When the Motorola Razr debuted in 2019, it quickly became an in-demand product for consumers who wanted a piece of the past. Not only did it exude a nostalgic appeal, but it was purportedly the first foldable smartphone to present a workaround to the controversial durability issues of a flexible display. The Lenovo-owned brand looks like it has a hit on its hands, but Samsung quickly stole the show with the Galaxy Z Flip.

Motorola's clamshell foldable was originally intended to launch pre-orders on Thursday, Dec. 26. However, the company announced that it was moved to Sunday, Jan. 26 and cited that the demand was too much for the supply chain to accommodate. Now that the retail model is in the hands of consumers and journalists, in-depth evaluations allegedly paint a different picture.

It seems that Motorola's new foldable is not equipped to meet the expectations of consumers who want more from a $1,500 device. BGR notes that this particular opinion came from a tech publication called DroidLife wherein the author describes it as "the most unpleasant phone I've used." In contrast, the Galaxy Z Flip reportedly addresses the shortcomings highlighted in the aforementioned piece.

In addition to being a lifetime Verizon exclusive, the mobile phone is notably underpowered. "The Razr has a small battery, low-resolution display, a single camera without a proper set of features, and a lack of the high-end insides that power phones much cheaper," reads the review.

Meanwhile, the $1,379.99 Galaxy Z Flip runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset with 8 GB of RAM. It flaunts a stylish design that uses metal and Corning's Gorilla Glass 6 with three colourways available. Internal storage is a sizeable 256 GB and the battery is rated at 3,300 mAh. Perhaps the best part of it all is the use of Ultra Thin Glass to cover its flexible Dynamic AMOLED panel.

Unpacked 2020: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Journalists who were able to get a hands-on experience with the new foldable state that the surface definitely feels different than plastic. Photo: Samsung

The new Razr was lauded back when demo units made its way to tech reviewers last year. Most pointed out that its hinge mechanism was groundbreaking compared to the Galaxy Fold. The latter was panned by critics back when samples were distributed for testing – the majority of which suffered from screen durability issues. Now that Samsung officially revealed the Galaxy Z Flip, it might be the clamshell foldable that will overtake the competition.

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