Motorola has finally unveiled its new Razr 2026 flip phones, and I recently went hands-on with them. While there are quite a few notable changes, the phones are more of a refinement on last year’s models than anything, and even that might be a stretch.
During my brief hands-on experience with the Razr 2026 series, I found some of the new features and upgrades pretty exciting, but I was a little disappointed by how little had changed compared to last year’s models. Fortunately, Motorola is finally offering the new Razr Fold as something different for users to check out.
If it ain’t broke…
At first and even second glance, the phones are more or less identical to the Razr 2025 series. That’s not completely a bad thing, and I’m a big fan of Motorola’s Razr designs. However, the phones retain the thickness of their predecessors, which is a shame at a time when companies are slimming down.
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Each model comes with a new set of color options, although Motorola switched things up a little. The base Razr 2026 has four color options, while the Razr Ultra has two, and the Razr Plus has one. I asked why that is, and it’s due to the popularity of the cheapest Razr model and Motorola’s desire to appeal to more users, particularly those curious to try a foldable flip phone.
It makes sense to me, although I wish the Razr Ultra were offered in more options. I like the darker wood material, and the Alcantara Orient Blue looks and feels fantastic, but it’s more purple in person, and purple admittedly isn’t my favorite color.
I really like the options for the base model, with Bright White standing out for its shiny Acetate design pattern. That said, my favorite is probably Violet Ice, as it has a really nice texture that feels great in hand, to the point that I couldn’t stop running my hand across its back. If you pick up the Razr 2026, this might be the color to get.
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Perhaps the biggest surprise to me was that Motorola left many internals unchanged from the Razr 2025 series, although each Razr model gets an increase in battery capacity, thanks to new silicon-carbon batteries.
The Razr Plus 2026 remains the awkward middle child of the group, with just one color option and the same underpowered Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip used in the Razr Plus 2024, despite receiving a $100 price increase. The chip should perform fine, but as AI capabilities continue to grow, I doubt it’ll be adequate for what companies may have in store in the coming years.
Nearly everything else is the same as last year’s Plus, including the RAM, storage, and charging. One major difference is that Motorola swapped the telephoto camera for an ultrawide, which I think is a welcome change.
Aside from some new colors, the base Razr 2026 gets a new MediaTek Dimensity 7450X, so performance should be better in theory, but the $100 price increase to $799 is still slightly concerning here.
Interestingly, the Razr Ultra 2026 still features the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, not the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. From a daily-use standpoint, there’s probably little actual difference between them, and the decision was likely made to keep prices from skyrocketing amid the ongoing RAM crisis.
When I asked Motorola about the decision to use the older chip, I was told that the Snapdragon 8 Elite offered everything the Razr Ultra 2026 needs, and it didn’t seem necessary to upgrade the chipset.
On the one hand, it makes sense; the Snapdragon 8 Elite is still plenty powerful, and most consumers probably wouldn’t know the difference. However, since the Razr Ultra 2026 costs $200 more than its predecessor at launch, it is a whopping $1,499.
At this price, I feel like Motorola could have sprung for the newer chip or even offered a lower storage option (256G is still plenty). Even Samsung was able to retain the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s price while only raising the base Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus by only $100, but I digress.
I just hope that the Razr Ultra 2026 doesn’t miss out on the cool Gemini AI features Google will surely roll out, such as Screen automation, but Motorola feels confident in its choice.
On the plus side, the cover screen experience is getting some welcome additions, such as video wallpapers (fans have been asking for this) and Android’s Live Updates so that you can keep an eye out for Uber deliveries and such directly from the cover screen.
The Ultra’s primary camera is being upgraded to a new 50MP LOFIC sensor that promises better dynamic range, faster shooting, and improved power efficiency. The Razr Ultra 2025 already has a good camera, so I’m excited to give this a try.
Motorola also upgraded Camcorder mode, which now zooms in and out when you tilt the phone left or right. This actually works pretty well while still keeping the video stable, although I worry this feature could get annoying by activating when you didn’t really mean to.
There’s also a feature called Frame Match, which lets you frame a photo exactly how you want. When you give someone your phone to take a photo of you, the person taking it can match the overlay and frame the image to your liking. It sounds like a simpler mix between Add Me and Camera Coach on Pixel devices.
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Speaking of Google, Motorola showed off some interesting features using the Google Photos app. With the new Wardrobe feature, Google Photos will create a collection of clothing items you’ve worn throughout your images, almost like a virtual closet. You can then create your own looks by mixing and matching items and virtually trying them on, allowing you to try on looks without actually trying them on.
I was able to try this during my briefing, and it was pretty fun to use, even if I don’t have style or a sense of fashion (sorry, Miranda!).
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Google Photos is also integrating with Daily Drop, Motorola’s version of Samsung’s Now Brief. Now, when Daily Drop appears on the phone, it will display Google Photos Memories, in addition to your other personalized content. Unfortunately, I couldn’t demo this during my briefing.
Overall, the Razr 2026 series feels very samey, which is known to happen in the mobile tech industry, but when prices are going up as much as they are, it’s becoming hard to justify spending more on last year’s tech. Sure, there are some upgrades scattered about, and the phones look and feel great, but $1,499 feels like a lot for a flip phone, and $1,099 for the Razr Plus 2026 is kinda pushing it.
Of course, I won’t have my final say until I’ve tested the Razr Ultra 2026, and you can expect me to compare it to the Razr Ultra 2025 for good measure.
Motorola Razr Fold: The one that really matters
Fortunately, anyone looking for something different from Motorola in 2026 will just have to look at the newest member of the Razr family: the Razr Fold. We’ve had a couple of hands-on experiences with the foldable at CES and MWC, so I won’t bore you by rehashing too much of that, but the Fold really does feel like a solid piece of hardware.
It’s a thin, well-designed piece of tech that feels great in your hand, and it feels like Motorola has truly pulled out nearly all the stops. It has a newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (not the Elite, but still good), a large battery, long software support, and its triple 50MP rear cameras are rated top-tier among foldable phones (something Motorola isn’t exactly known for).
I’m not a big fan of large-screen foldables, but every time I pick up the Razr Fold, I don’t wanna put it down. The best part is that it’s cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and one-ups it with support for an active stylus. And the shrinking gap between it and the Razr Ultra 2026 means you don’t have to spend much more for the Fold if you’re looking to splurge.
We’ll be doing a full review of this, too, but I expect the Razr Fold will be Motorola’s breakout star of 2026.