If you consider the Motorola Razr foldable phones, lame attempts at taking on the mighty Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, then you are mistaken. Surely, the current-gen Motorola Razr models may not scream of cutting-edge technologies but they possess an unmistakable styling. This is what Moto Razr has championed for over two decades – oodles of styling while packing run-of-the-mill parts.
Rewind the clock to 2004, when the Motorola Razr represented a desirably sleek and well-built mobile phone that every fashionista had to have. Prior to the Razr, flip phones used to look dorky with chunky profiles, tacky plastics and poorly built rubber keys. With the Razr, Motorola made the flip phone sexy.
Until Apple revealed the iPhone in 2007, having a Moto Razr in your pocket was often seen as a mark of success. It even made a huge impact on pop culture!
Sadly, the iPhone revolution forced the Razr and its kind to perish, only to emerge a decade later as a flip-style smartphone with a foldable display. The 2019 Motorola Razr could have been that utterly desirable smartphone had Samsung not spoiled the party with the Galaxy Z Flip, which went for a trendy modern look.
However, in the brief period of its ownership by Google, Motorola resurrected the Razr as a sleek Android smartphone. While it tried to imbibe style to the conventional smartphone form factor, Google and Motorola eventually moved on towards simplifying the lineup with the Moto G, Moto X and Moto Z phones.
Nonetheless, the Razr is still one of the most iconic mobile phones to have existed and as the world welcomes the next-gen Razr 50 series, we decide to take a nostalgic walk down memory lane. Here is a list of all the Motorola Razr phones released in chronological order.
All Motorola Razr phones in chronological order and their history
Moto Razr V3
Released in: 2004
The Motorola Razr V3 was unlike any other phone in 2004, especially with its ultra-thin aluminium body and chic design. It had a small colour display for checking notifications and time whereas the larger main display had a higher pixel resolution. Motorola stuffed a 0.3-megapixel on the front for taking pictures. It also featured Bluetooth connectivity to pair with wireless headsets. The battery life was sub-par and the onboard storage was limited even by 2004 standards.
Nonetheless, the Razr V3 sold in huge numbers solely for its attractive styling.
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Moto Razr V3i
Released in: 2005
A year after the original Razr V3, Motorola updated it with better specifications and features. It was called the Razr V3i and featured a superior 1.23-megapixel camera for improved photography. The internal storage was bumped to 10MB and Motorola had added a microSD card slot for storing additional files. You could buy the Razr V3i either with iTunes or Motorola’s Digital Audio Player (DAP) pre-installed. The iTunes version only allowed up to 100 songs for downloading (50 in some regions).
Moto Razr V3m
Released in: 2006
The Razr V3m was essentially a CDMA version reserved for certain US carriers and was released in 2006. While the design remained unchanged, Motorola sold it in hot new colourways like pink, red and silver. The internal storage was bumped to 40MB and the microSD card slot could now support up to 2GB expansion. The battery life was improved as well and it even came with Windows Media Player pre-installed.
Moto Razr V3xx
Released in: 2006
The Razr V3xx introduced support for 3G connectivity, a much faster chipset with a quicker CPU and a beefy Nvidia GoForce 4800 GPU. The new GPU could help the phone render 3D graphics via OpenGL ES, which made it suitable for mobile gaming. Motorola also updated the data transfer port to USB 2.0 standards for faster downloading speeds via the cables. Other than sharper screens though, the Razr V3xx retained the same 1.3-megapixel camera, 50MB of storage, support for microSD and Bluetooth connectivity.
Moto Razr Maxx V6
Released in: 2006
The Razr Maxx was a huge upgrade from its predecessor, both in terms of design and features. It carried forward most of the perks from the V3xx like 3G, the fast Nvidia GPU and USB 2.0 standards. The upgrades came in the form of a 2-megapixel main camera, a larger cover display with additional touch buttons for music playback and a slightly different design.
Moto Razr 2
Released in: 2007
While the world couldn’t take its eyes off the marvellous iPhone, Motorola introduced the Razr 2 with a slimmer yet wider body. The design was new, especially with a clean cover screen and fancy colours. Introduced in V8, V9, V9m and V9x, the Razr 2 offered improvements like better picture quality, faster processing speeds and higher storage capacities. The Razr 2 V8 got up to 2GB of onboard storage, which was a big leap for the feature phone. Except for the V9m, all the other variants ran on a new Motorola operating system allowing for greater customisability.
Sadly, the Razr 2 couldn’t sell well owing to the oncoming smartphone revolution.
Motorola Droid Razr
Released in: 2011
After staying away for a few years, Motorola reintroduced the Razr in 2011 as a modern Android smartphone. At 7.1mm thickness, it wasn’t going to have the same sleep profile as its ancestors but the Droid Razr was a sleek smartphone. No folding and flip shenanigans were present but the Droid Razr had great specs for its time. It offered a 4.3-inch AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass protection accompanying a 2-megapixel front camera for video calls and selfies. On the back, you had a single 8-megapixel camera surrounded by a Kevlar plate for strength.
The Droid Razr was based on the OMAP 4430 SoC with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and came with 1 GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The phone launched with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and got updated to Android 4.1.2. A 1,780mAh battery kept it alive.
Motorola also released a Razr Maxx with a higher capacity 3300 mAh battery.
Motorola Droid Razr HD
Released in: 2012
The Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD introduced subtle upgrades the next year. Equipped with the new Snapdragon S4 Plus chip, these phones released with Android 4 out of the box. They supported 4G connectivity, sharper 720p resolution displays with larger panels and a bigger battery.
Motorola Droid Razr M
Released in: 2012
Alongside the Droid Razr HD and Razr Maxx HD, Motorola announced the Razr M as a more affordable alternative. This was essentially a compact version of the Razr HD with Android 4.0, the new Snapdragon S4 Plus chip, a smaller 2,000mAh battery and the older 4.3-inch AMOLED display from the Droid Razr.
Motorola Droid Razr i
Released in: 2012
The Droid Razr i joined the lineup with a different choice of processor under the hood. 90 per cent of the specifications were shared with the Droid Razr M but Motorola swapped the Snapdragon chip with an Intel Atom SoC. This chip was based on Intel x86 architecture and required a compatible version of Android to take full advantage of the chip. With a 2.0 GHz CPU, the Droid Razr i was among the fastest phones of its time.
However, the weak GPU coupled with poor third-party compatibility meant a disastrous outing for the Razr i.
Motorola Razr
Released in: 2019
After 2012, Motorola went through a series of changes and was usually struggling to keep a hold of the premium segment. In 2019 though, Motorola under Lenovo’s lead resurrected the Razr as a flip-style smartphone featuring a foldable touch display. Popularly known as the Razr 2019, this phone paid homage to the Razr V3’s styling with a large OLED cover display, the iconic notch and chunky chin on the inner display and a single camera on the front.
Motorola baked a lot of functionality into the cover display and offered a clean iteration of Android. Sadly, the Razr’s plasticky build quality and dated midrange specifications coupled with astronomical pricing led to its early demise.
Motorola Razr 5G
Released in: 2020
Within a few months, Motorola released the Razr 5G with a faster chip capable of supporting 5G networks, superior build quality and dual main cameras. While the Razr 5G had potential, its exorbitant pricing put it in the same ballpark as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, which offered vastly superior specifications. Naturally, Motorola couldn’t sell a lot of these Razr 5Gs and eventually went back to the drawing board.
Motorola Razr 2022
Released in: 2022
After a brief hiatus, Motorola returned to the flip phone segment with the Razr 2022. It was released in only a few markets and while it still had slightly dated specifications, the Razr had a flagship-level Snapdragon chip and a vastly refined package. Gone was the huge bottom chin and the notch from its predecessor and in its place stood an edge-to-edge OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The camera sensors were improved and Motorola upgraded the battery too.
Motorola Razr 40
Released in: 2023
For the year 2023, Motorola aligned the Razr series with the rest of its numbered series. The Razr 40 (hinting at the 4th Gen iteration) debuted as a midrange flip phone with certain compromises. It borrowed the same 144Hz display from the Razr 2022 but shrunk the cover display to a teeny tiny one for only showing notifications. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset offered decent performance and the large 4,200mAh battery offered exceptional stamina.
Later drops in pricing made it a great deal for those seeking an affordable flip-style phone.
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
Released in: 2023
The Razr 40 Ultra was loosely based on the Razr 2022. It used the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset along with an identical main display but had a faster 165Hz refresh rate and also got a larger capacity battery. The Razr 40 Ultra also introduced a massive 3.6-inch cover display that stretched to the edges, wrapping the main cameras. The cover display allowed users to run almost all apps and games in a miniature form. The luxurious vegan leather colourways added to the premium look and feel of the Razr 40 Ultra.
Motorola Razr 50
Released in: July 2024
The Motorola Razr 50 was a notable step up from its predecessor and borrowed a lot from the Razr 40 Ultra. The tiny cover display was phased out for a larger and more usable 3.6-inch 1056 x 1066 pixel resolution panel with a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz. The main foldable display stuck to a 6.9-inch FHD+ pOLED display with a variable refresh rate of 10-120Hz and peak brightness of 2,600 nits. The phone was based on the newer Dimensity 7300X chipset, which ensured solid midrange levels of performance. The battery capacity was boosted to 4,200mAh and Motorola added support for 30W wired and 15W wireless charging. The cameras were left unchanged though.
Motorola Razr 50 Ultra
Released in: July 2024
The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra improved upon its predecessor with a bigger 4-inch pOLED cover display with a variable refresh rate of 1Hz-165Hz. The main display measures 6.9 inches and features a high refresh rate of 165hz and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. A beefier Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset took care of all the performance needs and Motorola bundled its Moto AI experience as part of the core experience. The 4,000mAh battery promised an all-day stamina and Motorola made it compatible with 15W wireless charging. The 50-megapixel main camera was now assisted by another 50-megapixel sensor with a telephoto lens offering 2x optical zoom — no ultrawide camera anymore.
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(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Courtesy Thai Nguyen via Unsplash)
