After months of rumours and feverish speculation, the Motorola Razr, which was a household name in the mid-00s at the height of the popularity of flip-phones, is back. It’s had a 2019 reboot from Motorola and was launched on Wednesday, 13 November 2019 at an event in Los Angeles.
The return of the Razr became certain in mid-April 2019, when the new Motorola Razr was officially confirmed as existing and indeed called the “Motorola Razr” in an official Bluetooth certification body listing, which also confirmed that the phone would use Bluetooth 5.0 technology.
The re-imagined handset had been rumoured to be incoming ever since the hugely-successful relaunch of the Nokia 3310 two years ago, and will apparently combine the hinged design of the original 2004 flip-phone with a new folding OLED display.
The addition of a foldable display means the new Motorola Razr will compete directly with the likes of the Huawei Mate X, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, and the unnamed (and so far unreleased) dual-folding Xiaomi.
MOTOROLA RAZR PRICE
Unlike the rebooted Nokia 3310, which sells for £49.95, the Motorola Razr will be a high-end flagship smartphone with a price tag that competes with the latest iPhone models and the Samsung Galaxy Fold. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the revived Razr will cost in the region of $1,500 ( £1,170 / 1,07,000 INR).
MOTOROLA RAZR LAUNCH AND RELEASE DATE
According to the company, the Motorola Razr (2019) will go on sale starting January 9, 2020 in the United States. It will be carried exclusively via Verizon in the country and the wireless carrier will start taking pre-orders beginning December 26 this year. Motorola Razr will also be making its way to India; however, the specifics are unknown at this point. The company has set up a registration page of its India website where the interested consumers can sign up to get updates.
MOTOROLA RAZR DESIGN AND FEATURES
Motorola is expected to keep the same industrial design of the original July 2004 Razr V3, albeit with a very modern twist. The schematics of the as-then unannounced Motorola-branded smartphone, now widely-believed to be the 2019 rebirth of the Motorola Razr, were spotted in a patent filing late last year.
These illustrations have since been transformed into a series of stunning high-resolution renders, as well as a glossy new concept video. Based on both, the new Razr will keep the iconic flip phone design seen on the original handset, as well as the secondary screen on the outside of the casing for notifications.
Then on 31 October 2019, a leaked image of the 2019 Motorola Razr broke cover. The picture was tweeted by leakster Evan Blass and can be seen below. How modern-retro cool does that look?
Open up the new Motorola Razr and you can see just how the design has changed from the original. According to the patent schematics and rumours from the supply chain, the new Razr will have a foldable OLED display that runs the length of the handset and that’s what the leaked images confirm.
While the Razr will still have a hinge, it will be hidden from view by the pliable display whenever you’re using the smartphone. When the rebooted smartphone is open, it is expected to have an expansive screen with a widescreen aspect ratio so that you can watch the latest blockbusters without any of those troublesome black bars.
Like the iPhone XS Max and Pixel 3 XL before it, Motorola will use a notch at the top of the screen for the earpiece, and probably a selfie-camera, though that selfie camera is looking a bit doubtful based on the latest leaked images shown above.
Based on the schematics included in the latest patent from Motorola, and confirmed in the leaked images, there will be a single rear-mounted camera, as well as a fingerprint scanner just below it. Motorola recently moved every model in its new Moto G7 range to a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner to increase the size of the display.
