Moto Razr Fold Review: The Folding Phone That Puts Samsung On Notice

Motorola phones have always featured great software, and the Razr Fold is no exception. It runs Hello UI on top of Android 16, which continues to deliver a wonderful experience. This skin remains polished and responsive without deviating too far from stock Android, and offers the same helpful customizations as before, like the double chop gesture that toggles the flashlight. Moto AI is also present here, but still isn’t compelling enough.

Moto Razr Fold Software, User Experience, And AI

Check out my review of last year’s Moto Razr Ultra for a rundown of Hello UI and Moto AI. My biggest gripe with the Razr Fold is that you can’t assign the AI key to anything else besides Moto AI. I’d really like to long-press this button to switch between silent, vibrate, and sound-on profiles, and double-press it to launch Gemini, but that’s not an option. So instead I’ve disabled the AI key, making it useless. This seems like a wasted opportunity.
Like with other Razr models, the Razr Fold supports Flex View. This lets some apps (like YouTube and the camera app) split their interface into custom top and bottom halves on the inner screen when the handset is being used in laptop mode. Tent mode allows you to watch videos hands-free on the outer display without needing a kickstand, and shows a screensaver with the time, weather, and calendar when the phone is locked.

When it comes to multitasking, the Razr Fold supports the same default Android multi-window and taskbar features available on Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold. That’s perfectly fine, but considering how much Motorola has refined the cover screen experience on its flip-style folding phones over the years, I was hoping for a more advanced multitasking experience, something similar to Oppo’s Boundless View interface, perhaps.
On the plus side, I’m happy to report that Motorola is now promising three years of OS upgrades and five years of security updates. That’s not best-in-class, but it’s an improvement over last year’s policy. In addition, my review unit shipped with minimal bloatware. Besides the usual Google apps and Motorola apps, it came with Adobe Scan, Amazon Music, Microsoft Copilot, LinkedIn, Perplexity, and WhatsApp pre-installed.

Moto Razr Fold Review Summary

For years Motorola has enjoyed success with its affordable Moto G lineup (especially abroad), and since 2023, has established itself as a leader in flip-style folding handsets with its fashionable Moto Razr models. But when it comes to flagships, the company has struggled to compete against Apple, Samsung, Google, and Chinese heavyweights like Oppo, Honor, and Xiaomi. The Razr Fold changes all this.
By applying its folding phone expertise to a book-style flagship, Motorola has delivered a solid hit. With its superb cameras, outstanding battery life, fast charging, and active pen support, the Razr Fold doesn’t just match today’s best Chinese folding handsets from Oppo and Honor, it beats them, and in many ways outshines Samsung in its biggest market. Chipset aside, the Razr Fold is the best book-style folding phone available in North America today.