the best competitors of the Galaxy Z Flip 6

Motorola made a big splash in 2023 by releasing the first folding smartphone under 1000 euros, the Razr 40. The latter was accompanied by a Razr 40 Ultra that was no less interesting since it offered a giant external screen that could be used like a real smartphone. A year later, Motorola unveiled their descendants, the Razr 50 and 50 Ultra.

Razr 50 Ultra: changes at the margins and a bold choice in the photo

With its vegan leather back, it accommodates a four-inch external screen. It is therefore slightly larger than last year’s which was 3.6 inches. It has a crazy high refresh rate of 165 Hz and is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus. A good idea given that this screen is always in contact with the outside world.

Once the smartphone is unfolded, we are presented with a 6.9-inch screen. This may seem large, but it should be noted that this diagonal is spread over a 22:9 ratio, which is quite stretched. The refresh rate also rises to 165 Hz, which essentially serves to distinguish itself from the 120 Hz now common on the smartphone market.

Moto Razr 40 Ultra © Motorola

Notably, the hinge has been reworked to achieve a finer drop of water, we are told. It retains its IPX8 certification, which fully protects it against immersion.

Another element has been revisited: the photo part still has two modules, but the ultra wide angle gives way to an X2 telephoto lens with a 50 Mpx sensor. It is still accompanied by a 50 Mpx sensor with optical stabilization. This duo may seem a little curious on paper: the 50 Mpx wide angle sensor is supposed to be able to take X2 equivalent photos with a quality of 12 Mpx which is more than sufficient. We will judge on the evidence. The brand claims that this should allow portrait mode to benefit from better sharpness.

Under the hood: high-end chip and small battery

Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, a high-end chip that shouldn’t pose too much of a problem in swallowing almost all the demanding tasks that you throw in its face. It is helped by 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage, enough to see coming. Likewise for connectivity, you will benefit from the latest standard in force, WiFi 7.

Moto Razr 40 Ultra © Motorola

The clamshell format is necessarily subject to space constraints. Therefore, the battery is a bit small, only 4,000 mAh, when high-end smartphones go up to around 5,000 mAh. The battery is powered at 45W, which is relatively slow, but a 68W charger is included in the box, which is quite handy for using it on other devices.

Unfortunately, the brand only promises three years of major updates and four years of security patches, with a smartphone starting with Android 14. That’s a bit short for a product costing more than 1000 euros.

Razr 50: a light version

Motorola also unveiled a Razr 50, a version stripped of the most high-end elements, but also more accessible. The external screen is slightly smaller, 3.6 inches, but retains the protection of Gorilla Glass Victus.

The other concessions are a slightly less efficient chip, a MediaTek Dimensity 7300X, aided by 8 GB LPDRR4X and 256 GB of storage. The smartphone loses WiFi 7 and integrates WiFi 6E. In photos, the telephoto lens is replaced by an ultra-wide-angle module with a 13 Mpx sensor.