Malcolm Owen
The Motorola Razr could be making a comeback as part of a deal between Lenovo and Verizon in the near future, but the iconic flip phone's return could introduce a foldable display as part of its redesign, as well as a hefty price tag of $1,500 that outweighs even the iPhone XS Max.
Largely considered as one of the coolest mobile phones on the market before the arrival of Apple's iPhone, the Motorola Razr was a hugely popular product line that sold more than 130 million units globally following its launch in 2004. While Razr effectively died off because of the popularity of the iPhone, Motorola's hinged mobile device is thought to be making a limited comeback.
Motorola Mobility owner Lenovo is planning to produce a revived version of the Razr that features a foldable display, according to sources of the Wall Street Journal. The smartphone is currently undergoing testing and the launch timing could still change, but it is anticipated to launch in February.
It is thought Verizon has an exclusive deal to sell the new Razr models in the United States, with Lenovo tipped to produce as many as 200,000 units. It is unclear if that level of production is for global sale or just via Verizon.
The addition of a folding display to the design follows a trend put forward by other smartphone and mobile device producers, including Royole's FlexPai as the first of its type to be sold in China, and Samsung's teasing of a similar device it may fully reveal in February. Apple has also been linked to the development of foldable displays, though the first iPhone sporting the technology may not arrive until 2020 at the earliest.
It is unclear exactly how a foldable display would be implemented in the new Razr, but as it is a flip phone, it is plausible the design involves a full-body screen with a flexible section in the middle to allow it to fold up.
Notably, it is suggested that the updated version will have a price starting from $1,500. While this is expected for hardware sporting new technologies, as is the case with a flexible display, it also puts the cost of the new Motorola Razr at more than a top-specification iPhone XS Max, which could limit its reach.
This is not the first attempt at reviving the Razr brand to a modern audience. In 2011, Motorola worked with Verizon on the Droid Razr and other devices, though they took the form of a standard large-screen smartphone instead of a clamshell design.
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Wesley Hilliard
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19 Comments
And so it begins. The age of the foldable display. Will it be a flash in the pan 3D TV, or will someone crack the case on how to get extra value from this technology? Seems the value add almost certainly will come in below the cost to get it right. With some advances, just because it can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done. A flying car in every garage...
I was a bigger fan of the SLVR, but that's just me.
I'm actually quite intrigued by this. I was always a big fan of the original, owned 2 of them. The last non Apple phone I owned was a Motorola V9 RAZR2, which was a great phone. Loved the external touchscreen display for music. So yeah, quite interested to see what they do with this.
I had a RAZR and like it a lot. However, the KRZR I got after it was my favorite phone ever. We'll see how it looks, but I'm betting the battery size is going to be the limiting factor. It is going to be quite thick when folded if it has enough battery to last a full day.