Motorola has finally matched its competitors with an IPX8 rating on the new Razrs. This means that these phones will be fine if you accidentally dunk them in water or use them in the rain, though the “X” indicates that they’re not yet rated for dust protection. To that end, Motorola’s hinge mechanism is 30 percent smaller on these models and supposedly offers better dust protection.
It also makes phones easier to open and close, and while it’s an improvement over the 2023 version, it still requires a bit more of a hand motion than you’d expect. My main complaint? I wish there was a small gap on one side of the phone that would make it easier to slide your thumb to open it. This could just be a me The problem is that I have big hands and thick fingers, so getting my thumb between the folded screens is a bit painful.
Oh, and I know there are a lot of people who don’t like the crease in the screen where the device folds. Yes, it’s there. I only notice it in bright conditions, when there are reflections, or if I use dark mode in my apps. It doesn’t give me any problems, but it may be a deal breaker for you.
Fold them up
The biggest benefit of a foldable smartphone is that it’s a compact phone that fits in any pocket, but can be flipped open for a traditional big-screen experience whenever you want. Motorola has been refining the experience and offering more ways to take advantage of the design.
For example, you can prop the phone slightly open like a tent and have the always-on external cover screen show you relevant information. Want to take a photo? The cover screen shows the person a preview so they know exactly what it looks like before you press the shutter button. You can also do a lot of things with the folded devices, like take calls in speakerphone mode, talk to Google’s Gemini chatbot, and control music playback.