5 things you need to know about the new Motorola Razr

Cast your mind back to July 2004. Britney and Usher are battling it out at the top of the charts, Roger Federer has just claimed another Wimbledon title, and Motorola is about to become the undisputed champion of the mobile world with the launch of the iconic Motorola Razr.

It might just be the nostalgia talking, but the original Razr was a thing of pure, unadulterated beauty. A chrome-laden slice of metallic heaven that quickly became a pop-culture legend and genuine fashion icon. At the height of its powers the Razr seemed unstoppable. Wherever you looked, there it was: that little wafer of noir black metal. It was in every pocket, on every coffee table, on the cover of every magazine – and then, it wasn’t.

As the old saying goes, nothing lasts forever, and eventually the rise of versatile touchscreen phones left the Razr staring down the barrel of an iPhone-shaped gun. Now, some people might say it’s better to have loved and lost, but thankfully none of those people work at Motorola.

If they did, we might never have gotten the all-new Razr, which manages to successfully pay tribute to its predecessor while yanking Moto’s beloved blower into the future. Although we’ve yet to go hands on with the smartphone, the new Razr looks to be a perfect reimagining of an absolute classic. Here’s everything you need to know.

1) It has a stunning foldable display

You’re probably wondering how the Razr keeps its classic clamshell design while also cramming in a big ol’ touchscreen. Easy. The folks over at Motorola just added a whopping 6.2in Flex View display that’s capable of folding down completely. The 21:9 ultra-wide POLED display should make the Razr perfect for binging Netflix on the morning commute, and also means you won’t have to sacrifice any of the now-standard smartphone functionalities you’re used to.

2) Two screens are better than one

Just like the original Razr, the redesign also has an external screen on the front. This time, however, it’ll do more than tell the time and deliver simple notifications. That’s because Motorola has added a 2.7in interactive Quick View display that can be used to make calls, reply to messages, make payments, control media, and take selfies – all without ever opening your phone.

3) It has a magic hinge

Alright, it might sound odd to wax lyrical about a hinge, but the Razer’s is rather special. Motorola has fitted the phone with a patent-protected zero-gap hinge that allows both sides of the flexible display to remain perfectly flush when closed while protecting it from debris and dust. Why is that a big deal? Because it means the Razr is still as compact and stylish as ever, which is precisely why we fell in love with it back in 2004.

4) It’s a genuine smartphone

That might sound like a painfully obvious statement, but it’s worth reiterating that the new Razr isn’t just a nostalgia-fuelled cash grab. While there’s no doubt Motorola will be hoping our rose-tinted specs drive sales, the handset has a deluge of features that should make it a solid phone in its own right. Besides the bendy screen, it also packs a 16MP camera with night vision tech and AI enhancements, a 5MP selfie camera, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a fairly robust Snapdragon 710 Octa-core processor, and an all-day battery with fast-charging capabilities. Other bells and whistles like a fingerprint reader and water-resistant nanocoating round off the package.

5) It won’t come cheap

We’ve known for a while that the phone will retail for $1,500 in the United States, which naturally led us to believe that you’ll have to fork out well over £1000 to grab one on home soil. That’s turned out to be true. The handset can be pre-ordered exclusively through EE from today, with the cheapest plan still costing you a whopping £94 a month with a £100 upfront payment. That’s a 24-month contract that gets you 10GB of data and unlimited minutes and texts. There are 10 plans altogether, and if you demand unlimited data the monthly cost goes right up to £114. Head to the EE website for a breakdown of every available plan.

About

I’m a freelance games and technology journalist currently mashing my keyboard in the name of fine institutions like Stuff, where you'll usually find me waxing lyrical about the latest mobile morsels. I've also been known to cook up some decidedly delicious reviews from time to time, and was once dubbed 'the games industry's answer to Nigella Lawson' by someone probably somewhere.