Foldable phones are no longer just futuristic experiments that people look at from a distance. Over the past few years, these devices have quietly evolved into proper flagship smartphones with slimmer bodies, better hinges, brighter cover displays and enough power to challenge the traditional premium phones. And now, the market has clearly split into two personalities. The clamshell foldables have become the stylish, compact option for users who want something trendy and pocket-friendly, while the book-style foldables have carved out a space for productivity, multitasking and that tablet-like entertainment experience. Although almost seven years down, foldables are still not as mainstream as traditional slab phones, at least in India. But that’s a debate for a different time.
Book-style foldables have always been expensive, particularly those that have remained firmly in the ultra-premium category, making them both exciting and difficult to justify for most buyers.
While some brands have already taken hold in almost both of the categories, Motorola has now finally stepped into the book-style foldable segment with its Motorola Razr Fold. The company already understands the foldables. The Razr lineup has managed to build a strong identity in the clamshell segment, balancing the nostalgia with modern flagship appeal. And now with the Razr Fold, along with a relatively affordable price tag for a ‘foldable,’ the company wants to hold in the segment.
At Rs 1,49,999, the Motorola Razr Fold already undercuts rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Pixel 10 Pro Fold while still promising flagship-grade specifications and the complete foldable experience. Naturally, that makes this phone far more interesting than just another foldable launch. Right?
But lower pricing alone is not enough anymore. The real question is whether Motorola has managed to bring something genuinely fresh to the category or if this is simply a more affordable entry ticket into the foldable world. More importantly, can it actually challenge the established players and become the book-style foldable that finally feels easier to recommend? Here is what I think.
The Motorola Razr Fold feels like one of those devices where the company has clearly spent time understanding what people actually complain about. Over the years, the foldables have become slimmer and more powerful, but many still struggle with awkward weight distribution, bulky hinges or designs that feel delicate despite the premium pricing. The Razr Fold, at least in the first impression, tries to move away from that feeling.
And honestly, after using multiple generations of the Razr clamshell lineup, this one instantly feels different. The body is slim, the weight distribution feels balanced, and unlike some foldables that can make you nervous when unfolding, this one feels natural and smooth to open. Motorola’s hinge tuning deserves credit here. It is not overly stiff, not too loose either, and that makes everyday usage much more comfortable.
One of the standout aspects is just how thin this device is. At around 4.5mm when unfolded, the Razr Fold enters the territory where foldables stop feeling like ‘thick experimental devices’ and start feeling closer to regular flagship phones. Even when folded, it manages to stay relatively compact, considering this is an 8.1-inch book-style foldable. Yes, at over 240 grams, you still feel the heft in your pocket, but that is expected for this category.
The cover display is another area that immediately grabs attention. Motorola has gone with a large 6.6-inch external screen, and visually, it gives the phone a very modern look from the front. The panel itself looks vibrant and immersive, although I do think the bezels slightly take away from that near-futuristic appeal Motorola is aiming for. They are not bad, but once you notice them, you do wish they were slimmer.
Open the device and the main 8.1-inch display becomes the centrepiece. Motorola is heavily pushing the ‘crease-less’ experience here, but it is there. You can still notice it at certain angles under light, but while actually using the device for reading, streaming, or multitasking, it fades into the background fairly quickly.
The overall design language still feels very Motorola. The back panel has that familiar clean aesthetic with a square-shaped camera island housing the triple-camera setup and an additional sensor. The Motorola logo sits neatly in the centre, while the Razr branding at the bottom keeps things minimal without looking empty.
Durability is another area where Motorola seems to be making a statement. The Razr Fold comes with Gorilla Glass Ceramic protection and IP48/IP49 ratings. Add to that the titanium-reinforced hinge, and it makes a combination that flagships at a higher price offer.
The Motorola Razr Fold has an 8.1-inch LTPO pOLED internal display with a 2K resolution of 2484 × 2232 pixels and an 8:7.2 aspect ratio, providing a near-square layout ideal for multitasking, reading and media consumption. The outer display is a 6.6-inch LTPO pOLED panel with a taller 21:9 aspect ratio, which feels more like a traditional smartphone screen when used regularly.
Both displays support Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and 10-bit colour depth. Motorola claims peak brightness figures of up to 6,200 nits for the inner display and 6,000 nits for the cover screen. But we all know how the ‘peak brightness’ claims generally work. So, where it matters, in our testing, the actual measured HDR brightness levels with the inner display reached around 2,680 nits and the cover display touching approximately 2,860 nits. These are strong numbers for a foldable smartphone and were sufficient for comfortable outdoor visibility under direct sunlight.
As one would expect from OLED panels, the displays have high contrast, deep blacks and vibrant colour reproduction. HDR content benefits from high brightness and contrast capabilities, especially when streaming supported content.
The device handles the refresh rates well. The inner display offers an adaptive refresh rate range of 1Hz to 120Hz, and it offers balanced smoothness and battery efficiency based on the content that is being watched. The cover display also supports a refresh rate of up to 165Hz, and it’s smooth.
Speaking of durability, the company has offered Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 for the outer display. The device also offers IP46, IP48, and IP49 ratings, which are relatively uncommon in the foldable category.
Lastly, the crease on the inner display is still visible under certain angles and lighting conditions, but it is less noticeable than in previous generations of foldables. The hinge mechanism also supports multiple usage modes, including laptop, tent, and desk modes, which adds flexibility to the overall experience.
Performance is one area where the Motorola Razr Fold becomes genuinely interesting, specifically because Motorola has made a slightly unexpected choice here. At a time when many ultra-premium flagship phones will move towards the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 tier, Motorola has instead gone with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 on the Razr Fold. And honestly, for a foldable in this segment, that feels both practical and a little daring at the same time.
On paper, though, this is still a very serious flagship chipset. Built on a 3nm process, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 uses Qualcomm’s custom Oryon cores and is heavily focused on AI workloads along with raw efficiency. Pair that with LPDDR5X RAM, UFS 4.1 storage and a massive vapour chamber cooling setup, and the hardware package immediately sounds flagship-grade.
In day-to-day usage, the Razr Fold rarely gives you a reason to complain. And honestly, that matters more on a foldable than raw benchmark numbers alone. A foldable is not just about opening apps quickly; it is about handling multiple things together without slowing down. That is where the Razr Fold performs well.
I used the device extensively for multitasking. Keeping work emails open while streaming content on the larger inner display, switching between Chrome tabs, scrolling social media, replying to messages and running apps side-by-side never felt problematic. The larger display naturally enhances the experience, but the processor also keeps things smooth enough that you actually end up using those multitasking features regularly instead of treating them as gimmicks.
Gaming performance is also surprisingly solid. BGMI and Call of Duty Mobile both run smoothly, with stable frame delivery and responsive touch input. Thermals, however, are worth talking about because foldables traditionally struggle here due to their thinner internal structure. The Razr Fold uses a 6002mm 3D vapour chamber along with liquid metal cooling and a breathable copper mesh design, which sounds aggressive on paper. In actual use, it does help keep temperatures in control, but heating is there (under heavy load).
The benchmark numbers also support the overall experience. The device scores close to 2.9 million on Antutu, which comfortably places it in flagship territory. Geekbench 6 scores came in at 2,576 for single-core and 8,606 for multi-core performance, showing strong CPU capabilities. GPU performance is also impressive, with a 3DMark Wildlife Extreme score of 5,094. PCMark Work 3.0 delivered 19,660, indicating excellent productivity performance, while storage speeds remain extremely fast thanks to UFS 4.1.
Interestingly, in synthetic benchmarks, the Razr Fold even manages to outperform one of its biggest competitors, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, across several tests.
Software also plays a huge role here. The device runs Android 16 with Motorola’s Hello UI, and thankfully, the experience remains relatively clean and easy to use, what you would expect from a Rs 1.5 lakh phone. More importantly, Motorola is now promising seven years of OS and security updates. There are tons of features, AI integrations and modes that you can choose for your daily tasks.
However, the transition while switching between the cover display and the inner screen occasionally appears jittery, and some modes, were not working. That said, it can be fixed with the software update.
The device packs a 6,000mAh Silicon-Carbon battery, which Motorola claims is the biggest battery currently available in a foldable smartphone. During our PCMark Battery Life test, the Razr Fold lasted for 1,135 minutes, which is a very strong result for a foldable device. In real-world usage, this translates to comfortably lasting an entire day, even with heavier usage patterns. I used the phone for multitasking, streaming content on the inner display, gaming sessions, social media browsing, camera usage and work-related tasks and battery anxiety never really became an issue.
Charging speeds are equally impressive. The device supports 80W TurboPower wired charging, which keeps refill times relatively quick despite the large battery size. Motorola has also included 50W wireless charging, which is still relatively rare in the foldable segment and makes the overall experience feel more premium and complete. There is also support for 5W reverse wireless charging, allowing the phone to power accessories like earbuds or even another smartphone in emergency situations.
The Motorola Razr Fold clearly aims to reduce the gap between foldable phones and traditional smartphones when it comes to camera performance, and in real life, I have mixed reactions. On paper, the setup is among the more feature-packed systems currently available in the foldable segment. The phone includes a 50MP Sony LYTIA 828 primary sensor with a large 1/1.28-inch sensor size, f/1.6 aperture and 3.5-degree OIS stabilisation. Alongside it is a 50MP Sony LYTIA 600 periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, 6x portrait zoom and support for up to 100x digital zoom. There is also a 50MP ultra-wide camera with a 122.1-degree field of view that doubles as a macro shooter. For selfies, Motorola offers a 32MP internal front camera along with a 20MP setup that works with the outer display and rear cameras.
In day-to-day use, the camera system delivers a fairly balanced experience. The primary camera captures detailed images with good contrast. Motorola’s image processing leans towards a slightly vibrant colour profile, which makes photos appear visually appealing and sometimes excessively processed after post-processing. HDR handling is also reasonably controlled, with highlights and shadow details generally maintained well.
Portrait performance is also decent. Edge detection around hair and complex subjects is reliable in most lighting conditions, while background separation appears natural. Skin tones are handled decently well, and post-processing avoids excessive smoothing for the most part, but again, it is there.
The 50MP telephoto camera also performs well in favourable lighting conditions. Detail levels remain decent, colour consistency between the primary and telephoto cameras is maintained, and zoom shots remain usable at moderate ranges. The ultra-wide camera is versatile for landscapes and architecture, although there is a visible drop in detail compared to the main sensor, especially in lower lighting.
Low-light photography and selfies are also decent, with controlled noise levels and balanced exposure processing. Video capabilities are also extensive. The Razr Fold supports 8K recording at 30fps, and 4K at 60fps, across all cameras. Additionally, Dolby Vision recording and high-frame-rate slow-motion capture also come in genuinely handy.
The Motorola Razr Fold, for me, is an important device for Motorola, not just because of the book-style foldable category, but because it attempts to make the segment feel slightly more approachable. And to a large extent, it succeeds. It has a premium design, slim form factor, bright display, strong multitasking, dependable battery life and a camera system that performs decently.
At the same time, the device is not entirely free from compromises. The inner crease, while reduced, is still visible under certain lighting conditions. Software polish also needs some work, particularly with occasional transition stutters between the cover and inner display and a few inconsistent foldable-specific modes. The cameras are capable, but Motorola’s image processing can sometimes feel slightly aggressive, specifically with colours.
The biggest discussion, however, remains pricing. At Rs 1,49,999, the Razr Fold undercuts several premium foldable rivals while still offering flagship-grade hardware, which definitely works in its favour. But if the pricing had been slightly more aggressive, somewhere closer to the Rs 1,30,000 mark, this could have easily become one of the easiest foldables to recommend in India.