The new Motorola Razr Plus makes phones fun again

Today’s smartphones are boring, and while companies like Nothing are trying to make regular slab phones exciting and unique, they’re ultimately relatively homogeneous. Foldables are the antithesis of this; I’ve loved foldable phones ever since the original Galaxy Fold, as they’re almost real-world transformers. They get bigger — or smaller, depending on the form factor — and in the future, they may even roll out like a tapestry.

I’ve used most of the foldable phones released globally over the past five years, and occasionally, you get one that makes things fun again. The Vivo X Flip, for example, has a gorgeous woven finish that looks stunning in purple and feels great in the hand; the OPPO Find N3 Flip has excellent cameras and animations on the front screen. But none have been quite as fun to use as the new Motorola Razr+ (2024).

Embracing the small phone concept

Finally, a flagship small phone

My favorite thing about the Motorola Razr+ is that it embraces the idea of a small flagship phone while solving the biggest problem with every small phone that came before it.

There’s a reason small phones are an ever-dying breed — customers don’t want to commit to them because they’re not always ideal. There are many times when you’ll want the bigger display, such as when sending long emails or watching movies and videos. A traditional small phone means making sacrifices, and more people would rather have a bigger display just in case than the portability of a small phone.

The Motorola Razr+ solves this problem by treating the front display like a small 4-inch Android phone. You can run any app without needing to install a separate app like Good Lock, and most transition to the smaller form factor flawlessly.

You can also quickly send messages or draft long bodies of texts using Gboard, which is fast-growing on me and converting me from a lifelong loyalty to SwiftKey. The keyboard can take up part of the front screen or become a full-screen editor.

The smaller display is also perfect for scrolling through social media, thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate. Instead of scrolling mindlessly, you see far less on the display at once, which I’ve found means I’m more engaged with what’s on my feed.

The cover display is ideal for selfies, too, and Motorola’s quick gesture to launch the camera — a simple double twist of the phone — makes selfies effortless. When folded, it also fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, giving you reassurance that you won’t accidentally drop the phone.

Motorola’s embrace of the small phone concept is also apparent in the preloaded games panel, which is to say, there are a lot of fun games and many are far too addictive. Last year, my creator and tech journalist group was hooked on setting high scores for Stack Bounce, but this year I instigated a competition for Free Kick Football.

I’ll spare you the details, but this game distracted me from so much work as I tried to set a top score. I achieved it, but only briefly, as it was soon bested by someone else. If you have multiple friends with a Razr or other flip phone, I recommend you kickstart the competition and get just as invested as I did.

A phone that gets bigger as you need it

No compromises on screen size

The Motorola Razr+ is unique from other Flip phones, as the front screen is designed to be a small Android phone. Like any flip phone, there’s also a big internal display, and this is crucial to the overall experience; without the fallback of the big display, the Motorola Razr+ would just be a small Android phone that suffers the same pitfalls as the ones that came before it.

Once you unfold the Motorola Razr+ , you get everything you expect from a regular smartphone. The 6.9-inch AMOLED display offers a 165Hz refresh rate, and Motorola’s default font is my favorite on any phone, making everything much more enjoyable to read or type.

The best way to describe the experience is this: imagine an iPhone 4S that becomes an iPhone 15 Pro Max whenever you want it to. Being able to use either display as a full-functioning phone is the magic of the flip form factor, and specifically, the Motorola Razr+. Every other flip phone makes compromises on the front display experience, forcing you to open the display more often and ultimately affecting battery life.

Vibrant colors that ooze sex appeal

Sexy and fun is the way forward for all phones

I love unique colors and phones that stand out, and the Motorola Razr+ does this in abundance. There are a range of colors to choose from, and very few are common to other smartphones. While most companies adopt the standard array of colors — including black, white, and something resembling an actual color — Motorola took the approach of having phone colors that draw attention.

The Motorola Razr+ comes in Midnight Blue, with its unique racing strip design on the rear, a rich Spring Green, Peach Fuzz — the Pantone color of the year — and Hot Pink. I fell in love with Hot Pink because it’s guaranteed to turn heads, and it fits my personality perfectly. Meanwhile, the regular Motorola Razr comes in Koala Grey, Beach Sand (a very beige-like color), and the incredibly vibrant Spritz Orange.

Naturally, I have Spritz Orange, and it is absolutely glorious. Combine these colors with the faux leather or faux leather suede finishes, and you have a phone that oozes sex appeal in more ways than one.

After my time with the Motorola Razr+ (2024), I realized I would miss this phone more than most. I switched to the new Galaxy Z Fold 6, then the Galaxy Z Flip 6, but I’m eager to get back to Moto’s latest entry in the 2024 folding phone wars. While it’s not a perfect device, it’s the most fun I’ve had with one in a while; in fact, since last year’s Motorola Razr+. It’s vastly improved over last year’s model, and this year, it’s most definitely made phones fun for me again.

Nirave is a creator, evangelist, and founder of House of Tech. A heart attack at the age of 33 inspired him to publish the Impact of Tech newsletter, which covers the best technology and its impact on mental, physical, and emotional health. For more, follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.