Motorola Razr Extremely Evaluate: Too A lot For Too Little

The event cycle for devices could be vicious. Producers have to stability manufacturing prices whereas implementing new options and attempting to mitigate unexpected circumstances like AI funding sucking up the worldwide RAM provide. Sadly for the 2026 Motorola Razr Extremely, carrying a $200 worth bump over its predecessor places a serious damper on its general attraction — even with an upgraded principal digital camera and canopy display enhancements. That is a disgrace as a result of once you consider different options like glorious battery life, a strong chassis and a beautiful versatile display, you get a prime tier flip cellphone, even when it does not fairly dwell as much as its price.

Like loads of smartphones, the Razr Extremely is a part of a multi-year cadence that solely sees a full redesign each 24 or 36 months. As a substitute of that includes a recent search for 2026, Motorola stored the very same chassis because the earlier mannequin. You continue to get a 4-inch exterior show that opens as much as reveal a 7-inch principal display although. Brightness is powerful throughout the board with the smaller panel able to reaching as much as 3,000 nits whereas its inside show is much more luminant with a peak of as much as 5,000 nits. And as you’d count on, shade richness and distinction are glorious, leading to vivid saturated hues. Nonetheless, Motorola hasn’t fairly eradicated the faint crease the place the Razr’s hinge lives.

The one large change is a handful of latest shade choices, together with the Orient Blue mannequin I reviewed right here. It options pretty paint-matched buttons with a fuzzy Alcantara again and a complicated diamond sample. And I might be remiss to not point out how splendidly compact the Razr Extremely feels. When closed it is 3.4 x 2.9 inches and simply 15.7mm thick, which is thicker than the Samsung Z Flip 7. It simply suits so properly in your palm whereas nonetheless unfolding to disclose a full-size show once you want it. It additionally options an IP48 ranking for mud and water resistance, so there is not any have to concern a little bit of moisture.

Packing a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor with 16GB of RAM and as much as 512GB of storage, there’s nearly no change in terms of the Razr Extremely’s efficiency in comparison with its predecessor. However that does not imply this factor is sluggish, as a result of even a year-old flagship chip makes fast work of all types of apps and video games. In some ways, you are extra restricted by the Extremely’s smaller shows in comparison with its greater sibling — the Razr Fold — and its lack of superior multitasking options and stylus assist.

That stated, Motorola has added some new capabilities to the Razr’s cowl display, together with assist for Live Updates, so you’ll be able to extra simply preserve monitor of issues like incoming meals deliveries. You additionally get an up to date Fast Settings menu with resizable tiles and assist for video wallpapers. And as earlier than, you’ll be able to open up virtually any app on the smaller exterior show (other than video games or applications which are exhausting coded to make use of a particular decision/facet ratio), which is nice for rapidly gleaning data with no need to totally open the cellphone.

Whereas the Razr Extremely’s 50-megapixel ultra-wide cam and 50MP selfie shooter have not modified, Motorola has geared up the cellphone with a brand new 50MP LOFIC sensor for its principal digital camera. This permits the cellphone to seize photographs with larger dynamic vary and improved signal-to-noise ratio, leading to pictures with improved distinction and fewer grain. Usually, this new sensor delivers, producing pics with shiny colours and crisp particulars.

Nonetheless, upon nearer inspection, I observed some small flaws like halos round some objects, particularly in shiny mild. And after I zoomed into 100%, the textures captured by the Razr regarded noisier than what I obtained from a Pixel 10 Professional. I am undecided if that is brought on by the sensor or Moto’s picture processing. Lastly, although Motorola has improved its low-light capabilities through the years, the Razr Extremely nonetheless falls wanting what Google’s Night time Sight mode can do at midnight. Images from the Pixel 10 Professional had been constantly brighter and sharper than what I might take with the Razr. There’s all the time been a small downgrade in picture high quality on foldable telephones in comparison with conventional glass bricks, so none of this may increasingly come as a giant shock.

Regardless of no change within the dimension of the gadget, Motorola managed to suit a barely larger capability 5,000mAh cell (up from 4,700mAh) that delivers glorious battery life. On our native video rundown check, the Razr Extremely lasted 31 hours flat. That is considerably higher than already long-lasting handsets just like the Pixel 10a (28:04) and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (30:03). In truth, the one telephones we have ever examined with higher battery life are the One Plus 15 and 15R, which have a lot larger capability silicon-carbon energy packs.

In the meantime, in terms of charging, the Razr Extremely additionally fares fairly nicely. Wired speeds prime out at 68 watts and there is a 30-watt max on wi-fi charging. The one caveat to that is that Motorola makes use of a proprietary TurboPower protocol to succeed in these peak speeds. Since you aren’t getting an influence adapter within the field, meaning you may want to purchase separate equipment if you wish to recharge the cellphone at its full potential.

The 2026 Razr Extremely leads to an ungainly place of not fairly delivering sufficient for the cash. It is a good cellphone and one of many prime contenders for anybody contemplating a compact flip-style gadget. It appears to be like nice, has responsive efficiency and glorious battery life, plus a really cute and compact design.

However final 12 months’s mannequin had all of that too, and it is at the moment going for as little as $800 (direct from Motorola) as a substitute of $1,500 like this 12 months’s launch. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 additionally provides vital financial savings with pricing beginning at around $1,100. So even should you ignore the reductions for these older telephones after they have been available on the market for practically a 12 months, a $200 premium for the brand new Extremely calls for feels too steep. The primary upgrades are a greater sensor for its principal digital camera and a barely greater battery, in spite of everything. And with Samsung anticipated to announce a brand new Z Flip earlier than the top of the summer time, shopping for a Razr Extremely proper now at full worth appears like a little bit of a lure. It is a good cellphone, I simply want it price much less.