Motorola found a hit with the Razr Ultra last year, pairing excellent cover screen software with a powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and solid rear cameras. A potential sticking point was the price — the Razr Ultra 2025 eclipsed every Galaxy Z Flip model to date at $1,299, which proved higher than even the latest Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Well, if you thought the last-generation Razr Ultra was too expensive, I have bad news. The newest Razr Ultra 2026 is here, but it’s $200 more expensive, making the flip phone a hefty $1,499.
Motorola Razr Ultra 2025
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The Razr Ultra 2026 made a crucial mistake — it comes with an inflated price tag and minimal upgrades. Usually, consumers can live with a higher price or stagnant progress, but asking them to sacrifice both is tough. It has the same design, same displays, and same processor as the Razr Ultra 2025.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some notable Razr Ultra 2026 upgrades, such as Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, a brighter main screen, and a new 50MP LOFIC (Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor) main camera sensor.
That said, with the same processor, displays, thickness, and weight, the Razr Ultra 2025 is easy to see as a viable alternative. You can find brand-new Razr Ultra 2025 models for around $700 or less right now, and that’s roughly half the price of a Razr Ultra 2026. Paying half price for a year-old phone in new condition with the same processor and build as its successor sounds like a sweet deal to me.
The one drawback? Software support. Motorola infamously provides short software support windows for even its flagship phones. Both the Razr Ultra 2025 and Razr Ultra 2026 are getting three years of Android OS upgrades, which means the 2025 model has just two remaining. If there’s any reason to skip 2025 and go with 2026 or one of the other alternatives on this list, it’s software support.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7
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The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 might have less powerful hardware than the Motorola Razr Ultra 2026, at least on paper. It’s powered by the Samsung Exynos 2500 processor, and some will view that as weaker than the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside the flagship Razrs. Even if that is true, I used the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and didn’t notice any lag or stutters. It performed like you’d expect a flagship phone to. Best of all, it’s $400 cheaper than the Razr Ultra 2026 at its full retail price.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 isn’t just a cheaper alternative to the Razr Ultra 2026; it’s downright better in a handful of ways. Specifically, Samsung’s flip phone is thinner, at 13.7mm when folded, and lighter, at 188 grams. It also offers a full seven years of Android OS upgrade support, so if you buy it now, you’ll still have roughly six years of support remaining after Samsung rolls out Android 17.
The drawback to going with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the limited cover screen software. With optional Good Lock modules, you can make the Galaxy Z Flip 7 cover screen more versatile, but it’s still not as agile as the Razr’s software.
Personally, I find the Galaxy Z Flip 7’s hardware to feel more premium and refined than the Motorola Razr Ultra’s, largely thanks to its thinner, lighter build and flat sides. When you factor in that you’re saving around $500 by going with the Galaxy Z Flip 7, it’s an easy sell.
Motorola Razr Fold
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I understand that the audience for flips and folds is usually quite different. Those who prefer clamshell foldables want a compact, portable experience, while those who prefer book-style foldables want a larger screen for multitasking, gaming, or content consumption. That said, some people want a folding phone one way or another and opt for a flip phone to save money. In that case, there’s a strong argument for buying the Motorola Razr Fold over the Razr Ultra 2026.
If you were considering the Razr Ultra 2026 at $1,499, consider that you could upgrade to the Razr Fold for around $400 more. I don’t want to downplay spending that much extra money, but it’s clear that the $1,899 Razr Fold is a better value than the $1,499 Razr Ultra 2026. For that extra cash, you get a large 8.1-inch main screen, a trio of 50MP rear cameras, and a 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery.
If you buy it now, you get a Moto Pen Ultra for free, which is a $99 value. The Razr Ultra 2026 doesn’t support an active stylus of any kind, so pen lovers will want to upgrade to the Razr Fold.
If the sticker price of the Razr Fold is too high, perhaps hold off on the Razr Ultra 2026 and wait for sales. Remember how the Razr Ultra 2025 is already around $600 off just a year after its release? You can expect the Razr Fold to eventually see similar sales, and it could be priced below the retail price of the Razr Ultra 2026 soon enough.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
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Finally, there’s the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. In some ways, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is the antithesis of the Razr Ultra 2026. The former is large and tall, while the latter folds in half to remain compact. However, the higher price point of the Razr Ultra 2026 means that it faces new competition. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is still priced at only $1,299, which means the objectively better phone costs $200 less than the Razr Ultra 2026.
Not everyone wants the “better” hardware — there’s still certainly a case for choosing the Razr Ultra 2026 anyway. But consider all that you get for $200 less with the Galaxy S26 Ultra: a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset, a 200MP main camera, a 6.9-inch display with Privacy Display, an inbuilt stylus, and a seven-year Android OS upgrade commitment.
If you care about having an “Ultra” phone, the Galaxy S26 Ultra certainly hits the mark while coming in cheaper than the Razr Ultra 2026.
Again, the Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 sounds like a great phone — it just doesn’t have a great price. If you want the absolute best value, go with one of the other four compelling options on this list. Or, wait for a Razr Ultra 2026 deal to make the price more manageable.
The top Motorola flip
If you want the best flip phone Motorola has to offer, that’ll be the Motorola Razr Ultra 2026. It’s expensive, but it also has an upgraded LOFIC main camera sensor and other refinements to try to justify the cost.