I examined Motorola’s $1,500 Razr Extremely, and it is so near being my dream flip cellphone

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Motorola’s 2026 spring lineup is shaping as much as be one of many firm’s most spectacular. After testing the Razr FoldI had the chance to spend time with the brand new 2026 Razr Ultraits flagship flip cellphone. On the floor, it seems practically equivalent to the earlier technology, sharing a lot of the identical design and aesthetic language.

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Nevertheless, as soon as I dug in and skilled what the cellphone can do, the variations grew to become clearer. The 2026 Razr Extremely is a significant improve over the 2025 mannequin, delivering higher efficiency, improved effectivity, and longer battery life, amongst different enhancements.

Multimedia grasp

Let’s first get into what I contemplate essentially the most spectacular elements of the Razr Extremely: its shows and audio system. On the within, the cellphone boasts a big seven-inch Excessive AMOLED that’s Pantone Validated (which means it produces extremely correct colours) and helps HDR10+ for glorious dynamic vary. Collectively, these options guarantee persistently robust visible output.

On-screen animations have been exceptionally clean because of the 165Hz refresh charge. Every little thing appears fluid and responsive, with no noticeable lag.

A giant a part of what makes the Razr Extremely so good for multimedia is the audio system. I discovered it even higher than the Razr Fold’s system, delivering richer, fuller sound. The Extremely mannequin has stereo audio system fine-tuned with Dolby Atmos and the power to output Spatial Audio. These two options work collectively to create an immersive bubble of sound. The bass is superior, too, giving the audio output a pleasant punch.

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I discovered myself deeply entranced by a Bob Ross compilation livestream throughout testing. There was one thing concerning the heat and readability the audio system dropped at his voice that made the stream further charming.

The exterior show on the 2026 Razr Extremely is basically equivalent to that of the 2025 mannequin. Additionally it is a four-inch panel with a decision of 1272 x 1080 pixels and guarded by Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3. It even has the identical set of options, akin to media controls and notification administration. The important thing distinction is that it’s also an Excessive AMOLED display, delivering the identical deep distinction and vibrant colours because the interior display.

Placing design

The Razr Extremely continues the custom of Motorola telephones’ visually putting designs. This machine is on the market in two colours: Pantone Orient Blue (which is admittedly purple to my eye) and Pantone Cocoa, a muted brown. I had the latter. Brown, as a smartphone shade, is a controversial decide.

I keep in mind when leaked pictures of the iPhone 16 surfaced again in 2024, and other people hated the rumored brown end. Even the ultimate shade, Desert Titanium, elicited many destructive reactions. However on this occasion, I feel buyers will just like the Razr Extremely’s brown end; I actually did.

I am an enormous fan of the fake wooden paneling on the again, which provides the Razr Extremely a particular rustic look. The metallic brown edges complement the design properly. Coming back from the earlier technology is the titanium-reinforced hinge, which performs a key function within the Razr Extremely’s sturdiness. Your complete mechanism feels sturdy — folding the cellphone produces a satisfying, stable thump.

Cameras that pop

On the again, the Razr Extremely homes a dual-camera system that includes a 50MP most important sensor with optical picture stabilization for persistently sharp photographs, alongside a 50MP ultrawide + macro fusion lens. Because it’s two-in-one, the digicam does not supply the identical versatility as a multi-camera setup. The fusion lens is restricted to only a 2x zoom. For comparability, the telephoto lens on the Razr Fold helps 6x zoom.

Outdoors of that limitation, the Razr Extremely’s digicam system is superior. A significant contributor to the general high quality is Extremely HDR, a picture format that enhances shade vibrancy, key highlights, and shadows. The picture above is one in all my favourite photographs that I took with the cellphone. It does an excellent job of capturing the mural’s vibrancy and the wall’s detailed stucco patterning. Additionally, the robust distinction provides further depth, serving to the colours actually stand out.

Heated efficiency

Because the flagship mannequin in its sequence, the 2026 Razr Extremely has essentially the most highly effective {hardware} configuration. It homes a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, together with a Qualcomm Adreno 830 GPU and a Qualcomm AI Engine NPU. These final two parts are notable as a result of they put the 2026 Razr Extremely above the earlier technology by way of efficiency.

One among our main criticisms of the 2025 Razr Ultra was its tendency to throttle throughout gaming periods or whereas downloading massive recordsdata within the background. Motorola has largely addressed that situation.

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As I did with the Razr Fold, I ran a number of benchmark checks earlier than transferring into real-world utilization situations to raised perceive what the cellphone was able to. After spending time with the cellphone, it was apparent that the Razr Extremely is a strong smartphone; it feels persistently quick. Apps open nearly immediately.

On-screen animations are fluid. It boasts loads of energy for demanding workloads, like video modifying or high-end gaming. Nevertheless, it has its limits.

The Snapdragon system-on-chip is supported by optimized software program that helps the machine preserve a secure, sustained efficiency. That stated, I skilled a tiny little bit of stuttering whereas enjoying Arknights: Endfield and Honkai: Star Rail. It did not final lengthy, nevertheless it was noticeable.

Throughout testing, I ran the 3DMark Wildlife Stress Check, which simulates repeated heavy GPU workloads. The Razr Extremely grew to become fairly heat, to the purpose the place it needed to throttle its {hardware} to maintain temperatures in examine. As I stated in my Razr Fold evaluation, it is a area of interest situation that almost all customers are unlikely to expertise. It did not overheat exterior of the stress check, however I wished to say it as a chance.

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Battery life is stable. After operating an countless YouTube livestream on the interior display, the Razr Extremely lasted roughly 24 hours on a single cost. That is fairly good in my ebook. With environment friendly utilization, you will get the cellphone to final a number of days.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The 2026 Razr Ultra is at the moment out there via the corporate’s official web site for $1,500. On the time of writing, Motorola can also be providing a promotional bundle that features a 4-pack of Moto Tags and the Moto Buds 2 Plus at no further value. Just like the Razr Fold, the Razr Extremely is on the market in just one {hardware} configuration.

And like different Motorola Razr fashions, it’s best to actually solely purchase it when it is on sale, which is simply a matter of time.

Whereas I’ve discovered the Razr Extremely to be an excellent cellphone, there is no getting round the truth that it’s costly. Patrons searching for a extra inexpensive flip-style foldable could need to contemplate Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7which is at the moment out there for round $1,020 for the 512GB mannequin. Contemplating final 12 months’s Razr Extremely mannequin could also be a good smarter selection.