Motorola Unveils Its 4th-Gen Foldable, the Moto Razr+ (arstechnica.com) 39
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: After endless leaks, Motorola made its fourth-generation lineup of foldables official today. The flagship is the Moto Razr+, which will launch in the US on June 23 for $999. There's also a cheaper phone called only the "Moto Razr" with a smaller outside screen, slower SoC, and no clear US price or release date. Internationally, these phones are called the Moto Razr 40 Ultra and Moto Razr 40. The Ultra model's SoC is a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 -- that's not the best you can get from Qualcomm, which would be the 8 Gen 2 -- this is a year-old mid-cycle upgrade chip. The phone has 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 3800 mAh battery with 30 W quick charging. The leaked display specs have been all over the place, but officially, the interior display is a 6.9-inch, 2640x1080 OLED that runs at a smoking 165 Hz. The exterior display is super big on the Ultra model and is a 3.6-inch, 144 Hz OLED at a nearly square 1066x1056. Motorola has the phone's dust and water ingress protection rated at IP52, which typically only protects from "direct sprays of water up to 15 degrees from the vertical" and is far from qualifying the Razr as a water-resistant phone.
The design has been better. The original foldable Moto Razr reboot from 2020 had beautiful throwback looks that screamed "Moto Razr." It looked just like the old-school flip phone from the early 2000s but modernized. This fourth foldable generation tones things down a lot and is more of a generic rectangle. You could easily confuse it for Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip. This fourth generation seems more mature, though. Motorola will now let you run any app you want on the ultra's giant front screen, complete with the option of a super tiny Android navigation bar tucked away in the bottom left corner, to the left of the two front cameras. You can peruse the app drawer, use Google Pay, or play media on the front display. You can even type on the keyboard: Google GBoard has a special full-screen mode that will show a single line of input text.
Those front cameras give this font display one of the strangest display shapes on the market. With two big dead spots in the bottom right corner, the workable display area is kind of an upside-down L shape. By default, apps will stay out of the non-rectangular part of the screen, but it's possible to enable a "full screen" mode for the front apps. This will force apps to use the lower part of the display, and you just have to hope that they will somehow deal with that. Android has APIs to identify dead areas of the display for apps to work around, but usually, that's for a top camera notch. Not many apps are built for this, but you're apparently welcome to try to make them work with the feature. [...] If you're interested in the Razr+, preorders start June 16.
The design has been better. The original foldable Moto Razr reboot from 2020 had beautiful throwback looks that screamed "Moto Razr." It looked just like the old-school flip phone from the early 2000s but modernized. This fourth foldable generation tones things down a lot and is more of a generic rectangle. You could easily confuse it for Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip. This fourth generation seems more mature, though. Motorola will now let you run any app you want on the ultra's giant front screen, complete with the option of a super tiny Android navigation bar tucked away in the bottom left corner, to the left of the two front cameras. You can peruse the app drawer, use Google Pay, or play media on the front display. You can even type on the keyboard: Google GBoard has a special full-screen mode that will show a single line of input text.
Those front cameras give this font display one of the strangest display shapes on the market. With two big dead spots in the bottom right corner, the workable display area is kind of an upside-down L shape. By default, apps will stay out of the non-rectangular part of the screen, but it's possible to enable a "full screen" mode for the front apps. This will force apps to use the lower part of the display, and you just have to hope that they will somehow deal with that. Android has APIs to identify dead areas of the display for apps to work around, but usually, that's for a top camera notch. Not many apps are built for this, but you're apparently welcome to try to make them work with the feature. [...] If you're interested in the Razr+, preorders start June 16.
pretty cool (Score:3)
I keep my phones for years so I'm gonna let some other chumps do all the field testing for a while before I would consider it
also, does the outer screen get all scratched up?
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I suspect that since the outer screen does not need to fold, it has typically hard glass you find in most phones, where the only display is technically an 'outer' display.
I further suspect that some glass screen protector will be available anyway for those that would do that to a more typical phone.
The inside screen is probably susceptible to scratching, however. On the other hand, it is probably less susceptible to cracking.
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ever seen how a crab shell cracker works?
I have this horrifying vision of something like a coin/key getting in there while folding and then hearing an awful cracking noise
and similarly, even some grit/dirt/sand would seem problematic.... this is not the phone you take to Tatooine
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ever seen how a crab shell cracker works?
I have this horrifying vision of something like a coin/key getting in there while folding and then hearing an awful cracking noise
and similarly, even some grit/dirt/sand would seem problematic.... this is not the phone you take to Tatooine
These designs do not let the internal screen touch itself; a bevel outside it closes first and keeps reasonable gap on the screen.
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All you need is some sharp crap to get in there that's ever so slightly larger than the gap, and it's a problem.
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How often do you do that to laptop screens?
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happens to me... coastal living means sand is airborne, and everywhere.
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and similarly, even some grit/dirt/sand would seem problematic.... this is not the phone you take to Tatooine
I live on the coast.... there is always sand in everything.
I havent had a problem with modern phones scratching (gorilla glass is awesome) but i would be concerned about it getting in a foldable. My laptop screen has scratches from grit.
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>"I have this horrifying vision of something like a coin/key getting in there while folding and then hearing an awful cracking noise"
The folding screen will be thin plastic film with no glass on it, resting on a plastic back. So probably no cracking noise. It will just likely permanently stretch/distort the screen. Which, yeah, is pretty major.
>"and similarly, even some grit/dirt/sand would seem problematic."
Maybe not. Most of these foldables, the folded halves of the flexible screen do not touch
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The folding screen will be thin plastic film with no glass on it
The top layer of the inside folding screen on this phone (and every folding phone) is a very thin layer of glass. I don't think it's the hardened glass that you find on most slab-style phones, but it should still be hard enough to resist scratching.
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>"The top layer of the inside folding screen on this phone (and every folding phone) is a very thin layer of glass. I don't think it's the hardened glass that you find on most slab-style phones, but it should still be hard enough to resist scratching."
Up until recently, everything I saw was plastic. But yeah, looks like I missed "UTG":
"Samsung marketed its Galaxy Z Flip as featuring 30 μm (0.0012 in)-thick "ultra-thin glass" with a plastic layer similar to the Galaxy Fold, [...] A stress test
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I keep my phones for years so I'm gonna let some other chumps do all the field testing for a while before I would consider it
Ironically enough 99% of smartphone users feel the same...or do they?
We're on the fourth generation of a technology that appears to be about as welcome as 4D theaters and 3-wheeled cars. At some point, cool becomes why bother.. I can't even name a chump I know who owns one.
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We're on the fourth generation of a technology that appears to be about as welcome as 4D theaters and 3-wheeled cars. At some point, cool becomes why bother.. I can't even name a chump I know who owns one.
How did you determine that it's unwelcome? Because you don't want it? Clearly there's some demand because they're on the 4th generation.
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We're on the fourth generation of a technology that appears to be about as welcome as 4D theaters and 3-wheeled cars. At some point, cool becomes why bother.. I can't even name a chump I know who owns one.
How did you determine that it's unwelcome? Because you don't want it? Clearly there's some demand because they're on the 4th generation.
Oh, you mean like the "demand" for non-removable batteries? Or lack of standard memory ports? And 5" 8K screens so you can watch your 1080p streams while adding $200 to the MSRP for Greeds sake? All this on a device we ironically still call a "phone" that sits in millions of gasoline-powered cars that we still measure in horsepower.
Not sure when you thought consumer spending made sense enough to define demand, but that concept died long ago. You don't get to pick and choose your product options today.
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LOL, love your post. Of course as an example...
So, where is the headphone jack?
MANY consumers still prefer, want, or demand one. But tough crap- the "industry" has decided *WE* don't *NEED* it. Not that we don't want it. Each year there are fewer and fewer options left, if that is important to you, because you value simplicity and reliability and not carrying around some damn "adapter".
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I definitely want one, and am considering the $1k price tag. However, I bought my Pixel 6 when it came out in, what? October of 2021? Anyway, it has a lot of life left in it, even if it is a gigantic, heavy brick that I would love to replace with a smaller form factor.
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Remember when they tried to sell everyone 3D TVs?
(Yes, that was a thing for a shot time.)
Didn't catch on...
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>"Remember when they tried to sell everyone 3D TVs?"
Yes. I have one. It was a feature I wanted and I love the technology. I get that lots of people don't. But you know what? Now *NOBODY* can buy one, even if that *IS* important to them. How is that any better?
And it is especially infuriating when adding 3D support doesn't require hardly any additional expense to include in the TV (for example, Samsung just flickers between two frames quickly at double the native frame rate). Just the Bluetooth gla
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Apple announces $999 phone.
Slashdot: what moron would spend a grand on a phone?
Motorola announces $999 phone.
Slashdot: Take my money!
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I couldn't agree more.
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... I'm gonna let some other chumps do all the field testing for a while before I would consider it
"Other chumps"? That would suggest that you also are a chump. Funny, I never thought of you that way... ;-)
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that's exactly what I meant.... there are far too many examples of my chumpness to ignore hehe
as cool as they are, I just don't want folding phones to be another one
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What's your current phone now and how old is it?
encrypted micro SD capability (Score:3)
It's "Water Resistant" so they could have offered a micro SD card slot with encryption capability. The next vendor to re-introduce that feature gets my money.
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i still have the blue razor with removable batteries.
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I fear that Micro SD slots on smartphones went away around the same time as the headphone jack and the included USB charger brick in the box. They likely aren't coming back.
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I was recently shopping for smartphones, and Samsung was still including microSD card support in their mid-range Galaxy A53. Not in the flagship S23, but in the mid-range.
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Mine has both- The Samsung A52 G5. It isn't that old. And that is exactly why I bought it. That and the in-screen fingerprint sensor, OLED screen, and reasonable price; in addition to the headphone jack and SD card.
And now its replacement, the A54 G5- they removed the jack. Sigh. And, by the way, the headphone jack does not need to be removed to make it water resistant. They have sealed jack technology. Just like the USB port.
So in the Samsung line, all that is currently left is the low-end A14. Yuc
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I hope... (Score:2)
I hope it has its "works in a drawer"!
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I hope it has its "works in a drawer"!
If it does, then we can be sure the quality didn't go in before the name went on.
And now we're both living proof that advertising gets into people's heads. Both of these ad references are older than dirt, yet apparently you and I remember them as though they were current yesterday.
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Motorola Solutions (radios) are a wholly separate business from Motorola Mobility (cell phones) that have zero to do with each other.
This is putting aside the various other Motorola pieces that did *not* keep the name.
as powerful as my laptop (Score:3)
I use a laptop that's a few years old, now. It's light. It's a little short on specs compared to today's laptops (but waay lighter and thinner, which is why I still use it). It's got sufficient horsepower for my basic needs when I'm not at my desk. I do serious amounts of work with it. I've taught courses from it. I've designed experiments with it. I've analyzed data with it. Written reports, presentations, scientific articles, and grant applications with it. It contains, and can run, the complete development environment for a web site I own. I don't travel without it, ever.
And this phone -- this phone -- appears to meet or exceed it on memory, computational power, and pixel count.
A frelling phone.
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>"And this phone -- this phone -- appears to meet or exceed it on memory, computational power, and pixel count."
But with a tiny screen and no keyboard/mouse. Doesn't matter how many pixels there are on a tiny screen. You can add a kb/mouse, probably, but still need size of screen to be productive with many things.
Still, yeah, it is amazing how much power is being packed into these "phones."