in Apple’s ecosystem that we described him as practically part of the furniture.
In his razr 50 ultra review, the outer screen was again a highlight. He liked being able to pull the folded phone from his pocket and use it comfortably with one hand, with plenty of everyday tasks available without opening it.
The camera arrangement also made sense to him. The outer display let him frame selfies using the main cameras, with a raised palm triggering the shot. He described the experience as functional rather than gimmicky.
He could feel the crease and sometimes see it, but considered that a reasonable trade-off for the folding benefits. Split-screen capability impressed him too, although he was less certain how often he would use it.
His verdict was enthusiastic, with one predictable qualification: he was staying with Apple. As a full-time Android user, however, he said he would be very tempted.
We valued different things. I appreciated fewer distractions; Lee appreciated convenient access. Both experiences gave the outer screen a purpose beyond looking clever.
What Motorola learned behind the hinge
Those experiences were part of why I asked Motorola what it had learned since the flexible-display razr arrived in 2019.
In written responses to DRN, Praveena Raman, Country Head and Head of Motorola for Australia and New Zealand, says the 2019 razr demonstrated how closely the hinge, flexible display and everyday experience need to work together.
During development, Motorola explored four hinge designs before arriving at its patented zero-gap approach. This allowed the display to curve when closed rather than fold at a sharp angle, helping minimise creasing.
Motorola says that approach has continued to evolve. It points to a titanium-reinforced hinge in the razr 70 ultra and a stainless steel hinge designed for the larger book-style razr fold.
“Ultimately, the hinge should enable the experience rather than be something users have to think about,” Raman says.
That is a sensible ambition. The novelty of bending a screen only lasts so long. After that, opening the phone needs to feel routine, and moving between displays needs to preserve what you were doing.
Motorola’s answer describes the design progression, although it stops short of identifying a specific lesson from owners’ use of the 2019 model that led to a later engineering change.
How much should happen while it stays closed?
Motorola says the original Quick View display was designed around focused interactions: notifications, messages, music controls and selfies.
Consumer feedback helped shape subsequent updates, expanding what owners could do without opening the device. The company says the razr 70 ultra’s 4.0-inch external display now offers full app access alongside notifications and other interactions.
That progression creates an interesting design question. A more capable outer screen can save users from repeatedly unfolding the phone. It can also bring more of the full smartphone experience onto the surface they see first.
My experience with the razr 40 ultra suggests there is value in keeping those interactions manageable. A small display that handles the task at hand can be surprisingly liberating.
Motorola did not provide usage figures or identify behaviours that surprised its designers, so we cannot tell from these responses which outer-screen activities dominate. Our experiences show why that would be worth understanding.
Two shapes, two different jobs
The move into book-style foldables gives Motorola another set of needs to address.
“The flip-style razr is primarily about compactness, giving users a full smartphone that folds into a much smaller footprint,” Raman says.
The razr fold takes flexible technology in the other direction. Its 6.6-inch external display opens into an 8.1-inch 2K display, creating more room for documents, multiple apps and creative work.
Lee reviewed the razr fold earlier this year, and one of his favourite uses was refreshingly ordinary: reading documents.
On the outer screen, text could be small enough to require zooming. Opening the phone made the same document comfortably readable. For anyone regularly dealing with documents on the move, that is an immediate benefit.
He also demonstrated Google Meet alongside Gmail, adjustable split-screen layouts and floating windows. Partially folding and rotating the device allowed a keyboard to occupy the lower half while the document remained above it.
That gives the larger format a clearer purpose. You can read the information you need, refer to another app and respond with less switching back and forth.
The camera experience benefited too. Lee liked using the outer display to frame selfies with the main cameras, and the ability to rest the partially folded phone on a surface for steadier shooting. He was particularly impressed by still photographs taken in low light, although he judged the video good rather than exceptional.
There were qualifications. The camera bump was noticeable on a flat surface, and the price remained substantial. The phone supports the moto pen ultra, but Lee did not receive one for the review.
His experience illustrates the distinction well. The flip made everyday phone interactions more convenient for us. The fold gave him more room to read and work when a conventional phone screen felt cramped.
Durability includes the repair experience
The early reports of cracked inner displays on Apple’s iPhone Duo bring the ownership question into sharper focus. They deserve investigation, although the available reports do not establish how widespread the problem is.
For anyone considering a foldable, the questions are practical. How will the screen and hinge hold up? What happens if something fails? How quickly can the phone be repaired, and what will it cost?
Our experiences with Motorola’s phones demonstrate useful design choices. They cannot establish years of reliability. A hinge feeling reassuring during a review is one observation; its ability to survive daily use over several years requires different evidence.
Before those iPhone Duo reports emerged, I had asked Motorola about the most common foldable repairs and how the razr fold had been designed with those in mind. The reports give that question added relevance.
The company highlighted the flexible display, protective liner and hinge as important considerations. It referred to servicing guidance for screen protectors that bubble, deform or separate from the main display, alongside the razr fold’s stainless steel hinge and use of Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3.
However, the response did not identify the most common repairs or explain whether servicing had become easier or less expensive. The reference to Gorilla Glass also should not be taken to mean the flexible inner display has the same protection.
Clear repair options, costs and turnaround times remain useful information for anyone weighing up long-term ownership. A positive review over a few weeks cannot answer those questions.
The fold needs to earn its keep
A folding phone has to earn its keep twice: through what its shape makes possible, and through an ownership experience that justifies its price. Useful screens and clever hinges get us interested. Reliability, repair support and longevity determine whether we would buy another.
Asked what would make foldables a more ordinary purchase, Motorola identifies clear everyday benefits and the need to keep closing gaps with conventional smartphones in durability, performance and price.
Raman’s final observation is perhaps the strongest line in the responses.
“The fold itself shouldn’t be the reason to buy the device. What that fold allows you to do should be.”
For me, the unexpected benefit was being able to deal with a notification and get back to work. For Lee, the flip offered useful functions within easy one-handed reach, while the fold made documents easier to read and gave multiple apps room to breathe.
Those are practical reasons to consider a different shape of phone. Whether they justify the price and ownership compromises will depend on the person carrying it.
Thirty years after the StarTAC, that is what keeps this category interesting to me. Changing the shape of a phone can change how we use it. The worthwhile designs make that change useful long after the novelty wears off.
