Motorola Razr Ultra review: Huge battery and great performance
The foldable phone revolution has been a boon for the Razr, which has once again become one of the best flip phones you can buy. … The post Motorola Razr Ultra review: Huge battery and great performance appeared first on BGR.
Motorola Razr Ultra
The Motorola Razr Ultra is pricey, but it could well be the best flip-style foldable phone you can get right now.
Pros
- Sleek design
- Great performance
- Excellent battery life
- Stunning displays
Cons
- Cameras are only fine
- Only three years of software updates
| Buy From | List Price | Sale Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
$1299.99 | $1299.99 | See It |
The foldable phone revolution has been a boon for the Razr, which has once again become one of the best flip phones you can buy. Motorola has been working hard on the Razr's design and, in recent years, has thrown all the latest and greatest features at the device for a truly flagship experience. The 2025 Motorola Razr Ultra may not be cheap, but it has a premium design, excellent performance, and more.
While the Razr Ultra is a high-end phone, some features, like a telephoto camera, are still missing. At this price point, should you go for a foldable device like the Motorola Razr Ultra or stick to a traditional slab phone, which might have some better features? I've been using the 2025 Motorola Razr Ultra to find out.
Motorola Razr Ultra review: Specs
| Dimensions | 6.75 x 2.91 x 0.28 inches (unfolded) |
| IP rating | IP48 |
| Display resolution | 1224 x 2912 pixels (main screen), 1272 x 1080 pixels (cover screen) |
| Display size | 7.0 inches (main screen), 4.0 inches (cover screen) |
| Display type | LTPO AMOLED |
| Display refresh rate | 165Hz |
| Display brightness | 4500 nits peak (main screen), 3000 nits peak (cover screen) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| Memory | 16GB |
| Storage | 512GB, 1TB |
| Rear cameras | Wide: 50MP, f/1.8 Ultrawide: 50MP, f/2.0, 122-degree |
| Video | 8K 30fps, 4K 120fps, 1080p 240fps |
| Front camera | 50MP, f/2.0 |
| Ports | USB-C |
| Battery size | 4,700mAh |
| Charging | 68W wired, 30W wireless, 5W reverse wireless |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7, 5G |
| Colors | Pantone Scarab, Pantone Cabaret, Pantone Mountain Trail, Pantone Rio Red |
| Price | $1,299.99 |
Motorola Razr Ultra review: Design
As mentioned, Motorola has been working hard on the Razr's design, and at this point, it has things pretty well figured out. This isn't the first Razr to have an edge-to-edge cover screen that encircles the cameras on the front, but it still looks as premium as ever.
Other aspects of the design are very premium too. I would find it a little strange if a company gave a slab phone an Alcantara backing, but it looks and feels awesome on the Pantone Scarab Razr Ultra that I have. In classic Motorola fashion, the device is also available with a wooden back when you buy the Pantone Mountain Trail color, though the other colorways stick to a more traditional build.
While flip phones like the Razr Ultra are designed to save on space rather than necessarily offer more screen space, the device is pretty tall -- and taller than a slab phone would be. I kind of like the super-tall screen though. It makes it easier to see more content.
The rest of the design is more or less to be expected. The phone has a power button and volume rocker on the left edge, and the power button has a fingerprint sensor built into it that felt responsive and quick. There's also a new AI key on the left edge, which launches Moto AI. We'll get into Moto AI later. The hinge allows for the two sides of the phone to fold flat, which is nice, and it felt pretty strong too. The phone has an IP48 water-resistance rating as well, which is impressive -- and means the phone should be able to withstand full submersion in water for extended periods of time. Basically, don't submerge the phone on purpose, but if you drop it in the pool, it should survive just fine.
Motorola Razr Ultra review: Display
The displays on the phone look great too. As mentioned, the main screen is pretty tall and at seven inches, it's larger than the display on most slab phones. The trade-off is that when unfolded, it's basically impossible to reach the top of the screen with your thumb when you're using it with one hand, but I like that Motorola is leveraging the foldable form factor for a little more screen real estate.
The quality of the display is very good too. It's an LTPO AMOLED screen with a 165Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 4,500 nits. It gets very bright, and I found it easy to see content in bright environments like outdoors. The resolution sits in at 1224 x 2912, which makes for a pixel density of 464 pixels per inch. That's very good and it makes for crisp text and detailed images.
The cover screen isn't as bright, but with a 3000-nit peak brightness, it's still bright enough to easily see content, and it has the same 165Hz refresh rate and a crisp resolution.
Overall, Motorola has done a great job with the displays on the Motorola Razr Ultra. They look great, they're smooth and responsive, and they easily get bright enough for any situation.
Motorola Razr Ultra review: Performance
Powering the Razr Ultra is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. Yes, finally, a Razr device has a flagship processor, and that puts it on par with the latest and greatest Galaxy and Pixel phones. I'm not only comparing foldable phones either. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is what you'll find in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, for example.
On the Razr Ultra, that chip is coupled with 16GB of RAM, and I found it to be high performing, no matter what the task. The phone can easily handle mobile gaming, heavy multitasking, and so on. To be fair, that's really true of any modern flagship phone, and for the most part, you won't notice much of a difference in performance between this device and one with a slightly lower performing chip until the end of the lifespan of the device, rather than out of the box. Being able to perform towards the end of the lifespan still matters, and you should find that the Razr Ultra stays responsive for at least a few years and usable for many more.
Motorola Razr Ultra review: Battery and charging
Powering the Motorola RAZR Ultra is a 4700mAh battery, and I found battery life to be great. If you use a mix of the cover display and interior display in day-to-day life, you'll find that you're easily able to get through a full day of use. And frankly, even if you never use the cover display and always rely on the inside screen, you should still get through the day, though with a little less remaining at the end. That's true for heavier users as well, and very light users might actually be able to stretch the phone to multiple days.
The great battery life is coupled with solid charging tech, too. The phone can charge through a wired connection at up to 68W, which is pretty fast and means that only 30 minutes or so of charging should get you up past 70% of battery.
Wireless charging gets an upgrade too. The phone supports 30-watt wireless charging if you use the Motorola TurboPower 30W charging stand. Unfortunately, the device doesn't make use of the new Qi2 wireless charging standard, though.
It does have reverse wireless charging, but to use that, you'll need to flip the phone screen down on the table. Through reverse wireless charging, you can charge devices like your earbuds at up to 5 watts. It's a handy feature, though not one I ever really use in day-to-day life.
Motorola Razr Ultra review: Camera
The Motorola Razr Ultra has a dual camera system for the main camera array, which is made up of a 50-megapixel main camera with an f/1.8 aperture and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera with an f/2.0 aperture. Unfortunately, there's no telephoto camera here, and the lack of telephoto is one of the main reasons why the phone might lag behind some of the competition, especially at this price point.
Generally speaking, the camera on the Razr Ultra is pretty good. Colors were reasonably vibrant and details relatively crisp, and the inclusion of an ultra-wide camera means that you can get a wider field of view than you could with the previous generation model, which had a main camera and a telephoto camera instead.
That does fall apart a little as you start to zoom in, though. The lack of a telephoto camera really makes an impact here, and even images zoomed at only 3x or 4x are noticeably degraded compared to those taken with no zoom.
In other words, don't expect the best camera experience in the world with this phone. You won't get it. But, still expect a good one, especially if you don't zoom in all that often.
Motorola Razr Ultra review: Software
The Razr Ultra 2025 comes with Android 15, with Motorola's own skin over the top of it. For the most part, everything is more or less where you would expect it to be, but it's clear that Motorola has done some work to tweak things a little. Thankfully, it still feels close enough to stock Android that most will find it to be reasonably scaled back and easy to use.
There are some additional apps and features, though, and they get a little overbearing. Extra apps include Moto Secure, Moto Unplugged, Motorola News, and a Dolby Atmos app. Many of these apps can't be removed, which is a little frustrating. The device also ships with Perplexity, the AI search app. This one can be removed, though, so those who don't use Perplexity won't be stuck with it.
Speaking of AI, there are a range of AI features packed into the phone, and they're largely presented through the new Moto AI service. Moto AI is very persistent when you first set up the phone, constantly asking you to sign in if you haven't already, so that you can use it. There's even a Moto AI quick access button that floats around on the screen and often gets accidentally pressed. Once you sign in, you'll be able to use Moto AI's features, which include being able to summarize content on the screen, save things for later, and more. It's powered by Perplexity, so it makes sense that the Perplexity app is pre-installed on the phone.
You'll get access to more features by opening the Moto AI app, which allows you to generate images, ask or search for content, and more. Some of these features can be helpful, especially if you're used to using AI chatbots already. Others you may not use all that often, and I expect most will want to disable the persistent AI floating bubble that's always on the screen, as it serves the same purpose as the AI key anyway.
I do think it's interesting how the built-in Moto AI features play off of Gemini, too. As mentioned, Moto AI is partially powered by Perplexity, and you can access it by holding down the AI key. Hold down the power button, however, and you'll access Gemini, which is arguably more advanced, at least for certain tasks like voice chat. Everyone is still figuring out how AI can truly integrate into our digital lives, and Motorola is no exception to that. If you like having access to AI features, you'll like how front and center they are on this phone, though.
Like in previous generations, the software on the cover screen works a little differently than Android usually does. You can scroll between screens for things like your calendar and the weather, and you can access any app, though you can only have quick access to eight apps at a time. So, I like that the cover screen works a little differently, as it makes using the smaller screen a little more intuitive.
Motorola says that the Razr Ultra will get three years of software updates, which is a poor effort compared to much of the competition, especially for a phone in this price range. The likes of Samsung and Google are offering up to seven years, which is more than double what Motorola gives. I'd like to see Motorola dramatically improve its software support.
Conclusions
The Motorola Razr Ultra could well be the best flip phone you can get right now. It has a premium design that just feels nice in the hand. Plus, I quite like the taller display aspect ratio and the design of the cover screen that flows around the main cameras. There are some ways in which it doesn't compete with a similarly priced slab phone, like the cameras, but for now, that's simply a trade-off of having a phone this thin, with a camera bump this small.
If you don't necessarily care about getting the best camera experience out there right now and prioritize things like performance, screen quality, and overall design, then the Motorola Razr Ultra is the phone for you. If you do want a better camera experience, then you may have to stick with a slab phone like the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
The competition
Perhaps the biggest competition to the Razr Ultra comes in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, which is also a very solid device. The Z Flip 6's flat edge design does feel somewhat more modern, but that look of having the cover display flow around the cameras can't be beat. That's not to mention the fact that the Motorola device has better battery life. Unfortunately, you will have to pay a little more to get the Razr Ultra though.
Should I buy the Motorola Razr Ultra?
Yes. It's arguably the best flip-style foldable right now.
The post Motorola Razr Ultra review: Huge battery and great performance appeared first on BGR.
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Motorola Razr Ultra review: Huge battery and great performance originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 27 May 2025 at 15:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
