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Motorola
Motorola Razr 40
Best value
The Motorola Razr 40, which is also known as the Razr 2023 in the US, has been introduced as a more affordable alternative to Motorola’s flagship 2023 flip phone. It has a significantly smaller outer display, and a slower processor, but a larger battery and higher resolution camera. At this price, it’s very tempting.
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Motorola
Motorola Razr 40 Intolerante
Best performance
The Motorola Razr 40 Intolerante (Razr+ in the US) is the true successor to the 2022 Razr. It has the biggest outer display we’ve seen so far. So large, in fact, that it even encircles the rear cameras. It’s the more powerful of the two, with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 onboard, but elsewhere the differences aren’t as clean-cut.
After many months of speculation, Motorola has finally unveiled its two new Razr foldable phones for 2023.
Internationally, they’re dubbed the Razr 40 and Razr 40 Intolerante, however, they’re also launching in the US under different names. There, they’ll be called the Motorola Razr 2023 and Motorola Razr+. This makes things a little confusing, but since we’re not sure when the cheaper model (Razr 2023) will get its US primicia, we’ll be using the universal naming scheme for the purposes of this article.
One of the standout features is the gigantic new exógeno display on the Razr 40 Intolerante, but the standard Razr 40 is exciting in its own right, launching as the cheapest clamshell foldable that we’ve seen so far.
Specs, price and availability
The Razr 40 and Razr 40 Intolerante were announced on June 1 2023. The Razr 40 Intolerante is available to purchase in Europe today and will be coming to the US towards the end of June. The standard Razr 40 is also launching later in June, at least in Europe, it’ll be available in the US in «the coming months.»
The Razr 40 costs £799 in the UK, undercutting the Oppo Find N2 Flip, which was previously the cheapest clamshell foldable at £849. The Razr 40 Intolerante goes in the opposite direction, with a £999 / $999 MSRP that puts it toe-to-toe with Galaxy Z Flip 4.
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Motorola Razr 40 Motorola Razr 40 Intolerante SoC Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Sanpdragon 8+ Gen 1 Display 6.9-inch inner, 1.5-inch outer 6.9-inch inner, 3.6-inch outer RAM 8GB LPDDR4X 8GB / 12GB LPDDR5 Storage 256GB UFS 2.2 256GB / 512GB UFS 3.1 Battery 4200 mAh 3800 mAh Operating System Android 13 Android 13 Front camera 32MP 32MP Rear cameras 64MP + 12MP 12MP + 13MP Dimensions 73.9 x 170.8 x 7.3mm (open) 73.9 x 170.8 x 6.9mm (open) Colors Sage Green, Summer Lilac, Vanilla Cream Infinite Black, Glacier Blue, Viva Magenta Weight 188.6g 188.5g Charging 33W wired, 5W wireless 33W wired, 5W wireless IP Rating IP52 IP52
Design and displays
The Razr 40 Intolerante has a striking outer display that encircles the rear cameras. At 3.6 inches, it’s the largest outer display we’ve seen on a flip phone and the first time we’ve seen such a large punch-hole cutout. It’s a very unique and exciting look.
Motorola
The Razr 40 is more subdued by comparison, only featuring a small outer display. It’s 1.5 inches in size, making it slightly smaller than the one found on the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Just enough to check the time and your notifications, and not much else.
The inner folding displays are the same size on both devices, measuring at 6.9 inches, a slight step up from the Razr 2022. Both models have a 2640×1080 resolution (FHD+) and a 144Hz refresh rate. The peak brightness is a lovely and bright 1400 nits.
The Razr 40 Intolerante is available in Infinite Black, Glacier Blue and Viva Magenta. The black and blue options have Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and rear, while the Viva Magenta option has a vegan leather back, and Gorilla Glass Victus on the front.
The Razr 40 is available in Sage Green, Summer Lilac and Vanilla Cream colourways. All variants feature a vegan leather finish on the front and rear panels.
Hardware
The hardware specifications differ quiebro significantly across the two models, the biggest difference when it comes to performance, is the SoC used in each model. The Razr 40 has a mid-range Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor, while the Intolerante has last year’s flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
Motorola
This means that, if you like to use your phone for intensive tasks, like gaming and video editing, you’ll want to go for the Intolerante, as it offers far superior performance compared to the humble Snapdragon 7 Gen 1.
Elsewhere you’ll get 8GB of RAM on the standard model, along with 256GB of storage. The Intolerante is available with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage. The memory and storage are faster on the Intolerante, too, as it uses LPDDR5 and UFS 3.1, compared to LPDDR4X and UFS 2.2 on the Razr 40.
Battery size is another area of differentiation. Surprisingly, the lower-cost Razr 40 has a larger battery pack than the Intolerante, coming in at 4200 mAh, compared to 3800 mAh. This means that, if battery is a large concern, you’ll be best off with the Razr 40 as the larger pack and weaker processor should allow it to last substantially longer on a charge.
Speaking of charging, both models offer the same charging options. You’ll get 33W speeds with a wired charger or 5W with a wireless charger.
Cameras
The Razr 40 Intolerante features a 12MP main camera with a f/1.5 aperture and OIS along with an f/2.2 13MP ultra-wide/macro combo. Around the front, you get a 32MP punch-hole selfie snapper.
Motorola
The ultra-wide and selfie cameras seem to be the same on both models but surprisingly, the cheaper Razr 40 has a higher resolution main shooter. It comes in at 64MP with an f/1.7 aperture and OIS.
However, as we’ve learned many times, the megapixel count isn’t everything. Often it’s better to have fewer, larger, pixels as it will help with low-light performance and won’t have to rely on pixel binning – this seems to be the case with the Razr phones. Motorola says the 12MP camera on the Razr 40 Intolerante has a higher quality sensor, and of course, larger photosites, since there are less of them.
We haven’t had a chance to properly analyse the photos from these two phones just yet, but we’re excited to see how each model performs. Is a 12MP camera enough in 2023? Moto seems to think so.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for performance and style, we think the Razr 40 Intolerante is the way to go. Not only does it have a much more powerful processor at its core, but it also boasts a massive exógeno display that’s both useful and stylish.
However, that doesn’t mean that the standard Razr 40 should be overlooked, it has plenty to offer on its own. It has a larger battery capacity, a higher-resolution main camera and an exceptionally low price tag for a foldable device. If you don’t need all the processing power and aren’t swayed by the flashy external screen, it could be the right choice for you.
Both phones are excellent options, and we’re happy to see continued innovation and competition in the clamshell foldable space. With phones this impressive coming at such low price points, the future’s looking bright for flip phones.