Motorola’s 2024 Razr Plus: A Fun Flip Phone with Familiar Flaws

It’s rare to feel delighted by a phone in 2024, but that’s exactly what the Motorola Razr Plus brings to the table.

Sure, phones are amazing little computers. For $999, which is what the Razr Plus costs, they should be. But they’re mature products — tools rather than objects of delight — and for the most part, they’ve blended into the background noise of our lives. But the Razr Plus is different, and not just because it folds in half.

Charming Design and Fun Features

One of the most delightful aspects of the Razr Plus is its quirky cover screen features. One standout is the turntable background option for the media controls. When music is playing, the record spins with one of the camera cutouts at the center. Press pause and the needle lifts off the record and stops. It’s these small, charming touches that make the Razr Plus stand out.

2024 Motorola Razr Plus in hot pink

Enhanced Usability

The cover screen experience has seen significant improvements. It's now more functional with an IPX8 rating for full water resistance, and the user interface (UI) is much more refined. The hinge has also been upgraded, minimizing the crease when using the inner screen.

For those new to modern flip phones, here’s the elevator pitch: big phone inside, small phone outside. When flipped open, you have a normal smartphone with a large screen. When closed, the cover screen acts almost like a second phone, allowing you to check notifications and respond to texts without opening the main screen.

Motorola offers two versions of its flip phone: the Razr Plus and a more basic Razr. Both models feature larger cover screens this year. The Razr Plus has a generous four-inch diagonal screen, compared to last year’s 3.6-inch screen. The bezel is much smaller, making last year’s model look almost like a prototype.

Cover screen panels like this one occupy more of the screen this time around.

Customization and Convenience

There are now more ways to customize the cover screen. You can add app shortcuts directly to the cover screen’s main page and enjoy an improved calendar panel. The app approval process is also more streamlined, allowing you to manage permissions directly from the cover screen notification.

Motorola has added useful features like Google Assistant (including Gemini!) and an always-on display, making the cover screen even more versatile.

Inner Screen and Performance

The inner screen is a 6.9-inch 1080p OLED, which, while adequate, falls short of the quality you'd expect from a flagship phone. It doesn’t get as bright as some competitors’ displays and would benefit from a higher pixel count.

However, the new hinge design makes the crease almost invisible, and the upgraded IPX8 rating ensures the phone can withstand full immersion in fresh water. The soft touch back panel is appealing, though the hot pink model’s vegan suede material may not wear well over time.

The crease is only visible when you really go looking for it. Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

Hardware and Software Support

The Razr Plus uses a Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 chipset with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, providing ample performance for daily tasks. Battery life is commendable, with the 4,000mAh cell lasting through a day of heavy use.

However, Motorola's software support is still lacking. The Razr Plus offers only three years of OS upgrades and four years of security updates, which pales in comparison to the seven years promised by Samsung and Google for their high-end phones.

Camera Performance

The camera system on the Razr Plus is another area of disappointment. Despite a new photo enhancement engine, the camera performance is still lacking, especially in medium light. The Razr Plus trades last year’s ultrawide lens for a 2x telephoto lens, which is decent but not exceptional.

Fun only goes so far.

Final Thoughts

While the Razr Plus is a joy to use and brings fun features to the table, it’s hard to recommend it wholeheartedly. The cover screen is a major part of the flip phone experience and is vastly improved. However, the inner screen, camera performance, and limited software support are significant drawbacks.

For those who love the flip phone form factor, the Razr Plus is a delightful option. But for anyone casually interested in flip phones or looking for better value, there are more compelling choices available.

Motorola's Razr Plus is a fun, nostalgic throwback with modern touches, but it still has room for improvement to compete with other flagship devices.