Detailed review Motorola Razr: screen noise annoying when folded, poor battery, “rather buy old Razr”

* The following review was conducted by reviewer Brenda Stolyar of technology site Mashable SE Asia

After a week of using Motorola Razr, I was not really impressed by this device. But maybe I was too harsh, because my exposure time was quite short.

After nearly two weeks, I could confirm the device was a mess – and there’s no reason one would have to spend $ 1,500 to buy it.

The hinge of the machine is noisy to a disgrace. Plastic screens must limit exposure to temperatures that are too hot or too cold. And both the camera and the battery life are terrible.

Motorola Razr does not tolerate heat

It was Valentine’s evening, and I plugged my phone in on the nightstand. There was always a bit of cold air coming into the room through the openings, and right now in New York it was winter, so the air seemed quite cold, about -7 degrees Celsius.

I don’t have a thermostat in my room, so I usually turn on the heater when I’m awake. I was afraid of a fire, so when I felt sleepy, I immediately turned off the device. After that, I would turn it back on in the early morning to warm the room while enlisting to bake a little more.

That means my room temperature will change from hot, cold to hot, then hot again. Why is that important?

The morning after Valentine’s Day, I unplugged my Razr, flipped it open and heard a frightening crunch.

Close your eyes and imagine someone is walking on the surface of the plastic, feet wearing shoes. Exactly what I hear every time I open the lid.

Considering that Valentine ‘s day was much colder than the previous day, it was probably due to the extreme temperature change in my room.

The next day, my colleague Ray Wong posted an article about the broken and broken Razr screen. Do you know what he thinks the cause is? That heat change!

Is there a coincidence? I think not.

My monitor didn’t peel off, and my Razr didn’t crack either, but the scratching sound indicated something was going on under the plastic screen. And whatever that is, it’s not a good thing.

Motorola responded to Wong that the Razr has undergone a severe temperature test, and it recommends not leaving the phone in places below -20 degrees Celsius and above 60 degrees Celsius.

I can make sure my room is never below -20 degrees Celsius or above 60 degrees Celsius, so what would I do if I am sitting here to write this article?

And even though right now, I’m contacting Motorola to find out why this is happening, which would have been better if not.

Put simply, the sense of satisfaction of flipping open and closing my hard new Motorola Razr is gone.

Noisy hinges, cheap plastic screens

Inside, the Razr has a 6.2-inch HD “FlexView” OLED screen, sensitive and bright. Of course in the middle of the screen there is a noticeable mark and a bit distracting in the light.

Even if I forgot the mark there, I could easily feel it every time I swiped it up and down on the screen.

And after using Samsung’s Z Flip, which has an “Ultra Thin Glass” screen (same plastic layer), I really never wanted to touch a foldable phone with a plastic screen again. . The mirror screen is simply a much more satisfying and premium feel.

Slender design, but too heavy

On the outside, the Razr looks really slender. A clamshell form factor makes it easier to carry this device in a pocket of clothing or a bag.

The size, both when folded and unfolded, is great for those with small hands. Moderate breadth allows one-handed use and social networking is quite comfortable.

The plastic back of the device is also easy to hold. In addition to being really expensive, this machine is really heavy, 212 grams. For comparison, the iPhone 11 Pro is only 178 grams, and that’s already very heavy!

The Razr also has a 2.7-inch external screen at the front, called Quick View. And even though I liked the feature at first, after a while of using it, I found the external screen quite annoying. It always makes me restless to see notification icons constantly pop up when the phone is closed.

Although the 1.1-inch external screen on the Galaxy Z Flip is quite small, it hides the notifications after they first appear. Therefore, unless you swipe to the left, all in front of you is just a clock.

After using both, I definitely prefer Z Flip. Whether you can use the external monitor to send quick replies, or skim through notifications, I never really use it for anything except … deleting notifications.

Smooth performance, poor battery

The Razr is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor (the processor on most mid-range Android phones), and runs Android 9 Pie. I have no performance issues. Apps start fast and don’t lag when scrolling up and down.

The Razr operating system has Motorola’s Moto Actions feature, so you can take advantage of shortcuts like taking snapshots (open the camera when you turn the phone), or take screenshots with 3 fingers (take screenshots) when you touch the screen with 3 fingers).

In terms of memory, Razr has only one configuration: 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory. The device does not support extended memory cards. And there’s only one USB-C port on the bottom of the device.

Regarding battery life, the device has a 2,510Ah battery. During the weekend, I ran out of battery in 12 hours. Mainly because I rarely touch it unless replying to the message and surfing Instagram.

But in my workday, the battery is not so good, even though the battery is quite uniform throughout each day. Every day, I unplug the device at 7:30 am and use it to stream podcasts on Spotify. During the day, I use it to listen to music, respond to emails or Slack messages, and occasionally surf social media. By about 2:30 or 3 pm, the battery is only about 20%.

Basically, I only really used it for about 7 hours before having to plug in the charger again.

The mediocre camera on an expensive phone

The Razr has a 16-megapixel camera sensor on the front, which acts as the rear camera. Inside is a 5-megapixel selfie camera. Those are cameras that can be seen on a phone that costs about … 200 USD only.

Razr’s camera is still quite low when compared to the $ 1,380 Z Flip but uses the same sensor as last year’s flagship phones, like the Galaxy S10 and Note 10. For $ 1,500, Motorola should at least swing. hand investment camera for it deserves.

Also, the shutter button feels rather slow. And with the amount of image processing that this phone does, you’ll never really know what you’ll get after taking a photo.

In real life this building is not as pink as in the picture!

The picture looks super bleak.

In daytime photos, bright enough, the image quality is quite normal. Colors in both buildings above look pale and flat. In fact, their colors are much brighter.

Like buildings, pizza looks normal. Whether bright colors such as red in the sauce and smoked sausages, or the green color of the aromas are quite floating, they are too saturated compared to reality.

Blur is too blurry!

What about low light photography? Razr’s Night Vision feature is really bad. The image is super blurred even though I held my hand quite firmly when shooting. The photo looks a bit scary.

Blur again

Shooting at night in the street is no better. Although the colors are more realistic and striking, you can still mistakenly think they were taken from some low-resolution camera.

I prefer to take a selfie with the rear camera, because its sensor is better. This is also easier because you only need to shake the phone to activate the camera. The photo didn’t look bad, but it was a little bit off again. A commendable point of this camera is that it gives images … too detailed, and portrait mode looks quite real.

Portrait mode is not bad at all

However, that is not enough for me to be able to comfortably use the Razr to take pictures every day. Therefore, if high quality photos are important to you, this phone is probably not a good choice.

Save money

Is not. You should not buy this phone.

An error with my monitor may be due to an unfortunate situation. But even if the screen is fine, there are still too many things you have to trade: an unreliable camera, battery life is often average, the hinges creak, and the quality of machining is available. probably will not be able to last the year.

What does all this bring you? Nostalgia is definitely not worth the $ 1,500. Honestly, I’d rather choose the old Razr. Even though it’s 2020 now!

Reference: Mashable