War Of The Foldables: Motorola Razr 5G vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G

The Razr 5G easily outshines competition and is indisputably the world’s best clamshell-style foldable smartphone.

The Razr 5G easily outshines competition.

(Photo: Motorola)

When it comes to foldable smartphones, Motorola is in a league of its own. It has been a pioneer in this category ever since it launched Motorola Razr last year – the first ever clamshell-style foldable smartphone in the world.

Motorola is synonymous with constant innovation and their next generation pushes the boundaries of this disruptive technology and form factor to take consumer experience to a whole new level. Based on extensive consumer feedback and usage patterns of the first generation of Razr, they recently launched Motorola Razr 5G.

The Razr 5G ranks high on style and is in every which way an improvement over its predecessor. It stands out with its durability and is packed with game-changing features.

The Razr 5G surpasses competition and is easily the best clamshell-style foldable smartphone in the world. The only other phone that comes close is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G, a 5G variant of the Galaxy Z Flip. While the phone is yet to be launched in India, it only makes sense to compare one next-gen foldable smartphone with another. That’s exactly what we did and the Razr 5G came out on top. Check it out.

Motorola Razr 5G Vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G

Design

The Razr 5G is exceptionally sleek and compact, has an eye-catching, ultra-premium design made of 3D glass and 7000 series aluminum that is a beauty and a conversation starter from the time you set eyes on it. It’s a phone that you will surely love to flaunt. While the Z Flip 5G also boasts of a glass and metal design, it comes with a plastic front which pales in comparison to the classy finish on the Razr 5G. Its patented zero-gap hinge protects the screen from dust along with giving the phone a super sleek appearance as it ensures that it folds perfectly flush. As compared to this, the Z Flip 5G which has a visible gap when folded.

The thing with foldable phones is that the screen develops creases over a period of time because the part inside the hinge tends to crisp. It happens with the Z Flip 5G too. However, the Razr 5G has been designed in such a way that when folded, it maintains a unique teardrop shape of the screen inside the hinge. As a result, there’s absolutely no crisping and the screen remains smooth despite prolonged use.

The Razr 5G is exceptionally sleek and compact, and has an eye-catching ultra-premium design.(Photo: Motorola)

A key feature of the Motorola phone has got to be its water-repellent design thanks to the P2i Nano coating. So in the event the phone ever gets hit by splashes of water or rain, you needn’t hit the panic button.

The Z Flip 5G doesn’t come with any such protection.

The Razr 5G retains the original feel of using a clamshell device. The hinge has just the right amount of tension allowing you to effortlessly open and close the phone with a single hand. Compare this to the Samsung phone and you will find that it doesn’t exactly support single-hand flipping with a built-in tension in its hinge.

Camera

The Razr 5G’s camera is another testimony to Motorola’s commitment to innovation. The phone’s rear camera serves a dual purpose - rear camera when the phone is open and selfie camera when it’s shut. With the world’s most advanced selfie camera, you won’t tire clicking pictures of yourself.

The 48MP dual use camera comes with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), f/1.7 large aperture and laser autofocus technology. It offers Motorola’s popular Night Vision Mode and a host of AI modes that amp up the camera experience several notches.

Not just that, the camera combined with the interactive Quick View display truly delivers unique experiences that are sure to delight. Once you’ve clicked a photo, the Razr 5G’s Instant Review shows you a preview of what you’ve captured. This way, you can decide if you need more clicks or not.

The phone’s External Preview feature lets your subject see what photo of theirs is being captured.

The Z flip 5G comes with only a dual 12MP camera set-up on the rear.and unlike it’s Motorola counterpart, this doesn’t work as a selfie camera.

The Razr 5G sports a 20MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture while the Z Flip G is equipped with only a 10MP camera on the front with f/2.4 aperture.

Display

Display experience is a major deciding factor for consumers when it comes to buying a foldable phone, and the Razr 5G is a clear winner here. With its dual display, the phone offers a rather unique and immersive experience to users.

The Razr 5G’s foldable primary display or flex view display has an impressive OLED screen with 21:9 ratio. It offers a cinematic viewing experience and is perfectly suited for single-hand usage. So whether it’s watching your favourite movie or binge-watching a show you love, the Razr 5G ensures that you can do all this and more without any compromise. But the same can’t be said about the Z Flip 5G.

When it comes to display experience, the Razr 5G is a clear winner.(Photo: Motorola)

Speaking about the secondary 2.7-inch Quick View Display, this is where the Razr 5G beats competition hands down.

You can do pretty much everything without having to open the phone. This includes viewing notifications, making calls, taking selfies, replying to messages, playing songs, getting directions and lots more. The Z Flip 5G’s 1.06-inch secondary screen only shows time and basic notifications.

Here’s how the Motorola phone totally ups the game with its Quick View display:

• Thanks to updated gesture navigation, you can access all features easily. There’s a navigation bar at the bottom similar to that of Android 10. As a result, the home screen is simply a swipe-up away. Further, you can swipe right to start the camera or swipe left for the app tray. One more left swipe, and you can access shortcuts to call or text your favourite people.
• Replying to messages is a breeze. You have multiple options to choose from: speech-to-text, smart reply or just type using the Quick View’s full keyboard.
• Whether it’s Spotify or YouTube music, you can activate all your favourite apps. You can even customise the app launcher with the ones you frequently use.
• Want to make a quick call? Tap on your favourite contacts or see the entire list.
• While using an app, you can seamlessly transition to the larger screen without losing any of your activity.

Yes, you can do all the above on the Razr 5G without opening your phone. Isn’t it a truly infinite experience?

The Razr 5G combines Motorola’s pioneering efforts in the foldable smartphone technology space and the company’s 5G leadership.(Photo: Motorola)

5G Capability

Whether it was 5G Moto Mods or 5G-friendly Moto Z devices, Motorola was the first to launch 5G-compatible gadgets. That’s not all. The Motorola Edge+, launched earlier this year, has lightning-fast 5G speeds.

The company extends this same exemplary 5G leadership to the Razr 5G as well.

This foldable phone is compatible with over 300 5G NDMC bands that support 5G in over 25 markets. It also supports carrier aggregation (3X20 CA – 60Mhz) and 4X4 MIMO for blazing fast 5G performance. The Z Flip 5G does not claim to offer either global band support or carrier aggregation.

Software

Motorola is known to offer clean, hassle-free and bloatware free Android experience. The Razr 5G takes this to the next level with My UX, and that too without changing the way Android works or creating any unnecessary skins / overlays. My UX is a Motorola app that includes all experiences customers love such as the chop-chop for flashlight, double twist for camera and a host of new features. It also allows users create specific device themes by letting them choose fonts, colors and icon shapes. The Z Flip 5G comes with standard One UI 2.5 which doesn’t quite match up to a clean Android experience.

Battery

The Razr 5G packs in a 2800mAh battery, that’s 12 percent larger than what its predecessor came with. Consumer data based on the previous generation Razr shows that presence of the amazing external Quick View display reduces usage of main screen by over 40 percent. Truth be told, main screen usage is a battery guzzler.

Since Quick View display unlocks infinite possibilities and users don’t have to keep going to the main screen, the Razr 5G battery has been optimised to easily last for a day.

Additionally, the phone comes with the SD 765G chipset that is super efficient and is less power-hungry. This combined with the phone’s clean Android experience significantly improve battery life.

The Z Flip 5G has a 3300mAh battery. However, given that you can’t do much with the phone’s secondary screen, you end up depending on the main screen for pretty much all functions. This leads to considerable battery drain. Add to this, the phone’s processor consumes more power. All in all, the Z Flip 5G’s overall battery performance is poorer than that of the Razr 5G.

Verdict

The Razr 5G is a next generation foldable smartphone that takes almost every aspect of the foldable technology to a whole new level and creates experiences that fundamentally change the way consumers think about their smartphones or choose to interact with them. The secondary Quick View display truly enhances the foldable experience, making it unique yet extremely functional. The design makes onlookers drool and you are sure to turn heads wherever you go. The feeling of the flip is really satisfying thanks to its patented zero gap hinge plus the revolutionary dual use camera makes no compromises on quality that you desire.

With global ready 5G technology, the Razr 5G is truly future ready while being futuristic in its own right.

The Razr 5G easily outshines competition and is indisputably the best clamshell-style foldable smartphone in the world.

Availability & Pricing

The Razr 5G is available in a beautiful Polished Graphite colour at an effective price of Rs 1,14,999 after an instant discount of Rs 10,000 online or in the form of cashback offline on HDFC Credit Cards or Debit Card and Credit Card EMI transactions.

There’s more. Razr 5G buyers can avail of no-cost EMI schemes for up to 12 months (with EMIs starting at Rs 10,417 per month) from all leading banks. Jio users get a special double data and double validity benefit with with the Rs 4,999 prepaid recharge plan. This results in savings of approximately Rs 14,997.

The Razr 5G is available for pre-order from Flipkart and retail stores across India and will go on sale starting 12th October.

The India launch date of the Z Flip 5G is still to be announced.